For many government officials and the communities they serve, the word “outsourcing” is often misunderstood. After all, when you have the right talent for the right task at the right time and in your own offices, why bother looking beyond your organization to staff your government contracts?
But every government contract comes with a host of staffing demands that may not always align with the available resources. If these demands are not handled strategically, creatively, and with a certain degree of flexibility, you risk delays, budget creep, inefficiencies, and other issues — all of which are likely, if not completely, manageable with the right outsourced partner.
Outsourcing is one of many valuable tools you can use to handle your most challenging tasks with greater accuracy, efficiency, speed, and confidence. Like any useful tool, you’ll get the best results when you truly understand how it works and all it can do for you.
What is government outsourcing, really?
At its core, government outsourcing is a simple concept: it's when a local government partners with an external, or third-party, company or organization to provide specific services or complete projects that the government may not have the resources or expertise to handle on its own.
Think of it like this: When you need to fix a leaky pipe in your home, you can call a plumber. When a local government needs help with tasks like building inspections, road repairs, or city planning, it can call on specialized third-party contractors. That's outsourcing in action.
Government outsourcing has been around for decades, with many communities relying on outsourced providers for a variety of essential services, such as:
- Building inspections
- City planning
- Street repairs
- Utility management
- And much more
Outsourcing allows you and your team to tap into a broader range of skills, knowledge, and resources to meet your community's diverse needs. By partnering with private providers, you can access the right expertise at the right time without having to maintain a full-time staff for every possible service.
By leveraging the power of outsourcing, local governments like yours can ensure that their projects and services are delivered efficiently, effectively, and with the highest level of quality.
What are the real costs of NOT outsourcing?
When you choose not to outsource as a local government, you may face several hidden costs that come with an overburdened staff and limited resources.
Staffing costs
- In-house: Maintaining a full-time staff for every service area can be expensive, including salaries, benefits, and training costs. You may also face challenges with staff turnover, recruitment, and training.
- Outsourcing: Third-party providers can offer flexible staffing solutions, providing the right expertise when needed without the long-term costs associated with full-time employees.
Equipment & technology
- In-house: To keep up with demand, you may need to invest in expensive equipment, software, and technology.
- Outsourcing: Third-party providers often have access to the latest equipment and technology, reducing your need to make significant capital investments.
Opportunity costs
- In-house: When your staff is stretched thin, they may not have the time or resources to focus on high-priority projects or strategic initiatives.
Outsourcing: A third-party provider for specific services can free your staff to focus on core responsibilities and high-impact projects.
Efficiency and expertise
- In-house: You may struggle to maintain the same efficiency and expertise across all service areas.
- Outsourcing: Third-party providers specialize in specific service areas, allowing them to deliver high-quality results more efficiently.
Scalability and flexibility
- In-house: You may find scaling your services up or down challenging.
- Outsourcing: Third-party providers can offer scalable solutions, allowing you to adapt to changing needs quickly.
While outsourcing may come with an initial transition period, the long-term benefits often outweigh the costs.
Finding the right outsourcing options for government contracts
The ever-increasing need to provide cost-effective services to residents while maintaining the highest levels of service is more prevalent than ever, and local governments are choosing outsourcing to take some of the strain off of limited local resources.
Beyond cost savings, outsourcing can provide numerous advantages, including:
- Service improvements: Get the expertise and best practices to enhance service quality and efficiency for your community.
- Accommodating fluctuating demands: Benefit from the flexibility to scale services up or down based on seasonal or project-specific needs.
- Access to outside expertise and new perspectives: Access specialized knowledge and fresh ideas to tackle complex challenges.
- Stabilized budgets: Predict and control costs, minimizing the impact of unexpected expenses.
- New insight into innovations: Partners often have experience working with multiple clients, exposing you to innovative solutions and technologies.
Now, let’s take a look at that in action.
Case study: Outsourcing brings next-day inspections to an overwhelmed Illinois town
SAFEbuilt has helped numerous municipalities nationwide through custom government outsourcing partnerships, providing new efficiencies, reducing backlogs, and establishing new processes. Let’s take a look at an example from the heartland.
Only one hour outside of Chicago, the village of Hampshire, Illinois, began to experience tremendous growth as more families looked to move to a location close to the metro but outside of the direct city limits. But with the sudden increase in permitting, the government staff had a hard time keeping up with demand, creating scheduling delays, complaints, and stress for the department's permit technicians. They needed help from outside their municipality.
By outsourcing support through a partnership with SAFEbuilt, Hampshire had the support they needed, custom-tailored to their municipality’s priorities and budget. We supplied a full-time team to reduce approval times and help the village quickly scale to meet the new demand.
To solve these prominent challenges, we took the village from next-day inspections within a two-hour window, all while navigating challenges created by the pandemic. Thanks to this outsourcing partnership, Hampshire is enjoying a new level of sustainable efficiency.
Electronic Permitting: A simple outsourcing solution with big benefits
So, it’s time to ask the big question: Am I using every tool at my disposal to deliver my project and benefit my team, community, and municipality?
And to take it one further: Am I ready to see what government outsourcing can do for my municipality?
Outsourcing often starts with a small step. For many municipalities, Electronic Permitting is a simple, effective solution to begin your government outsourcing to see how you can save time and resources (and make community members happier).
Take the first step towards transforming your municipality's operations and delivering better services to your community with SAFEbuilt as your government outsourcing partner.
