OK, you should now be convinced about the values of outsourcing – having of course read our previous blogs on its rise amongst businesses just like yours, the successes resulting from it, and the reasons why it’s a good idea for your creative agency.
You’ve decided to outsource some non core or non critical tasks and processes of your creative agency, to free up your and your team’s time to focus on more important parts of the business. Splendid. Now what?
How to outsource, in practical terms?
Key Things To Remember When Outsourcing
There are two key things you need to remember when you’re considering how to outsource – or one if you consider the two are interrelated:
1) Plan exactly what you’re going to outsource and how that will affect your current set up;
2) Know exactly what you want doing, and giving the most detailed brief you can possibly imagine.
Do these two things well, and everything else should fall into place neatly, giving you a really great outsourcing result, which is exactly why so many small businesses and creative agencies already outsource so much.
So, where do you start?
Step 1 – Plan Within Your Own Business
Firstly you need to understand your own goals and objectives as a business, as a whole, and then decide exactly what you’re going to outsource. How will that outsourcing then impact your core objects? Talk to your staff, identify areas where you are weak, and plan to outsource around there, so your team can focus on the things they’re good at.
Make sure everyone knows what to expect, and how the outsourcing will affect their current roles.
From the outset, you need a carefully defined end goal or finished product, so that everyone understand what they’re working towards.
Step 2 – Do Your Research
There are dozens of different freelance websites out there; some will work for you and some won’t. Some offer specialist help in a certain area, graphic design for example, whilst others a more generic marketplace where you can put a request out and see what comes back to you.
Check out small simple jobs sites, like Fiverr or DoMyStuff, and have a play around with all encompassing ones like Elance, ODesk and People Per Hour. They all have slightly different set ups, slightly different structures, slightly different payment methods, and slightly different clientele. Try them all out, and you’ll find ones you really don’t like, and ones that fit.
Posting jobs is usually free, so go wild if you want to. But before you assign the job to someone, you’ve got more research to do.
Choose your freelancer carefully. You can read reviews, check out their ratings, ask them for recommendations, and samples of their previous work. Don’t be afraid to ask. Give them a small test to do to see what they’re capable of, which they’ll most likely do free of charge on the promise of further work.
If not, start off with a small, cheap task, and build up some trust and rapport. Breaking down larger tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks is a great practice to implement anyway.
Step 3 – Communicate
Here’s where your brief comes in. Assign a member of the team who is responsible for the oversight of the project, and make sure they communicate a crystal clear, detailed brief.
Define the results you expect to see exactly, and set appropriate milestones along the way to check the work is being completed correctly, and that both parties are happy with the process.
Many outsourcing sites have basic project management setups built into them, but if you’re not happy with, then use one you’re familiar with, like Basecamp, Freedcamp, Zoho or Workflow Max. You’re a creative agency, you’ll probably already have a favourite.
With a detailed brief and contract, everything is recorded and set in stone, so if problems do develop in the worst case scenario, you’ll have something to fall back on, and won’t need to pay if you’re not completely happy.
Above all, just talk to your freelancer. Ask questions and encourage them to be asked back. It makes everything much easier, trust us.
Step 4 – Try it, Test it, See The Results
Finally, all you can do is try it. Test out a few different projects, and see what happens. Failures could happen, or the results might not be as good as they should be. Just learn from any mistakes you make, and try again. You will find the right task to outsource and a great person who can do it.
Remember, it’s cheaper than hiring the wrong person for a full time job on your team.
Make It Work For You
And when it does work, you get great success stories like these, and all the reasons you decided to outsource in the first place – like giving you more time and improving overall customer service – make it worthwhile. Because when it works, and it will work if you follow these steps, the results are often even better than you hoped for, and your creative agency will just go from strength to strength.
Image courtesy of The Vancouver Film School
