5 Companies That Outsource and Why You Should Too
If your company is growing, so is the amount of work that needs to be done. Unfortunately, there is no way for you to accurately anticipate the rate of your growth. As a result, you end up hiring too many that results in unnecessary operational costs or hiring too little and being unable to cope up with everything. Either way, it can be catastrophic.
It may seem that there is no solution to the manpower dilemma, but fortunately, there is. You can outsource your need for employees, whether it may be for technical or simple administrative work. It is how most companies cope with their growth, even prominent ones which you have likely heard of.
1. Alibaba
Take a look at this e-commerce website based in China. They started out as a small business, who would have known that they would someday dominate the market? Even they themselves didn’t anticipate their growth. So, when there was the need to upgrade their system, they outsourced development to web developers in the U.S.
Alibaba didn’t take any break to create a different department and hire the needed employees. Instead, they looked at who is the most fit to do the job they need. They didn’t need to conduct any hiring process or train anyone, allowing the business to stay afloat while being competitive.
2. WhatsApp
Most applications started out as small projects which later found themselves having a huge break. For example, WhatsApp only had 35 employees working on everything. So, when the company got its big boom, it couldn’t keep up with the growing demand. They were barraged with suggestions and bug reports from their massive pool of users.
How did they manage to stay afloat and keep their market happy? They outsourced their development operations to developers in Russia. With what they did, they kept costs at a minimum. As a matter of fact, at a fraction of what it would cost them to hire and expand their workforce the traditional way.
3. Basecamp
If you think 35 employees taking on millions of users is amazing, wait until you hear about Basecamp. The company is just composed of four people, so when business broke out, things got really out of hand. Things got so bad that they eventually started to experience disappointed clients for the decreasing quality of their service.
Fortunately, the company was able to make drastic measures before permanent damage to the company was done. Development was outsourced to remote developers, allowing the four-man team to concentrate their efforts on managing the business as a whole and improving internal management.
4. Microsoft
You’d think that a company as big as Microsoft would have all the employees it needs. However, that is far from the truth. With their widespread operations, Microsoft is unable to keep its workforce loaded and optimal all the time. As a result, it frequently seeks out the services of outsourced talent to keep huge chunks of its departments working.
5. Google
Google is a name you are likely familiar with. Even with their reputation and massive market value, they cannot keep their manpower optimal. They likely will never be able to as the demand for their services are fluctuating. It can grow exponentially one day and then drop by the next month. As a result, there is the need for manpower that is easily refillable and disposable when the need arises.
One aspect that this is observable is with their customer service agents for their AdWords advertisers. In 2011, they had 1,000 reps in 60 countries. By 2018, almost half of Google’s staff are outsourced workers.
So, Why Outsource?
So, companies outsourced some of their needed manpower, is it really that big of a deal? As a matter of fact, it is. Outsourcing is more than just convenience, it is survival. The question is, how can outsourcing be that crucial?
1. Yields More Productivity
When outsourcing, you no longer need to hire and make sure that they can do the work. Outsourcing entails getting people who are already practicing their skills. Therefore, they are ready to work as soon as possible, with little to no supervision at all. As a result, there is almost no adjustment period and your outsourced contractors can get on the task at hand immediately.
2. Keeps Office Costs Down
When running a business, the primary concern is always about operational costs. You must be making more money than you are using to keep the business afloat. By outsourcing contractors, that is something you can do. With no offices to run and resources to provide, operational expenses are kept at a minimum.
3. Massive Talent Market
Sometimes you just can’t get the skills you need from the people you can readily hire. Maybe the best developers are located in a different country or the most hardworking virtual assistants are of a certain culture. When you outsource, you are not limited to those that are near, but to a global market of varying expertise. Therefore, you can always find what you need instead of settling for what is available.
4. Affordable
Contrary to popular belief, outsourcing is a lot cheaper than conventional hiring.The reason behind this is that outsourced and remote workforces are attending to more than one client, allowing them to receive revenue from multiple sources which keeps prices relatively lower. Most outsourcing companies assign permanent individuals for a client and that makes it the best of both worlds. You get the work you need to be done as if you just hired someone yourself.
Should You Be Outsourcing?
All the major companies are doing it. There are a lot of benefits to it. Objectively speaking, there is no reason for you not to outsource marketing or even anything your company workloads demand. Regardless of how simple or complicated it can be, there is always a helping hand to provide what you need.