Mistakes people make when picking tasks to outsource

Key takeaways

The most common mistakes when identifying tasks to outsource are choosing by annoyance instead of evidence, skipping the long list, underestimating exceptions, picking tasks too small to matter, and handing over decisions disguised as admin. Each one is avoided by the same habit: list first, screen honestly, and test before you move anything.

• Choosing the most annoying task, not the most suitable.
• Skipping the long list and guessing.
• Ignoring exceptions: more than 1 in 5 cases needing a decision.
• Picking tasks under 2 hours a week with no bundle.
• Moving a decision or a password with the admin.

Why is annoyance a poor guide?

Annoyance measures how a task feels, not whether it suits outsourcing. The tasks owners hate are often hated because they are full of judgement or conflict, such as chasing a difficult client, which makes them harder to hand over. Meanwhile, the dull tasks that quietly take the most hours go unnoticed.

• How to identify tasks suitable for outsourcing
• The tasks owners hate: a useful but unreliable signal

What are the other common mistakes?

Each mistake has a simple counter-measure built into the task finder.

• Guessing instead of listing: build the long list from records.
• Ignoring exceptions: check the last 20 cases.
• Too small to matter: bundle similar tasks to reach about 2 hours a week.
• Moving decisions: run the never-outsource test first.
• Outsourcing a broken task: fix or stop it before it moves.
• No plan for freed time: decide what the hours are for.

• Tasks that look easy to outsource but are not
• Eliminate before you outsource: tasks that should stop
• Senior people doing junior tasks: the costliest mismatch

What does a wrong choice cost?

A wrong first choice usually costs a month or two of management time and some goodwill, not a fortune. The bigger cost is confidence: owners who pick badly often conclude that outsourcing does not work for them. Choosing well the first time protects the second and third handovers.

• Outsourced the wrong process? How to tell and what to do
• Mistakes when outsourcing repetitive tasks, and the fixes

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a firm outsources client chasing because everyone dreads it. The provider struggles because each client needs a different approach. The firm pulls it back, runs the task finder, and moves order and record updates instead, which suit an outside team far better.

• See client work
• BPO Solutions for UK businesses

Mistake-proofing checklist

• Build the list from records, not memory.
• Check exceptions on every shortlisted task.
• Bundle small tasks to a worthwhile size.
• Remove decisions, duties and keys.
• Plan what the freed time will be used for.

• Break a job into tasks before deciding what moves
• A calendar audit: find the tasks hiding in your diary

Next step

Before you hand over your first task, check it against each mistake above. Five minutes now saves a month of unpicking later.