When Do You Consider Outsourcing Processes – if at all

If our departments were all things to all people (staff, faculty, students, and parents) and our budget and staff were abundant, then we probably do not need to consider outsourcing any of our processes. Unfortunately, that is not the case for us in higher education. So, what options do we have for providing excellent customer service in all aspects of processes. Perhaps the best option is to consider outsourcing some of our processes. How do we decide what to outsource? Here are some things to think about.

What Do We Outsource

The “Golden Rule” of Outsourcing – Keep your core competencies, outsource the rest. Identify your core competencies and focus on your core. Student Financial Services may identify core competencies such as:

• Accurate and timely calculation of tuition and fees;
• Responding to student and parent inquiries via telephone calls (immediately) and emails (within 24 hours);
• Making courtesy telephone calls to students with delinquent tuition accounts;
• Other processes that require high visibility supporting a positive reputation.

Other processes that you may consider for outsourcing that are not considered core competencies could be:

• Offering tuition payment plans;
• Follow-up on delinquent tuition accounts;
• Generating various email notifications;
• Managing student refunds.

A good rule of thumb follows:

• The work isn’t a core part of your business;
• A specialist can do it better, faster, or more cost-effectively;
• Your team doesn’t have the necessary skills or capacity;
• You need to scale up quickly without hiring full-time employees;
• Outsourcing lets you focus on your highest-value activities.

When Do We Outsource

Deciding when to outsource comes down to balancing time, expertise, scalability, and cost. Knowing when to delegate to an external partner and when to keep things in-house is critical for sustainable growth. focusEDU is here to help you identify your core competencies and what processes that may be eligible to outsource. We will help you create a Request For Proposal and identify outsourcing partners.

Note: If your functional area is Enrollment Management, Admissions, Registrar or Financial Aid, the same principles and logic applies for outsourcing decisions.