Does Outsourcing Make Sense for Your Firm?

Outsourcing is the practice of having certain tasks performed by someone offsite, instead of having someone in house handle them. These responsibilities may be outsourced to either a company or an individual. Outsourcing is on the rise in many organizations including the legal industry. An increasing number of law firms, large and small, are turning to outsourcing as a way to grow while keeping payroll expenses low and minimizing overall overhead costs.

With the evolution of technology, communicating and delivering work products with someone located thousands of miles away is easy! When outsourced to the right people and monitored for quality, it can be an excellent way to help free up your onsite staff’s time so they can focus on the things they excel at. Some prefer to hire local offsite support and we think that is great too!

Ready to explore your outsourcing options or start a conversation with your team? Here are some examples of job functions and responsibilities you can outsource:

• Phones. Outsourcing incoming calls and even outbound calls can be done effectively if the offsite person is well-trained, they are warm and friendly and ongoing quality checks are put in place. Some outsource phone coverage for breaks, lunches and even vacations.
• Accounting. Often owners designate a team member, or themselves, to take care of the books along with all the other tasks needing to be looked after. Bookkeeping is one of the easiest and most cost effective areas that can be outsourced. It frees up time and it is usually handled much more efficiently and accurately in a qualified person’s hands.
• Mass Mailings. Mail houses are an excellent way to outsource this type of “busy” work and allow team members to do higher level tasks. There are many local organizations and businesses that specialize in mass mailings for a reasonable cost.
• Marketing and Firm Promotions. Many marketing and promotional activities can be outsourced to handle anything from creating a marketing plan, setting up engagements, making contacts and introductions in the community, writing press releases and posting on social media accounts.
• Website Updates. Keeping your website dynamic with fresh content is key for many online searches. This can easily be given to someone offsite to create a website maintenance calendar and look after the updates on a weekly or monthly basis.
• Search Engine Optimization. With constant changes in search engine algorithms (how search engines determine which sites are relevant), it is important someone on your team is well-versed in this area. Outsourcing this can be a perfect solution to stay visible online in your community.

With a rich pool of offsite resources virtually available, outsourcing these days is easier than ever. Look around the office for other areas you can outsource and ask your team for their input. What are the “busy” tasks that get in their way of getting their higher level tasks done?
Then ask yourself, what would it look like if both types of tasks could get done seamlessly and effectively? Happier team members? Increased productivity? People working in their strengths instead of bogged down with lower level work? You might be surprised what you discover.

Susan Russel
Director of Member Services
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (800) 846-1555
www.aaepa.com