Outsourcing. Front Office and Back Office Functions

Outsourcing. Front Office and Back Office Functions

Nowadays outsourcing is getting more and more popular – it's part of a successful business model. However, the cost benefits alone shouldn't make outsourcing an exciting prospect for enterprises.

Making the right choice between what to outsource and what to leave as a front office will help you save both time and money. For instance, a small business may require assistance with it's customer service. However, outsourcing payroll, and attempting to maintain a personal touch at customer touch points may only hurt the business.

Top reasons firms outsource include:

To focus on core competencies
Free up existing resources for other purposes
Create operational efficiency and reduce costs
Reduce time-to-market
Spread risk

Front office functions

Companies faced with rapidly growing customer bases, and a focus on service quality, usually require front office support for their customer facing functions. Some of these functions are:

Help and Support: Services for both employees and customers can efficiently evaluate issues and even offer technical support. Benefits include customer satisfaction, quality improvements, and a better handle on staffing.
Customer Service: Managing a business the right way means customers are at the top of the priority list.
Market Survey & Research: Understanding competitors is the first step to growing sustainably. Market behaviour is also critical to making informed decisions.
Scheduling: Customer service relies heavily on having the right amount of trained staff on hand at all times. Managing resources is a heavy duty job that is best outsourced to established service providers.

Back office functions

Larger enterprises can get caught up in their administrative functions to the point that they lose valuable resources to processes. Some back office functions that can be outsourced include:

Human Resource Management: A complete end-to-end solution that handles onboarding, payroll inputs, tax processing, time and attendance, benefits management and separation, is ideal for larger organizations.
Accounting Functions: Accounts payable and accounts receivable are the primary cost center of any organization. Delayed or deferred payments need to be handled, while completed payments need to be updated.
Data Management: With Big Data and Analytics as the hottest trend, organizations realize the importance of collecting huge sets of data. However, managing these sets requires technology, people and processes.
Quality Assurance: Standardized processes across the organization can greatly improve flexibility and scalability.

While selecting the right functions to outsource is important, it is just as important to choose the right outsourcing partner. Organizations have to look beyond short-term solutions and work with providers who innovate and transform businesses.