Globalization has allowed for many innovations in the workforce. One of its many advantages is outsourcing, which paved the way for businesses to flourish. More commonly known as business process outsourcing, many startups and small businesses take advantage of this strategy. A good thing about this is businesses can harness talent across the globe and transcend national boundaries. It also helps entrepreneurs both in reducing costs and maximizing performance.
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) allows for businesses to assign several arms of a business to external service providers. Thanks to software and technology, businesses can now hire local or international workforce. They can also still communicate with them on a regular basis as with their in-house team. There are many outsourced business functions which range from payroll and human resources, accounting and bookkeeping, customer service, sales, data entry, and social media marketing. Businesses can also outsource content workers, which includes hiring writers, editors, and virtual assistants in other countries.
Thanks to globalization, you can now outsource skilled workers around the world to help your business succeed.
BPO works as a business practice for businesses by first identifying parts of the core value proposition, and identifying processes that are external from it but are still necessary for operations to keep running smoothly. This identification is only possible by making sure that management has a clear picture of the organizational structure. They should also fully understand the processes that run within the organization, and apply business process management.
BPO works for many companies because it enhances efficiency. Most of the time, outsourced workers allow for business owners to focus on core services, product innovation, and offline promotion. It also removes the financial burden of giving a full range of benefits that come with hiring full-time or in-house employees. Moreover, external service providers make sure that their services or their outsourced employees possess the skills that businesses need.
Why Businesses Outsource
Many businesses outsource their workforce for numerous reasons, all aimed to improve their business processes and keep their operations intact and efficient. Below are some of the points why outsourcing has become popular across the world:
- To decrease costs. Outsourcing employees decreases the training and staffing costs. It also removes the need for additional physical offices or workspaces. In addition, it also removes the pressure from the employer to observe fixed-cost payments and transition to fee-for-service plans instead.
- Allows businesses to focus on key functions. Every business tries to offer something innovative to the market, or offer something better than what is currently there. However, it can be daunting to focus on innovation and business development while taking care of both front and back office processes. Thus, outsourced workers can take care of these common tasks and let the in-house team focus on developing their products or services better. This division of labor ensures that the business is moving forward in all aspects. Outsourcing allows for businesses to improve services and making sure that all operations are running smoothly.
- Better performance and results in non-core functions. Because outsourcing companies are businesses themselves, they ensure that their workers are highly proficient in what they do. They have a pool of highly skilled workers trained for specific business processes making them a better fit for front and back office functions. Coupled with different knowledge of software, their hard skills are valuable across the globe after having worked with different clients outside of their country. As a result, the skills they offer promote speed and efficiency for your business without the need for intensive onboarding or training.
- Makes global presence possible. If your business aims to serve countries outside of your own, outsourced workers from companies around the globe offer services for round-the-clock operations. In fact, the difference in time zones can even be a benefit in this case as it allows you to cater to different countries while making sure operations such as customer service and content moderation continues 24/7.
- Flexibility and risk management. There is now a lesser burden for the in-house team beecause non-critical functions are already outsourced. Thus, they can spend more energy in innovation and risk management. Moreover, as the business evolves, the said core team may also take on new or different roles, which can be difficult if they are also in charge of the non-critical but essential functions.
- Solves labor migration problems. Technology and specialized software opens both contracting employers and outsourced employees to opportunities that would have not been possible years ago. In today’s age, outsourcing allows for optimal working relationships and reaching talents across the globe without the challenges brought by the need to migrate or leave one’s country.
Business process outsourcing benefits both you as an employer, and the outsourced employee in many different ways.
Divisions of the Business Process Outsourcing Industry
From startups with their humble beginnings to established industry titans, outsourcing has found its way into respective companies of all sizes. As long as there are business processes in these organizations, they can continue to outsource employees from all over the globe.
Outsourced services can be divided into two main types, front office and back office. Front office services focus on the customers of the company that outsources (contracting company), such as sales, tech support, marketing, and other processes that require contact with customers. On the other hand, back office processes revolve around services that do not require interaction with clients. Some of these are accounting, IT, internal communications, and subtypes such as legal process and knowledge process outsourcing. Today’s outsourcing market allows for businesses to harness employees for both front office and back office services.
We can also divide the business process outsourcing industry into three categories based on the outsourcing company’s location. Companies can take full advantage of outsourcing their business processes by utilizing these three categories:
- Offshore vendors are outsourcing companies whose employees/workers reside outside the contracting company’s country. For example, a company from the U.S. may tap offshore vendors from India or the Philippines.
- Nearshore vendors are outsourcing companies whose employees reside in a neighboring country of the contracting company, such as outsourced workers from a vendor based in Mexico recruited by a U.S. company.
- Onshore vendors are outsourcing companies that operate in the same country as the contracting company. This category is also called domestic outsourcing.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you are new to outsourcing, it is expected that you are still in the learning process. Here are some of the common questions that businesses as they decide to try this venture:
- How do I identify the business tasks I can outsource?
