5 Departments You Might Consider Outsourcing Other Than Customer Service

Traditional outsourcing is a thing of the past - no longer is it reserved for large companies or call centres. Outsourcing has transformed into a much more versatile resourcing strategy that is suitable for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

When people think about outsourcing, they tend to visualise rows and rows of people wearing headsets in a call centre. And while this may have been the case when outsourcing was first introduced, it’s definitely not the reality of modern outsourcing. With great tech and modern office spaces, offshore teams are working in almost identical environments as onshore teams.

Outsourcing outside of customer service

Outsourcing can be implemented across a range of different business functions, creating significant opportunities for many businesses to improve their margins and grow sustainably. Outsourcing other areas of your business can lead to many benefits such as:

• Increased turnaround times and efficiency gains
• Improved client experience
• Increased capacity
• Overall business growth.

Here are five departments that we see commonly outsourced that are often not initially considered by those new to outsourcing to the Philippines.

1. Administration

   More often than not do people only think of customer service roles when they think of outsourcing. However, general admin roles are outsourced more than people realise. And here’s why.

   A built up, backlogged admin department can be detrimental to the efficiency of your entire operations. The myriad and high volume tasks that are associated with an admin role often require an immense amount of resources. Add that to the fact that hiring staff locally is expensive and you can begin to see how outsourcing can benefit. Not to mention the fact that admin roles usually involved a lot of repetitive, process driven tasks - the tasks that are the easiest to outsource.

   Many executive assistants would appreciate offshore support but perceive the strategy to be expensive, which is not the case at all. Outsourcing can help you save up to 70% on employment costs and can help reduce labour costs by up to 25%.

   The following table provides you with examples of what tech/IT roles you can easily outsource in your business.

   Roles	Examples of tasks we see outsourced
   Administrative assistants Executive assistant Data entry specialists.	Invoicing Conducting audits Capturing leads KPI reporting Feedback management Entering customer and account data into CRM Data extraction and reporting.

2. Sales support

   In order for your sales staff to successfully convert leads into clients, it’s important that they aren’t weighed down by day-to-day tasks. By providing your sales team with offshore support, you’re allowing them to focus on generating new business leads as well as nurturing and building client relationships - the tasks that make a real difference to your bottom line.

   The following table provides you with examples of what roles you can outsource in your business.

   Roles	Examples of tasks we see outsourced
   Sales assistant Sales support representative.	Appointment setting Inbound and outbound calling Telecommunications Document preparing and filing Lead management and control Business development.

3. Technology/IT support

   Finding local specialized talent for any tech/IT department can be challenging and often expensive. By outsourcing areas of your tech/IT department, you gain access to one of the largest talent pools in the word - and for a fraction of the price.

   Offshore staff can support your tech/IT department from customer facing roles right through to technical development roles. The following table provides you with examples of what tech/IT roles you can easily outsource in your business.

   Roles	Examples of tasks we see outsourced
   Live chat support Technical support engineer IT & helpdesk support Web developers IT network administrator Desktop support specialists Software developers QA software testers.	Call-logging and troubleshooting Website updates and maintenance System management and improvement Daily IT support to customers and/or in-house teams Endpoint management and maintenance Record keeping of customer incidents Install and maintain software updates.

4. Finance & Accounting

   More often than not, local finance teams lose focus on what’s important due to the large volume of admin that is associated with their role. Ensuring your local staff don’t get bogged down by these large volumes of admin is key to business success. You can also access highly skilled accountants offshore that can offer specialized support in other areas of your business. By providing your local team with offshore support, you’re freeing up time in their schedule allowing them to focus on developing more strategic projects for your business.

   The following table provides you with examples of what roles you can outsource in your business.

   Roles	Examples of tasks we see outsourced
   Finance officer Accountant Bookkeeper Accounts receivable specialist Accounts payable specialist Payroll processor Procurement officer.	Bookkeeping Accounts receivable Accounts payable Monthly financial reporting Budget management Bank reconciliation Invoice preparation Debt collection BAS preparation.

5. Marketing

   Failing your marketing strategy can be detrimental to the success of your business. An ineffective marketing team means less inbound leads, less work for your sales team which in turn, impacts your overall revenue.

   Outsourcing areas of your marketing department means you have access to many specialists that can enhance your marketing strategy to ensure you meet your business objectives, whether that be, increased web traffic, increased number of leads, improved online presence or overall business growth.

   The following table provides you with examples of the types of marketing roles you can outsource in your business.

   Roles	Examples of tasks we see outsourced
   Search engine optimization (SEO) specialists Search engine marketing (SEM) specialists Data analysts Social media marketer or manager Graphic designer Web designer Animator Modeling designer.	Social media management Search engine optimization Search engine marketing PPC initiatives Email marketing Lead generation Analytic reporting CRM maintenance Ad hoc tasks Creative design Website auditing and updates.

Improve your business performance with outsourcing

Businesses around the world are utilizing outsourcing to fuel growth across a variety of departments. To find out how Australian businesses are improving their performance with outsourcing, download this whitepaper.