Outsourcing Or Delegation? It All Depends On The Task
America has become a nation of outsourcing. Of course, some of those Americans might just say that they are "delegating." It really depends on who you talk to and what the task is. With all of these new services that do things for you rather than you do them yourself, it is hard to tell which is which with regards to delegating and outsourcing. Here is a little clarification for you.
Outsourcing Tasks to Services
Outsourcing tasks to services usually involves stuff that is related to how you conduct business. These services have actually been around a long time, but they have really improved and become more finessed.
Outsourced services include:
- Packages drop off services, pick up services, and delivery services
- Personal assistant services--you have a part-time personal assistant at your beck and call, without having to hire an assistant
- Same-day delivery services for office supplies
- Phone answering services
- Appointment reminders, deadline reminders, and wake-up services
You could take advantage of some or all of these services as personal and individual services, too, but most of these are used by businesses on an outsourcing basis.
Delegating Tasks to Services
Delegating tasks, on the other hand, usually falls to individuals and their personal needs. These services are newer to the task runner-type of business, but in a fast-paced world they have proven invaluable.
These services include:
- Grocery shopping services--you never have to grab dinner or milk on the way home again
- Prescription services--your medications are always delivered to your home in a regular and timely manner.
- Errand running services--from buying a gift for your boss to returning unwanted gifts, there is someone willing to make a living by running your errands for you.
- Dry cleaning services--when you need your best blazer or skirt ready to go for an important meeting, you can call a dry cleaner to pick it up from home or work, and then drop it back off at either location.
- Food drop off services, catering, and/or meal-in-a-box delivery services--dinner is ready and waiting to be cooked or ready-to-eat when you arrive home. Healthy and nutritious, it beats takeout for the fifth night in a row.
- Car/ride services--the newest service, you can hire a car and driver through an app and not risk driving home half asleep or intoxicated.
Can you see now how outsourcing services and delegating services are different? Still, both categories provide a lot of convenience to your life, if you have the money for them.