Introduction
Every industry aims to shape up to generate revenue, decrease the cost involvement and still be profitable enough to maintain a good image in the market. It requires assets, which are extremely powerful, which helps to focus on the main aim of the business. A properly managed HR, well equipped workstations, etc. are some of the supporting assets needed to be efficient. So many wishes to be fulfilled at one particular time are hard to obtain but certainly not impossible. Outsourcing is the one-time solution for any of the purposes above mentioned. It not only gives access to many paybacks but also provides economic benefits. Outsourcing is not a new term, but it has been used widely and has gained recognition only in recent years. Healthcare industry is no lacking in this system. Outsourcing in Healthcare industry is on its verge to emerge as an industry in itself.
What is outsourcing?
Outsourcing in a very simple way can be described as reassigning work to another organization that is capable of doing the needful in an expected manner. Such a project is given by the client to the vendors/ service providers to get the work done. Outsourcing is a form of contract for particular services.
Earlier, these services were not contracted on a large basis as the employees worked out to fulfil the demand. Outsourcing has been widely accepted as a necessity in today’s generation.
What is outsourced?
Call centre services, maintaining records of the employees, etc. are some of the functions, which are generally outsourced. Healthcare industry usually outsources Housekeeping, maintenance, Security, Ambulatory services, IT, Laundry services and nurses also.
Need for outsourcing
There are various self-explaining reasons why outsourcing has become a necessary part of almost every organization. However, the major one can be convincingly expressed by saying that outsourcing gives admission and not proprietorship.
As rightly said, centralised management does not function as good as decentralised management does. Therefore, giving out any non-core department along with the decisive powers to the vendors reduces the burden and also helps the client to concentrate on the core business.
Other reasons of outsourcing are that it helps the organization to be economic for core business. As the non-core job is transferred to the service providers/vendors, they do it in a very low cost as the economic condition in which they function is totally different than a healthcare organization, and the overheads are highly negligible. This is because the vendors have tools, facilities and employees specially designed and designated for that particular job and the cost incurred in training is not involved.
Outsourcing not only saves money but also the most precious asset- time. By handing over the non-core business to vendors, the company and its employees have an ample amount of time to work on the more vital subjects for which they have been trained and are specialised.
Significance of outsourcing
It does not make sense when a particular resource is bought with some intention by making reductions in the treasury and is not been used to its fullest rather some low-interest work is carried out. This not only is the waste of money but also the waste of the capacity and capability of that resource. Therefore, being independent does not sound economically worthwhile. This can be explained by Opportunity cost.
It can be said that the resources are not been fully utilized to its maximum if the Healthcare organization spends all the resources in job, which are not meant for it. Outsourcing helps to get the things required readily available that too in a very low cost. As the outsourcing service providers are expert in it, an outcome, more than expected, is obtained.
Benefits of Outsourcing includes but not limited to:
• reduce costs,
• focus on core business processes,
• improve services,
• enhance skills,
• reduce time to market
• increase the overall competitive advantage.
Tactical Outsourcing
As we have seen so many advantages of Outsourcing, it will be worth discussing about Tactical Outsourcing. If Outsourcing is effective, Tactical outsourcing is efficient. It involves capturing the skillful resources which are proficient in getting the work done that too in a minimum cost. Thus, these resources can be helpful to bring out improved outcomes. Tactical outsourcing basically deals with the Skill, Information, Aptitudes and Methods used and followed in an organization.
Importance of Outsourcing
The principal purpose why healthcare organizations are more and more involved in outsourcing non-core business is that it saves the cost. The factors that affect outsourcing in monetary ways are:
• Access to assets and information: Outsourcing in another sense means to utilize resources and skilled personnel or valuable information, which is readily available in the market(vendor)
• Emphasis on main capabilities: Contracting not so important jobs like maintenance and housekeeping, etc. helps the employees to concentrate more on the most important subjects related to the organization.
• Budget: The organizations outsourcing non-core job incurs less cost than that which does it all by itself.