As your company grows, figuring out the most effective enterprise project management tools to help you stay organized and manage both your in-person and remote team members is crucial to the success of your business.
First, congratulations on your booming business! Growth can be exciting (and, at times, super overwhelming), so be sure to stop and give yourself credit for all of your successes that have allowed you to expand.
Next, if you plan to continue growing, consider the areas of your business that could use some improvement.
More often than not, these relate to expanding your team. Finding – and then hiring – additional team members for small and mid-sized companies can be a major challenge. The old saying that ‘people are a company’s most important asset’ is even truer when you’re talking about a smaller company working through those growth spurts where each team member must be ready to wear many hats.
Plus, as a growing company, you may have the added challenge of being in that spot where you have too much work for the people you have, but not quite enough work for another full-time position. Or maybe you simply need an expert to help you complete one short-term project.
Enter remote teams, freelancers and outsourcing – and the enterprise project management tools and tips that help you stay sane.
The Power of Outsourcing Team Members
What’s the best way to hire experienced, talented team members for less money?
No, this isn’t a trick question.
The simple answer is to outsource. Why limit your business to the pool of candidates in your immediate geographic area? In 2018, if you have internet access, then you also have access to an incredible number of qualified candidates for your business, whether they are sitting across town or across the globe.
Consider some of the following benefits to outsourcing your next staff member:
- A larger pool of candidates with the exact job experience or project experience you’re looking for.
- Less expensive payroll costs (not having to provide contract workers with things like healthcare, retirement and other full-time benefits means major savings for your small business).
- No more unnecessary office space costs – freelancers work from their own homes or coworking spaces!
- The ability to easily expand your team for a limited period of time or quickly expand to accommodate unpredictable growth spurts, depending on your specific client or project needs.
Sound good so far? Let’s dive into each of these benefits a little deeper.
1. Discover A Larger Pool of Experienced and Qualified Team Members
One of the greatest benefits of outsourcing roles is the ability to bring on new team members who are specialized in a particular area, with the exact experience you are looking for.
Although in-person, full-time staff may be important when it comes to having a deep understanding of your company, its history, values and general “how to’s,” independent contractors may provide superior support on more industry-related, or project-specific tasks.
For example, if you’ve recently taken on a new client in the tech realm, it doesn’t matter how well a team member understands the history of your small company- it matters that they can code the new sophisticated software program that your client needs within 30 days.
A contractor who specializes in software coding can easily be found if you know where to look online and properly vet their credentials.
Plus, long contracts give freelancers the opportunity to spend more time working with you and getting to know your company. This then sets the stage for a successful long-term arrangement or a possible lead for a remote employee in the future.
It’s also proven that when people are allowed to work from home, they’re more efficient and happier than when they’re in the office. In fact, a study from Staples discovered that employees who worked from home experienced 25 percent less stress… (and) reported that they were able to maintain a better work-life balance.
More than just tapping into a larger pool of qualified, happy applicants, though, outsourcing can also affect your company’s bottom line.
2. Save Your Business Some Serious Money
Gone are the days where companies had to factor in relocating costs for employees when it came time to hire qualified candidates for their business.
The freedom economy has changed that – and both companies and the people that work for them are reaping the rewards.
By outsourcing for specific tasks or even long-term projects, you’re able to hire someone wherever they live, and communicate via email, video conferencing, and your enterprise project management software to get the job done with less overhead.
Below are some additional ways that outsourcing can save you some serious dough:
- Say goodbye to having to rent an office space when your team works remotely.
- Eliminate office equipment costs from desks and chairs to sticky notes and pens.
- Reduce commute time for employees and the possible need to reimburse parking fees.
- Find people for only the duration you need them. Have enough work for 35 hours a week but not 40? Not a problem.
So, what if you’re not a service-based company?
If your business offers products, rather than services, you may also benefit from outsourcing some of your admin and project management tasks. If you have a website, do online marketing or run ads, these are all areas you can look to outsource first.
After all, consider your labor costs to employ someone where you live.
Could you benefit from outsourcing some of these tasks to another part of the country (or the world) that is cheaper than hiring within your town? Most likely, the answer is yes.
Adding to that, let’s explore that idea of hiring team members only when you need them for specific tasks and time frames a bit more.
3. Expand Only When You Need To
Outsourcing gives your business incredible freedom to hire qualified candidates only when you need them.
Independent contractors are available for work in a variety of ways, from monthly retainers to one-off projects. And the scope of work you want a freelancer to do for your team is entirely up to you.
Do you need someone for 30 hours a week to handle an array of tasks? Or simply to help your team complete one specific project during a time crunch?
The sooner you’re able to narrow the scope of the type of work you want someone to help you with, the easier it will be for you to find what you’re looking for.
When it comes time to hire a freelancer, be sure you’re opening your search up to the largest number of candidates possible by including a variety of freelance work-related phrases in your job posts, while also being specific about the expertise you are looking for.
For example, use keywords such as “independent contractor for graphic design project,” “long-term freelance copywriter,” “remote web designer” or “PPC marketing contract work.”
These are the keywords that contractors and freelancers will be looking for when combing through projects and opportunities and will give applicants a preview of the project before even clicking on the job.
Leverage an Enterprise Project Management Tool to Help you Outsource
Outsourcing can be a valuable and cost-effective way to scale your company, but many business owners and managers are then left with the challenge of knowing how to manage it all in an efficient way.
Rather than filling your inbox with a lot of back-and-forth emails on multiple tasks, look to an enterprise project management platform like Spera that does the heavy lifting for you.
With our tools, your team can manage projects and colleagues remotely, communicate in real time, track progress on tasks, clock time and privately invoice clients, while giving you the ability scale your business seamlessly. If you’re ready to harness the power of outsourcing, or are simply looking for a better solution for your remote team, schedule a demo today and learn more!
