Reasons why your SME company should outsource – and common tasks that are put to freelancers

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

By James Daniels

Running a small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) company can be tough and often ends up a delicate balancing act between trying to minimize costs while still offering the best possible service to your clients.

That said, there are countless ways smaller companies can make savings without reducing their quality of service if you just know where to look – and for SMEs, one of the best and most successful ways to cut overheads is to bring in freelancers.

How outsourcing could save your SME company money

If you take a step back from your current working practices and try taking an overhead view of your operations, it’s quite likely you’ll find several duties that your workers are performing that don’t directly contribute to your profit margins. Most SMEs have limited staff and resources and one of the best ways you can keep the focus on your core services and drive greater efficiency is to isolate tasks that aren’t central to your business and then outsource them to freelancers.

Hiring freelancers won’t just reduce your operating overhead, it will increase productivity and possibly even bring additional skills to your firm. Another additional benefit of outsourcing is it reduces your employer responsibilities.

The most common services outsourced to freelancers

As mentioned above, any task your staff currently spend time on that doesn’t directly contribute to your profits should be considered ripe for outsourcing to help drive down your overhead. Some of the more common duties include:

Accounting duties: While accounts are an integral part of every company, they can still put a considerable drain on resources if purely handled in-house. Also, due to the nature of accounting work, much of the real graft comes at the end of the year, meaning accounts staff are frequently quiet for much of the time. For your end-of-year accounts, you could look to using tax preparation services from Del Real Tax Group, thereby eliminating the need to employ a full-time accountant.

IT services: Setting up, running, and maintaining an internal IT network can be hugely expensive and often puts excessive strain on untrained employees tasked with the role. Rather than struggling with inadequate equipment and falling behind your competitors, you should look to outsourcing your digital requirements to a third-party provider. Modern cloud technology has made accessing professional IT services more affordable than ever – plus it provides bulletproof security for added peace of mind.

HR support: If you’re like most firms, by far your most valuable asset will be your staff, and looking after your employees should be top of your list if you’re to maintain high levels of customer service and avoid problems with staff turnover. Hiring the services of a third-party HR firm will increase your chances of staff retention while also addressing any concerns your team might have.

Customer support: Your customers are your company’s second most valuable asset – yet maintaining high levels of support and after-sales service can often be a headache for smaller firms. Instead of trying to handle your client support services in-house, think about outsourcing to dedicated specialist teams that can deal with requests and inquiries on your behalf.

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James Daniels is a freelance writer, business enthusiast, a bit of a tech buff, and an overall geek. He is also an avid reader, who can while away hours reading and knowing about the latest gadgets and tech, whilst offering views and opinions on these topics.

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