What is BPO and how can it benefit your business?
What is business process outsourcing?
Business process outsourcing (BPO) involves handing some of your vital business functions to an external service provider. It’s often used to free up time for focusing on other objectives like increasing sales. BPO is becoming increasingly popular amongst all kinds of sectors as new technology and innovation create opportunities for efficiency. BPO can be either back-office involving internal processes such as developing workflows or front-office involving the company’s customers, in areas like marketing and customer support.
Where can BPO teams be located?
When outsourcing your processes, there are different locations where your team can be based, and they will fall into one of the 3 following categories: offshoring, nearshoring and onshoring.
Offshoring – This is where the third party is located in a completely separate country from the organisation. An example of this could be a UK company using a team in Australia.
Nearshoring – This is where the third party is located in a country bordering that of the organisation. An example of this could be an Indian company using a team in Pakistan.
Onshoring – This is where the third party is based in the same country as the company outsourcing their processes.
What services can be outsourced?
BPO companies cover a range of specialities with some covering areas that others don’t. As a whole, functions that BPO companies often control include technical support, customer service, marketing, HR, live chat support and much more. Here at DeskFrnd, we offer management in many of these areas, which is supported by our revolutionary outsourcing model.
What are the benefits of BPO?
When using a quality external provider that gels with your company and acts as an extension of your original team, BPO can be brimming with extraordinary benefits. Here are some examples.
– Decreased costs (Especially in offshoring)
– Ability to focus on key functions
– Can be more efficient than in-house teams
– Flexible and scalable teams
– Can often be 24/7 coverage
At DeskFrnd we reduce your costs and your headaches using our dedicated Frnds to offer 24/7 support on month-to-month plans. Our flexible, dynamic, and agile teams can be turned up or down whenever you need. This ensures you have complete control over your spending and can make your processes as efficient as possible.
What are the possible risks of BPO?
Outsourcing your business processes can be accompanied by some risks, which must be managed effectively to see success. These can be a result of operating across multiple countries or simply from your processes being within an external provider’s hands. Potential risks can include:
– Security and privacy risks
– Communication issues
– Overreliance on providers
– Ineffective quality control
These risks can be easily avoided by using a credible third-party company that invests in their teams, follows appropriate protocols, and continuously strives to meet KPIs, CSAT, or NPS scores.
Check out some areas of BPO we specialise in on our Solutions page.