Are there small tasks that you wish your employees didn’t have to handle? From answering phones to handling payments and many other small jobs, these everyday tasks are the things that keep employees busy while they’re on the clock. They’re also the kinds of things that can eat away at your labor costs, if you’re spending it all paying employees to handle them instead of more meaningful duties.

How do you solve this problem? By handing those tasks over to a BPO organization. Here’s what you need to know about doing so - and whether or not this kind of partnership might work for you:

What is a BPO Organization?

BPO - or business process outsourcing - organizations are exactly what they sound like. These are companies dedicated to handling business process tasks that other companies do not want to do. Whether it is because they lack the staff and time or resources to complete these tasks, or simply because they would rather not, theBPO organization is a great entity to hand them off to.

The point of working with a BPO is the assumed trust that a company can place in them that their tasks will be handled correctly and on time. When outsourcing these tasks, a company is making a contract or creating a partnership that allows them to hand off not only the tasks they do not want to tackle, but the worry that comes along with getting them taken care of. It’s all off your shoulders when you pair up with a BPO!

Back or Front of Office? BPOs Can Do It All

There are two primary types of BPO organizations. They are divided by the types of tasks they handle - either front of office or back of office tasks. What does this mean? For someone not in the industry it may sound strange. However, these terms are simply referring to whether these types of tasks interact with the general public.

Back of office tasks include things like billing and payroll. These are generally thought of as unseen by the public. Front of office tasks include answering phones or making calls - direct dealings with the public. These tasks may sometimes overlap, though, and there are plenty of BPO organizations that handle both types of outsourced tasks.

Breaking It Down Further - Where to Outsource

There are more ways to classify a BPO organization, this time by where it is located in relation to the company that is partnering with it. The three primary types include:

• Onshore - An onshore BPO is one that is located in the same country as the primary company partnering with them. This is the most expensive type of BPO to work with, but it is also generally the highest in quality. It also makes for better, easier communication and a thorough understanding of both cultural and even company culture. Smaller companies with bigger budgets opt for this type of outsourcing.
• Nearshore - A nearshore BPO is one that is located outside the primary company’s country but not far away. An example would be a BPO in Mexico serving a company in the United States. This allows for easier and faster communication and better cross- cultural understanding. These outsourcing companies are typically moderately priced and can help companies save big money over time.
• Offshore - This is often the least costly way to outsource business processing tasks. This is due largely in part to the lower rates charged by international BPOs. This is an option large companies or those with lower budgets typically choose. Quality may vary, but it is easy to find good business process outsourcing even abroad.

Who Outsource?

Wondering if you would be a good fit for partnering with a BPO? The truth is, there is a BPO organization out there that would work well with almost every company. From budget concerns to cultural or communicative issues, nearly every concern can be overcome by choosing the right BPO.

So, who outsources? Companies of all sizes and types rely on BPOs to help make things run more smoothly. Some of the largest corporations in the United States and elsewhere do it, both as a way to save money and a way to streamline their everyday operations.

Why Outsource?

If so many companies outsource their business operations, there must be big benefits, right? There certainly are. Some of these include:

• Cutting costs- Every company wants to do more for less money. This is certainly true of businesses that partner with BPOs. From call centers to other large companies with lots of employees to manage, working with a BPO allows those companies to cut labor and other costs without sacrificing the quality of their output.
• Making it easier to focus on more meaningful tasks - When you outsource the smaller, less detail-oriented jobs that your employees spend most of their paid time doing, you open up the possibility for them to be doing other things with that time. In general, that means they can do more meaningful things with it - making your entire team more productive without incurring additional labor costs.
• Enhancing speed and efficiency - Wouldn’t it be great if you could fly through those smaller tasks, like billing, payroll, collection calls, and more? When you partner with a BPO, you can. One of the biggest benefits of working with one of these organizations is expediting the processes that might otherwise take up a large portion of your agents’ day - and getting it all done both quickly and effectively.

Thinking about partnering with a BPO organization this year? If so, don’t forget to check in with the industry experts at ChaseData first. We have the software solutions you need to make collaboration with other organizations easier than ever - and that includes your BPO of choice. Give us a call today to learn more!