Outsourcing - Pros and Cons

[mjtaylor]

In the age of the Internet, hiring often goes well beyond borders; many of my clients have never met me face to face and I have hired contractors from time to time that I have never met.

Most of my experiences have been positive, though from time to time deadlines have not been met, and one outsourcer disappeared entirely once - fortunately he had not been paid but a small deposit and we did have access to the work that had been done. I've worked with designers in Europe, India, Australia and the Philippines. The low cost of development drove some of my decisions, but not all. On occasion my decision has been met with anger by local designers. Think global, but buy local, they say. But my small business, tourism oriented clients need affordable options, so I continue to look for and hire quality outsourcers.

Advantages:


Lower cost of doing business;
On demand help for my business as needed rather than hiring someone;
Allows my business to provide services outside my scope.

Disadvantages:

Communication challenges;
What if the Outsourcer disappears?;
Payment can be a challenge, as can trust.

What can you add to the list of pros and cons? What's been your experience?
How have you overcome the challenges?

[synapsis]

This is actually a very good thread which a lot of people talk about but don't really get too indepth because they don't want to reveal exactly where they do their outsourcing all the time.

Its been my experience that depending upon your budget you can get some quality work done and not have to chase people around to get it done. With that said, its also been my experience that you have to chase people around.

A lot of freelancers out there don't mind cutting deals but some of them, especially when they have poor iTraders or websites which don't look too reputable generally don't help your money carry over well.

I would recommend anyone who is going to outsource and doesn't want to pay top dollar for the most reputable person on whatever site it is that you find your workers at - to always look at their past business transactions.

This is why I like forums with iTrader on it because at least this way you can figure out if someone is new to the website or if they just made the account today to try and scam you. And trust me, there's a lot out there who want to do exactly that.

[Mamoon Rashid]

Well.. If you are going to outsource ... outsource to offshore company with some repute and already having strong portfolio and references you can check.

Single Freelancer is definitely a NO NO... go for strong offshore companies with solid references - They might be little expensive as compared to some lone wolf out there but they will be lot better in delivering quality product and after sale/delivery service.

My Two Cents...

[southplatte]

I think one of the biggest things to keep in mind about outsourcing's potential bad rap is to keep it clear and informed to your clients. I am sure you employ a standard boilerplate for any/all agreements and contract you enter into. Have it spelled out that you may contract third-parties for various aspects to ensure quality is met within the specified time frames. If you are dealing with a sensitive information client, you have to ensure proper NDA's are in place - which I am completely unsure of cross-border implications of these when working with independent or even firms that are contracting to you.

I feel one of the bad things to come about from the cheap outsourcing realm came a few years ago, and unfortunately I still hear of it happening occasionally present day: Someone who is an internet marketer, business oriented or other focal point, but not a developer or designer. This person, knowing that web design and development is essential to business and marketing, sells web design and development services as their own, but do not understand it and don't always translate customer requirements into design and development documents appropriately. In the end, the mess that ensues leaves a horrible situation for all involved.

Just my view point of two cons of outsourcing.

[mjtaylor]

Well.. If you are going to outsource ... outsource to offshore company with some repute and already having strong portfolio and references you can check.

Single Freelancer is definitely a NO NO... go for strong offshore companies with solid references - They might be little expensive as compared to some lone wolf out there but they will be lot better in delivering quality product and after sale/delivery service.

My Two Cents...

Interesting; I found that the larger companies were the least reliable; my lone wolf always delivered. And most of the larger companies I have tried price themselves out of my market. I am not going to hire an Indian outsourcer at the same rate as the guy next door.

[SteveGerencser]

I outsource a fair amount of work, but I've not used off shore labor in a lot of years.. I've never found the real value in it.. When I need help and look to outsource I look for other independents like me here in North America and hire them.. It's not so much about being 'affordable' as simply the amount of time I have available to me vs the workload..

It's similar to the way I ran my tech company almost 20 years ago in California.. We treat it more as a co-op arrangement than outsourcing..

[Lyrafire]

Here's are two other advantages to outsourcing: It'a an effective way to prevent burnout. And short of hiring an employee, it's an effective way to bring in someone with a strong skill set in an area in which you have little or no expertise. Managers who don't delegate are ineffective managers, whether they be website owners or bricks and mortar business owners.

