14 Crucial Business Tasks To Never Outsource
Post Written By Expert Panel, Forbes Business Council
When you’re looking to fill a skills gap or your company is growing rapidly, you may be considering outsourcing certain aspects of the business. Contracting outside the company can free up valuable time and resources, and this can improve your bottom line in the long run. However, not everything can or should be done by someone else, so you’ll have to carefully consider which tasks you pass off to others.
Below, the members of Forbes Business Council share 14 things you should never outsource in your business and why it’s so important to keep these tasks in-house.
1. New Market Business Development
I would not outsource business development in a new market. The problems we have today are rarely solved by someone that we haven’t met yet. If you don’t understand why a customer segment would buy your product, you can’t hire a nonfounder to figure that out for you. – Sean Higgins, BetterYou
2. The Final Say On Hires
Never outsource the final say on a hire. There are a lot of positives to outsourcing recruiting services, but that final say should be kept in-house. You will know best if the person you’re hiring will add value to your company and be successful in the role. – Melissa Pepper, Total Solutions, Inc.
3. Customer Service
Businesses shouldn’t outsource customer service. When it comes to customer service, the owner of the business or employees that provide the service should be responsible for contacting customers and dealing with issues. – Sameer Sharma, S. Sharma Tax, Inc.
4. Core Competencies
It would be a major mistake to outsource anything related to the core competencies of your organization. For example, if training for your resources is fundamental and critical to the growth of your business and for distinguishing your business from your competitors, having your resources trained by an external company could impact the mission and vision of your organization. – Jeannette Collazo, Lurdez Consulting Group, Inc.
5. Executive Leadership
A strong company needs a strong CEO who is 100% bought-in and committed to leading and growing that company. Companies can do well with fractional and/or outsourced talent in other leadership roles, but I don’t think that’s true for the CEO. – Kriste Goad, fuoco
6. Your Vision
You can’t outsource a vision, so you should take care that you always keep decisions about the big picture and the company’s vision on your table. This is why your top leaders have more reasons to create an impact on your company than just the basic earnings. People perform the best when they have a “why,” responsibility and a small share of their success for the company. – Matt Schuldt, TPA Media GmbH
7. Human Resources
HR is the heart and soul of the company. It’s where people are taken care of and they are able to go for advice, with problems or for performance reviews. You want the leaders in this department to understand your business and culture intimately in order to help you grow your vision and optimize performance. – Edmund Lowman, Slumber Hostel Group
8. Sales
I believe it’s rare for others to tell your story as well as your own team can nor can one totally count on others to speak with the same amount of passion and conviction. When you outsource sales, you are likely one of many clients for the contractor, so your leads will probably not get the same amount of attention. – Will Chen, P.L.A.Y. (Pet Lifestyle And You)
9. Business Relationships
With the accelerated speed of digital transformation today, technology can be used more and more effectively to manage various business functions. One thing businesses should never outsource are functions where relationships matter. This could span sales, customer success, leadership roles and others, but the trust that is established through key relationships is difficult to replace. – Raazi Imam, Sia Partners
10. Signing Off On Expenses
It is critical as a business owner to watch each and every transaction that your company incurs to maintain profitability. Having someone else sign off on expenses can lead to scenarios such as theft, fraud or serious negligence. Reviewing and keeping track of expenses can be time-consuming, but it is time well spent to understand your business operations! – Maurice Harary, The Bid Lab
11. Marketing Strategy
It’s okay to outsource running Facebook and Google ads, but you should never have an outsider plan your marketing strategy. You should be the one most familiar with your company and brand, and this is one of those things that you have to do internally. – Byung Eun Min, Vintorio
12. Tech Public Relations
I always see tech companies outsourcing PR to large firms, and most of the time the person handling the PR is not intimately familiar with the technology. This results in a disconnect between the PR person and journalists. When possible, I would recommend that PR is kept in-house. – Antoine Tardif, Unite.AI
13. Account Management
Never outsource account management with existing clients. They want to see and feel that personal touch. The moment outsiders are dealing with their investments and commitments to your firm, you’re suggesting they’re not important enough for your time in-house. – Michael Graziano, Global Degree Academy Inc.
14. Your Competitive Advantage
Strategic outsourcing is embraced by companies to improve their competitive position. The question of what not to outsource comes down to the proprietary and strategic differentiating capabilities that would cause a company to lose its competitive advantage if shared with competitors. Examples of this include Walmart’s pricing strategy or Pfizer’s ability to develop and market pharmaceutical compounds. – Sindhu Kutty, Kuroshio Consulting
Forbes Article Link: 14 Crucial Business Tasks To Never Outsource