An organization’s in-house processes are many and the staff is mostly occupied in performing these with little time to spare. Managing business processes becomes more challenging as the business expands. Today, many companies utilize reliable outsourced solutions not only to lessen the workload, but also to benefit from working with specialists in various fields. According to Betterment’s 2018 survey, more than one in three workers in the US are freelancers and the number is predicted to reach 40 percent by 2020. Outsourcing refers to the process of engaging with a third party or organization outside of your company, either locally or internationally, to handle business activities. Outsourcing has become an affordable option mainly for smaller companies that work within tight budgets. Even though the concept of outsourcing has been around for a long time, some organizations still have concerns about outsourcing and here are some of the most common concerns.
Outsourcing Concerns
- Will outsourcing help in the growth of the business: According to Deloitte’s 2018 Global Outsourcing Survey, controlling costs is one of the major advantages of outsourcing. Saving money has been one of the most common reasons for businesses to adopt outsourcing. Apart from saving costs, outsourcing helps businesses to work with partners and integrate services that they couldn’t provide on their own and also boost the start-ups to work faster and more efficiently. Businesses can outsource various activities like product development, IT service, HR, software development and so on.
- How efficient will my team be: Outsourcing provides access to experts in various areas that your company lacks, and by outsourcing you can build a fully equipped team that allows you to achieve your objectives. By outsourcing some of the tasks, your employees will have more free time and can focus better on productive activities. Outsourcing helps you streamline business processes and complete your projects on time.
- Can it improve the team’s capabilities: Outsourcing can improve your team’s capabilities and you can get access to expertise that your team lacks. Strategic outsourcing will help you have a strong and capable team of experts that is vital for the business to excel.
- Can it help my team avoid spending too much time on tasks: Business teams often have to carry out various tasks in an organization. Sometimes entrepreneurs have to work as content writers, HR managers, PR personnel and so on and it is difficult to perform all these activities together successfully. Since you don’t have equal expertise in all processes, you may not be able to achieve optimum results. In such cases, outsourcing is the best choice. It helps entrepreneurs to focus on their goals and also save considerable time.
Business Process Outsourcing Considerations
- Aligning advantageously: Outsourcing is surely a cost-effective method to achieve your business goals. A proper vision of tomorrow with appropriate investments today is the path to achieve growth and success. So to make outsourcing useful, your BPO provider should align with your company’s visions. Otherwise it is impossible to achieve your long term goals.
- Protecting important data: Data is the most vital element of your business. After the epic Equifax Breach in 2017 which affected 127 million people, the respondents were clear that data security is the main concern. So service providers must have flawless security systems. Choose a provider that has a reputation for protecting their clients’ data and integrity.
- Better customer experience: Proper customer service is important for any business. So constantly improving customer experience is the key to not only attracting but also keeping customers for a long period of time and this stabilizes or increases the sales. Sharing your insights with your BPO partner is critical for them to provide predictable, standard processes, backed by innovative technology, which continually improves your customer experience.
- Investments in technology: Advanced technology includes AI, Machine Learning and IoT (Internet of Things) devices that can transform the way businesses operate. Surely, these devices improve efficiency, but they involve costs that need to be balanced against expected returns. Most companies may be able to invest in chatbots that can communicate with customers and answer simple questions. Instead of investing heavily in more advanced technology, you can choose to outsource and benefit from basic as well as advanced tools such as Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) and other tech innovations.
- Implementing proven strategies: It is best to outsource only those tasks that have proven to pay off. Choose a reliable company to outsource to and start working together in a scheduled manner.
- Outsource repetitive tasks: A business organization may have many repetitive tasks. These repetitive tasks can be outsourced to a professional service provider and it will help you save time and improve efficiency.
A good BPO service provider will work closely with your organization to evaluate overall performance, help meet your objectives, and offer effective communication strategies. When making a choice, ensure that your provider can help scale and strengthen your brand. For this they should have sufficient experience, an experienced workforce, technology and proven processes to support your current as well as future operations. All successful outsourcing partnerships have been found to grow stronger with time. In any solid partnership, you will find that the outsourcer and the outsourcing service provider are dedicated to ensuring clear communication, improving productivity, controlling costs and enhancing technology.
