Try as they may, most organizations can’t be experts at every organizational process. This has led many businesses to turn towards outside sources for a fresh perspective and additional support.
To fill in the skills and process gaps, many organizations have found success investing in Business Process Outsources (BPO). BPO is a practice in which one organization hires another for a specific process, task, or service. Businesses typically outsource two kinds of work, either back-office functions or front-office functions. Back-office duties include accounting, IT services, human resources, quality assurance, and payment processing. Front-office duties include customer relations services, marketing, and sales.
Using BPO, organizations can outsource entire departments like HR or customer service, or specific departmental tasks like payroll and data entry. One of the major benefits of working with a BPO is the flexibility and scalability they offer when it comes to building new processes and scaling current ones.
Scalable services offered by BPOs
There are a variety of short- and long-term services offered by BPO companies. Here is a list of some of the most common business functions managed by BPOs and the benefits they provide.
Customer Support
Customer support is one of the most common business functions handed over to BPOs. As a business scales up, they will need to quickly manage the growing needs of their customers. Instead of hiring, training, and managing in-house customer support representatives, why not automate it with the help of professionals? BPOs automate and manage processes such as receiving phone calls, emails, live chats and social media support, and can do so while ensuring 24/7 availability.
One of the reasons BPOs are so successful automating support services is their access to omni-channel support solutions. Omni-channel customer engagement solutions are vital in today’s digital landscape, and these platforms allow BPOs to engage with customers on whichever digital platform they prefer. This greatly contributes to a positive customer experience and long-term brand advocacy.
Finance and Accounting
Finance and accounting is another popular BPO service offering. BPOs that specialize in the financial services help small and medium sized businesses manage the quick spikes in growth that they may experience, especially in the early years of their development. Working with BPOs in the financial side of the business helps organizations to implement best practices and leverages industry experience to implement long-term sustainable accounting solutions.
BPOs are experienced in deploying and operating Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tools that help organizations manage all aspects of their business in one unified platform. As the business scales, BPOs and ERP systems can assist with upgrading processes quickly while maintaining transparency across the entire organization.
Human Resources
BPOs can assist organizations with the entire HR process. From scanning resumes to conducting interviews, to short listing applicants, these specialized BPOs can offload many of the time-consuming processes associated with human resource activities. In addition to recruiting, BPO companies can train new hires to help them integrate quicker.
Many HR tasks are incredibly repetitive and can take away from overall productivity of an organization if they don’t have adequate staff to support them. BPOs deploy powerful business process automation to help eliminate the monotonous, error-prone activities of HR and other supporting departments, while significantly reducing wasted resources and improving organizational efficiency.
Why Businesses rely on BPO service companies
There are many reasons why organizations rely on BPO services when scaling their business. Below is a list of some of the many reasons BPO has become a viable solution for many:
- Focus internal resources on core business activities – Organizations can reserve their company resources on mission-critical tasks, leaving repetitive and time-consuming business functions to outsourced professionals.
- Save on infrastructure, workforce, and technology costs – Businesses can significantly lower their overhead costs, while relying on a primarily remote workforce to manage and scale their long-term needs.
- Improves their business’s overall efficiency – Organizations can ensure their departments and employees are getting the additional support they need, while creating new business automations that improve efficiency and overall output.
- Gain access to specialized skills: Rather than hiring specialists in several different areas, organization can outsource tasks like accounts payable, customer service, HR, and more to a group of qualified industry specialists.
As organizations look for more ways to improve their operational efficiency, the need to outsource one or more of their mission-critical processes has become essential. Business processing outsourcing has proven to be a cost-effective and sustainable solution for many organizations, and with the right tools and solutions, BPOs will continue to increase the value of their services and deliver new business capabilities.
Originally published Jan 05, 2020, updated Mar 09, 2023
