Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a type of outsourcing whereby you delegate the completion of specific actions and processes to a third-party team.

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There are many reasons to pursue BPO, such as reduced costs, access to specialist talent and knowledge, and better overall service. 

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If you’re interested in BPO but aren’t sure if it’s right for your company, read on to discover five ways in which BPO teams can offer your business better services.

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1. Access to Top Talent

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Staffing shortages are a common issue in business - either due to high levels of employee turnover or skill gaps in the workforce, there will always be instances where looking outside the company for talent can be the best option.

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Hiring a BPO team isn’t just a short-term fix either, it can be a sustainable way to access top talent at a fraction of the cost of a new hire. Between onboarding and getting new recruits up to speed with expectations, sometimes internal hires can take a while to integrate and get up and running.

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According to a Glassdoor study, the average US employer will spend $4,000 and take 24 days to hire a new worker. That’s an awful lot of time and money, especially when you consider the alternative of going with a BPO team.

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A BPO team is already equipped with top talent, and can start working straight away letting you focus on rapid scaling and operational efficiency.

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Dipping into a global pool, you can unearth top talent when you hire a BPO team, the likes of which might be much more challenging to find locally.

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2. Process-Specific Knowledge

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When you hire a BPO team, you’re not only gaining access to top talent, you’re also able to tap into a deep reservoir of specialized knowledge.

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Let’s say you run a tech startup that’s rapidly scaling and is looking to introduce robust customer support services to address customer concerns and issues. 

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One solution is to look internally, yet it’s unlikely with a small team you have a customer support expert on hand to deal with a large volume of customer questions. Another solution is to make an external hire, yet, again, you would have to create new positions within the company and go through all the red tape and resources that would require.

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Your third solution is to outsource the job to a BPO team.

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Why might this be the best option?

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You would be able to trust the BPO team to handle customer support knowing that they have trained exclusively in that area and can immediately start delivering results. With process-specific knowledge, a BPO team can seamlessly integrate with your company and offer great value from day one.

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Worried about tracking remote workers? Don’t be! You can use internet monitoring software for business to view employees computer screen activity when you hire a BPO team and make sure you are indeed saving time with this investment.

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3. Around-the-Clock Availability

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Money isn’t the only precious resource you could save on with a BPO team, as you can also save time.

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The time your workforce spends while clocked in is hugely valuable, so unless you look outside the company, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to find the minutes and hours necessary to fulfill certain services such as customer support or IT.

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What’s more, even if you do have an internal division dedicated to IT or customer support, their work schedules will probably be fixed, and as a result, there will be times when there’s no support available.

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With a BPO team, you can effectively access 24/7 support. 

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Whether it’s dealing with customers who have queries at odd hours, are asking from overseas in a different time zone, or are addressing IT issues that cause disruptions when nobody is clocked in, having a BPO team available around the clock can be hugely beneficial.

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When you hire from abroad and outsource key processes to a BPO team, your company can be fully functional at all hours of the day, improving operational efficiency immeasurably.

Plus, if you know how to monitor all activity on computer screens using internet surveillance software, you can check team member productivity even during times when you weren’t at work.

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4. International Training

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Scaling a company internationally can present many challenges, one of the biggest being the language and cultural barriers preventing you from being understood or favored overseas.

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BPO teams can comprise members from all over the world, which means you can find a team that’s familiar with the country you’re looking to expand into.

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What are the benefits of this?

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Overcome language barriers - On a basic level, for processes such as customer support, you need agents that speak the language of the countries you operate in. Unless you have the resources to provide intensive language training to your workforce, the easiest way to offer customer support in different languages is through an international BPO team.

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Communicate to your customer’s values - Transcreation is the act of creating content that appeals to the values and culture of those you’re communicating with. This is essential for getting your point across in a way that makes sense to your customers' way of thinking and seeing the world.

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Offer localized support - With a BPO team, you can offer localized support with agents that understand local issues and how they might affect your business operations. This can lead to faster problem resolution and help overseas customers feel truly understood.

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5. End-to-end Process Completion

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Hiring a BPO team doesn’t have to fix just one issue within your company. If you need a team to handle customer support calls, a BPO team can do that, but typically they can also offer end-to-end process completion.

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This means that the BPO team can tackle every stage of a process, and completely take it out of your hands. That means less oversight, micromanagement, and resources spent on each individual task in a process.

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Let’s take a look at an example and answer the question: what is productivity in BPO?

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You run an eCommerce store that accepts phone and online orders and various forms of payment, and then ships products to customers. There are many stages involved from the moment a customer places an order, so you want to outsource the entire process.

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In this case, you could find a BPO team that will handle the following:

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• Taking phone and online orders from customers
• Processing payment information
• Marking orders to be fulfilled and sent out for delivery
• Logging sales information

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How Employee Monitoring Tools Support Effective BPO Teams

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If you’re convinced that hiring a BPO team is the next step for scaling your company and streamlining operations, call center workforce optimization software can help you make the most of the hire and protect against time theft.

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There’s always a risk when you decide to hire externally, especially overseas, since you won’t have access to the same level of data and analytics you have internally for your workforce. As such, it’s important to use a work time tracking tool like Insightful so you can make sure both parties benefit from the arrangement.

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With web monitoring software for business, you can help BPO team leaders assess team member performance and productivity, and see for yourself how the team is helping you hit your strategic goals.

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