So why are people outsourcing?

If buzzwords like ‘downsizing’ and ‘cutbacks’ are doing the rounds in your organisation, you’re not alone. You may in turn be looking for some smart alternatives to big overheads for your business, which is where outsourcing comes in. The following are a few reasons outsourcing aspects of your business may be the way forward for 2009…

If you need to downsize your team
You may have had to cut overheads by downsizing your team, but all too often this will leave a surfeit of work. When it becomes clear that its simply too much to handle the alternative is to seek part time or virtual support to help fill that gap. Outsourcing offers as little or as much support as you need.

If you have restricted workspace
If you don’t have the space you need, outsourcing is perfect for taking care of for example, accounting, sales or office support, which would otherwise take up valuable desk space.

If you’d like to improve your image
You may just be starting out; maybe run your business from home? Outsourcing a 24 call answering service or virtual PA support can give clients the impression your business is a bigger and more impressive operation.

If you’d like to try before you buy
It could be that you are moving into an area you haven’t before – web-based expansion is a common example. Outsourcing at this stage means you can have ‘taster’ of this new area and see if it is something you are sure is worthy of investing in full time staff/technology etc of your own.

To cope with the busy times!
Outsourcing is perfect for when you need support to cope with your business peaks, but can’t justify the cost for a fulltime team. A good example may be a telesales team to help you drive Christmas or new financial year sales.

At Tailored Time, we think the key to making outsourcing work is to try to allow them as much time as you can and to ensure they are well briefed and understand your business inside out. We help lots of clients with all types of outsourced business help, including book keeping, project management, web, PA and sales support… Give our team a call on 0845 075 1044 to see if we can’t help point you in the right direction for more nimble business in 2009.

TT

Winter warmers

January: duvet or not duvet?
OK. It’s January, it’s cold, it’s back to work and frankly it's the time of year when if you’re anything like us you’d probably like to hibernate under your duvet at least until the weather cheers up a bit… and just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, the business press has it that 2008 has merely sniffed at the economic horrors that 2009 is set to bring. Oh dear.

BUT WAIT - what’s that noise?
Ah yes. That’s the sound of you, me and every other self-respecting SME owner snapping out of the winter doldrums and looking for new ways to keep on motivating our teams, inspiring our clients and to keep driving our business forward.

Winter warmers
We’re keeping our eyes peeled for news and information - aka winter warmers - to help you on your way. This week we are delighted to see news that commercial property providers are under increased pressure to release some of the pressure business is under at the moment. The Pru – one of the UK’s biggest commercial landlords is leading the way to help retail and other commercial clients with measures including reduced service charges and new, more manageable payment plans for rent. Even if the Pru isn’t your landlord, it is expected the effects of the benefits they offer will cascade pretty quickly onto other commercial landlords, ultimately offering benefits for anyone that rents commercial property, to pass onto clients and staff.

Need to know business news
The Times has a rather good, ‘Need to know’ section as part of its online offering. Follow this link to keep abreast of breaking news on commercial property benefits and more at:

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/need_to_know/

That’s all for now – so keep warm, keep your chin up and as always, keep us in the loop with your news by posting your comments below.

TT