Outsourcing is more than just an agreement where an organization hires a third-party provider to get business processes done more efficiently. It offers a strategic approach that enables companies to lower costs, focus on core areas, and achieve growth.
If you’ve always wondered if you should hire a business process outsourcing (BPO) partner to handle your non-core business tasks, our blog will discuss what outsourcing is all about and why it works.
What is Outsourcing?
Outsourcing is a business practice that involves hiring a third party to perform specific services or tasks. The third party can use technology or manpower to perform these responsibilities on-site or at the firm’s location.
If you’re considering outsourcing for your large enterprise, you have three options:
- Onshoring - Your company will work with a third-party provider within the country it operates in (also called local outsourcing).
- Nearshoring - You’ll working with an outsourcing partner in a nearby country or follows the same time zone.
- Offshoring - When you choose an offshoring partner, your production ops will take place in another country.
For greater cost-efficiency, consider working with a nearshoring or offshoring company. Hiring a nearshoring provider can help reduce travel expenses, while offshoring can reduce your training and compensation costs.
What Business Tasks Can You Outsource?
Your enterprise business can outsource any of the following business processes:
IT Services
Outsourcing IT services can help companies can help lower costs because it eliminates the need to hire additional employees and tech. A BPO firm can assist with coding, software development, cloud integration deployment, quality assurance (QA), and tech support.
Customer Service
Working with a customer service outsourcing partner means a third-party company will provide support services on your behalf. This way, your brand can maintain responsive, high-quality service while enjoying greater scalability and flexibility.
Marketing
If you want to stay ahead of the curve and accelerate growth with a unified marketing strategy, your company will benefit from outsourced marketing services. Working with an external partner can help offload your time spent on email marketing, content production, digital PR, and marketing strategy.
Sales
Want to take advantage of untapped sales potential? Drive greater revenue with an outsourcing partner that can help you expand audience reach, increase market share, and implement best practices for data analytics.
HR & Payroll Management
Outsourcing your HR processes can help reduce your admin workload so you can focus on your core business objectives. A BPO company can help handle payroll processing, recruitment, benefit plan management, employment law compliance, and more.
Accounting & Finance
By outsourcing your finance and accounting department, you can use an advanced tech platform and get real-time visibility for bookkeeping, invoicing, financial report generation, and more. Some key benefits include improved tech and compliance.
Why Do Companies Outsource Non-core Business Tasks?
Enterprise companies choose to outsource for the following reasons:
Reduces Costs
Outsourcing offers significant cost-saving benefits. Large enterprises may choose to work with an outsourcing partner to reduce costs and gain focused expertise. Meanwhile, small businesses could benefit from working with a third-party vendor to stay competitive, lean, and agile.
For example, if you’re looking to save on HR costs, you can spend less on payroll, recruitment, training, and salary. For start-ups, maintaining a whole HR department could get costly when they could use their hard-earned cash elsewhere.
Enables Company Growth
By outsourcing non-core processes, you can free up capital and focus on areas that drive ROI. Working with an outsourcing company can help you avoid large expenditures and use your resources on revenue-generating activities instead if you're a start-up.
Remember: capital is the key to business growth. In fact, if you have plans to sell your business, outsourcing can help you look more attractive to potential investors.
Frees Up Time
Business owners are most valuable to their company when they focus on critical activities that contribute to company growth. And for that to work, they need time.
Outsourcing can help you focus on what you do best instead of getting bogged down by daily admin tasks that keep the company moving. Identify which responsibilities should be delegated to a service provider so you can spend more time developing core strengths and focusing on generating more income.
Unlocks Access to Global Talent
Outsourcing allows companies to tap into a wider talent pool, support multiple languages, and understand different market needs better.
Working with a third-party provider for short- and long-term projects allows in-house employees to focus on strategic initiatives. A back-office outsourcing provider can handle these tasks with a faster turnaround time.
Increases Efficiency & Performance
Partnering with a BPO provider can improve business focus. After all, when your employees aren’t bogged down by day-to-day processing and admin processes, they can direct their energy to critical projects and improve the quality of their output.
Without an outsourcing partner to ease the burden of non-core tasks, you could risk stretching your employees thin. Think about how focusing on other tasks could compromise their performance and affect morale.
Ensures Business Continuity
Most businesses rely on an IT system to store and access data. But when disaster strikes, you could experience an unplanned service disruption. Create contingencies for unexpected emergencies by outsourcing business continuity planning.
Entrusting business continuity to a BPO company makes your enterprise more resilient during uncertain times. An external third party can improve your response to disaster recovery by utilizing the latest tech and reducing the time it takes to restore essential systems.
How Do You Choose an Outsourcing Provider?
Here are some things you should consider during your search for the right BPO provider:
Set Business Goals
Before anything else, set realistic business goals. Establish metrics to measure success and evaluate whether your potential outsourcing partner can help you achieve your goals.
Evaluate Culture Compatibility
Consider how company culture is anchored on daily engagements between employees. Maintaining a healthy workplace means making your employees feel safe, motivated, and aligned with your overall mission. When hiring an outsourcing partner, choose a provider that fits into your company culture. Ask yourself: Do they value communication, transparency, and feedback?
Assess Experience & Competence
A prospective partner’s experience says a lot about its track record and credibility. Read customer testimonials and evaluate their previous projects. Ask yourself the “hard questions” and determine whether they’re the right fit for your enterprise.
Experience is one thing; competence is another. After verifying your partner’s credentials, find out if they have the technical skills to meet your requirements. For example, try to learn about how they track results and resolve issues so you can get a clearer picture of how they’ll handle your project.
Inspect Technology
Outsourcing processes have come a long way because of improvements in technology. Inspect if your BPO partner has access to state-of-the-art tech and infrastructure. For example, communication platforms like email, workplace chat apps, and collaboration platforms should all be up-to-date and functioning smoothly.
Entrust HR & Payroll to an Outsourcing Company
Grow your enterprise business with the right outsourcing partner. If you need extra hands to manage payroll or legal processes, partner with Sprout and fill out our sign-up form.
Learn more about our payroll outsourcing services here, and keep an eye out for the upcoming launch of our professional legal outsourcing services soon.
About the Author