The benefits of outsourcing staff far outweigh the risks of handing over a piece of your business. With almost 9 million job openings in the U.S., the labor market is showing no signs of slowing down, employee retention and clever staffing solutions are on the minds of many business leads.
We asked over 30 CXOs how outsourcing helped their businesses scale. Here’s what they had to say:
How has outsourcing staff helped your business grow?
While the functions and roles varied, there were some consistent results to outsourcing staff: freeing up time, reducing costs and access to expert insight. First up, we look at a couple of founders and CEOs that outsourced their IT and marketing functions. Both of these business leaders highlighted how gaining access to experts in their fields freed up time and resources to focus on their business development instead.
“Outsourcing, particularly in the areas of IT and digital marketing, has allowed our business to tap into a wealth of knowledge and experience that accelerated our online presence and market reach. It gave us access to experts who were acquainted with the latest technologies, trends, and strategies. This strategic move not just freed up our internal resources, but also reduced overhead costs.”
“Outsourcing IT allowed us to implement sophisticated technological systems which otherwise would have required a significant time investment. By outsourcing digital marketing, I was able to access expert knowledge and strategies which drastically increased site traffic. Overall, it freed up more time for me to focus on content creation, building partnerships, and developing my business further.”
Both of these examples above highlighted an unexpected benefit to outsourcing core functions. Because outsourced professional services work with multiple industries, they can approach problem-solving your processes with a unique lens. They can offer a level of expertise you simply wouldn’t get if you hired in-house for the same cost.
And while outsourcing doesn’t have to mean offshoring, there can be benefits to tapping into the global market. By outsourcing staff functions globally, like customer support, you can open the doors to 24/7 customer service, ultimately improving user retention seen in your customer success KPIs.
“The most significant benefit we’ve seen is from outsourcing our customer support function. It allowed us to provide 24/7 support to users across different time zones and languages. This move not only improved customer satisfaction but also led to a marked increase in user retention.”
“The global talent pool is rich with specialists who bring not only their expertise but also their cultural perspectives, which has been invaluable in expanding our market reach and understanding. Working with experts from various backgrounds has equipped my business with the insights needed to tailor our offerings to meet the nuanced needs of a global clientele, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.”
Once you’re comfortable working with a team of external partners, the options for outsourcing are endless. From supply chain through to outsourced accounting, it serves many companies well to outsource at least one piece of their business.
“Our primary area of outsourcing has been the management of our international supply chain and direct sourcing of goods. Engaging agents in regions rich in artisanal culture allowed us to discover unique handcrafted products, while saving us the time and resources that would have been spent on extensive global searching and vetting.”
“Outsourcing has significantly contributed to our business growth and profitability. A primary area we’ve outsourced is accounting. By delegating tasks like payroll, bookkeeping, and tax filing to an external entity, we’ve observed increased operational efficiency, improved compliance, and substantial cost savings.”
Of course, business owners will track different business development KPIs based on what is the best driver for their company and industry. That said, a overarching piece of evidence was in how outsourcing helped them reduce costs to grow their bottom line.
“Since delegating these areas, our SKU count has risen by 60%, reflecting a more diverse product range. We’ve also seen a 30% year-on-year increase in sales, indicating both customer appreciation.”
“We’ve observed increased operational efficiency, improved compliance, and substantial cost savings… our team has been able to focus 25% more time on core legal counsel and financial advising roles, leading to a 15% increase in client retainment over the past year alone. We additionally observed a 30% reduction in the cost associated with non-compliance penalties.”
One number that may be hard to define is the time-savings you and your team will see by outsourcing office functions like accounting and marketing, and we all know time is an asset.
“I brought onboard an SEO specialist who possesses exceptional writing and marketing skills. By making these strategic hires, I was able to reclaim approximately 20 hours per week of my time. Furthermore, this approach ensured consistent marketing efforts, even during periods of high sales activity.
“We save around 18% of what we would have spent on an in-house bookkeeping team. We also save our processing time by 23% due to working with specialized time and from economies of scale, and reduced our margin of error by 16%.”
#1 piece of advice for entrepreneurs thinking about outsourcingstaff
As a founder myself, I understand how hard it can be to hand over a piece of your business. And like many of these entrepreneurs, I recommend starting with non-core functions and go from there. Eventually, your outsourced functions should be strategic partners for your business. The resounding message from these CXOs was clear: start small, but think big.
“Begin with a smaller, less critical function to understand how outsourcing works and to build your confidence in managing external teams. It’s crucial to set clear, measurable goals and expectations from the outset and to view your outsourcing partners as an integral part of your team, not just external vendors.”
