Whether you own a small business or are part of a fast-growing company, you probably hear about “outsourcing” all the time. But what is business outsourcing? And what are the benefits that come with it? In this article, you can discover all of this and more, along with some real-life examples.

What is Business Outsourcing?

Business outsourcing is when a business hires a third party to take care of a specific task. Usually, a business will do this when they don’t have any in-house specialists who can do the task themselves. Essentially, it’s an excellent cost-cutting measure — so there’s a lot to like about it.

These days, businesses are outsourcing all kinds of business tasks. One of the most commonly outsourced tasks is SEO marketing, which you can outsource to clickintelligence.com. SEO marketing is a type of marketing that focuses on boosting your business website up the search engine rankings so that there’s more chance of customers finding you through Google.

On top of this, businesses are also outsourcing other important tasks such as social media marketing, email marketing, accounting, and customer service. Anything you can think of, there’s a good chance it can be outsourced.

The Benefits of Outsourcing

Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the benefits you can expect from outsourcing.

Reduced Costs

Because of global inflation, almost all businesses are looking to reduce costs. Thankfully, outsourcing is a great strategy for achieving this, as it means you can transfer workloads to specialists as and when you need to. The Harvard Business Review even states that you achieve cost reductions of 20-30% just by outsourcing non-core business tasks, which is great to know.

Access to Specialist Knowledge

No matter which business functions you outsource, you’ll gain access to specialist knowledge from the third-party companies that you choose. This knowledge will then allow you to run your business in a smarter and more cost-effective way.

Focus on Core Business Tasks

When all of your chosen business tasks have been outsourced, you can then exclusively focus on the core business tasks that you’re good at, such as sales. Think of it as having a weight removed from your shoulders — that’s what outsourcing is all about!

Outsourcing Example 1: Apple

Everybody knows about Apple. The chances are you probably own an iPhone or other type of product from Apple. But did you know that Apple outsources nearly all of its manufacturing to China through third-party companies such as Foxconn? This is so that Apple can gain access to specialist workers while also saving money on labor costs.

Outsourcing: Example 2: WhatsApp

It’s estimated that 2.78 billion people around the world use WhatsApp. Interestingly, WhatsApp outsources its customer service to third-party companies so that they can provide customer service 24/7. Without doing this, WhatsApp would only be able to provide customer service to local US WhatsApp users, which simply wouldn’t be enough when you consider the fact that WhatsApp has such a large pool of global users.

Summary

Outsourcing is the present and future of business operations. It’s recommended you use outsourcing as a strategy to reduce costs, boost efficiency, and gain access to the skills that aren’t available to you in-house.

HELENA – Last year, the Fish and Wildlife Commission approved an amendment to the “hoot owl” rule that directs fishing restrictions during drought. The amendment allowed Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to implement restrictions in designated reaches of Montana streams according to the Statewide Fisheries Management Plan.

The Statewide Fisheries Management Plan is scheduled to be finalized later this fall after public review and comment this summer. Given this timeline, hoot owl restrictions this summer will continue to be implemented as they were in past years. Hoot owl restrictions prohibit fishing between 2 p.m. and midnight on drought-impacted streams until conditions improve. There are four criteria FWP biologists consider for setting hoot owl restrictions:

• species of interest are present in significant number
• temperature criteria have been met
• fishing pressure is high
• stream flow conditions

These restrictions are designed to protect fish that become more susceptible to stress, disease and mortality when low and warm water conditions exist.

Anglers can help reduce stress for fish by following these practices when catching and releasing fish, though fish mortality may still occur: 

• fish during the coolest times of day, where permitted 
• land the fish quickly 
• keep the fish in water as much as possible  
• remove the hook gently; using artificial lures with single and barbless hooks can make hook removal faster and easier  
• let the fish recover before gently releasing it 

BOZEMAN – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is launching several research efforts in response to trout declines in the Big Hole, Beaverhead and Ruby rivers.

FWP, in partnership with Montana State University, has a four-pronged approach, including the following three studies:

• Fish mortality study

A mortality study on the Big Hole, Beaverhead and Ruby rivers, as well as the Madison River, will include tagging adult fish to assess how flows, water temperatures, angling and disease influence survival. This study would also help measure the success of adaptive management plans for the Big Hole, Beaverhead and Ruby rivers that propose adjustments to fishing regulations in response to changes in trout populations.

