BPO: What is it & why does it matter?
As an entrepreneur or small business owner, you know that the challenges of juggling multiple processes can ultimately impact your ability to scale and grow.
At some point, you find yourself faced with the question of whether or not to hire someone to help—but do you hire a part-time assistant? A bookkeeper? A social media manager?
When thinking about everything it takes to run a successful business, deciding what to prioritize can feel overwhelming.
BPO can be a perfect solution to reduce overwhelm, as it allows you to prioritize multiple types of processes at once without needing to hire multiple employees.
What is Business Process Outsourcing (also known as BPO)?
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) refers to contracting with third party service providers for specific business processes.
The goal of outsourcing specific processes is typically to reduce costs and improve process efficiency.
If you have ever called a large company, you may have interacted with BPO, as many customer care call centers are outsourced.
What’s the difference between BPO and BPA?
Business Process Automation (BPA) is the process of automating specific processes and tasks within your company. This differs from Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) as the best automation solutions often involve outsourcing to a third party service provider.
What Kinds of Business Processes Can Be Outsourced?
Although we may most commonly associate customer service call centers with business process outsourcing, many other business processes can be outsourced!
Some of these processes include:
Human Resources
Staffing
Payroll
Accounting & Bookkeeping
Accounts Receivable / Accounts Payable
Marketing
Sales
Customer Service
Administrative Assistance
Data Entry
Technical Support
Why Should Businesses Consider Business Process Outsourcing?
First off, you may already be doing it.
If you have ever worked with a bookkeeper or tax preparer, you have outsourced business processes. Expanding this outsourcing to include other vital processes can give your business the boost it needs to grow.
Reason #1: BPO can You can improve efficiency
Outsourcing specific business processes to an expert in their field can drastically improve efficiency and reduce the time spent on business operations. Tasks that may take an hour to complete could be reduced by as much as 75% through expertise, process improvements, or automations that your service provider can help you set up.
Reason #2: BPO can reduce costs
The natural byproduct of efficiency improvement is cost savings. As a business owner, your time is invaluable. If your time is being consumed by miscellaneous business activities, that is not only a cost drain but also prevents you from focusing on activities that can grow your business and increase profitability.
Things to consider when outsourcing your business processes
It is important to consider these things when looking to outsource your business processes:
Consider Onshore vs. Offshore BPO
When considering outsourcing your business processes, it is essential to compare the benefits & risks of outsourcing offshore versus onshore.
While offshore outsourcing can be more cost effective, it comes with its own challenges, such as time zone differences, which can cause delays or difficulty in coordinating with your service provider.
Outsourcing to an onshore service provider may have a slightly higher price tag, but it gives you the flexibility to ensure that your service provider shares the same or similar working hours as your company.
The Boutique COO provides 100% U.S.-based virtual business support in bookkeeping, marketing, social media management, and administrative support.
To learn more about how we can help you streamline and improve your business processes, book a free strategy chat.
Consider Pain Points & Priorities for BPO
As you consider outsourcing some of your business processes, it is important to consider your primary pain points and priorities.
Are there areas that aren’t running smoothly?
Where is there room for improvement?
What are your primary goals?
What would you like to see improve due to outsourcing your business processes?
Interested in outsourcing your business processes to a US-based team of operations experts?
Suppose you are at a point where you are finding it challenging to continue to grow your business because you can’t keep up with the business processes.
In that case, it might be time to consider how BPO might benefit your business and create room for your business to scale and thrive.
Business process outsourcing can give you the flexibility to expand and source experts in their field to create and implement improvements that will set you up for further growth and success, all while reducing costs.
