BUSINESS owners and managers in Petersfield have heard how important outsourcing could be to the future success of their companies.
The message came during a presentation to the First Friday lunchtime business group in Petersfield.
Mark Poole, a change management consultant for F2B Consulting, gave the presentation and said he saw the benefits of outsourcing when he applied it to his own business interests.
He explained: “Having spent over 20 years working for large corporates across all manner of change management projects, I now assist business owners in preparing for growth by helping their business run smoothly.
“I use the proprietary business efficiency model I have developed, which is: 1. Evaluate; 2. Optimise; 3. Automate; 4. Outsource; and 5. Control.
“As a busy business owner and landlord, I know how difficult it is to find enough time to get everything done.
“To combat this, I listened to my own advice and outsourced my own property management tasks which gave me back a significant chunk of time.”
During his presentation, Mark went through how businesses can apply the approach he has developed to their own work. He believes businesses should focus on: Why you should outsource: There is an opportunity-cost associated with trying to do it all yourself. You should focus on your strengths and remember the intangible benefits of getting help. What you should outsource: Not all tasks are equal. It is the higher-value tasks that will move the needle in your business and give you the best return on your time investment. How to outsource: To make this all work, you need a system comprised of three components: people, process and controls. Firstly, you need the right people but how to do you find them and how do you make sure they are right for the job? Secondly, you need your outsourcing staff to fully understand what it is they need to do, with minimal oversight from yourself. For this you need processes. Finally, there is the bit everyone forgets, even the largest companies – controls. How do you ensure the right thing is done at the right time and in the right way?
Mark graduated with a PhD in mathematics and went on to work for management consultancy firm Accenture and investment bank UBS. He also developed his own property portfolio and that is where he developed his outsourcing strategy.
He added: “I now concentrate on new property, consulting and business ventures and enjoy applying my analytical and problem solving techniques to both.”
For a copy of the slides from the presentation and a ‘Getting Started Plan of Action’ which can be applied to a business, visit www.f2bconsulting.co.uk/firstfriday