When a company grows rapidly or wants to expand on their opportunities, they may want to consider hiring a company to take care of specific, repetitive processes. It’s what we call Business Process Outsourcing, or BPO, which means getting a new partner that will be in charge of managing possibly more tedious or daunting tasks, using experienced professionals.
When a company starts to grow, it may need to outsource key processes in order to keep their attention where it is needed, in making the overall business grow.
Depending on the company’s size and the financial resources of the business, it may get to a point where an in-house office will struggle to manage all pending tasks that require a more hands-on labor, leading to hires, over-time, and other hidden increased costs.
When a process is hard to handle in-house the magic of BPO comes to rescue the day.
BPO services can be acquired to help our company in many areas including: Customer service, Tech Support, Document Processing, Sales, etc. A BPO partner can help achieve every company’s goal, getting things done while saving money, always sharing the same interest: success and growth.
So if a company is growing at an accelerated rate, it may be time to consider these basic benefits in outsourcing:
Increase in Productivity
The core workers of the company can focus on their strongest areas, while the repetitive, outsourced processes will be taken care of fast and effectively.
Scale
Scale is another benefit of using BPO services. A company can increase production and lower expenses, compared to adding additional overhead costs and using in-house resources.
Cost Reduction
Hiring offshore companies to outsource opens the possibility to well-trained personnel, again, at a lower cost per hour than the average in-house employee. You will also reduce overall costs on work space, equipment and training.
There are different types of BPO, for example, categorized by geography:
- Offshore Outsourcing: One of the most common types of outsourcing. It takes place when you hire a company located in a different country.
- Onshore Outsourcing: When the BPO company is located in the same county as the client.
- Nearshore Outsourcing: When the BPO company is located in a nearby country.
Every option has pros and cons, but a great way to decide is usually to look at cost and viability, as a company may even benefit from sharing time-zones, travel distance and cultural relevance.
Outsourcing companies may also be categorized by business function:
- Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO): A combination of outsourcing and consulting services, the outsourcing company executes the established process and provides continuous advice and optimization.
- Research Process Outsourcing (RPO): This type of outsourcing provides data and statistical analysis, and is focused on specific areas of the business. It can include: Marketing research, competitive analysis, customer profile, biotech and technological research.
- Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO): This type of outsourcing is specific to legal services. It can include private investigations, discovery and litigation in general.
Any way you look at it, BPO can be magic! It is already everywhere and can be used virtually in every industry: to collect late payments, customer service, sales, tech support, deliveries, manufacturing, design, software development and research.
Before choosing a BPO partner to take care of some of our company’s processes, research is recommended regarding all possible companies to work with onshore, nearshore and offshore, taking into account that there can always be risks as there are benefits.
For example, some of the risks may include:
Security
Sensitive data and customer information are at risk if your BPO partner does not have the required security protocols. You may ask to see certifications or guarantees to feel more comfortable with an external partner.
Time Zone
When you hire a BPO company located in another time zone you could have some difficulties adjusting the schedules, so take that into account because critical time frames may be prejudicial to your company.
Quality Assurance
You need to ask for the best. These companies will be representing your company, meaning everything they do wrong, your company is doing wrong.
Communication
Language and cultural differences can create communication issues, so try to choose the partener you feel understands the process better, and gets the full view of your company’s intentions. Ask to meet top management executives who will take responsibility of your brand, and if possible even ask to meet the agents to do some communications trials if necessary. Real time communication will be necessary.
Is a Call Center Considered a BPO?
Of course, the answer is yes! Call centers are BPO companies that provide numerous services to other companies, from inbound customer calls to sales and tech support. There are many areas where a call center can be very useful.
A call center will need a high number of agents, spacious workspace, advanced equipment and software, so not all companies have the resources to achieve an in-house call center to effectively manage the workflow. Outsourcing is not only a viable option, it is quickly becoming a common business practice for all industries.
You can benefit from the years of experience and multiple clients Call Centers will have, along with specialized professionals and trained agents for every type of company or industry.
Call centers also invest in software for their accounts, increasing security, productivity and customer flow and satisfaction.
Analize all your company’s processes and functions to identify where a BPO partner can add some magic. You will find a BPO company for every specific business function or process, and hopefully it will be a partner you can trust and grow with for years.
