Most Outsourced Back Office Support Functions
Starting a small business is a decision that can have huge consequences. It could end up costing way too much for the company owner to handle. Nowadays, many companies in all sizes tend to outsource some of their back office functions to offshore call centers; this enables them to focus more on their front office functions.
Back office outsourcing has been one of the best solutions for some companies to save on office expenditures. Take for example a car rental company that opts to outsource its back office services. Since it specializes in car rental services, setting up its own back office to handle HR and accounting functions might be a burden. It would be more practical for them if they outsource these functions to back office service providers who specialize on these fields.
It should be remembered, however, that not all back office support functions in every company can be outsourced. The success of an outsourced function would depend on a company’s nature of business operations.
The following back office functions are outsourced by companies on a regular basis:
1. Secretarial Outsourcing
For companies that have offices handled by only one person, outsourcing a secretarial function will help the company save on space and cut on cost. Nowadays, outsourcing companies can provide secretarial services such as confirming appointments, arranging travel schedules, and other secretarial duties online.
2. Typing or Transcription Outsourcing
Audio or recorded files that need to be converted to written formats can be done by people who work full time or part time online. The material, together with instructions, can be sent via e-mail to an online transcriptionist. These can help a company spare recruitment expenses or forgo hiring a person for the job of just typing the document.
3. Accounting or Financial Outsourcing
We all know that accounting and finance is one of the most critical functions in any company. Thus, it should be taken seriously. But why do we advice to hand it to other people? Because not all companies specialize in this area. Hiring and setting up a team within the company to handle the task would cost the company more, compared to outsourcing it to people who specialize in accounting and finance matters.
4. Human Resource Outsourcing
The Human Resource department usually deals with a lot of paperwork and costs the company a lot more in providing salary and benefits for the HR personnel. Outsourcing this function enables a company to allocate its “HR budget” to a much more needed business function.
5. Customer Support Outsourcing
When a company successfully attracts its target audience, the number of calls or inquiries received daily rises; thus, a need for people to handle the calls would likewise rise. Outsourcing this function to call centers—which train their representatives for customer support—is beneficial, especially if the company is not yet ready to expand and train new people for customer support.
6. Sales and Marketing Outsourcing
If a company aims to expand its network and popularity to new audience but is clueless on how to market their brand, it is a better option to outsource sales and marketing to the experts in this field. Most common functions would include advertising campaigns, telemarketing, and PR tasks, and the like.
7. IT Support Outsourcing
IT is one of the vastest areas in outsourcing and is one of the most important functions in any company. Companies can outsource their whole IT facility or only those areas that they do not have internal expertise for. Some of the most outsourced IT functions include the following:
- Help Desk operations
- Desktop Support
- Network Management
- Telecommunications
- Software development
- Hardware support
8. Distribution Outsourcing
Companies that have a fixed or estimated product distribution can outsource the task of distributing it to carriers. In this way the company can cut costs in delivery, at the same time save on the actual expenditure of setting up a delivery system for the products.
9. Highly Specialized Functions
Lastly, there are a number of functions that are needed by companies on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. Thus, outsourcing these functions to outsourcing companies is more considerable as to hiring and maintaining them. Short-term functions needed by a company include the following:
- Project Management Outsourcing
- Engineering Outsourcing
- Construction / Contracting Outsourcing
Back office functions cost a lot if internally maintained by a company; thus, it is practical and wise to outsource them so that the company can focus its time, money, and efforts to more important functions.
Back office outsourcing has been one of the best solutions for some companies to save on office expenditures. Take for example a car rental company that opts to outsource its back office services. Since it specializes in car rental services, setting up its own back office to handle HR and accounting functions might be a burden. It would be more practical for them if they outsource these functions to back office service providers who specialize on these fields.
It should be remembered, however, that not all back office support functions in every company can be outsourced. The success of an outsourced function would depend on a company’s nature of business operations.
The following back office functions are outsourced by companies on a regular basis:
1. Secretarial Outsourcing
For companies that have offices handled by only one person, outsourcing a secretarial function will help the company save on space and cut on cost. Nowadays, outsourcing companies can provide secretarial services such as confirming appointments, arranging travel schedules, and other secretarial duties online.
2. Typing or Transcription Outsourcing
Audio or recorded files that need to be converted to written formats can be done by people who work full time or part time online. The material, together with instructions, can be sent via e-mail to an online transcriptionist. These can help a company spare recruitment expenses or forgo hiring a person for the job of just typing the document.
3. Accounting or Financial Outsourcing
We all know that accounting and finance is one of the most critical functions in any company. Thus, it should be taken seriously. But why do we advice to hand it to other people? Because not all companies specialize in this area. Hiring and setting up a team within the company to handle the task would cost the company more, compared to outsourcing it to people who specialize in accounting and finance matters.
4. Human Resource Outsourcing
The Human Resource department usually deals with a lot of paperwork and costs the company a lot more in providing salary and benefits for the HR personnel. Outsourcing this function enables a company to allocate its “HR budget” to a much more needed business function.
5. Customer Support Outsourcing
When a company successfully attracts its target audience, the number of calls or inquiries received daily rises; thus, a need for people to handle the calls would likewise rise. Outsourcing this function to call centers—which train their representatives for customer support—is beneficial, especially if the company is not yet ready to expand and train new people for customer support.
6. Sales and Marketing Outsourcing
If a company aims to expand its network and popularity to new audience but is clueless on how to market their brand, it is a better option to outsource sales and marketing to the experts in this field. Most common functions would include advertising campaigns, telemarketing, and PR tasks, and the like.
7. IT Support Outsourcing
IT is one of the vastest areas in outsourcing and is one of the most important functions in any company. Companies can outsource their whole IT facility or only those areas that they do not have internal expertise for. Some of the most outsourced IT functions include the following:
- Help Desk operations
- Desktop Support
- Network Management
- Telecommunications
- Software development
- Hardware support
8. Distribution Outsourcing
Companies that have a fixed or estimated product distribution can outsource the task of distributing it to carriers. In this way the company can cut costs in delivery, at the same time save on the actual expenditure of setting up a delivery system for the products.
9. Highly Specialized Functions
Lastly, there are a number of functions that are needed by companies on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. Thus, outsourcing these functions to outsourcing companies is more considerable as to hiring and maintaining them. Short-term functions needed by a company include the following:
- Project Management Outsourcing
- Engineering Outsourcing
- Construction / Contracting Outsourcing
Back office functions cost a lot if internally maintained by a company; thus, it is practical and wise to outsource them so that the company can focus its time, money, and efforts to more important functions.
About the Author
Miche is a self-employed blogger and copywriter from Philippines who has a love on writing and always happy to share his passion on blogging.