If you are a business owner looking to learn more about back-office outsourcing, this article is for you. Below, we will discuss the ins and outs of back-office support outsourcing and how it could benefit you. 

What is Back Office Support Outsourcing?

Back office refers to the essential tasks required for a company itself to run. You pay another company to do the work for you with their trained employees, and you can focus your time and money on other, more critical tasks. 

 

Outsourcing back-office work is an excellent way for companies to save time and money by not creating new departments, hiring and training employees, and more.  Small and medium-sized businesses benefit highly from back-office outsourcing and avoid spending excess funds on developing new in-house departments.

When to Outsource Back Office Work

There are many types of back-office functions and services that you have the opportunity to outsource. Below are some examples of outsourceable work and why you might want to consider it. 

1. IT Support

Technical and post-sales support is a crucial part of any business and can increase your customer satisfaction directly. Professional technical experts can be outsourced to deal with troubleshooting issues and help customers with product warranty issues. 

2. Payroll Services

Outsourcing payroll services can save time and money for even small companies and start-ups.

3. Data Entry

Data entry is a critical yet tedious task for companies. Outsourcing it to a reliable and efficient data entry team will free up time for core business endeavors. 

4. Bookkeeping

Proper bookkeeping is necessary for the appropriate taxation of any organization. It requires 100% accuracy, and outsourcing it to professional vendors will ensure you are doing everything correctly and will save you the burden of hiring your own professional.

5. Data Extraction

Data extraction experts can handle your vast amounts of data and compile it for you. This is extremely helpful when you need to make significant, business-wide decisions but don’t have the time or talent to gather and analyze your data yourself. 

6. Document Imaging

Document imaging is the conversion of data from various sources, such as receipts and paper documents, into a single electronic format. With this, you can access all of your data on one, easy-to-understand platform.

7. Directory Organization

Storing and organizing your directory information for stakeholders is time-consuming yet essential. Outsourcing partners will compile contact information of team members, target industries, and more. 

8. Human Resources

You can outsource your HR team and save your company massive amounts of time and money. Outsourcing will help you develop the best HR strategies, including hiring, auditing, screening, employee retention, workflow procedures, compensation, and more.

Pros of Back Office Support Outsourcing

  • Allows the company to focus more on core operations – You will save time on mundane tasks and focus your energy on more critical functions. 
  • No training necessary – The jobs are carried out by professionals that have experience and domain expertise.
  • Lowers cost, cheaper labor – Outsourcing is less expensive than doing all of your services in-house. They are also often done overseas, where labor is cheaper. 
  • No training and hiring required – The outsourcing partner will take care of the hiring process, the training, and the supervising of all work, leaving all that time for your other endeavors. 
  • No worries about staff retention – The outsourcing company manages their staff so you don’t have to worry about their turnover. 
  • Access to technology and infrastructure that is top of the line – Since your outsourcing partner takes care of the infrastructure, you will have access to equipment and technology that your company might not be able to acquire itself. 

Cons of Back Office Support Outsourcing

  • Potential important information breaching – You are entrusting sensitive information about your company when you outsource your work. This opens up an opportunity for a security leak. Ensure that you have contingency measures to secure your companies data and choose an outsourcing partner with reliable security. 
  • Time Zone differences – Often, outsourced work occurs in another state or country, and time zone differences can affect your service hours. This can be difficult and problematic to work around. Luckily, many companies provide 24/7 services, so take that into consideration.
  • Language barriers – Outsourcing offshore is often cheaper, but cultural and language barriers may pose some problems. 
  • Quality control – By outsourcing, you are turning over your control to another business. You rely on them for quality, and they may not meet your standards. 

Pricing Models

Different back-office outsourcing agencies have different pricing models. Most outsourcing partners will charge you an hourly rate for full-time equivalent. Other partners will charge you per transaction, depending on which services you are outsourcing. 

 

Another option is called staff leasing, and it is where you pay for each individual agent. You essentially hire the agents yourself, so it adds some more management and control onto your side of things, but it can be less expensive. 

How to Choose a Service Provider

To ensure that you get exactly what your company needs and you get a positive return on investment, it is crucial to research the outsourcing partner that directly meets your needs. Decide what processes you are managing in-house now that you would like to outsource instead and which services do you need to begin that could be outsourced. 

 

Spend time researching various outsourcing candidates and considering their cost, services, track record, and contract options. Consider looking at partners that offer diverse services so that they can perform each of the tasks you need. Look for a partner that is flexible and can supply labor with flexibility based on your changing needs. 

 

Other things to look for are partners that can take on more work as your company grows, someone who can match your communication needs, and someone with high security and a good track record.

Conclusion

From the information above, you should have a pretty good grasp of what back-office support outsourcing is and how it could benefit your company. 

 

With this knowledge, you can now assess your company’s needs and decide whether hiring outsourcing help would benefit you in the long run.