In most cases, a startup company outsources certain tasks so that it can focus more on its core business activities. But what happens when you have a hard time handling these core functions? This is where knowledge processing outsourcing comes in. Let’s explore how it works and how you can take advantage of it.
What Is Knowledge Process Outsourcing?
Knowledge process outsourcing refers to the practice of sending out certain core tasks. These activities are often very information-intensive, requiring a high degree of expert knowledge. Its main goal is to help a company increase its efficiency in conducting its main business.
With all of that, you might wonder what knowledge process outsourcing’s difference is with the more familiar business process outsourcing. This is mainly about their opposite orientations. As already mentioned, KPO is geared towards outsourcing higher-level tasks. Meanwhile, BPO focuses more on support tasks that do not require a specialized skill set.
It is worth noting that KPO is often considered as a subset of BPO. This is because the definition of core business activities can vary greatly from company to company. As such, you might find some processes normally handed over to BPO also qualify as KPO work.
The Benefits Of KPO For Your Startup Company
Considering how critical core tasks are to your ccompany, you might wonder why you would want to outsource them. But there are several benefits that KPO provides which can help businesses in various ways.
Greater Cost Savings
Like other forms of outsourcing, KPO can provide a startup company with plenty of savings. According to studies, the move can help you gain as much as a 40% savings. The process does this by increasing the efficiency at which these core tasks are done.
More Flexible Workforce
One challenge when working with highly skilled professionals is that it can be hard to part ways with them if needed. After all, these are top talents that you are letting go of. With KPO, this won\’t be much of an issue since the outsourcing firm will just rotate its staff. This lets you quickly adapt your team to meet changing needs.;
Continuous Execution Of Work
Another major constraint in a startup company’s operations is the limited business hours. This is even more problematic when it comes to core activities, as it can slow your progress. Through KPO and global outsourcing, you can spread the load across different time zones. This lets you accomplish these tasks even after business hours and deliver faster results.
The Types Of KPO Your Startup Company Can Use
Just like its BPO counterpart, there are a lot of tasks that knowledge process outsourcing can cover. Some of the common ones that you can employ include:
- Legal services: This involves reviewing and formulating legal documents, like contracts, and memorandum, that your business needs to operate.
- Banking and finance: Third-party companies can handle things like profit and loss analysis and financial consultations.
- Research and development: Technology and engineering companies can tap third-party providers either as research project support or as the main implementers.
- Content development: Companies can outsource their online content needs either to individual freelancers or a whole agency.
KPO companies often offer several of these categories under one roof. This makes it easier for you to tailor your outsourcing plan to suit your specific needs.
How Your Startup Company Should Do KPO Right
Since they are similar, embarking on knowledge process outsourcing follows much the same route as doing BPO. However, you should still know when is the right time for the latter. There are three scenarios where you would want to opt for KPO
- Lack of specialization: Your team might be missing a member who has a deeper knowledge of certain processes.
- Lack of employees: In some cases, you might have a limited number of qualified personnel for a project. KPO can help quickly expand your staff.
- Lack of resources: Beyond personnel, you can use KPO to take advantage of tools that you normally don’t have access to.
Note that these three scenarios are often interconnected with each other. As such, you can proactively resolve these other needs should they show up later by getting a comprehensive KPO service.
Freelancer or Agency: What To Choose
When doing KPO, there are two possible routes you can take: hiring freelancers or signing up an agency. Each of these options has its own advantages in certain situations. As such, you need to carefully decide on the direction you go with.
The main draw of getting a freelancer is that you get to talk to the talent directly. This helps you assess their qualifications more thoroughly. That is especially useful if you are looking for someone with a very specific set of skills. Additionally, since you hire them individually, the option works well if you only need to fill in a single position.
Meanwhile, agencies work well for scale. These can field several experts to fill in a larger need. Additionally, they often have a more varied set of services to offer. Agencies also have their management teams that will lessen the burden on you. This makes them well-suited for large projects that might require several teams.
Working With Your KPO Provider
Once you have chosen a provider, you need to work with them to develop a collaboration plan. In particular, look into how they handle the risks involved. Security, for instance, is a major concern, especially if they are handling critical processes.
The provider should present a thorough risk management plan for these concerns. This contains not just the actions that they will undertake but also any alternate strategies. Lastly, a good provider should be able to draw a long-term roadmap for their work with your startup company.
Boost Your Startup Company With KPO
When done right, knowledge process outsourcing can help your startup company not just during its early days but also well beyond it. As such, you need to have the right provider by your side. So, be ready to study each offer and find the partner that would best suit your growing business’ needs.