Just recently I faced the herculean task of beginning to prepare for a move interstate (both business and family). Being a project director in a previous career, I methodically began setting out all the tasks and applying dates, resources, and times to them all. That was the fun part of the exercise.
As my partner and I were getting quotes and narrowing down our preferred providers for different services, I was amazed at the difference in standards by business owners in different service businesses. We experienced people not showing up and some answering their phone with nothing more than a “Yes?”… Aren’t businesses TRYING to make money these days? It is baffling.
One thing we both had in mind was to outsource anything that we couldn’t easily do ourselves, and which would take time away from our businesses and increase our stress. That was our ‘strategic vision’ for the move, and it proved to be a wise one.
One example is arranging a proper quote for professional cleaning. I was instantly impressed with the cleaning company and felt confident that the job would be done to a high standard. And, if I wasn’t satisfied with it, they guaranteed to come back and keep cleaning until I was happy. Now there’s a guarantee that rings my bells!
We applied the same rules for outsourcing in our business to outsourcing all the functions of our move – one of life’s most stressful activities. Most importantly, we were able to achieve our vision for the move, not just because we decided to keep our stress levels low, but because we chose the right people to help us.
What About Your Outsourcing?
In business there are many providers of services who can do the work for you… and there are many levels of service standards too. I’ve heard some awful stories from business owners about who they trusted their work to, but I’ve also heard good stories.
It pays to get an example of their work, have a trial, AND get testimonials before trusting your work to someone else. Keep your standards high and ensure you trust where your money goes. Remember that the whole purpose of outsourcing is to leverage your time to enable you to make you more money. So if it’s actually costing you in time, re-work and stress – then you better go back to the drawing board and look for better providers.