7 Mistakes to Avoid While Outsourcing

Outsourcing a project or a service has become one of the most common trends nowadays. According to statistics around 87% of companies in America do prefer outsourcing as it leads to significant cost reduction for their companies. But there are two sides to every coin and just like any other followed trend; this trend of outsourcing also does have its drawbacks. So, if you are also hiring an outside agency for digital marketing, web development or anything similar, make sure to keep in mind these 7 things which will ensure you get the desired output.

1. Don’t Just Outsource to Save Money

While outsourcing definitely does help you save money, it shouldn’t be the only factor based on which you should hire an outside agency or company. One of the major mistakes you can do is to choose a company which is offers low service rates without knowing their methods of operation. Your emphasis should be on quality first and later you can negotiate or decide on the price. Quality doesn’t come in cheap and if you are getting someone who is willing to work for you at an extremely low price, chances are they would be compromising on quality.

2. Communication Should Be Clear and Precise

Don’t just hire an outsource organization and ask them to start working on the project immediately. Rather, take some time, sit down with them and explain to them what exactly do you require (preferably have it in writing). Most of the outsourcing projects do fail because of the miscommunication between the involved parties. Therefore, before finally giving the outsourced organization a go, make sure that both of you are on the same page and have exactly same goal in mind.

3. Research About a Company Before Hiring

Don’t just go by the word of your friend and hire any vendor which offers the service you are looking for. Instead, take your time and do a thorough research before hiring any outside organization. Look into their past clients; see what they have to say about them. Look for the tools they use for marketing and the success rate they have. This will allow you to understand the way in which the outside company works and whether or not you will be able to tune in with them.

4. Be Open to Suggestions

Some people have a habit of believing what they feel or do is only right and they try to have their ideas imposed on the outsourced organizations. Hence, no place for innovation or creativity can ever exist. You being the hiring company can always monitor the work of an outsourced agency but don’t ignore their ideas or suggestions. Give them the space for creativity, convey your idea and let them take action to present it in the best way possible.

5. Follow A Dynamic Model of Project Development

Most of the companies while hiring an outsourced organization often tend to have contracts mentioning the minimum conditions which should be met. This often leads the service providers to aim for achieving the minimum target and stopping afterward. Such static targets are not effective enough to have a substantial impact on the project and the results are much delayed. To change this, the hiring company should have a dynamic model of working where the targets are not fixed and instead the performance of the hired organization should be evaluated over a course of time.

6. Not Having an Exit Strategy

You may enter into an agreement with a vendor however most companies do not have an exit strategy to implement when the contract expires. This often leads to campaigns being affected and or the process being stopped mid staged. Therefore, while signing a contract, have an exit strategy which includes steps to be taken during the transition phase. Have an option of hiring some of the vendor’s employee to handle the transition and train some in company professionals of yours to carry on the work once the contract ends.

7. Governance Issues

The last but not the least problem is of governance. Often companies do not monitor the work carried on by the vendors only to be left disappointed with the results at a later time. This thing can be avoided if you do have a good management who takes care of what the vendors are doing and whether or not they are on the right track. Good governance will ensure a greater return on investment (ROI) for your company and will help you achieve targets as expected and in some cases even faster.

So, these were the top 7 mistakes one must pay attention to while hiring an outsourced agency to work on the project assigned.