There’s a point in most businesses where you realise you can’t actually do everything yourself. True, at the start it does make sense to handle it all in-house because you’ll be keeping costs down, staying close to the details, and creating systems from scratch, but as you get bigger, trying to manage every single thing internally can become expensive, inefficient, and, ultimately, a distraction from what you’re meant to be doing. With that in mind, keep reading to find out more about how businesses decide what not to manage internally. 

The Hidden Cost Of Doing Everything In-House

On paper, doing things internally can definitely look cheaper because you’ve already got the staff, you’ve already got the systems, and outsourcing can just seem like an extra cost – one you might not be able to meet at the start. 

But the fact is that managing things internally comes with its own hidden costs like training, software, compliance, mistakes, downtime, not to mention the fact that your team will be working on things that aren’t the core of your business, which could mean you end up falling behind. If that’s the case, it makes more sense to spend the money on expert help than spend it on fixing mistakes and trying to catch up. 

Start With Your Core Strengths

A good way to decide what to keep internal is to look at what your business is actually good at. What’s your core product or service? What makes you different to other businesses, especially your competitors? 

Anything that directly affects your USP (unique value proposition, or the thing you do that no one else does) is something that usually needs some internal focus on it, and everything else is something you could choose to outsource if you need to. For example, if you’re a marketing agency, the creative work is the core, and payroll, IT infrastructure, and facilities management probably aren’t, so they can be outsourced more easily. 

Complexity Is A Big Signal

Some of the things you need to do in your business can start off simple, but over time, as more and more regulations and technology come in, they can get quite complicated. So although you might have been able to manage them internally at the beginning, it could be that eventually you need specialist help to do it, especially if things are always changing and you need someone who’s up to date on those changes. 

Think of things like cybersecurity, tax compliance, health and safety, data protection, or medical emergencies – these things change all the time, including the equipment you might need to use to ensure they’re done right, and because they’re important, they’re also audited regularly. You need to do things properly, and sometimes outsourcing is the only way to ensure that’s the case. 

Risk Vs Control

Another reason why businesses often keep things in-house is that they want to keep control, and that’s totally understandable – it’s why handing something over to a third party can feel risky and definitely uncomfortable. 

But the thing to remember is that there’s also a risk in not having experts involved because a badly managed internal system can be more dangerous than a well-managed outsourced one. For example, emergency medical equipment in a workplace needs to be maintained, monitored, and ready to use when you need it, and a lot of organisations choose to work with leaders in AED management because the risk of something failing when it’s needed is too high to leave to chance. 

In the end, control doesn’t always mean doing it yourself – sometimes control means choosing the right partner or setting clear expectations. 

Scale Changes Everything

The reality is that what works really well for a ten person team may well totally break down when there are fifty people trying to use the system – or five hundred. Internal processes that were fine when everyone could be in the same room, for example, can become absolutely unmanageable if you’ve got people in lots of different locations, not to mention anyone working remotely. 

The point is, as your business gets bigger, the admin tasks you have to do tend to get bigger – they multiply. That includes needing an IT department, payroll, facilities, procurement, training, compliance, and potentially a lot more – they all get a lot more complex. 

At a certain point, having internal teams for all those things is just doing to slow you down, and that’s why outsourcing some functions can actually make things easier and make you a lot more flexible and even profitable. 

Expertise Is Expensive To Build 

Hiring specialists internally is going to cost a lot, and not just salaries, either – you’ve also got to take things like benefits, training, and retention, and it all adds up. And in some fields, good talent is hard to find and even harder to keep. 

But what if you only need a specialist skill some of the time? If that’s the case then you probably don’t need employees, you need an outsourcing partner who can do the work as and when, and that’s probably going to end up being cheaper than hiring someone, especially if half the time they’ve not got anything to do. 

Consistency Is Most Important 

Some things need to be done consistently and, crucially, correctly, every time, and the problem is that internal teams can really struggle with that if they’re doing jobs that aren’t actually their main roles. 

Outsourced providers are usually going to have dedicated systems, processes, and accountability all in place, and all designed to make things consistent, which is exactly what you want. It’s the best way to reduce errors, and a business that has fewer errors can focus on everything else. 

Final Thoughts 

Deciding what not to manage internally is a hugely important thing to do for any business – and you’re not losing control of showing any signs of weakness for doing it. What you’re doing is being sensible and mature. 

If you can focus on your core strengths and use experts for the specialist jobs, you’ll have the best chance of growing.