Even though it’s well known that outsourcing is a cost-effective way to help businesses get more done, many small business owners delay outsourcing parts of their business because they aren’t sure if now is the right time. Today we’ll go over the top 5 signs that indicate you should consider outsourcing.

Employee Time Crunch
Are you and your employees working in a rushed, hectic environment or do they feel poised and relaxed? If your business’s staff are running on fumes it’s very hard for them to be productive.
Even worse, they’re significantly less likely to innovate as they’re working hard just to maintain the status quo. Take a good look at how your staff spends its time and figure out if you can easily outsource some of the most time-consuming tasks so that time can be spent on higher-level business operations, such as planning and creative marketing.

Clear Policies and Procedures
One common obstacle of successful outsourcing is having clear instructions for your remote staff. If you already have clear policies for how you do business, you can easily hand those policies to someone overseas to do the same work for you.
However, it’s important to note that policies written for college-educated American staff may not translate well for those that use English as a second language. Be prepared to streamline your policies before outsourcing.

Specialized Departments
If you run a business alone or with a small team it may be difficult to outsource your work to someone else. After all, you’re a one-man show and a jack of all trades. But if you happen to have segmented your business’s operations into a number of smaller departments, you may find that outsourcing makes sense for you.
For example, let’s say that you have someone that does your bookkeeping. He’s good but pricey. You may be able to outsource that part of your operation overseas at a fraction of the cost.

You’re Willing to Work With Your Outsourcing Firm
Many people think that outsourcing work to an offshore staff is as simple as writing instructions and pressing “send”. However, like any staff member, you’ll need to keep tabs on your team and make sure that they’re doing the work you’ve asked them.
You’ll also need to be available to answer questions and comments until they get the hang of their duties. If you’re prepared for this kind of work then it probably makes sense to give outsourcing a try.

You Need Temporary Help
Many businesses need temporary staff, either for a seasonal rush or for a technical issue on their website. In those cases it makes little sense to hire a full-time staff person, only to lay them off when the work is complete.
If you find your business running into a number of small but significant problems that are a relatively “quick fix”, then you may want to stop putting advertisements in the classifieds and start outsourcing the work instead. This can help you solve those problems faster and at a much cheaper price, than if you brought on temporary staff or the help of a local agency.

Spencer worked for many years as a virtual assistant for a Fortune 500 business. Now he writes about ways that just about anyone can make money online.