How To Outsource? Step 5 Of 7: The Must Use Shortcut Formula To Choose The Right Outsourcing Model

Shaun: If you don’t have time, here’s a heuristic analysis you can do to speed up the process or check that the way you’re thinking is correct. Essentially what you do is the work that you are thinking about offshoring, just ask yourself this hypothetical question: if hypothetically you were not to offshore this work and had to get it done locally, what would be the most productive and practical way? If you’re not going to offshore this work.

Well, you’d have three models again available to you essentially, you’d have three models again. So you’d have you could hire an employee to do it or a contractor; you could hire a freelancer; or you could outsource it to a third party company.

Whichever model you would choose out of these three, that model — you’re choosing that model because it’s going to give you the highest levels of productivity and the best results. That’s why you would choose it.

So this model that you choose is what I would call your most preferred method of working. What you want to do is you want to take that model and apply offshore. Let’s say for instance, if your most preferred method of working locally was to outsource the work, then you also want to apply that when you’re offshoring. So you want to offshore outsource your work. And that is because for whatever model you have locally, you will have an equivalent offshore model as well. So you should always stick to the same model because the same model offshore is going to give you the best results as would be the case locally if you were getting the work done here in the UK.

The difference between offshore model and local model is not in the process, and that’s very key, that’s very, very important to appreciate. The difference is not in the process; the difference is in that you now work remotely. Now people think the processes are different because they are choosing different models. If I was to here an employee here in the UK, and then I decided to hire a freelancer abroad, I am going to get a different experience because I haven’t stuck to the same model. That’s why it is so important to stick to the same process and the same model, and that will definitely give you much better results.

It is very important to also appreciate that the shortcut that I have just mentioned it is a shortcut, so there can be exceptions. So if you are applying this rule, it’s again — it’s something which I would only advise doing in terms of as kind of double checking your work, a bit like how your math teacher would tell you in school to double check that you got your calculations correct.

That’s what this heuristic analysis is really designed for. But if you are short of time, it is something that you can apply. The golden rule really when it comes to offshoring is that the objective of offshoring is to reduce the costs of your preferred method of working, not to change your preferred method of working. If you keep that in mind, offshoring will definitely be or can certainly be a very fruitful or productive exercise for you.