In the past two articles we went deep into understanding the basics of BPO, the basic concept, its categories, the benefits and risks of outsourcing and some new trends of specialized services the BPO companies are offering their clients to have a 360° change and make their companies great.
BPO is the action of trusting a partner to execute some of your business activities or processes to save money and resources, acquire higher quality service for our customers, and support our customer around the clock, this will provide you the possibility to focus on the core business functions.
This new chapter is all about understanding the industry; the undergoing changes it faces, the future of this growing industry and the best way to choose a BPO partner for your company.
The Business Process Outsourcing Industry
In the past five years, the BPO industry has exploded due to drastic changes in social media use and the concurrent demand for multichannel communication. Consumer behavior has changed too. Browsing social media has become the third most popular online activity and an overwhelming 81 percent of the U.S. population has at least one active social media account.
Before the year 2000, companies provided customer service through websites and by transferring calls via interactive voice response, and the BPO industry was primarily composed of call centers. But times have changed and the opportunities are bigger every day. BPO providers are specialized in finding niches of service to help you improve your processes and have a more efficient business.
BPO providers have also improved to provide their clients with high tech breakthroughs which seem to be the future of this thriving industry.
The Future of Business Process Outsourcing
The future of BPO is a promising one, automatizing will be the key to open new opportunities.
Data entry work and image recognition can be automated easily, but experts in the field report that certain functions, like handwritten data and telemarketing, will resist automation. Most industries, BPO included, will find a way to use these new technological resources to the advantage of their company and its clients.
New trends like social media, machine learning and cloud services will be taken advantage of to reduce costs and accelerate growth.
Startups businesses are becoming more dependent on this type of service, so there is mutual dependence with BPOs.
This practically new tendency to provide attention and support via social media is expected to continue.
Another change in the industry comes with the fact that BPO companies will have to invest in diversifying their workforce. These BPO providers will get more competitive and will be forced to lower their prices, they will accelerate the need of lower-cost alternatives such as software automation and AI.
AI and automation are real threats to workforces all over the world, governments and business leaders should focus on educating the new generation so they can meet the new demand of knowledge for highly skilled positions.
BPO companies are required to be more transparent so that they may build and maintain trust if they will be so deeply involved in your company’s functions and processes.
Choose the right Business Process Outsourcing partner for you:
Finding the right BPO partner for your company is no easy task. You will have to go throw many details before you settle with a company and get to an agreement.
It is highly recommended going with the formal and extensive research process, before choosing the BPO partner for your company. You should carefully look for the best outsourcing experience and the one partner that seems able to meet your company’s goals.
This list of tasks can help companies that are considering a BPO provider to perform in sequential order to find the best candidate.
Define your requirements and review potential providers:
In this first step, you need to identify all your company’s stakeholders and with them you must also figure out the key objectives, risks, and processes for BPO to have a complete understanding of your goals.
You should also start to source potential service providers. It is always a great idea to develop a scorecard to determine the most important criteria.
Define the model and source vendors:
Determine the most crucial elements you are looking for in a BPO provider you should also have already defined what service management model your company will use.
Choose the right BPO partner for your company:
Evaluate all the possible providers. Try to analyze the change that will result from contracting them. What are the risks and benefits of working with each of the possible providers should be taken into account before making any decision.
Negotiate the contract:
The negotiation of the contract is the most important step in the process of acquiring a BPO partner. Both companies must reach an agreement of the service parameters and the contract schedule.
Transition the processes to your new partner:
This is a hands-on task. You should develop and execute a plan to make the transition to the new work model, make sure that your business has open communication internally and with the service provider from the beginning to guarantee the success of the transition process.
Create a relationship:
Verify the proper execution of all the things stated during the life of the contract with your service provider. A key factor for ensuring that your company is receiving the expected benefits of outsourcing is to have constant performance monitoring. Always encourage a collaborative relationship and plan ahead to renegotiate your contract at the end of its term.
And last but not least, here are some quick tips that can help you choose the right BPO partner for your company:
- A good outsourcing company will always give you advice and will help you decide which parts of your business you need to keep in-house.
- A remarkable outsourcing company values the work of every employee. A good BPO partner will try to establish a solid connection between their company and your organization to help increase productivity.
- A worthwhile BPO company’s objective is to help your organization optimize and increase sales without consuming too much money.
- Choose your BPO partner carefully, always ask for evidence that supports that the service provider can actually deliver the task with excellence and on time.
The real key to a successful BPO experience is to do your research beforehand, lay out clearly your company’s expectations and goals with your selected BPO partner and stick to what both parties agreed upon. You should choose a BPO provider carefully and conscientiously, and the relationship should be defined formally but willing to give the best so this new chapter in your company’s life cycle brings profits and success.
BPO provides a world of possibilities for startups and big companies. So look into your process to take a step into a better future for your company with the help of a BPO partner.
