Selecting a provider to be your business process outsourcing (BPO) partner is a big decision. Aside from the size and length of the contract you are likely to sign, it often involves entrusting them with what many may consider your most precious asset: your customers. With thousands of BPO providers competing for business, it’s easy to be overwhelmed with choice. But there are some ways to quickly narrow down the list, identifying the BPOs of interest and the ones you want to avoid at all costs.
When we are all used to working from anywhere in a global industry, it might seem strange to think about geography when offshoring a process. However, although the location is not the technical hurdle it once was, some factors are still considered. Time zone can still be important. One of the reasons India was an early BPO giant was that it was well-placed to serve Europe, the Middle East, and Asia regions. This has practical implications for communication between the client and BPO and between the customer and agent. If your contract means most work will be in the middle of the night, your BPO might find recruiting the best quality staff harder.
Geography is increasingly important when it comes to specific BPO services, too, with centres becoming known for their specialisms. Outsourcing to the Philippines, for example, has emerged as the preferred option for customer services and contact centres. The nation’s naturally high levels of English fluency have made it an obvious choice — especially when communication is the biggest single cause of complaints about BPOs. On the other hand, India is developing a reputation for its IT outsourcing services, where communication might be secondary to technical skills.
The selection can be further narrowed down by thinking about the processes to be outsourced. The best BPOs tend to have one or two-sector specialisms. This is often for practical reasons, the physical and technical security required for healthcare or financial services can be expensive, and there is no point in a general customer services BPO having it. But the specialism also means that the BPO provider will tend to have high-quality staff who can quickly adapt to service a new client.
Finally, consider price. While an offshore outsourcing decision is frequently motivated by savings, it’s important to resist the temptation to go as low as possible. Many providers will attempt to compete on price, but these are also the BPOs that have the most failures. In an industry where a significant part of the saving comes from low labour costs, it means that when you go too cheap, the BPO is unable to attract the quality staff you want and need.
There is, of course, no substitute for the proper due diligence when making a business decision. However, considering these simple questions will go a long way to identifying the high-quality BPOs that can provide the services you need. And once you identify the one that’s exactly right for you, you will never look back like many businesses before you.