The cons of OUTSOURCING.

galegatling Level 1

August 8, 2017, 9:11 am

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The cons of OUTSOURCING.

We all know how outsourcing works - you (or your company) obtain jobs, services or goods from other supplier instead of doing/making them yourselves. But not all outsourcing jobs are successful. When I was searching the Internet about this particular topic, I have seen a lot of hate and dismay when it comes to outsourcing, for obvious reasons.

In no particular oder, here are some of the disadvantages which of outsourcing that I found:

Potential enrage from employee unions;
Possibility of losing control of the processes of business in your company;
Not all expected results are met;
Expectations from the performance of workers (outsourced) seems low;
Criteria, deadlines and response times aren't always accurate, and
Quality of the products/services aren't met.

Now obviously those are the basic reasons and some of them are related to one another but still, we can't deny the fact that it is risky to make contracts with other people when it comes to outsourcing. However trusted a person or company is, there are still flaws. I wouldn't say it's inevitable though, but it happens.
What are your opinions about outsourcing? Are you engaged in outsourcing?

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vinaya

vinaya

having a regularly paid employees cost lot of money, you not only have to give him pay check every month, but also give him other benefits, provident funds for example. However, by oursourcing you are just paying for work, you don't have extra burden. There are cons of oursourcing.
For example, you hire a writer to write an ebook. How can you be sure that the writer will not sell that ebook to another client.

7 years ago

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galegatling

galegatling

Right. If you completely read my post, you would also find there what you mentioned. But yeah, the pros are good but the cons are the worst when it comes to outsourcing.

7 years ago

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fishmonk

fishmonk

Outsourcing is pretty normal nowadays. It is a way to not hire as many people and keep the headcount low. We also do not need to pay benefits to the contractor or freelancer. The good thing is that organizations can hire the best person for the job, The bad thing about outsourcing is that you are risking your time on freelancers who may not perform up to standards. They may just abandon the job halfway.

7 years ago

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TheArticulate

TheArticulate

This is a great point. I do something similar with my video business. In the case that I need to have a second shooter with me, I'll bring in another local freelancer to help me out. It's a life saver, and while I do have to pay them, I don't have have to consider them an employee, which means I pay them as an independent contractor and avoid having to pay payroll tax on what I give them.

But yes, when you're dealing with freelances online I think it becomes even riskier. That's why reviews and ratings are such powerful things on online freelance markets. If I needed to outsource something online, I'd look for someone who has the absolute best track record in their work, because they'll probably be most likely to get the job done right and in the right amount of time.

7 years ago

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fishmonk

fishmonk

I definitely agree with the criteria mentioned in the selection of freelancers. It is important to check the track record of freelancers which means that we have to search and filter through freelancer markets. Some freelancers do have links to their portfolio so we can have a look at the expected quality of work.However, ratings do not guarantee the character of the freelancer. Some might be hard to work with.

7 years ago

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Pixie06

Pixie06

I completely agree with your list. Furthermore, you may have to share some confidential information with the outsourcing company. They will come to know about your trade secrets. Some highly skilled employees may leave the business if certain functions are outsourced. Moreover the outsourcing company may not do the job the way you want it to be done.

7 years ago

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galegatling

galegatling

Awesome! Not everyone agrees on the posts but thanks for your feedback! :*) You are right too. Those are the real risks when it comes to outsourcing. Whatever good things that could've happened, there'll always be cons and disadvantages.

7 years ago

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TheArticulate

TheArticulate

If you choose your outsourcing option carefully and are selective about who you hire, I don't think you'll run into any major problems. The only time I outsource for my business when I need something done that I cannot do myself. A year or so ago I needed an animated logo made, so I checked out some gigs on Fiverr to see what I could get there. I found someone who had a reasonable amount of example work and stellar reviews, so I put in an order with him. He was professional about the entire transaction and my logos animated and returned to in the amount of time he promised. I can't remember but I feel like it was somewhere around 3 days turnaround time.

Just keep up with reviews and ratings for the people you're looking to hire to make sure they're the right fit for your business,

7 years ago

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galegatling

galegatling

That is correct. Choosing a partner for outsourcing jobs is definitely the most vital part when it comes to outsourcing. You should be able to choose if not the best, but at least with good track record. Recommendations and reviews are your main target when it comes to choosing your outsource partner.

