How do you learn to let go when outsourcing to others?
I have grown my business as far as it can go. I currently outsource on a limited basis. I have found it difficult to let go and let others do their work. No one else seems to be as concerned with deadlines as me. How can I fix this?
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May 27, 2016
I struggle with the same issue. I have spent over a year on a project but I am hesitant to get outside help from someone I don't know. Great question and answers.
Jun 22, 2015
You can grow much more when you outsource. The real trick is to develop a sytem of management with performance and othere critical metrics and their reviews so that your focus shifts from doing a task well to managing quality of outcomes of other's tasks.
Outsourcing unleashes unlimited bandwidth and you can grow without capacity constraints as long as you put more rigor in your management system which has early warning alerts and control methods.You can let go when you trust others and when you trust your ability to manage work of others. Keep emotion out. Hope it helps a bit.
Apr 27, 2015
I understand your issue. Unfortunately, most outsourcing companies fail to meet the deadlines due to lack of communication between their team and you.
For most companies there is now a solution on how to minimize postponement of your project's delivery. There's a company that can easily match most relevant provider for YOUR needs and track progress, have a look http://www.nexgendesign.com/concept
Feb 9, 2015
Outsourcing is the best way when you select the right person for the right mission. Of course, be clear about your objective and deadline.
If you make the right choice when choosing the Expert to help you out, you won’t waste time and money and you will be able to delegate fast and easily, especially with an experienced professional from PERFORMANCE OUTSIDE THE BOX, who gives online strategic advice...http://performanceoutsidethebox.com/video-pros-and-cons-of-outsourcing/?lang=en
Jan 19, 2015
I have myself come out of it hard way, Stephanie. This is what worked for me.
Just set a longer deadline for myself. If something needs 5 days to complete, I would expect it done in 7 days and yet set a deadline of 5 days to the outsourced team.
I planned incentives and bonuses for an early and approved project delivery. This worked very well. was a win win for both.
Had to convince myself to be okay with the quality good enough to deliver decent results, save time and money if not as great as when I do it.
I wish you good luck.
Jan 18, 2015
Dear Stephanie, I think it is a two way street. Whilst letting go is obviously difficult and something you must get accustomed to over time; I have found that it is also about the freelancer or enterprise that you outsource to earning your trust. Structuring the outsource process is a great way of ensuring you feel more comfortable with the process. Setting clear deliverable s against which payment is made in set stages is a great way to make you feel more secure and also a way to build trust. Like most relationships if both parties know what to expect from each other it is easier to build trust over time.
You should also try working with different people and in the same way you would check references if you were employing someone you should also confirm references of freelancers.
Jan 17, 2015
Unfortunately, it is a trial and error process; however, you have to know what to look for when attempting to outsource work. How organized and responsive are they during the hiring process? Have you checked out their business structure? What makes them want to work with you? And rate of pay, chances are if they have a low price range for their services this can mean two things. Either they are new and don't know how to price their market or this job is just a hobby for them? The second allows them more room not care about the work and your deadlines. I hope this helps!
Jan 15, 2015
Think of outsourcing from a managerial type of mindset. You are not "letting go" of the work; instead, you have hired people "in". Put outsourced employees to work for you. Manage the deadlines from your end, and limit your contributions to the part of the work you have hired out. It helps people work better when they know they will get credit for their share of the workload AND that you will not do their part for them. Do not let your client down, but do not put forward outsourced work as acceptable that is not.
Jan 15, 2015
Sounds like under performance and time to part ways and get the right people in place. Let me know if you need help in building a profile to hire the right people.
Jan 14, 2015
Focus on what makes you money. Let the outsourced resources do what you are paying them to do. If you've vetted them properly you should trust that they can do that you are looking for them to do.
Jan 14, 2015
Only nenew the business connections you have when they live up to your standards--or when you think you will mutually benefit from further interactions in the future.
