2020 has been a year to forget for businesses, with the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly shaking the ground beneath their corporate structures. Business process outsourcing companies have had to help their clients through challenging situations, and their help proved invaluable.
However, there are a lot of things that Covid-19 taught us:
Standing Strong by Being Open to Technology
The most prominent of these lessons is the resilience of the human race. The severity and quick spreading nature of the pandemic caught everyone by surprise.
What emerged as a new disease spotted only locally in a city in China in November of 2019 soon spread to other parts of the nation and, as the potency and spreading capability of the disease was controversially kept hidden initially, Chinese tourists to Italy and people from other nations visiting China contributed to the novel coronavirus spreading all over the world in a matter of months. This prompted travel restrictions and a state of general economic lockdown in most countries by March 2020. Many companies had their supply chains disrupted, affecting production and delivery to markets and customers. Employees could no longer make it to the workplace owing to restrictions and general fear of the pandemic.
In short, on the surface, it appeared as though things stood at a standstill. But industries and companies found ways to work despite the restrictions.
Virtual Meetings Possible with Technology
So, what if employees couldn’t physically make it to the workplace? Businesses thought of communication platforms that were around to ensure virtual meetings to discuss important matters and plan the course of work. They started adopting video conferencing with greater frequency, with tools such as Zoom and Google Meet.
Cloud and SaaS for Remote Working
Remote working was the only option available and, as employees worked from home, there emerged the need to monitor and coordinate their work. The importance of cloud storage and SaaS applications was felt. Suddenly, the cloud became super-important. Even if some companies had reservations about turning to the cloud, they really couldn’t help it. The need of the hour was great. Employing advanced security mechanisms was also considered important, especially with so much happening on the cloud.
What we can take from this is the fact that there has been greater openness to adopt technology. These technological additions would only help businesses even beyond the pandemic. Their efficiency has been realized. As a result, we could see business practices and procedures changed forever.
Third Party Outsourcing
Businesses have also felt the importance of third-party outsourcing providers who offer everything from data entry, document conversion and document scanning to more comprehensive business process outsourcing (BPO) including marketing and back office support. The technological solutions they provide give businesses freedom from maintaining extensive infrastructure and worrying about managing all these during the pandemic.
Self-Evaluation for Improvement
The pandemic has also offered opportunities for a self-check, both from the corporate and the individual employee points of view.
- Companies carried out self-evaluation to detect loopholes in their business processes and sought to rectify them through technology.
- Employees working remotely were mostly burdened with more stress and work than what’s usually involved at the workplace. That, and the fact that job opportunities diminished with the pandemic, caused remote working employees to be more accountable, transparent and hard working. They put in more effort to complete their work on time.
How Outsourcing Grew
According to research by Statista, there was a 19.4% increase in outsourcing of marketing activities.
- To recover from the impact of Covid-19, businesses have realized more than ever before that cost reduction is quite important. According to Deloitte’s 2020 Global Outsourcing Survey report, there has been a significant increase in organizations that prioritize cost reduction. This trend is set to keep growing even in a post-pandemic era, and outsourcing facilitates that through more optimum use of resources.
- Deloitte research states that robotic process automation (RPA) is also becoming a major component of outsourcing strategies, along with cloud. RPA could enhance business functioning, reduce strain on workforce, and help businesses overcome crisis situations such as the pandemic. RPA is most likely here to stay, and there could be other technological catalysts that develop along the way in months and years to come.
Such transformations powered by technology are becoming mainstream because of the contingencies imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, but the trends they kickstart are likely to become the mainstay of business functioning.
In these challenging times, companies can use outsourcing help such as data conversion services to make functioning even easier and less stressful.
