A company, whether it is a multinational corporation, a small to medium-sized organization or a freelancer, always has a core business it is built around. The core is its area of expertise. Outside of this area of expertise are numerous other tasks that have to be taken care of like accounting or even simple tasks like updating the agenda on a daily basis. Most companies, however, are not specifically experts in all of those tasks surrounding their core business. As a result of this, bottlenecks can occur. We are talking about time- and energy-consuming activities preventing the company from focusing on their main business area.
Smart time management
Managing time in a smart way is essential for any successful company. For a business it is important to understand all the elements of what needs to be done, how and when. As soon as this is clear, it can be easily decided what tasks need to be done in-house and what should better be delegated or outsourced. Outsourcing is a long-time investment and goes hand in hand with successful time management.
There are two different categories of tasks where it pays off in the long run to hire an expert. Firstly, there are small tasks in a company’s daily operation that do not require specific expertise. However, it takes a considerable amount of time to execute them. In Britt’s case, our translator from Denmark, these tasks comprise filling in invoices or updating her work calendar. Apart from those easy but very time-consuming tasks there are tasks that require special skills and knowledge like handling administration issues. While many companies try to take care of those tasks in-house in order to save money, they are spending a lot of time educating themselves about topics that will never generate any money. In the long run it will ultimately save the company money to hire an expert for those tasks in order to fully focus on business areas that do generate money. A virtual Project Assistant like Project SoKo can take care of tasks like these.
Let’s get technical
Every activity is the sum of various tasks and every task can be broken down into three components:
- The decision: what has to be done, how and when?
- The execution: performing the work
- The control: was it done properly and on time? Does it meet the quality requirements?
Britt, our Danish translator, has to take care of various tasks like:
- Create a full profile (website) to be reached by (potential) clients
- Check offers she receives (instructions, volume)
- Check and confirm schedules from customers
- Update her calendar and plan translations
- Translate texts
- QA her translation
- Send the translation back
- Create an invoice
- Check whether the invoice has been paid
Let’s have a look at the task of creating an invoice (no. 8) from Britt’s list of tasks as a translator. We can clearly define the different components of this task. The decision is to define what services to invoice, which invoice template to use as well as when to send the invoice and where to send it to. The execution part is to collect the data to fill in the invoicing template and the control is to cross check the data on the invoice in order to send it out.
Who is the expert?
Having defined each task and its component, it is to decide who is best to perform it. Britt for example, is the expert of task number 5, the actual translation of the text. She is the expert in performing decision, execution and control of this task. For other tasks like invoicing, however, Britt is not necessarily the best at performing it, e.g. she is a trained translator, not a project manager nor an administration assistant. Therefore tasks like invoicing or creating work schedules are likely to be more time-consuming and error-prone for her than for an expert in that field.
Outsourcing - the perfect solution
Delegating or outsourcing a task does not mean it is out of your hands. It means that you get time-consuming and unprofitable tasks out of your way. Even for tasks where you are not the expert you are still in charge of some of the components of it, e.g. you decide and control but the execution is not your field of expertise and will be performed by an expert. Delegation is a long-time investment. Many entrepreneurs think they have to do everything themselves to make sure it’s done right. It’s critical to learn to let go because in the long run good outsourcing choices will make you the expert of all your tasks and free you to focus on your core activities.
A - Be the expert
If you are not the best at performing a task, then you can find an expert to do it for you in order to become an expert of all your activities as a company. This is the concept of outsourcing. In Project SoKo Britt has found an expert for tasks like invoicing, gathering payment details from translators or updating work schedules. Easy but very efficient outsourcing solutions tailored to her individual needs that make sure she performs all of her tasks in the most efficient way.
B - Discuss your needs
The key to successful outsourcing is being absolutely clear about your expectations, needs and goals. The clearer the component decision is expressed, the better the execution will be and the faster the control can be done. Take the necessary time to instruct, teach and give clear feedback in order to expect the best results possible. Project SoKo allocates the execution to their Associates, who are experts in the domain, and train them according to the decision you define. As outsourcing experts with extensive experience Project SoKo will guide you and help with the professional and efficient design of the decision.
C - Save money and time
By outsourcing the above mentioned tasks you will not only notice the overall improved quality of your activity but the fact that you are saving money and time by not having to take care of the execution, which is usually the most time-consuming component of a task. The investment in a virtual Project Assistant like Project SoKo, who offers competitive rates and high levels of quality, is relatively small in comparison to the valuable and revenue-generating time you will be freeing up by outsourcing tasks that prevent you from growing as a business.
