As a person who’s been in the outsourcing industry for the last ten years, I have learned a thing or two of what are the right ways that you can outsource.
If you are someone who is thinking of outsourcing or thinking of hiring people from overseas, these are the top tips that I have that I learned from my own mistakes when it comes to hiring and managing people online.
- Outsource The Right Tasks
It is very essential that you start with what problem is the person that you’re hiring for solving for you in your business.
When you are hiring, you are looking to solve some sort of problem that your business has. So you always start with knowing what tasks you can give or outsource to someone that would actually help your business. You must make sure that these tasks are repeatable, needs to get done in your business, and can expand into something more.
- Set Clear Objectives
When you are the employer, it is your responsibility to give your employees clarity of what they’re going to be doing moving forward. It is your job to give them the goal of where you want to go and what you want to accomplish in working with you.
When you’re outsourcing, you’re probably not going to be in the same time zone, or you don’t have the same work schedule, so you have to keep in mind that you have to set that clarity with them at the very start and check in on their goals, making sure that they actually do what they’re supposed to be doing and making sure that they have the clarity to keep working even when you’re not online.
- Create Documentation
You must make sure that you have some sort of documentation about how things are done in your business in the form of a Standard Operating Procedure. This will help you and your outsourced team be able to have the same results repeatedly.
Basically, try to take apart the different tasks that your employees are doing and make sure the process is being documented. So in case your employee gets sick or takes a leave, there is documentation that you can go through and use as a guide for you or for someone else to take over with the tasks.
- Consider All Outsourcing Costs
When you’re outsourcing, there is definitely reduced cost because you don’t have to get an office, pay for the office utility bills, for equipment and transport allowances for your employees since they are all working online.
However, you do need to account for the cost of them being all online. Examples of the costs you might incur are the online tools or software your employees would need to use and the communication platforms. You would also need to spend materials and resources you would need in training your employees.
As the business owner, you want to be prepared that, yes, it might be a lower cost to outsource, but what are the other cost that you really have to think about to make this outsourcing work. You have to consider these costs so you are prepared to cover them as you hire more people to work with you online.
- Filter Incoming Candidates
As you start hiring online, you need to learn how to filter the right applicants. Basically, you need to be able to watch out for different tell-tale signs if the applicant is going to work out for you or not.
One of the tips that I usually give is to have like an easter egg on your job ad like you ask them to use a specific subject line or a keyword inside their application letter to make sure that they actually read and understood your job ad and not just mass applying for different jobs.
Make sure that you can filter them right off the bat to save yourself the headache of hiring someone who probably does not have the skills that you need for the job.
- Train Your Employees
You want to look at the pieces of training that your employees would need to keep going. There is always going to be an evolution of the skills that they have, so you want to make sure that you line up what are the things that they need to know and learn about your industry and about their skills, including their soft skills.
When working online, one of the main soft skills that your employee needs to be trained in is knowing how to effectively give and receive feedback. This will ensure lesser mistakes with the tasks and responsibilities moving forward.
- Communication Systems
What I mean by a communication system is for you to create ways on how you can routinely check in with your employees with less effort.
For us with 2xYou, we have a daily report, where all our assistants give us an overview of what was done and what is planned for the next day. We also have a weekly planning agenda where we plan out the week and we also have a monthly coaching call.
With these communication lines, we are able to see if there is anything that they might need or if they have a bottleneck that’s hindering them from getting things done.
As the employer, it’s your responsibility to set the right cadence for you when it comes to communicating with your employees so then both of you have that clarity of how to suggest or give feedback effectively. Having these communication routines set in place will help smooth over whatever it is that you or your employees are struggling with.
- Check Your Resources
This means to simply keep in mind what your resources are. These could be software, training, or information you have with fellow employees. These are resources or tools that your employees can tap into, to help them with their daily tasks and projects. You must keep track of these digital resources that your employees have and use, so you can easily give more resources if they need them.
- Effective Note-Taking System
What I mean with this, is that you must create a way that everyone knows how to take notes inside your company especially when you have digital meetings. The actions steps are clear after the meeting and when to report and escalate things. Basically, have a way that people can take notes, so things are still well documented even when things are moving really fast.
- Actually Care About Them
Nowadays, when it comes to working from home, anyone can find a job anywhere easily. But it is rare to find an employer who actually cares for their employees, their goals, and their well-being. If you want people to actually care about your business, you have to show that you care about your employees as well. It can’t be just a one-sided thing where they give you and your business their all, but they’re not getting anything back from you.
It is so important that you build a good relationship with your employees so things can work out in the long run, and even if they do leave, they leave on good terms. They will be able to recommend good people to work for you or they can give you a recommendation or testimonial on how great you are as an employer.
You want to make sure to just even ask “how are you doing?” or “do you need help with anything?”. Asking these questions is already powerful enough to be able to show your employees that you are involved and care about their well-being and growth.
Getting your online business can surely be challenging but the benefits you will reap-in in the long run will definitely all be worth it. By keeping in mind the tips mentioned above, you can worry less and enjoy more the journey of making your online business succeed.
If you have valuable tips or information on ensuring a successful online business, comment below, and let’s keep this conversation running!
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