Outsourcing business functions to BPO service providers is a common practice in all industries for varied reasons. While some outsource to stay within a budget and maintain their edge in the market, others might do the same due to low staff.
Regardless of the reasons for hiring a BPO company, you will need to share some confidential data and sensitive information with them for smooth operations. This data is valuable as it can impact not only your revenue but also hamper your relationship with the stakeholders and clients.
Therefore, it is crucial to follow specific steps when outsourcing business functions to outbound call center companies.
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8 Steps You Must Follow to Outsource Business to BPO Companies
Choosing a third-party service provider is no easy task. You will need to review all the minute details before finalizing an agreement. Here are eight steps to make your work a little easier before outsourcing business to a BPO vendor.
Make a Checklist of Your Requirements:
Make a checklist of all the operations you want to outsource to the BPO vendor. Also, list all the questions you want to ask the service provider. It could be regarding service, tech support, cost, turnaround time, technology use, and more.
This will clear your doubts and ensure no miscommunication between you and the service provider. Depending on the answers, you can decide which operations to outsource and which will be managed by your team. Besides compiling a checklist, start collecting the names of potential vendors you are interested in. It will come in handy later.
Define Your Goals:
Defining your business goals is essential for the vendors and your business in the long run. Having a clear objective will help the service vendor understand what is expected and help them decide a deadline for the tasks.
Additionally, set up your outsourcing goals to make the process precise and accurate. This will help in facilitating clear communication between you and the service provider.
Develop a Scorecard for Your Sourced BPO Companies:
It is time to bring out the list of potential outbound call center companies you curated in the first step. Given that there are many parameters to consider before finalizing the vendor, it is better to make a scorecard to demarcate your top choices.
Score these companies based on factors like service quality, cost, delivery time, turnaround time, list of past successful projects, technologies used, industries worked in, and much more. Based on the scores, you can make your final decision.
Compare the Pricing:
Once the scorecard is ready, ask for quotations from the selected outsourcing vendors. Check out the proposals in detail and use the scorecard to give points depending on features offered and pricing.
While reviewing the quotes, check out their security measures and terms and conditions. Security is critical when outsourcing business as you will share sensitive information with third-party services. Along with the other aspects, compare the costs to determine which vendor will provide the maximum output within your budget.
Establish a Monitoring Team:
This dedicated team will communicate with the vendor. It will mediate between the management and the selected BPO company. The monitoring team will be responsible for answering queries, following up on missed deadlines, updates, and more. This will establish a clear line of communication.
Handover Business Responsibilities to the BPO Vendor:
This is where the actual work starts. Develop a plan for this transition phase. This will help in the smooth handover of the business functions. The monitoring team will begin functioning from this stage to establish an open internal and external communication line.
Track Vendor Performance:
Conduct periodic performance reviews with the vendor to identify gaps and loopholes between the set goals and current work. These performance reviews are essential to ensure smooth operations and proper result delivery.
Adapting to Changes:
Last is adapting to the changes in work structure and operations. It will take time for the management and the BPO vendor to establish a smooth workflow. Ensure that these transitions involving the handover of business functions do not affect productivity negatively.
The monitoring team can oversee the whole process to ensure that the internal employees are clear about their work responsibilities after the outsourcing vendor comes into the fold. On the other hand, the outsourcing company must also be ready to take on the project and deliver results.
In the End
Outsourcing business functions are carried out with the sole aim of streamlining work processes. Working with a BPO vendor will establish a smooth flow of operations, increase internal productivity, and improve customer support. Given that the market is filled with numerous BPO companies does not make the job of selecting the right one any easy.
However, you can follow this guideline to select and work with an outsourcing company that meets your requirements and cost.
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