Outsourcing – Small Agencies in Small Towns

This week’s post continues to discuss solutions for managing the work in small agencies in small towns. A number of the solutions that I have been and will be discussing work for small agencies anywhere and some of this apply to larger agencies as well.

This week I have chosen to discuss outsourcing as I continue to have inquiries about this. Now don’t put up your wall at this word. Outsourcing doesn’t always mean sending work outside the US. This has been a #1 reason for agencies to resist considering outsourcing. So think US jobs and keep an open mind.

Reasons for considering outsourcing:

When an agency owner contacts me about outsourcing we begin by having a conversation about their specific needs. My most recent call was a small agency looking for someone to do their accounting. They didn’t need a full time employee thus they were having trouble finding a qualifed person for a part time position. At the time of the call the owner was taking care of the accounting. Clearly not the best use of his time.

We discussed the various outsourcing firms that I know. We talked about some pros and cons of each along with their areas of specialy. This agency owner made contact with three firms the same afternoon of our call. He decided on a firm and had a signed contract within a few days. He told me in his follow up email that he had no idea that he could acutally find an affordable solution and so quickly.

I have found several of my clients doing some sort of outsourcing long before large insurance focused outsourcing firms began to appear. Most find that the individuals that are doing back office work in the outsourced environment are much more productive that the staff that would perform these same tasks in the office. The outsource individual can focus solely on the work. Staff in the office are taking phone calls, negotiating with insurance carriers, answering questions for producers, talking to walkin customers, etc.

What are the challenges you have that you would consider outsourcing? If you are outsourcing now or in the past, what was your experience?