In the tech industry outsourcing is as popular as ever. If done right, it can help your agency in multiple ways. There are situations when it can even be essential to outsource to stay competitive.
One area that can present challenges for agencies is web development. There are thousands of outsourcing companies. Despite, some of them offering guaranteed high quality service, outsourcing is sometimes associated with questionable quality, due to the abundance of service providers. As a result, many agencies are hesitant or uncertain about whether they should outsource.
To provide greater clarity about the topic, I will explore the possible scenarios where outsourcing might be a good option for the agency. So, without further ado, let’s dive into it and see if outsourcing is right for your agency.
When to outsource web development
Before deciding on outsourcing, you need to consider how it will benefit your agency. There are different scenarios when hiring out may be a good choice.
One of the most common scenarios is when an agency has increased demand for web development services. It can happen at the early stages of the business when demand exceeds your internal capacity and you face tight project deadlines. In this situation, we suggest looking at your agency just like a bakery, that might outsource the packaging material. So the goal is to outsource non-core operations and focus on core activities to support growth.
Another scenario to think about outsourcing is when your agency lacks expertise. Your developers may not possess a particular skill and you may not have enough time and budget to wait for your team to learn and familiarize themselves with this technology. Outsourcing can provide access to a pool of global professionals that are more advanced than your in-house staff.
Yet another case is if you are running a small agency and development is not a core business activity for you. The team is able to handle the design, brand, and communication but has smaller knowledge of programming. That may be the time to outsource web development and let partners do the coding for you.
Your team may have the expertise but they may also have too much on their plate. Maybe their attention could be divided between multiple projects. Also, there could be more profitable work you can assign your developers. In this case, you can prioritize and spend your in-house development time on more valuable projects and replace developers with outsourcing on simpler ones, like maintenance tasks.
Outsourcing can be an option if the agency is looking to reduce costs associated with hiring and retaining an in-house development team. Internal hires always come with additional costs such as training, retirement programs, health insurance, life insurance, and other overhead expenses, which can be 1.25 to 1.4 times the base salary. Outsourcing can offer saved expenses on salaries, benefits, and overhead costs.
The average cost of a bad hiring decision is at least 30 percent of the individual’s first year expected earnings, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Additionally, the expected time to change jobs has become shorter for new generations. If you find yourself in that vicious circle of hiring, training, retaining, losing, and rehiring employees, outsourcing may be a good option. By hiring out, you mitigate the risks of hiring someone who may not be a good fit for the agency, as you can simply terminate the contract immediately and you avoid the lengthy process of hiring.
When thinking of scaling up or down outsourcing can provide greater flexibility. If your agency experiences seasonal or cyclical demand for web development services, you might consider outsourcing. It’s easier to add or remove team members when you need to quickly respond to shifts in the market. After a partnership with WLA’s outsourcing services, Edwin Van der Maas co-owner of the web development agency ‘2manydots’ said:
“It’s a flexible layer that can grow, it can scale as big as you want it to be.”
2manydots office in Tilburg, Netherlands
Sometimes, you may also want to experiment with new web development technologies or want to test out new services, but you don’t want to invest too much time and resources into it. Outsourcing can provide a cost-effective way to play out new ideas and see what works for your agency.
Conclusion
As we come to the end, we have explored different scenarios of outsourcing. Before deciding whether to outsource web development, it is crucial to consider how it can benefit your agency. From increased demand to lack of expertise, it can offer numerous advantages, including cost savings, flexibility, and access to specialized talent. However, it is important to carefully evaluate which parts of your agency’s operations are suitable for outsourcing. By delegating non-core operations to external parties, your agency can free up time and resources to concentrate on its primary strengths and improve overall performance. As with any business decision, it is important to weigh the potential benefits and drawbacks to determine whether outsourcing is the right choice for your agency’s unique needs and objectives.