• Juvenile fish study

A juvenile fish study will focus on developing a better understanding of trout recruitment and the relative contributions of tributary spawning areas to mainstem trout populations. This would include using otolith microchemistry to examine fish movements and age, as well as geographical origins of juvenile fish.

• Fish health study

A fish health study will examine the level that disease is impacting fish populations in the Big Hole, Beaverhead and Ruby rivers. This would include testing for novel pathogens and determining better ways to routinely sample fish for disease in the future.

• Fish health monitoring

FWP is increasing fish health monitoring and reporting resources on the Big Hole, Beaverhead and Ruby rivers, including the new web portal sickfish.mt.gov, which launched last week. 

Background

Trout abundances in several areas of the Big Hole, Beaverhead and Ruby rivers have steadily declined since 2011 and are at or near historical lows. FWP is working to better understand the causes of these declines, which are linked to flows, water temperatures and other factors.

Monitoring and responding appropriately to these declines are top agency priorities for FWP. While research efforts begin, FWP has already taken several steps in addressing the situation:

• On June 6, FWP announced new efforts to research and monitor trout population declines in the Jefferson Basin to better inform the state’s strategies and response.
• FWP proposed temporary angling restrictions to protect spawning fish and limit angler-caused mortality on the Big Hole, Beaverhead and Ruby rivers to the Fish and Wildlife Commission. The commission adopted the emergency regulations.
• On June 7, FWP Director Dustin Temple met with business owners and guides in Butte to discuss trout population declines in the Jefferson Basin.
• FWP launched a new public web portal—sickfish.mt.gov—where anglers can submit reports of sick or dead fish they observe. This portal allows for a direct line from anglers to the department in gathering timely information.
• FWP staff will continue visiting sites along the Big Hole, Beaverhead, Ruby and Madison rivers to hear from anglers and monitor for sick or dead fish.

Rivers in southwest Montana are not only famous for their world-class fishing, but they are also critical to local and state economies. FWP biologists monitor fish health in waterbodies around the state. This monitoring includes sampling healthy, sick and dead fish, as well as evaluating water quality. Fish diseases are present in waterbodies, but generally don’t pose a population risk. However, fish can be more susceptible to disease and mortality when they are stressed.

On July 3, 2023, at 6:12 PM Gallatin County Dispatch received information that a family had overturned their paddle board and were stranded on an island on the Gallatin River near Central Park Road. The family was unable to swim to shore due to the fast-moving water conditions.

Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue (GCSSAR) volunteers from the Valley Section responded to the area. Volunteers reached the party on the island and assessed all members for injuries. One individual had an injured knee and required GCSSAR assistance to safely navigate the terrain. The rescue team was able to bring the family and injured person safely to shore where they were evaluated by members of Central Valley Fire Department and Manhattan Fire Department.

Sheriff Dan Springer would like to remind the public that rivers in Gallatin County, while beautiful and enjoyable, are powerful and sometimes conceal danger below the surface. Wearing proper flotation devices as well as packing appropriate clothing and gear for the worst conditions one may encounter is a good practice for staying safe.

Photos courtesy of Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office.

The Downtown Bozeman Association is proud to present the 23rd Annual Music on Main summer concert series this summer in Historic Downtown Bozeman. Music on Main will be located on Main Street from Rouse to Black Ave. The fun begins at 6:30 PM until 8:30 PM on Thursday evenings from July 6th to August 10th.  This event is hosted by the Downtown Bozeman Association and is free and open to the public.

 
Live bands, both local and touring, will be featured in this 6-week series. Music starts at 7 PM and lasts until 8:30 PM. The 2023 lineup, sponsors, event policies, and more details can be found below:
 
July 6th – Dammit Lauren!
July 13th – Float Like a Buffalo
July 20th – Swagger
July 27th – The Powell Brothers
August 3rd – Paige & the Peoples Band
August 10th – Kimberly Dunn
 
Bring the kids from 6:30-8 PM to the Coca-Cola “Kids’ Zone” on South Bozeman Avenue with inflatables and other interactive activities provided by the Gallatin Area’s best Nonprofits. Grab a bite to eat from one of our many rotating food vendors, step into a few of the downtown stores that stay open late, and of course enjoy outstanding live music from popular local and nationally recognized bands!

