When and what to outsource and how it can save you money

One of the biggest, almost-hidden benefits of outsourcing for any company is freedom. Freedom for your staff to work strategically to grow your company rather than getting caught up in the small stuff.

Once you realise that outsourcing on some level is a must, one of the most important decisions you’re going to make in managing your commercial property portfolio on an organisational level is when and what to outsource.

But the question of outsourcing is not an open and shut case. It’s a continuous process of evaluation as business needs and expectations change.

Here’s our advice …

When to outsource

A good compass for the question of when to outsource a task is to ask yourself the following questions:

1.     Does the task relate to my core business needs, or can the market do it better?

2.     Are my operational and routine functions reliant on my best and brightest to undertake these everyday tasks? If no, would their energy be better spent focussing on strategic goals?

This starting point is a simple but effective way to begin talking at an organisational level about outsourcing.

If your staff’s talent (and salary) is wasted on operational and non-essential functions, it’s time to begin scrutinising the cost benefits of outsourcing operational functions.

What to outsource

The Grosvenor Property Pyramid provides a simple visual reminder of the best value options for outsourcing. The lower down the pyramid a task, the better value it is to buy the service. This will be a smarter return on  investment than using internal talent.

There are two options when it comes to how much to outsource.

Option one focuses on outsourcing the management of operational components only, while the second option takes into account all transactional functions, leaving only the strategic components of the business resourced internally.

The second option is not for everyone, but the first is an important option for every organisation to consider.

What and when you outsource will change as your company evolves but, once you begin to measure the benefits and allow your staff to do what they do best, you’ll wonder why the decision felt so difficult in the first place.