At the start of your company, you probably took on many of the administrative and management tasks yourself. You may have done your own marketing, accounting and planning. As your company grows, these tasks become more complicated and require dedicated staff with expertise. Outsourcing may be another option, but there are a few things you should consider first.

Can You Afford a Long-Term Investment?

When you outsource tasks, you can either work with freelancers or companies that specialize in specific tasks, but working with these individuals and agencies requires an investment. You need to research and find the right option for your company. As you narrow your list, request work examples to evaluate their skill sets and determine the amount of training you will need to provide.

You should think about your contractors like you would employees. They require a form of onboarding, where you tell them about your company and expectations. Then, you prepare to train the individuals or agencies to give you the results you want most.

What Tasks Can or Should You Outsource?

First, you should look at your in-house staff. What areas do they have education and experience in? Do they need some help with more administrative or redundant tasks? Where can you relieve some of their burdens? You can also look for any areas where your staff lacks the skills and knowledge to complete major projects or tasks.

What Small Tasks or Tests Can You Start With?

However, you should avoid dumping large tasks on new partners. Instead, start with small projects. Instead of having a marketing agency create a thorough plan without any knowledge of your company, look for one willing to work on a few blog posts. Also, choose tasks that you or your staff can completely train a freelancer or agency employee how to do. This often requires in-house mastery first.

Also, test the agency. You pay a lot of money for completed projects, so make sure the agency staff or freelancer can handle the job before turning it over. For example, hire multiple people to work on a small project, such as creating a blog post or creating visuals and animations for your website or social media. Then, evaluate their results and workflow. What individuals or companies could you work with long term and who gave you the best results?

Effective outsourcing can benefit your company significantly, but you need to choose the right tasks and individuals or companies to handle the work. Think about these questions as you build your outsourcing plan.