Outsourcing your experts: Why engage local suppliers

One of the biggest ongoing struggles for business owners is finding and hiring the right talent for short or contract jobs. You don’t just want to ensure a project goes off without a hitch — you also want to build long-term relationships with your suppliers. After all, it’s those relationships that can set your business apart in a hyper-competitive industry.

So, what are the top five benefits of sourcing experts from your local pool of suppliers?

1. Build deeper connections with far-reaching benefits

While the cheapest person for a job may live on the other side of the world, investing in a local supplier can lead to untold benefits. Whether it’s face-to-face interaction or regular online communication with a contractor in Australia, it builds deep collaborative connections that not only bolsters your working relationship, but increases the standard of your business’ output.

This is backed up by a recent study from McKinsey & Co. The survey of more than 100 large organisations across multiple sectors found that companies that regularly collaborated with suppliers resulted in:

• Demonstrated higher growth
• Lower operating costs
• Greater profitability than their industry peers

2. Bolster your business through referrals

Particularly after the onset of COVID-19, research shows that a significant portion of money spent at local and independent businesses stays in the local economy. Additionally, building relationships in the community can lead to a potentially lucrative source of income: referrals.

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“This is one of the biggest ways we grow as an agency,” says Leslie Mclauchlan, Head of Growth at Melbourne-based marketing agency WCM Digital. She spends her days plugging resource gaps and scouring the right skill sets for various clients.

“Referrals make up 80% of all our leads coming into the agency, which is 50% from clients and 50% from partner relationships. This all starts from hiring a local resource and creating a great working relationship.”

3. Keep money circulating in Australia

In the current climate, one of the top concerns for Australian businesses is to keep money circulating within the country — hence, a number of state governments are adopting robust ‘Buy Local’ initiatives. This can be achieved by supporting local businesses and engaging with specialists who are themselves Australian businesses or sole traders. 

There’s also the added benefit of knowing exactly where your money is going. When you are able to hire locally, you know that most of the money you are paying your supplier will continue circulating in the Australian economy.

4. Find the right person for the job quickly

Whether you are an established presence in your industry or running a growing small business, finding expertise from your local supply pool can help you build relationships that set you apart from the competition. However, finding the perfect match quickly due to tight deadlines has historically been extremely difficult.

That’s why Mclauchlan now uses CircleSource to find local talent for a variety of needs — from strategy to email marketing, consultants, social advertising and much more.

“It’s one of the few platforms where you can find legitimate and highly skilled people with the assurance that a) they’re not overseas, and b) you don’t get an exorbitant bill in hidden fees after you find your perfect hire,” she says. 

“Hiring locally helps us with timelines and deliverables, and the time we save in communication is hugely beneficial.”

5. Minimise risk and gives you peace of mind

Using a platform that encourages suppliers to showcase their expertise and tender for local jobs means you can rely on having a wealth of talented experts to meet your needs.

Importantly, not having to cross international boundaries means there are no conflicting cultural or time-zone complications, which can hamper relationships and even lead to lost clients. 

A recent study by the University of Richmond School of Business, for example, found there are significantly reduced customer-satisfaction levels when offshoring customer-service roles. Instead, with local suppliers you can resolve issues quickly and rise to meet customer demands as their needs change.

More than anything, keeping it local can provide you with peace of mind against other potential pitfalls. Time differences, currency (payment) exchanges, and trust in a supplier’s expertise are all risks a business owner takes when seeking out cheaper alternatives overseas. Going local gives you more control over the partnership, less time spent putting out fires and more time to concentrate on what you do best: running your business.