If your business is considering using a vendor or third-party provider for different business activities or functions, you might want to consider hiring a business process outsourcing company. Let’s review what a business process outsourcing company is, how it functions, and whether it is right for your business.
What is a Business Process Outsourcing Company?
A business process outsourcing company, sometimes referred to as a BPO, provides a variety of support services to businesses, both large and small. A lot of the time, these processes are tech-related, which means they are constantly changing as technology improves. While your business focuses on what it does best, business process outsourcing companies focus on providing your company with the processes or functions that it needs, including staffing, support, and technology to supplement your team. This can be really anything from customer support services to payroll processing. Ultimately, a business process outsourcing company offers front office and back office operations.
Who Needs a Business Process Outsourcing Company?
Business process outsourcing companies can be helpful to all different kinds of businesses across different industries. There really aren’t many limitations, outside of other competing BPOs perhaps, because business process outsourcing companies focus on standard business processes and functions that all businesses have. Since they aren’t limited to specific verticals, BPOs can choose to offer expert, specialized service to companies within specific industries or offer services to a more broad range of businesses.
Additionally, some BPO companies may choose to focus on the customer-facing support services while others will focus on providing internal, back-office operations. At the end of the day, any business that is struggling to successfully handle standard business operations, either customer facing or internally, should invest in a business process outsourcing company to allow for better operational success.
What are the Common Services Offered by a Business Process Outsourcing Company
While business process outsourcing companies are not limited in what industries they could service, many choose to specialize their service offerings to cater to a specific industry or select industries. For example, while nearly all businesses have to deal with payroll (unless they are a sole proprietor), some have larger employee pools to process. As such, not all business process outsourcing companies offer the same services.
Front Office Operations
Front office operations typically refer to the customer-facing services, like reception, scheduling, or customer service. A business process outsourcing company could handle scheduling appointments for a healthcare organization, providing customer service solutions for any type of business, and typically they have the technology to run it all.
Back Office Operations
Back office operations primarily refer to those business functions that do not involve the customers. BPO back office service offerings could include data entry, human resources, payroll, IT services, payment processing, accounting, supply chain management and more.
What are the Benefits of Using a BPO Company
If your business is struggling, you may be able to significantly benefit from a BPO. Are there customer needs that aren’t being met? Are you customers happy with response times to questions, concerns, or issues? Are you struggling to keep up with payroll? Are human resources tasks taking forever? Hiring a BPO company might be a solution to your problems. If you are thinking about hiring a business process outsourcing company, let’s take a look at some of the specific benefits of hiring a BPO that can help your business.
Reduced Costs
Let’s face it, hiring full time staff to take on certain responsibilities can be expensive, especially if it’s a service you don’t constantly need. A business process outsourcing company can provide you with the staffing solutions you need to stop the gap in service so you can focus on your core competencies. It’s also highly scalable, which means you won’t be paying for staff when you don’t need it, but you’ll have them available when you do, which results in lower payroll costs for your company.
Technology
Unless you have a tech company, you are likely focusing on your business offerings instead of taking the time and money to research, evaluate, and try the latest and greatest software. When you choose a business process outsourcing company, they will have the best in technology to be able to provide you with the best service. They are able to dedicate time and research to what tech is best for what business function because that is the BPO’s core competency. Not all BPOs are the same, so be sure to properly vet the company before choosing.
Scalability
When using a BPO, you have immediate scalability and flexibility at your fingertips. As your needs change, you can scale up or down with a business process outsourcing company. Like we mentioned, you won’t have to pay for staff you don’t need, but you’ll have it available when you do.
Enhanced Customer Support
A lot of business process outsourcing companies focus on providing common customer service solutions to businesses so your staff can be available for more technical, special customer service issues. Being able to provide your customers with answers quickly will lead to a better experience for them, which means better business reviews and the potential for more business.
How to Choose a Business Process Outsourcing Company
When considering a business process outsourcing company, you’ll want to look at the following qualities before hiring: technology, services, and communication.
Technology First
One of the biggest benefits of hiring a business process outsourcing company is having access to its technology. You’ll want to at least do some preliminary research to be able to determine the level of tech you can expect; choose a company that offers the best in technology and whose team is experienced with it. If a company is accessing customer data, or any personal data from employees, you’ll want to ensure they are GDPR compliant and willing to sign NDAs as needed in order to protect your company’s intellectual property and any proprietary information they may be able to access.
Services Offered
Before you sign a contract, you’ll want to evaluate the services offered by the BPO to make sure they are an exact match to what you need. There are a ton of business process outsourcing companies out there, so there’s no need to compromise on service. Find one that meets your needs. Also, be sure to check what time zone(s) they cover, that the team speaks the languages you need, are in your budget to be cost-effective, and that they have a reputation for providing quality services.
Communication
Although you’re handing off a business function or process to the BPO, you’ll want to make sure that they have open lines of communication with you. Nothing spells disaster like leaving your company in someone else’s hands and not being able to get through to them. Look for a business process outsourcing company that wants to work with you as a partner, not just take your money and do a job. Open communication is important in choosing a BPO.
Want to Learn More About Business Process Outsourcing?
If you’re ready to see if hiring a business process outsourcing company is right for your business, schedule a consultation. We can’t wait to hear from you!