Outsourcing has helped many businesses, especially startups with a limited budget. If you are just starting and have to be careful with your costs, you can first outline the most important processes you need to keep the business running with minimal supervision. A virtual assistant can take care of business tasks such coordinating meetings, answering and organizing emails, data entry, and scheduling. On the other hand, a research team can handle cost-cutting, pros/cons of business ventures, and statistics. Lastly, outsourced workers can also take over accounting and bookkeeping.
As mentioned earlier, commodity processes such as payroll, accounting, and human resources can be performed by third-party employees through BPO. Though these are essential, these processes are quite similar across businesses. Therefore, some businesses find it helpful to outsource these responsibilities to providers that could perform them better. This also allows their core team focus on duties that are unique to their own business instead. - What are the most common outsourced business processes?
With the widening market for outsourcing, almost a third of businesses outsource their business functions. The most commonly known outsourced services are IT, marketing, sales, customer service, human resource, accounting, and other administrative tasks. Other tasks that are less commonly associated as being outsourced are manufacturing, shipping and logistics, and even research. There are also companies that outsource content-related marketing services such as writing, graphic design, and web design. - Why do employers outsource from the Philippines?
The primary reason why companies outsource from the Philippines is because of the lower labor costs. However, this is not the only consideration, but also because this country’s culture easily aligns with the West. Moreover, their outsourced employees have a wide range of skills, are highly proficient in English, and are easy to transact with. In fact, the Philippines’ Information Technology and Business Process Management Industry, or the IT-BPM, provided jobs to 1.3 million Filipinos in 2019. The Philippine BPO industry is also projected to have a revenue of $29 billion this 2022!
- What are some examples of outsourcing companies?
Currently there are about 700 outsourcing companies in the Philippines, which offer different kinds of services for your business needs. One of them is Process Ninjas, which offer a diverse set of outsourced services performed by skilled employees, or “ninjas.”
Outsourcing your business processes allows you to focus on the unique aspects of your brand while making sure everything runs smoothly.
Process Ninjas – A Business Process Outsourcing Company
Process Ninjas is a business process outsourcing company that offers a diverse set of services. Based in the Philippines, they hire highly skilled Filipino “ninja” employees that businesses can trust. Our trained ninjas are experts in different business processes and can lead or assist in services such as customer service, virtual assistance, content and community moderation, and social media management. They can even assist in survey programs in case a particular business needs market research. Here are some of the services they offer:
- Customer Support
Customer support is an essential part of business, as it promotes customer loyalty and generates positive feedback. However, it is also very labor-intensive from making sure that appropriate CRM software services are used, to ensuring that all customer concerns are addressed in a timely manner.
Outsourcing customer support from Process Ninjas removes the burden of answering inquiries and concerns from your customers. Our ninjas are skilled in different CRM software, and can even assist you in building your business processes from the ground up to develop operations that run smoothly and efficiently.
- Virtual Assistants
From answering emails to administrative work, virtual assistants perform a wide range of tasks for you. As a result, you are free to focus on your business while making sure all your operations run smoothly. Here at Process Ninjas, we can assist you in case you require any special skills specific to your business, and you can select your outsourced virtual assistant that you see would best fit your needs. Lastly, you can also choose your chosen assistant’s weekly work hours from a minimum of 20 hours up to 40 hours per week.
- Content Moderation
Content drives customers and conversion, and is one of the main foundations of how you present your product to the world. However, sometimes it can get out of hand and some unfiltered content can put your brand at risk. Process Ninjas’ outsourced content moderation services can help in making sure that the content that reaches your customers remains on brand.
- Game Support
Providing the appropriate and on-brand game support is essential after the launch of your game, especially at its early stages. Process Ninjas’ outsourced game support agents are gamers themselves, which makes them the best people for the job. They have a clear understanding of their audience needs and are immersed in the culture of gaming. They also know the language and necessary troubleshooting skills to ensure you meet your gaming support needs.
Our game support services range from mobile, PC, console or VR support services, and also traditional support needs such as billing, payment, and even social media and in-game support!
- Community Management
Community management is an essential need for business nowadays, especially with the presence of social media and dedicated forums. However, challenges may also arise. This can happen as the business expands and more people interact within your virtual space. Process ninjas can offer skilled community managers to ensure that your online community is safe, conducive, and remains on brand.
- Build Your Own Team
While there are conventional front and back office needs that outsourcing companies offer, sometimes you need to form a unique team for your equally unique ideas! We can assist you in identifying your needs and help you form a corresponding team to address them.
In today’s times, anyone can be an entrepreneur. We are past the time when only the wealth can run businesses. You can start dreaming big by starting small, and outsourcing is a great way to turn your business plans into fruition. With reliable business process outsourcing companies such as Process Ninjas, you can focus your attention into developing your product. Let the ninjas take care of your daily operations, as you introduce your aspirations into the market that awaits you!
Learn more about outsourcing services at www.processninjas.com