In the second of our series on debunking – or confirming – the chatter around how outsourcing and offshoring works, we look at the return on investment.
Myth 1: ‘It’s really difficult to measure the return on investment from outsourcing or offshoring’
We’ll call this one a myth. That doesn’t mean it’s ‘easy’, it’s more a case of having metrics in place that mean when you start looking at outsourcing, offshoring or Podsourcing®, the differential in cost to deliver work is clear. Revenue per head is a really simple way of beginning the conversation – your firm may have this simple metric for average revenue per fee earner. Consequently, if you drill down and understand what you’re charging and for what type of work, you can then start to understand cost per service i.e. by a set of accounts or tax filing. At its most basic, you should be able to work out quickly that the cost of outsourcing or offshoring is likely to be better value than in-house.
Myth 2: ‘There’s an inordinate cost of initial outlay to align systems, processes and workflow; making outsourcing and offshoring not worth it.’
We call myth again. However, it’s worth understanding that the three models we provide – outsourcing, offshoring and Podsourcing® – exist because one size does not fit all. Certainly, as circumstances change, a preferable model might fall out of favour and not be right for your practice at a different point in time.
Advancetrack has always been clear that we operate with extremely trusted, tried and tested, ways of operating. And, generally, we will suggest that some of our workflows and processes are integrated into our client practices. But having three distinct models means that we are more able to mimic how different types of practice work.
We can’t magic away poor or suboptimal systems and processes – we run very smoothly and would want firms to align with us where applicable. Firms that embrace our models generate really good results.
Take a look at the first piece in our mythbuster series, on outsourcing, offshoring and security.
Please contact us if you’d like to discuss your firm’s journey, and how we can help.
