What I Learned From Outsourcing
by I have never seen the need to outsource any tasks. We used to joke about outsourcing the repetitive task of marking students’ work in my previous job as a teacher. But now that I’m working from home, I feel that I have got to do everything myself. How wrong could I be! Outsourcing has a lot of benefits which I learned from a recent experience.
Overcoming Fear
I have always been afraid of technology and anything new. Outsourcing was new to me. I was even more wary of outsourcing tasks to people I don’t know, who lives half way around the world from where I am. But recent events have forced me to outsource article-writing due to time constraint. So I signed up for a service provider website, Elance and post a job. Having no previous experience in this area, I was surprised that the website guides me every step of the way. I was able to complete the entire experience, from the beginning to the end, without any mishap.
What was I so fearful about? I had to ask myself that question when I completed everything. I guess I was fearful that the other party might run away with my money, but it did not happen, mainly due to the fact that the system kept both buyers and service providers in a safe and secure environment. Nothing to worry at all!
Saves Time
Outsourcing frees me up some time to complete other important things I needed to do, such as planning. Once I outsourced, my mind was free of the torture from the daunting tasks of writing 10 articles in a short space of time. I had more time tothink about more pressing issues.
Cheaper Labour
Outsourcing your tasks to people in the third world countries may be a cheaper source than finding someone within the vicinity of your location. Some of them are willing to work for just US$1 per hour. Although I would be wary of these people because the quality of their work is untested, they can still provide a cheaper alternative than what’s available near you. You can always check their credibility through the reviews of these service providers to find out if they can do the job to your satisfaction. Some of the people from India, for instance, are excellent computer programmers and experts in IT.
Delegation
I have learnt a lot about delegation. Although I took on some supervisory role in my previous job, it is different with outsourcing to people from other countries. Your main form of communication is the e-mail or Private Message Boards provided by the website. You need to have the intricacies of the project spelt out clearly to ensure full understanding of tasks in written communication. I learnt about giving specific instructions to narrow down the chances of mistakes and errors my service provider might make. Outsourcing has allowed me to learn about being a leader, being your own boss, taking ownership of your job, and many more.
Motivation
My service provider was very quick in responding to all my messages. Once we settled on the business terms and conditions, she started right away and promised to get back to me in a few days. She came back to me in two days with all the articles completed. I was pushed and became more motivated to complete my other tasks, to match the completion of the articles. Subsequently, I gave her pointers for revision of the articles and she responded within hours with revised versions of the articles. Outsourcing has kept me on my toes and motivated me to do more things much faster.
There’s so many things to learn when you step into a new environment. I started out feeling afraid and fearful of many possible mishaps that might happen, but none of it was founded. I became a smarter worker and emerge a more confident person. All thanks to outsourcing!
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