Jan 14, 2015
This is not an uncommon challenge for growing small business. In fact, I too am in the middle of settling this process in my own business. I have 2 thought to help you with this question. First, if you really want to grow, you absolutely need certain functionality that you may not be very familiar with. Recognizing this simple fact and staying focused on your own expertise helps you understand that you must rely on others to execute elements that they are more experienced with. For example, my clients outsource their inbound marketing work to me and once we have a discussion and understanding of what technology and implementation represents a successful strategy, they realize these components are best left to marketing experts. You realize as a business owner that you don't know everything and as you grow, you need experts in more and more areas. Embrace this reality. Get excited by knowing that you have a new team that will do it better than you could do it yourself and what that will mean when the system is fine tuned and perfected. The second piece of this equation is measurement. Obviously the first part of my explanation doesn't work if your new team doesn't produce. Therefore, I recommend you develop a system (if you don't already have one) to measure those critical elements that you are most concerned about. Yes there will always be a certain amount of risk when outsourcing but the better the tools you have to measure productivity, the faster you can move from risk, through concern, to success. For example, I need to show all of my clients specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely and tangible achievement. There is technology available to measure just about anything now. As you reduce the guesswork and increase grip (measurement), you should be able to run faster and embrace the team that is lucky enough to get the opportunity you are giving.
Jan 13, 2015
Hi and Good day
This is a typical problem with entrepreneurs who built the business themselves and did anything and everything out there. Once you have decided to outsource, presume that you would have evaluated the right team to handle the activities. Now if you expect them to handle it exactly the way you would - you need to realize its close to impossible!!! Its like using "rent a driver" on your limo - you will be scared the first time he drives, because you expect the person to drive carefully, consciously as you drive...and most of the times you will be doing a back seat driving though...When outsourcing in business the best option is to
1. Sit with the team before allocating the work - and explain all the aspects of work, the intricacies that you only know, the milestones and reporting parameters that you want etc.
2. If possible list down major tasks or activities where you think, normally an outsourced entity will make mistakes - explain the significance to the team
3. Have micro level tasks and do the follow up on their check points/ milestones than the task itself - because if you start following up at a task level, you are actually become another team member!!!
4, Don't allow delays to happen more than once for whatever reasons, make them understand that they should maintain a discipline to numbers and timelines at all times
5. Try to take the role of a mentor, guide other than the boss at times - to understand if the issues are due to ignorance or innocence.
6. If the delays continue, find someone else to do it
Thanks
Shaju
Jan 13, 2015
Be very clear on your expectations. Without specific guidance, people will do what they think is right. Have a deadline? Let people know what that is. Also, if it doesn't really impact your business in a negative way, learn to let go of low level activities so you can concentrate on growth.
Jan 12, 2015
Don't outsource what you're the best at - not even to scale your business; not only are you creating headaches for yourself, you're watering down the quality of your product.
Jan 12, 2015
SLA's and project management tools are some of the practices that you should adopt at the time of outsourcing. You should establish various channel of effective communication which will help you to feel involved with the team. This may include escalations, status reports via email on daily basis to keep yourself abreast of the progress of the review and any other metrics that might be helpful.
The project management tool will enable you to monitor and manage active projects; view project progress in real-time; view deliverable statistics; track man hours and project budget; See the CV and interact with any individual on the review team; and provide feedback.
Jan 11, 2015
Well there are two possible answers...You'll either want to shift the expectation for the customer when you do outsource, or you'll want to get more stringent with the companies you send business to. In either case it really just depends on what your customers really expect, because if they don't seem concerned then you can do away with deadlines as a concern. Otherwise yes crack down on who gets your leads.
Jan 11, 2015
Define project milestones and assign resources, and strictly keep track of progress (rather than do the work). If the project does not move in line with plans, remind, and then escalate if you do not see any improvements.
Jan 11, 2015
To me, when I outsource, I shouldn't have to be so involved. They are not employees and should be able to do a project with a given deadline and expectations of deliverable. I would go nuts if my clients were up my butt like that all the time. LOL
Jan 9, 2015
Have you considered that perhaps for you, the business has grown as far as you are able and willing to let it grow? There is nobody who will do things just as you will. I suggest you take a look at what your intentions are as well as the role you play in achieving them. It should not be about letting it go but rather about letting it be.
Jan 15, 2015
I have to agree to a point Ed. What I have done is get rid of all my contractors other than my daughters and one other person. They are always on time. :) but I do wonder about why people are late when they say they want to do a job and agree on the deadline.
Jan 19, 2015
I hear you Stephanie and please understand I am not trying to deter you. As I see it, we simply cannot account for or control the way others behave. There are a host of reasons why people say one thing and do another. One thing we can be sure of is ourselves- beyond that we have to be willing to accept that control is not truly in our hands.
I typically assign the work as they've asked since they're independent contractors with deadlines as they asked since they're independent contractors. :)