When you are outsourcing, tasks can be asynchronous or syncronous. How something gets done can be as important as what gets done. If you need to collaborate with someone in near real time, your tasks are probably synchronous. If you can hand off tasks to be completed at a later time, they are probably asynchronous. During the depression there were lots of “piece work” jobs that people would take. My grandmother sewed baseballs. I never got the full story of how it worked, but basically she would pick up the pieces, sew them together and get paid.
Communications
Some outsourced work needs to happen in real time in multiple locations. Communications is usually key to these tasks being completed. Language and time zones are often a key consideration for synchronous tasks. When workers in different locations are collectively working on the same tasks, communications is going to be an important consideration so that work flows smoothly. If you don’t need to communicate in real time with people doing the work, than asynchronous tasks may work out better for you. Many times people think they need to communicate in real time and they find out that their outsourced workers are waiting on them to do things. Or conversely, the workers are spending time in meetings “because communication is important” and they aren’t actually getting any work done.
Work
Asynchronous tasks were the reason why global outsourcing evolved. In it’s best model, instructions and work are passed to outsourced workers in another timezone. There isn’t a need to discuss the work, and it is completed and waiting for you when you arrive at your desk in the morning. Companies get the advantage of a second/third shift without the investment in infrastructure or workers. It’s rarely that simple, but it is the goal. Ideally you want your asynchronous tasks to require as little hand holding as possible. You also want the flow of work to support your regular work processes. Some asynchronous tasks are testing and software development, tax preparation, and payroll.
Synchronous outsourced work require more planning and more communication. When your work is synchronous, you typically want workers that complement and support your current work processes. They may be subject matter experts or have some specialty that allows you to leverage your existing workforce better. Chances are they aren’t completing tasks off hours so you can expand your shift hours. Some synchronous tasks are customer service, software testing (if you are using agile development), Uber/Lift drivers, etc.
Some tasks can be asynchronous or synchronous depending on the arrangement. Cleaning houses is generally done during the day. Cleaning offices is usually done at night. Meal preparation services are done in batches. Personal chefs are usually real time services. Software development and testing in waterfall projects lends itself to asynchronous operations, whereas Agile development does not. It’s always good to think about the combination of work and communications before starting any outsourcing project. Things will run much smoother once you start doing it.
