10 Most Commonly Outsourced Services for Business Growth
Companies employ many different strategies to help them reach their goals. There are many layers and components that contribute to a successful growth strategy. In a competitive market, great ROI is a key element driving growth. While there are many ways to improve your ROI, modern outsourcing is one of the easiest ways to reduce human resource costs, increase productivity and expand your company capabilities without sacrificing quality.
It is important to remember that outsourcing is not about replacing your workforce. Smarter outsourcing supplements and supports your existing workforce. It helps your key staff focus on delivering what is most important to your company. It also reduces the costs of many tasks and frees up time, resources and capital that can be used for growing your business.
Outsourcing is a game changer, giving businesses the opportunity to be more competitive and flourish in an ever-changing and challenging market.
Here are the most commonly outsourced services on the market today.
1. Computer Programming and IT Jobs
The most most commonly outsourced service is IT services. Computer programming is the top job that is most likely to be outsourced to SEA(South East Asia) nations like India, where competitive software developers, computer programmers, and IT analysts are more than happy to charge 1/10th of the labor cost of the average Australian or American wage, according to statistics made public by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
There is also usually little time difference, which means that working with overseas counterparts is easy thanks to the power of the Internet and video streaming services like Skype. Microsoft, Dell, and IBM have opened offshore operations and reported at least a 40% cost reduction and relatively good quality output.
2. Human Resources
Pre-employment screening is not merely limited to ensuring that you’re hiring a candidate who hasn’t misrepresented information on their CV. Employment history checks have several potential long-term benefits as well.
The more you know about your potential candidate before hiring them, the more you’ll reduce the chance of making an uninformed or biased hiring decision.
If it comes to light that you have made an uninformed hiring decision based on misrepresented information on the candidate’s CV, it’s possible that you may need to rehire someone better suited for the position.
Having to go through the recruiting, hiring and employee training process can become extremely costly.
3. Drafters
Even the best-laid ideas frequently require drafting in order to be carried out, which is why drafters are employed. In order to create precise plans for projects using specifications and sketches of the original idea and the expertise of manufacturing and engineering, professional drafters are required by architects, scientists, and engineers. Even though it’s a necessary task, it can be readily delegated with the right communication techniques in place.
4. Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)
Business process outsourcing is among the most popular job functions for outsourcing, aside from call centers (BPO). BPOs are utilized for ordinary business operations including completing financial transactions, filling out health care paperwork, and other duties that don’t require the usage of a localized person. Offshoring these employment functions allows the corporation to cut costs dramatically without suffering a sizable loss.
5. Phone/Customer Support
For a variety of reasons, customer service positions are gradually being outsourced to other countries. In addition to lowering operating expenses, it also takes advantage of the time difference by enabling businesses to offer 24-hour customer service by keeping both local and offshore phone lines open outside of regular business hours. As clients won’t have to wait until 9 a.m. the following morning to see an expert, this will probably boost customer satisfaction, which will reflect favorably on the organization.
6. Tax Preparers
Another popular outsourced job that does not always necessitate face-to-face interaction. This job requires only detailed information about the client’s financial situation and in-depth knowledge of the applicable tax laws in that country. Although governments are now requiring businesses to notify customers if their taxes are being completed overseas in an effort to keep jobs in the country, the effort appears futile as more businesses offshoring tax preparers.
7. Research and Development
Global corporations are utilizing highly skilled professionals from other countries to conduct research in English-speaking developing countries in order to reduce operating costs. In 2012, Microsoft spent $100 million to build a research center in China that employed 1,500 staff, and more companies are following this outsourced jobs strategy.
8. Writers
Media publications have been steadily declining over the years due to a loss in advertising revenue as people increasingly turn to the Internet for their daily dose of business, entertainment, and sports news. Newspapers and magazines are increasingly relying on writers from other countries to produce high-quality content at a fraction of the cost in order to cut costs and minimize financial losses. Outsourced jobs can also include writing company reports, blog posts, SEO content, and even movie scripts.
9. Personal Assistants
Although CEOs in large corporations may require in-person assistance with day-to-day tasks, small start-up business owners may not be able to afford such a luxury. This is countered by using virtual assistants who can provide their services online, which is especially useful in the early days of a company’s launch when phone calls and emails from potential clients are expected. With their assistance, business owners can relieve themselves of an entire workload and focus on growing the company rather than answering emails, booking flights and hotels, and filing mundane paperwork.
10. Graphic Designers
Because graphic design does not usually involve customer interaction, there is no need to be concerned about language barriers. Many businesses are looking for outsourced workers with the same creative flair to complete graphic design work for a fraction of the local wage cost. Off-site staff can easily and harmoniously complete tasks such as upgrading your brand logo, designing your website, creating marketing materials, and more when there is clear communication.
Workforce Outsourcing is a leading IT outsourcing BPO firm that offers dedicated outsourced staff and staffing services with a primary focus on outsourced IT services. As one of the leading IT BPO solutions experts today, our goal is to find and place exceptional remote staff who are sure to exceed your expectations.
For more information on how to get started with workforce outsourcing, contact us today!
Nneka Eneli
Director, Workforce Outsourcing