How Businesses of all Sizes can Benefit through BPO
Business process outsourcing or BPO is identified as a valuable enabler to complete specific tasks on behalf of your organization while allowing the organizational resources to be allocated on other projects and assignments. Delegating tasks to complete on your behalf to proper BPO partners will guarantee numerous benefits to organizations of all sizes.
Business Process Outsourcing scope is growing
In the early days, BPO was limited to entry-level tasks, data entry or call centre operations. Today, the industry is continuously evolving and flourishing through services such as sophisticated financial analytics, accounting services, legal services, payroll services, architectural drawings and IT services and the list goes on. The long-accepted perception of BPO organizations as ‘budget-friendly or ‘management alternatives’ now have taken an adoption shift with larger-scale business operations and landscape.
One major decisive factor of a larger scale BPO partner is being agile and responsive to the changing expectations of their customers and prospects. Almost all businesses currently operate or even planning to operate on a global scale regardless of their size being small local, medium, or large. When businesses locate and engage with the correct BPO service provider or several service providers, businesses find it easier to respond to changing market needs.
Another emerging concept contributing to the enhanced scope is the “cloud-based” solutions to ensure the BPO service accessibility around the globe. This has transformed the interaction and connectivity practices among organizations and BPO service providers.
Inarguably, one of the main expectations in BPO operations is to contain the operational cost of an organization. The reduction of infrastructure and geographical barriers have also started contributing to the overall cost structure of maintaining a BPO. Ability to eliminate the physical overheads of staff maintenance, office space and travel are some of the key elements to bring down the operational cost which directly assists with increasing the growth and scope of BPO organizations.
Benefits of Business Process Outsourcing
The factors identified BPO scope of growth facilitators can also be viewed as BPO benefits.
The drivers noted above can also be benefits of business process outsourcing. However, several other catalysts that emerged through the BPO adoption can be identified as further benefits of BPO.
Currency of Software and Technology
The BPO service providers will have to invest in the acquisition and maintenance of the latest software, technology, and equipment. This may initially seem like a significant cash outflow for the BPO provider, however, will definitely be an investment as this cost will be leveraged over multiple clients. The model will not only benefit the BPO service provider but also the clients through the latest technology ensuring faster, efficient and quality output.
Specialization
Organizations that choose BPO service providers can maintain their edge in the industry with top talent, without having the requirement of bearing the full effect of employee overheads for recruiting, onboarding, training, and certification etc. Instead, they receive the opportunity to enjoy the services of a talented pool with expertise and specialization.
Budget Flexibility
Businesses regardless of their scale; small, medium, or large can maintain room in their budgets based on the necessity. The cost can be managed by acquiring senior-level expertise on a part-time basis.
Performance Management
If the internal performance of an organizational unit falls short, it is logical and prudent to hand over the task to a BPO service provider, rather than having to execute an internal performance management plan for the internal staff through the processes such as recruitment, training, onboarding and also termination.
Focus on Strategic Goals
Outsourcing creates perfect grounds for organizations to focus on their core competencies and competitive advantages. In other words, nobody is perfect at everything. Therefore, BPO service providers can offer their specialisations and competencies to their clients where both parties would benefit through a process of harnessing their key competencies. As a result, organizations can respond and adapt swiftly with a lead ahead of their competitors.
Diversity and Inclusion
Organizations can easily achieve their corporate goals around diversity and inclusion when utilizing outsourced resources from different geographies. Inarguably, the value added to the organizations would be significant via the different skills possessed by diversified individuals.
Useful tips for choosing the correct BPO service provider
It all starts with the common business question ‘what is the critical business problem in our organization?’. The next step is about raising key questions such as: is it related to a management or leadership issue? Can this problem be resolved by an outsider? Are the issue and the possible solution being likely to be short-term or long-term? What is the level of possibility in allowing resources through the budget?
The answers to those questions will help an organization to find the type of BPO engagement in need. If the budget situation is constrictive, consider outsourcing part-time resources/consultants. If there are management-related issues, the chosen BPO provider should have proven records in helping similar organizations to execute renewed fresh visions. If the organization requires a bigger team for bookkeeping, an option would be to find a specialized and reliable BPO service provider in accounting.
Once the needs are specified, the search for the correct BPO service provider should start through referrals, associations, professional industry groups to find certified and proven providers. Online research and published articles with demonstrated success would also help in choosing the best BPO service provider. Make sure they are a fit for the organizational needs as well as company values.
The future of BPO
Technavio, a global market research firm mentioned in one of their published reports that “beneficial aspects of BPO services are driving the business process outsourcing market growth …” at an expected “…CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of over 7%” between 2020 and 2024. In addition, the report notes that the “BPO market size has the potential to grow by US$76.90 billion during 2020–2024” and that its growth potential could accelerate.
Hence, with many benefits on its own and convenience of access, it is obvious that business process outsourcing is here to stay and will be implemented by businesses regardless of their size.