 
This event is 100% funded by our business sponsorships – thank you to our sponsors!
 
Our 2023 Presenting Sponsors: 94.7 "The Moose", Element Bozeman, Kenyon Noble, Lehrkind’s Coca-Cola & Coors Light, Gibson, Pendleton Whiskey
The 2023 Gold Sponsors: Little Stinkers, NBC Montana, Northwestern Energy, Rocking R Bar
Our 2023 Silver Sponsors: Blackfoot Communications, Happy Trash Can, MacKenzie River Pizza Co, Mountain Home Vacation Rentals, Peak Skis
Our 2023 Bronze Sponsors: Sweet Pea Festival, American Legion, Big Sky Tutoring, Bridgercare, Crystal Bar, First Security Bank, SCL Health now Intermountain Health, Sign Solutions, Pub 317

Our 2023 Friends of Music on Main: Altitude Apartments – Managed by RTE Property Group, Double Dog Cannabis, One Valley Community Foundation, Outside Bozeman
And generous Food Sponsors: Bacchus Pub, Five on Black, MacKenzie River Pizza, Shine Beer Sanctuary
 
The Downtown Bozeman Association, the City of Bozeman, and the Bozeman Police Department would also like to remind the public of the rules and regulations regarding the Open Container Waiver for the 2023 Music on Main summer concert series:
 
The Open Container Waiver allows for anyone over the age of 21 to have an open container of alcohol within the "event area" purchased by one of the licensed beverage establishments within the "event area" ONLY. The "event area" includes; Main Street from Black to Rouse Avenues and side-streets to the alleys during the Music on Main event from 6-9 PM on Thursday nights from July 6th – August 10th, 2023 ONLY.  Anyone with an open container outside of these perimeters before 6 PM or after 9 PM will be subject to a $100 open container ticket issued by the City of Bozeman.

 
There are also NO glass or aluminum containers, NO pets, NO coolers, and NO smoking allowed in the event area. Music on Main is a Smoke and Vapor-free Event! For assistance quitting tobacco contact 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
 
We have some incredible local Nonprofits who have curated interactive kids' activities for our Coca-Cola Kids' Zone located on S Bozeman!
 
From showcasing rotating animal ambassadors (Snakes! Bearded dragons! Hissing cockroaches! Oh my!) to hula-hooping and face-painting, to obstacle courses - there is ample family-fun to go around! Also, our friends with One Valley Community Foundation will be staffing the inflatable bounce houses from 6:30-8 PM!

On July 2, 2023 at 12:57 pm Gallatin County Dispatch received information that a family of 6 were lost while hiking the M Trail. The caller advised the family had run out of water and were stranded on a rocky portion of the mountain.

Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue volunteers from the Valley Section responded to the M Trailhead. Volunteers hiked in on foot and successfully located the stranded family. Search and Rescue volunteers escorted the family to the base of the trail head without incident.

Sheriff Springer reminds everyone to always carry enough food and water for an overnight hike, even if you only plan on a day hike, a device for navigation, whether that be a paper map or GPS device, and a charged cell phone to call for help should you need it.

Photos courtesy of Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office.

Where it used to be that health benefits covered a very specific group of services and items, today’s employees and workplaces have evolved, and business leaders are starting to realize the advantages of taking a whole-body approach to health. Keeping employees healthy means you can rely on staff members that show up to work, are full of energy and ready to get the job done. There’s also a sense of happiness and job satisfaction that employees have when they feel their health needs are being taken care of by their employer.

If you’re ready to offer more to your employees, here are some tips and supplemental benefits that encourage better health and wellness.

Find Ways to Boost Physical Health

It's common knowledge that staying active is a great way to stay fit and in better health, but why leave that to employees to deal with only in their free time? You can encourage physical exercise in the workplace with many creative solutions.

Some of the things you may want to do include:

Not only will these tips help employees be more active at work, but they can help them to view their physical health in a whole other way.

Offer a Supplemental Benefit That Covers Health Food Purchases

While inflation is slowly coming down from the peak heights it reached in 2022, for many people, the cost of groceries is still much higher than it was before. Unfortunately, some of the biggest increases in grocery stores are on fresh healthy options, making food insecurity a real issue for people.

