The latest Today’s Conveyancer podcast discusses the opportunities presented by outsourcing. Joining regular host David Opie is Sophie Swanborough Operations and Marketing Manager at ntitle, an outsourced title checking solution.
There is a growing marketplace of organisations who offer outsourced and “unbundled” service into law and conveyancing. At a time when it is increasingly difficult to recruit experienced staff, being able to outsource to subject matter experts is invaluable says Sophie.
A title check for example, can be back in just a couple of days and the beauty of outsourcing is the ability to ramp volume up and down; running multiple files concurrently by combining in-house and outsourced resource.
Sophie shares her experience of how firms are using outsourced title checking with some firms are using it in every transaction while others are utilising the expertise of outsourcers for particular types of transactions.
“We see a lot of new build properties because 1) they are really lengthy, you get many, many documents with them. 2) They take up quite a lot of time, you need 2-3 hours without interruption (to really focus). We get a few leasehold title checks too because they are increasingly problematic.”
says Sophie.
Ultimately though does outsourcing boil down to cost v benefit; if the cost of outsourcing outweighs the cost of hiring then it’s a more effective and efficient route to go down, and vice-versa.
Sophie points to the popularity of the consultancy model as evidence that individuals and firms are looking at how they can streamline what they do. Reducing overheads and the fixed costs of employment which typically includes recruiting, training, IT, pensions and other staff liabilities.
The Today’s Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.