The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Your Office Management Duties
Outsourcing is defined as the relinquishing of certain duties and tasks to an outside company or individual. Outsourcing enables many business owners to continue their operations, but at reduced costs. With that in mind, it is important to examine the pros and cons of each side to make the best decision for your organization.
As for the pros or plus sides to outsourcing your office management duties and tasks, you will find that there are a number of them.
- Perhaps, the biggest pro to outsourcing your office management is the money you are able to save money. Outsourcing a number of your needed tasks can actually save you a considerable amount of money, especially overtime.
- Another pro or plus side to outsourcing your office management duties is one that is best for small to medium sized business owners. This is because outsourced work is often done offsite; either in a call center or at the home of a home based worker. This can work out to your advantage if you are interested in closing down your office. For example, if you run a dental office, but you are interested in taking a vacation or simply just leaving work early a few days a month, outsourcing enables you to do so without any complications. Having an offsite office manager enables you to leave your office without having to worry about who is left behind or if your office will be properly locked up. This comfort and peace of mind is nice for many.
When it comes to outsourcing medical billing, there are actually a host of benefits, which Rochelle Glassman highlights in UPS Healthcare’s whitepaper To Hire or Not to Hire a Billing Service.
These include:
- Focusing more energy on what you do best—practicing medicine and taking care of patients
- Stop hiring, managing and training billing staff.
- Avoid delays due to vacations, sick time or staff turnover.
- Reduce costs associated with personnel salaries and benefits, computer hardware and
software, office supplies, office space, and training
- Eliminate expenses such as annual coding and compliance education.
- Reallocate space that would be used for billing to generate additional revenue streams.
- Dedicate more resources to making an efficient transition to electronic health records.
- Lock in a portion of operating expenses at a set percentage of revenue.
- Avoid purchasing an expensive billing system.
That being said, outsourcing services doesn’t always make sense for every practice. Here are some advantages that you might enjoy by keeping medical billing, for example, in house:
- Having more day-to-day control of billings and collections process.
- Utilizing the full capabilities of your existing staff
- Recouping your practice’s investment in a billing system
Additionally, it is also important to remember that not all office management duties can be outsourced. As you likely already know, office managers perform a wide range of tasks. These tasks may include supervising other office personnel. This supervision may not be possible with an outsourced office manager. If your office manager would be responsible for overseeing other office staff members, it may be best for you to hire an in-house office manager, as opposed to outsourcing. If cost is a concern of yours, you may want to offer one of your secretaries or other staff members the chance to supervise, for a small increase in pay.
The best way to know whether outsourcing is right for you is to assess your practice, its size and your needs from the outset. UPS Healthcare can help you do this!
To get started, check out To Hire or Not to Hire and read through the 21 question survey to see where you stand.
We look forward to hearing from you and helping you make the best decision for your practice! Contact UPS Healthcare for more information or to set up an appointment today!