Some business processes lend themselves to outsourcing. Outsourcing can offer logistical, financial, and operational improvements for your business, which will significantly reduce your costs.
However, nothing is perfect, and there’s no exception for outsourcing. For example, maybe the cost savings don’t meet your expectations. This could be due to other problems, such as the BPO company not having enough or adequately trained personnel. There could also be security issues if you task the company with handling sensitive data.
Here are some ways to minimize the risk you face:
Discussions
Initial discussions set the stage for the rest of your experience with a BPO company. You should discuss all your relevant concerns with the firm. That will leave you better informed about the quality of the firm and better positioned to decide whether you should work with them. If you intend to go through with this company, you should discuss your goals, responsibilities, and project-related concerns.
Standards, Indicators, and Goals
Your discussions will involve mutually establishing goals and work standards. These goals are what you want to get out of the BPO company. You should make these goals specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely (SMART). The more accurate and easily measured they are, the easier it’ll be to see if the firm is performing up to your expectations.
Part of setting measurable goals involves defining which indicators measure success and failure. Moreover, you should also set up quality standards to prevent compromising quality for results. Clear indicators and benchmarks will give you and the BPO company an accurate image of what success looks like. This will minimize the risks associated with miscommunication.
Confidentiality
Signing an NDA with the company is essential to maintain confidentiality. Every company deals with some sensitive information, such as personal or financial information. Moreover, some outsourced services may require you to provide sensitive information to the company. An NDA will ensure confidentiality, thereby limiting the security risks incurred by outsourcing some process.
Responsibility
If either party isn’t held accountable for mistakes, the errors will begin to pile up. Essentially, being held accountable acts as a deterrent to making mistakes, violating rules, etc. Consequently, to ensure good performance, you should structure the project(s) in a way that distributes responsibility to you and the BPO company. Consequently, establishing joint responsibility for project success and failure will mitigate risks.
If you’re looking for a BPO company that will minimize, if not outright eliminate, the risks you face, contact us at 3Alpha, LLC. We offer e-commerce product data entry, BIM services, bookkeeping and accounting services, and more. Get in touch for the benefits of offshore outsourcing.