While I think it's a wonderful thing to learn all you can, in the end, you don't have to do it all yourself. You also have to assess how best to spend your time. Do I really want to spend the next six months learning In-Design, a layout program? And what will I not be doing that I should be doing while I'm learning In-Design? My decision? I'm going to hire a freelance layout expert.

Feydakin, could you explain more about how you define a co-op arrangement? It sounds interesting.

Mamoon, independent freelance contractors are often reliable. I've worked as an indy contractor in various capacities for years and I've also known a lot of other ICs, most of whom were at least competent and reliable. I know I am.

MJTaylor, I agree about hiring the guy next door when you can.

Finally, if you outsource, no matter whom you work with, developing a good working relationship can help to keep things on track.

[cw1865]

At the end of the day, outsourcing is still about creating a relationship of trust. In a sense, in our specialized economy, very little ISN'T outsourced, ie. Food, car, gas, etc. They need to trust you will pay and you need to trust that they will perform. In this industry sometimes you have to kiss many toads before you find the handsome prince.

I outsource product updates and product entry to India. I'm so happy I don't have to do that anymore. Took me three tries to find somebody good. Fortunately it was the type of thing that lent itself well to trial runs, ie. If I wasn't happy, I just paid out and didn't pursue any further projects.

The problem of course comes in when it's mission sensitive and you're in the position of reliance....now you're in a quandry.

I happen to use freelancer.com, have found that useful.

[james113]

IMO, outsourcing any work to other countries is an insult to your fellow citizens. Especially in economicly trying times such as these. Outsourcing to third world countries that support child labor and sweat shops is just wrong anyway. Anyone that does send work out of this country, right now, deserves any problems that come with it.

[chandrika]

I feel like outsourcing is a bit unfair on all workers. For example, much IT work & phone support etc is outsourced to India, because they charge less, but why should they be paid less? A skill should have a value. And people who want work done should have to pay a fixed rate, not go find whoever is most in need, so that they can get the service on the cheap. I think that those in poorer countries should demand equal pay. Why should they be paid less for the same skill?

If it does not happen, eventually the countries that outsource will end up ruined, because they will be left with people with skills and no work, because all the jobs are outsourced, so its either do some low skill job for peanuts, or emigrate it seems.

[james113]

I feel like outsourcing is a bit unfair on all workers. For example, much IT work & phone support etc is outsourced to India, because they charge less, but why should they be paid less? A skill should have a value. And people who want work done should have to pay a fixed rate, not go find whoever is most in need, so that they can get the service on the cheap. I think that those in poorer countries should demand equal pay. Why should they be paid less for the same skill?

If it does not happen, eventually the countries that outsource will end up ruined, because they will be left with people with skills and no work, because all the jobs are outsourced, so its either do some low skill job for peanuts, or emigrate it seems.

Sad, but oh so true

[LD]

I know of some very large companies that have set up off shore development offices in India. I understand competition for business and profit is tight - but those companies are client and cost driven to provide a solution which include ongoing residual revenue in supporting the project once it is deployed here. What I see happening is that the cost of off shore development is not as good as it once was and slowly but surely the gap is narrowing. I've personally checked out a couple of sources for myself that at first glance appeared as though they are off shore, but they really had offices in north america :confused:. BTW - the proposed cost to do business with that off shore company that had office in north america was not as good as one would think.

[mjtaylor]

Frankly, most outsource companies that approach me these days are more expensive than locals I know. Some prices are unbelieveable. One wanted $300 to do a wordpress installation and it had no particular customization. <shakes head>

[LD]

What is interesting about the thought of outsourcing is that out of the dozens of requests I would receive (and still get) every week, that one company that I decided to research for outsourcing, in the end, was cost-prohibitive. A lot of emails went back and forth which resulted in the knowledge that I just should have made time to do the work myself. I was very busy at that particular moment and then decided to post my need to outsource to someone in this forum, but was labelled as "self-promoting myself" by an ex member, (WN) for reasons I still cannot fathom. But I digress...sorry. :(

[Paullad]

What is the consensus on outsourcing SEO? There are people who offer to create high pr links and content for pretty cheap at odesk and fiverr. Seems like the amount of time you might spend implementing this stuff yourself wouldn't be worth it.

Thanks.

[mjtaylor]

Since we already had a thread with a lot of feedback, I merged yours here.