Consider offering a supplemental benefit that is meant to encourage a healthy diet and overall wellness with a healthy foods benefit card. A healthy food benefit card for groceries works by allocating health plan dollars towards specific food purchases, with no claims or copays to deal with and no cash withdrawals allowed. You'll be able to restrict the spending to the healthy products and foods found in stores, and it can be used at stores that employees typically shop at.

A well-balanced healthy diet is what fuels the body helping to give it strength, energy, focus, and concentration, fight off germs and viruses better, and even prevent diet-related illnesses.

Take a Close Look at the Office Furniture

While you may not think that office furniture has an impact on health and well-being, in reality, it plays a big part. Using office furniture that isn't comfortable or ergonomic means employees are more likely to have back, neck, shoulder and wrist pain. This kind of pain can become chronic and negatively affect their productivity.

Consider upgrading to better quality office furniture that offers sufficient support. You may also want to consider installing standing desks for any employees interested in the option.

Each of these tips can help provide employees with more control over their health and make improvements.

Montana Law Enforcement is planning increased patrols in the Bozeman area over the holiday weekend. Residents are encouraged to plan for a sober ride home.
 
+ Local law enforcement and the Montana Highway Patrol are increasing their presence and patrols during the Fourth of July holiday and the weekend before
+ Montana has the highest share of alcohol-related traffic deaths in the U.S. at 45%, and in 2021 63% of all fatalities were the result of impaired driving
+ To ensure the safety of communities across Montana, law enforcement encourages residents to make a plan to get a sober ride home before they start drinking and celebrating the Fourth of July
 
BOZEMAN – As the Fourth of July weekend approaches, the Bozeman Police Department and the Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) are encouraging Montanans to plan a sober ride home before they celebrate. The Fourth is one of the deadliest holidays in Montana, so law enforcement will be increasing patrols across the state and making DUI arrests to ensure every Montanan gets home safely. MHP and the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) are committed to reducing fatalities and serious injuries on Montana’s roadways.

 
State law is that if drivers have a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 or higher, they could receive a DUI charge and other serious consequences, including having their driver’s license revoked, being required to take mandatory classes, and receiving possible jail time and up to $10,000 in fines and legal fees.

 
“If you’re celebrating this weekend or on the Fourth, be sure to make a plan for a safe ride home,” said Joseph Swanson, Patrol Captain for the Bozeman Police Department. “The important thing to know is how you will get home before you go out. Designate one of your friends as a sober driver, arrange for a rideshare service, cab, or public transportation, or call a friend or family member. If you see your friends or family have had too much to drink, look out for everyone’s safety and make sure they have a sober ride home, too.”

 
Why is law enforcement on high alert during the holiday weekend? These are Montana’s sobering statistics:
+ Montana has the highest fatality rates in the nation for the number of deaths caused by impaired drivers per vehicle mile traveled
+ The state has the highest share of alcohol-related traffic deaths at 45% (2021)
+ 63% of all traffic fatalities in Montana are the result of impaired driving (2021)
+ 1,268 people were killed in crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver from 2012-2021
 
“By making a plan before you go out, you’ll help keep our roads safer for everyone and protect your community,” said Joseph Swanson, Patrol Captain for the Bozeman Police Department. “Make sure you celebrate responsibly as you gather with friends and family on the Fourth. Together we can keep our state safe.”

 
Montana Department of Transportation — Vision Zero 
This is a Vision Zero message from the Montana Department of Transportation. This and other enforcement and educational campaigns are strategies to reach Vision Zero — zero deaths and zero serious injuries on Montana roadways. For more information about Vision Zero, contact Janet Kenny, Montana Department of Transportation, at 406-444-7417 or jakenny@mt.gov.

BOZEMAN — Jodi Allison-Bunnell, head of Archives and Special Collections at the Montana State University Library, will be inducted this summer as a fellow of the Society of American Archivists, or SAA, the oldest and largest archivist association in North America.

The distinction of fellow is awarded for outstanding contributions to the archives profession and is the highest honor SAA bestows on individuals. Allison-Bunnell will be honored during a July 27 awards ceremony at the joint annual meeting of the Council of State Archivists and SAA in Washington, D.C.

Allison-Bunnell is one of four new fellows being named in 2023. That will bring the number of fellows for the SAA to 199.  

Doralyn Rossmann, dean of the MSU Library, said Allison-Bunnell is deserving of the prestigious award.

