Thinking about outsourcing? Learn why and when you should consider partnering with a BPO

Here’s everything you need to know about increasing the quality and efficiency of your business processes.

The “new normal” in the aftermath of the pandemic

It has been two years since the COVID-19 pandemic and this has impacted almost every company in almost every industry on the planet. Global country-wide lockdowns have ushered in a “new normal” working environment, requiring businesses to adopt and leverage all remote working options. Companies confront hurdles in surviving in the market, keeping their employees secure, and just keeping their staff, now more than ever before. Employee retention has proven to be the most challenging and difficult task since many employees were unable to adapt to the new working condition; many people were unable to work from home for a number of reasons, making the situation much more challenging for business owners and managers.

What makes BPO such an important option? What are the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing particular business processes?

The remote working environment has evolved into something “hybrid” in the two years since the pandemic, with many companies adopting it as a long-term strategy. Some businesses, on the other hand, will not be able to pursue what other businesses will be able to. That is one of the reasons BPOs exist: to allow businesses to outsource work that cannot be done in-house. Essentially, a BPO organization has staff working remotely from several locations throughout the world, addressing multiple inquiries at the same time. BPO firms, in essence, offer cost-effective solutions, competent personnel, flexible business operations, quick and efficient responses, and an omnichannel experience. You won’t have to worry about your employees’ effectiveness in a distant location if you outsource some of your employee tasks. The BPO company will manage the work for you, ensuring all performance indicators are being met, making it a wise and vital decision for achieving faster business results.

The BPO industry’s steady expansion

BPO is expected to become a regular element in the strategic management toolbox by 2025. With its rapid global expansion, the outsourcing industry has become an appealing opportunity for businesses to improve their overall efficiency while reducing expenses.

The most compelling reasons to consider a BPO

There are several reasons to consider outsourcing some of your business activities, as well as numerous benefits, but to make things easier, we’ve divided the most essential ones into three categories:

1. Strategic

Operating a business needs a great deal of expertise, patience, strategic thought, time, and, of course, money. You must know the industry, the market, and the competition while running a company (small or large), and you must have a game-changing team of people who can translate your strategy into results. All of this contributes to the strategic decision to hire a BPO. Business Process Outsourcing would undoubtedly assist you in better strategizing. How? Simply put, if you focus solely on obtaining core business functions and work that is most important to growing your business while outsourcing some non-essential work or a part of your business for which you lack knowledge or manpower, you will be able to reallocate your best resources to core strategic tasks and accelerate your business’s growth faster and easier. One of the most important strategic approaches in any business is to concentrate on core competencies.

2. Economic

BPOs are cost-effective. They necessitate shorter commitments and smaller groups. This all helps you save time and money by lowering your business’s overhead expenditures (which can reduce costs even further). Consider the time spent selecting and interviewing individuals, all hiring fees, employee wages, and/or hourly rates, and employee benefits, as well as the costs of setting up an office and constructing an onsite or remote infrastructure (including hardware and software). When you consider all of the time and money you’ll have to spend, Business Process Outsourcing is extremely inexpensive, or to put it another way, it saves you money, a lot of time, effort, and energy, and most importantly, it allows you to concentrate on other vital business matters. Another significant and crucial economic factor to consider (and one that most organizations do) is that if your Business Process Outsourcing partner is based in an emerging market, you will save money through labor cost arbitrage.

3. Technological

The digital world is always changing, and technology is not only here to stay but also improving at a breakneck pace. Every business nowadays, particularly SaaS enterprises, relies heavily on customer experience — and it must be cutting-edge! BPOs are always adopting the latest trends and technology to perfect the ever-evolving customer experience and care, offering digital, multichannel, seamless, and innovative solutions. A good outsourcing partner uses the potential of technology to produce the best customer experiences and establish an end-to-end integrated customer journey across all touchpoints, rather than seeing it as a threat. As a result, working with a BPO provides you with immediate access to cutting-edge technology, highly qualified and trained personnel, and innovative solutions targeted to your industry, clients, and company.

When is the appropriate time to consider a BPO?

Literally, yesterday! Every day is a good day to consider a BPO, especially if you have a lot of work on your plate. However, if you examine all that has been discussed so far, the following are the optimal moments to consider outsourcing and working with a BPO:

• When you need to cut costs or save money;
• When you need to expand your staff but don’t have the time or are unable to discover qualified candidates;
• When it’s time to concentrate on strategy and core or important business issues;
• When you require or desire rapid growth (start-ups and mature companies)

But, as we’ve said before, it all depends on the type of organization, its size, needs, and potential. Both large and small businesses, as well as start-ups, can benefit from BPOs. They supply global talent (typically available 24/7) independent of your company’s location, and they are experts in the fields in which they work. They are cost-effective and relieve you of some of the non-essential tasks. To get the best and quickest business outcomes, mix in-house teams for some operations (i.e. marketing, sales, operations, etc.) with outsourcing partners for others (i.e. call center, customer support, technical support, software development, etc.).