If done correctly, outsourcing can help your business pursue new opportunities and/or reduce costs, but if it’s done incorrectly, it can cause more harm than good. This article looks at outsourcing through the lens of its pros and cons.

Outsourcing Pros

The most attractive part about outsourcing for many businesses is its reduced costs. In most cases, outsourced workers don’t require relocation costs or the same insurance or benefits that internal workers demand. Moreover, hiring an outsourced worker to complete a specific task means the business won’t have to continue paying them once the task is complete, unlike salaried workers.

Technology makes it easy to post and fill jobs in a timely manner, often in a much briefer period of time than interviewing and on-boarding a full employee. Software can also make it easy to track projects outsourced workers are tasked with completing.

Outsourcing means you can reach workers from across the country and globe, not just those located near your office. For example, Texas Instruments has used outsourcing to expand their talent pool all the way to India, per Forbes.com.

Outsourcing Cons

Perhaps the biggest downside to outsourcing is that managers can’t directly monitor outsourced workers. It may take some trial and error to find reliable workers. (However, note that it’s easier to move on from an unreliable outsourced worker than an unreliable salaried employee.)

A less obvious concern is that of intellectual property. Making the decision to hand over potentially sensitive or proprietary information to an outsourced worker is not an easy one.

Scam artists lurk in all corners of the internet, and outsourcing websites are no exception. Carefully vet anyone you consider hiring by interviewing them, using reliable sources, and investigating their credentials and social media.

The pros and cons of outsourcing mean that your company should use it on a case-by-case basis. Consider the decision to outsource in the first place and then proceed carefully to get the most out of the process.

For more information on business topics, contact JNI Lending.