“I am thrilled to see Jodi recognized for her contributions to the archives profession with an award of the highest honor for an archivist,” Rossmann said. “During her time at MSU, Jodi has demonstrated a depth of knowledge and expertise with archival practices that have resulted in great improvements to the management and discoverability of the MSU Library's Archives and Special Collections. Resultingly, we are seeing more and more people interested in trusting MSU with their archives because they know that we will be responsible stewards of their materials."

Throughout her nearly 30-year career, Allison-Bunnell has been a champion for the discovery and use of archival collections, according to a press release from SAA announcing Allison-Bunnell’s fellowship.

“Her work is undergirded by inclusive and collaborative partnerships, a solid foundation in descriptive standards, and a focus on pragmatic solutions that have assisted archives of all types,” SAA noted.

Allison-Bunnell came to the MSU Library in 2020 as assistant professor, senior archivist and head of Archives and Special Collections, where she manages an academic repository and its staff. During her three years at MSU, she has focused on increasing the efficiency of the department’s work. In particular – and with the support of a Faculty Excellence Grant – she led a process to implement Lean, a method from industrial manufacturing that focuses on minimizing waste while maximizing productivity, for the library’s collection preparation. Allison-Bunnell said the work, which involved three departments in the library, resulted in higher quality, shorter and more predictable project timelines, and increased employee satisfaction. As part of the efforts, the library has also implemented new systems that help describe its collections in a way that can increase discovery and use.

“Underlying all of that is my sustained commitment to building a cohesive and functional team in the department and being part of doing so for the library leadership team,” Allison-Bunnell said. 

She noted that Archives and Special Collections has increased the number of classes that are invited to come into the archives and explore the collections as part of their research methods or other courses. This spring, Allison-Bunnell said, she taught or co-taught sessions for 23 classes.

Since her arrival at MSU, Allison-Bunnell has also published articles on the Lean process with colleagues at the University of Washington, as well as a paper on the future of increasing access to heritage collections nationally and a book chapter in a Stanford University Library handbook.

She previously worked as a consultant to cultural heritage organizations, including libraries, museums and archives, in the United States. In 2007, she became a program manager at the Orbis Cascade Alliance, where she led a regional program for archives and other cultural heritage institutions in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Archives West, as it is now called, is one of the largest U.S.-based finding aid networks, representing more than 50 contributors and 35,000 finding aids, and serves as a model for other regional, consortia-based archival description work. Finding aids are tools that help a user find information in a collection of materials, such as card catalogs, inventories and institutional guides. 

She has master’s degrees in library science and American history, both from the University of Maryland at College Park, as a well as a bachelor’s degree in English from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.

Allison-Bunnell said a “desire to time travel” is what led her to her career. After graduating from Whitman, she considered graduate school in English. But then she spent a summer working as a fire lookout in Washington state, a job that led her to produce an article on the experience for a local newspaper and to write about fire lookouts, culture and communication within the U.S. Forest Service.

“I had a thirst not just for old things, but to understand: ‘Why does this place look like this?’ What made this place?’ I had a desire to put the pieces together.”

Allison-Bunnell credits her adviser in graduate school, Frank Burke, with helping launch her career. Burke, the national archivist under President Ronald Reagan and an SAA fellow himself, encouraged her to revitalize the student chapter of the SAA at the University of Maryland and mentored her along the way.

Throughout her career, she has worked to increase access to content in archives, such as unpublished, original materials.

“This could be entirely unique, like a diary or a letter, or an author’s research papers, such as Ivan Doig’s notecards. He would overhear someone and say to himself, ‘This is an interesting phrase,’ and then write it down,” Allison-Bunnell said. “Those unique materials were created for one reason, such as an author’s research, and then brought into a research institution like MSU and used for another purpose.”

Allison-Bunnell said deciding what to collect poses many challenges for an archivist. She expects her next stage of scholarship to focus on this question.

“We have focused a lot on collecting the past. We’re thinking together about collecting more of the present,” Allison-Bunnell said. “Where will our efforts go? That’s a direction I’m really interested in exploring.”

Allison-Bunnell said it’s an exciting time to work in special collections and archives.

“We think the past is just gone and it doesn’t matter and we’re moving forward, but it’s always with us. It doesn’t ever really go away,” Allison-Bunnell said. “And we might as well understand it, because the world is a richer and more interesting place when we understand it.”