7 years ago

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explorerx7

explorerx7

Outsourcing has been gradually becoming increasingly popular. It's a means by which employers may avoid the costs relating to employees welfare benefits. In most instances, there may be more than one contender for each job which could provide an alternative should the first person who got the job was unable to complete. The other positive for the employer is the employee would not be paid until the job is satisfactorily completed

7 years ago

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galegatling

galegatling

Although what you mentioned are the pros, this thread is basically for the cons part. What else do you think is or are the disadvantage/s of doing outsourcing aside from the listed ones on the main thread?

7 years ago

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augusta

augusta

outsourcing is good especially when it comes to online jobs but in the long run, it could be depressing.you outsource a job and a bad result is turned in, you give a deadline and the job is done an hour late . You keep losing sales and having a bad rating.

outsourcing only works with a trusted firm, business or individuals.Anything less than these spells doom.

7 years ago

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galegatling

galegatling

Yeah. That's why I never forget to mention those bad results on my examples. The pros are good but the cons are really worst and very frustrating if you come to think of it - specially if it happens to you or your company. That's why it's a must to find a trusted outsourcing partner to do your extra tasks.

7 years ago

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overcast

overcast

I have found that due too much outsourcing many local talents don't chance. Also the amount of workers available all the time makes it harder to earn daily wage. So lot of people work on 2$ a day. And this means it can be surely bad for them for longer period of time. So it can be safer to consider that outsourcing is labor in cheap market. So I think it has most of the cons than pros in some cases.

7 years ago

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galegatling

galegatling

2$ a day is the worst labor and knowing that is per day makes it even more depressing. If it's per hour then it would be acceptable. That kind of rate wouldn't even the person buy his meals for the day plus necessities. That's very sad to hear. :/

7 years ago

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jitendra0341

jitendra0341

The cons of outsourcing this that- There is possible loss of control over company's business process. There may arise problems relating to quality and time. The response from outsource may be sluggish with slow issue resolution. The performance may be full of shortcomings what the expectations. We can get irate customer base and enraged employees because of outsourcing.

7 years ago

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overcast

overcast

Yes that's true. The process may get affected. And also some of the time you have no control over how you manage things. You can see that there are times when it can go wrong in terms of price. That being said, it's not going to easy for many people to get into outsourcing. You need some capital for things to properly manage.

7 years ago

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pizzalover

pizzalover

Some of the cons of outsourcing are that it is possible loss of control over a company's business processes, You will have problems related to quality and turnaround time and most of the time you would have lower than expected realization of benefits and results.
It is important to mention that If you plan on outsourcing, you need to take steps to ensure that it doesn’t have a negative effect on company culture.

7 years ago

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galegatling

galegatling

If you have read carefully my post, I already stated the possibility that you have mentioned. Here it is:

2.Possibility of losing control of the processes of business in your company;

So yeah. That is mostlikely to happen if the company owner doesn't really think about it thoroughly.

7 years ago

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rhombus

rhombus

I have found that outsourcing generally ends up costing the company more. In addition, there is no company loyalty (you are just another contract), therefore high staff turnover rate. Some of the companies have clauses whereby staff are not allowed to be employed by the company (directly) for a certain amount of time, so even if a rising star does enter your doors - you can not attract them.

6 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

Most big companies are now shifting to outsourcing instead of hiring new employees maybe because of the financial considerations. An outsource is paid by his agency which in turn is paid by the hiring company. When the outsource is terminated for any reason, the hiring company has no responsibility anymore unlike when an employee resigns the company gives him retirement or separation pay. But I understand that there are caveats to be aware of when getting an outsource.

6 years ago

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dianaloren

dianaloren

Great post, galegatling! Very valuable explanation.
I would like to add that you can start with a simple web project if you want to avoid a negative outsourcing experience. For success take the following steps:

do your own investigation
make a list of all the potential web outsourcing vendors
conduct vendor screening process
analyze the data that you have collected
select outsourcing company
arrange communication and project supervision process
enjoy the benefits of outsourcing

4 years ago

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katrinasparks

katrinasparks

Although you can provide direction in regard to what you need to accomplish, you give up some control when you outsource.
There are many reasons for this, including the fact that you are often hiring a contractor instead of an employee. And since the person is not working on-site, it can be difficult to maintain the level of control you desire.

2 years ago

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