The following post comes to us from Jennifer Hahn Masterson, an experienced content strategist with a focus on business communication. Learn from Jennifer how to effectively use outsourcing to grow your business.
One of the best ways to help your business progress throughout the stages of growth is outsourcing. The truth is that many of the world’s leading brands outsource some of their functions to 3rd party service providers. From cost savings to a competitive advantage in global expansion, outsourcing offers an abundance of benefits for businesses of all sizes.
If you are still unsure how outsourcing can add value to your business, this post should shed some light on the situation.
Key Reasons Why Big Businesses Outsource Business Processes
Most businesses use Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) to improve productivity and support their internal workforce.
One of the most commonly outsourced services is call center outsourcing, which can perform both front-office and back-office functions.
BPO providers also offer enterprise solutions tailored to client needs that help manage the central office functions, i.e., internal and external business matters, such as:
- Data Accounting (DA)
- Information Technology (IT)
- Human Resources (HR)
- Quality Assurance and Management (QA&M)
- Payment processing
- Customer Care Services
- Marketing, Advertising, and sales.
This comprehensive guide to business process outsourcing explains covers the topic in detail.
An Outsourcing Firm Can Help You Achieve More Rapid Growth
There’s always a need for more staff on hand during a phase of growth in a business, but more often than not, the labor costs for hiring more employees are just far too significant. That financial limit can negatively impact potential growth. Outsourcing, on the other hand, is more affordable than hiring more permanent staff. And since canceling an outsourcing contract will not put anyone out of work, you can also focus on your core team’s internal tasks and the company’s overall growth once you decide to stop outsourcing services.
Your Brand Benefits from Increased Flexibility when Working with Outsourcing Companies
Depending on your industry, your business might need more staff during specific periods of the year. And at the very least, you’ll be more flexible when you outsource some of your functions to a BPO partner during these times. The labor costs of unnecessarily hiring more staff for business operations before peak season can take years to break even on, but outsourcing eliminates this risk and allows you to scale your needs.
Outsourcing Can Improve the Quality and Performance of Your Offerings
Business process expansion depends upon improving the quality and performance of your services and products. Yet, most businesses fail to find ways to improve their performance. This phenomenon could be due to unfamiliarity in a new market, needing a fresh perspective, or something else.
To help, you can find a provider in the outsourcing industry that specializes in the business area you’d like to improve. On the one hand, the BPO company could take over the role, so you no longer have to think about it. Or you could enlist their help as a consultant to help you improve your in-house processes.
BPO Gives You Access to the Best Talent
If you can’t necessarily afford to offer salaries and benefits that are on par with some of the world’s largest companies, it can limit your ability to attract the best talent and achieve the best results. Many small businesses face this issue. But outsourcing brings an affordable deal to the proverbial table that allows businesses to save money while still gaining access to skills offered by industry professionals. Outsourcing companies can attract top talent, talent to which you will have access as a business owner, to ensure competitive results.
It Ensures You Keep a Laser Focus on Core Business Functions
During a growth phase, businesses must stay focused on their most critical internal tasks and core business processes. A simple example of the benefit here would be customer service. These days, customer service is a crucial determining factor of business success for any organization. But this function is often time-consuming and can keep key members of your in-house employees occupied when they could be more productive. When you outsource your customer service function, you’re investing in consistent customer service while ensuring your internal full-time employees stay focused on their most important tasks to increase your ROI.
Outsourcing Helps in Establishing Your Brand as a Global Player
Your brand needs to cater to individual markets to get international customers. This requires you to make many linguistic upgrades to your business. An outsourcing service can help you build your brand’s credibility worldwide or in any specific region or country of your choice. And the first step is to provide products, services, and marketing in a customer’s native language.
Speaking your customer’s language makes them more likely to connect with you and establish a better understanding of your products. That’s why in-country brands always use their local edge to draw customers away from international brands. But if your company can look and feel local, you can make the most of your expansion. Plus, BPO service providers can also help you navigate the unfamiliar regulatory compliance that comes with expanding your company.
Wrapping Up
An outsourcing partner can help you improve productivity by handling tasks that you don’t have the time or labor power to complete. They can also assist you with expanding into new locations without creating a fully-fledged office in the beginning, provide guidance when scaling your business, help you improve customer satisfaction ratings, and provide expert consultation on different areas of your business.
As you can see, there are many convincing reasons your business could benefit from outsourcing. BPO services are the solution that many business owners have been looking for as they reduce overhead costs and cut down on the number of time-consuming tasks permanent employees need to deal with. Now more than ever, businesses need all hands (internal and external) on deck to help them flourish in the global marketplace!
About the Author: Jennifer Hahn Masterson is the Lead Content Strategist at Spread the Word Solutions, holding an MA degree in business communication. She is always doing her best to help her clients find their place in the ever-so-competitive business arena, insisting on long-term sustainability rather than on some questionable get-rich-fast scheme. You can check her out on LinkedIn.