Difference
Outsourcing refers to acquiring goods or professional services from expertise that is not from within the company. In house refers to something that is done from within the organization or company and is not supplied from an external source. In this article, we will be measuring the pros and cons of both outsourcing and in house services.
Outsourcing – Pros
- Time and cost saving
Perhaps the number one reason why companies choose to outsource services is because it can help save time and cost. When a company outsources services, they save the time required to train a new team from scratch. Also, they can save money on salary and operational cost.
- Specialised expertise
Professionals will have the experience and knowledge to guide the business through the project development. As these professionals specialize in particular niche products or services, they are able to provide in depth knowledge that not many will know. In the field of outsource, there are also many potential partners available for businesses to compare, evaluate and choose from.
Most of the time these expertise have experience accumulated from past projects where evaluation and reviews are opened to the public. By doing so, businesses can better evaluate and compare different potential partners to pick the one that best matches with their operating model and business goals.
- Employee upskill
With an outsource team, businesses can make better staff allocations that help to increase sales and profit. Also, employees can take the opportunity from allocation to upskill and learn a new skill set.
- Support
Issues that rise from the project even when it is launched, will always have the professional support from the outsource team. In the event where a particular addition is required from consumers, businesses can always turn to the professionals from the outsource team to come up with a plan to meet consumer needs.
Inhouse – Pros
- Better understanding
In house team will have a better understanding of what is the best match to fit the business concept as well as what is required to meet the needs of their consumers and make the end product closer to perfection.
- Personal team of expertise
With an own team of expertise, the company is also increasing its skill sets and experience. Training a team of your own expertise may be time consuming but the value will definitely be of higher worth. The efficiency and time to solve any issues occurring from the project can also be accounted for at the first minute.
- Control
One of the more obvious benefits of in house would be having a better management and control as compared to outsource. The team from within can acquire, analyse and report data without any concealing. Businesses can then monitor, plan and control cost and time for the project to go smoothly.
Outsourcing – Cons
- Credibility
Having numerous potential partners in the field may be a good thing but it is at the same time, one disadvantage too. Too many makes it hard to choose from and businesses may find themselves unable to commit hundred percent trust to these potential partners.
- Cost
It makes it easy for businesses to overspend on outsourcing because of the hidden cost or any expenses that come overlooked due to the complexity of the project.
- Not the only partner
You are probably not the only clients that these outsource professionals are offering their services to. With that said, it means that issues arising from the project will probably take time to be solved.
Inhouse – Cons
- Complexity
One of the cons for in house solutions is that the complexity of the project may be too much for the team. Without the knowledge and experience, businesses will only waste the time and cost that is invested in this fruitless project.
- Knowledge not acquirable
Some of the niche functions or more in depth work might not be achievable because the in house team does not have the knowledge and do not specialise in it. These knowledge could be cyber security or even a specific tool that can help businesses meet the needs of consumers.
- Unhappy staff
The business will have to allocate staff to find resources, do research and help kick start the project. Not every individual appreciates the change and opportunity for upskill. While it is possible for businesses to hire new staff for the project, the money spent on salaries might as well be used for hiring an outsourced team.
Conclusion
Perhaps the best solution for business owners is to understand the most basic needs of their project. If you are a small company that has just kicked start with a few employees and experience, it would be good to look for outsource within a monetary budget. Because manpower and employee experience might not be sufficient to fulfill the project requirement.
However, if you are a big enterprise with many experience in the field and more than sufficient employees, it would be recommended to train an in-house team because your business will be operating the project on a much bigger scale.
