I want my company to partner up with an outsourcing vendor. What should I know before contracting work outside my own business?
Marla Rausch - CEO, Animation Vertigo
A quick way to determine a company’s standing is to find out if they use legitimate software – if they’re not, they may be financially unstable, and that typically makes for an undependable partner.You want to look for a company that seeks to make you a long-term partner rather than a client or a cheque at the end of the month to keep their doors open.
Ask a potential partner about their personnel – where did they come from and how did they get trained?
Go beyond what the partner produces, and look at how it was produced. Can you have transparency in the process so that you know their current personnel can do what you need them to do? You will find a lot of talented people in the world, but very few truly talented companies that can manage these people. Make sure you partner with a company that has the talented people, not one that subcontracts them out.
People say price is a good way to decide, but more often than not, you really do end up getting what you pay for. Do an initial test, determine price standards and figure out for yourself if that sounds too good to be true.
Josh Bluman - Co-founder, Vivo Masks
There are thousands of companies and freelancers available at your fingertips to build your websites, do your accounting and improve your rank on Google. Finding someone to do these things is easy. Finding someone who can live up to your expectations, however, is not. |
I’ve seen it many times – a local business hires an offshore search engine optimization (SEO) company to improve its website’s Google ranking. The offshore vendor does the work, and in the short term the local business’ website quickly ranks higher in Google search results. The business makes lots of money and gives the outsourced vendor a positive review online. But then, just months later, Google bans the business’ site for using “black hat” SEO techniques implemented by the outsourced vendor. This kind of stuff happens all the time because the business that contracts out the work has no knowledge about the work it is outsourcing (which is often why it is outsourcing the work in the first place).
So unless you have a budget large enough to always hire the very best in the business, knowing the ins and outs of the work you are looking to outsource will save you a lot of headaches and money.
So before looking for a vendor, I’d highly recommend:
1) Reaching out to other small businesses that have outsourced similar projects, and hearing about their experience.
2) Hiring an unbiased consultant who can recommend an approach or even find a vendor for you.
3) Reading up on the trade you are looking to outsource, and even trying to do a very small portion of the work within your company first until you understand what you have to delegate.
Cheryl Loukas - President, The Outsource Marketing Team
Outsourcing your business tasks can be an excellent way to save time and money, but it’s important to determine whether your project would gain more value from an outside firm than it would from your own in-house resources. Therefore, before you contract an outsource firm, there are a few things to carefully consider. |
First, determine whether engaging an outside company is truly a benefit to your business. Will an outsourced firm bring expertise or skills to complement your project, or are your in-house resources adequate?
Next, analyze the costs to complete your project. If the project is kept in-house, how many person-hours will it take for your staff to complete? If you outsource the work, will you save money and free up your staff resources to complete other projects?
Once you decide to engage an outside company, it is a good idea to:
•Clarify the outsourced vendor’s role and scope of work in advance, as well as their level of authority to act on behalf of your firm. Depending on the project, you may find it beneficial to provide a certain level of authority to the outsourced firm in order to free up your resources for better use. Clearly identify their scope to avoid overbillings.
•If the work is confidential in nature, ask for a signed confidentiality agreement. The vendor should have no issues with this request.
