While many are familiar with customer-facing work like sales and customer service, there is more to running a startup company than just that. And these other tasks can themselves take a considerable amount of time. Here is how you can take advantage of back-office outsourcing to deal with them and streamline your company processes further.
What Is Back Office Outsourcing?
The term back office refers to any task that is not directly tied to a startup company’s core business but is still relevant to its operations. You can think of it as all the support work needed to ensure that client-facing tasks are accomplished.
That broad definition means that many varied tasks fall under it. Some of the most familiar ones include:
- Finance and accounting
- Human resources management
- Information technology management
- Payroll
- Data entry
Aside from these, there are also backend tasks that are specific to the industry or company. Because there are so many of these tasks, the back office often makes the bulk of your workforce. And because of how critical they are, you need to properly fill these positions.
The Benefits Of Back Office Outsourcing
Because of limited resources, a startup company might find it hard to staff its back office. This is where outsourcing can be a handy solution. It offers several benefits that will help you in running these support tasks.
Decreased Overhead For Startup Company
Trying to fill in your back office needs will require a lot of money for both employee hiring and other expenses. Using outsourcing, you can cut down on the overhead costs considerably. For one, you can reduce equipment costs since the outsourcing firm has its own equipment. With this decreased overhead, you can offer more competitive prices and bring your products to the market faster.
Access To Top Talents
Even when these back office tasks are not visible to your clients, you would still want them handled by the right people. Outsourcing gives you access to those people without having to go through a lengthy hiring process. Furthermore, these firms invest in the technology their teams use, so you also get access to those.
Greater Flexibility
As your startup company grows, your back office work will also change. Outsourcing gives you greater flexibility to meet these changes. For instance, you can quickly change the composition of the team assigned to you for specific developments. Additionally, you can expand or cut down the team depending on the need.
How Your Startup Company Can Outsource Back Office Work Properly.
To better take advantage of outsourcing for your startup company’s back office tasks, you need to do it the right way. As with any outsourcing effort, plan this out first by deciding what exact tasks you want to send out.
For this, you need to do an assessment and inventory of the different back office departments. Determine which departments need additional personnel. Note that you also need to decide whether outsourcing or hiring will be suited for these departments.
Some of the back office tasks that are most commonly outsourced include:
- HR and administration
- IT support
- Payroll
- Transcription
- Bookkeeping
Note that it might not always be necessary to outsource several tasks at the same time. For instance, if you are already outsourcing HR work, you might not need to send out payroll too. This will give you a better idea of how to implement the outsourcing plan.
Choosing The Right Outsourcing Partner
When choosing an outsourcing partner for your back office, there are certain criteria to consider. Keep in mind that, even if these are non-client-facing tasks, you would still want the right company to handle this.
- Data Security: The company should be clear about its policies when handling your internal and customer data.
- Turnaround time: Ensure that the company’s work time for each task fits into your schedule.
- Output: Take a look at the outsourcing firm’s quality assurance process to see if they meet your criteria for good work.
- Availability: Find out if the firm offers flexible work setups that will suit your changing needs.
- Packages: See if the company has customizable packages that might better suit the type of outsourcing that you wish to implement.
Aside from these, there might be specific considerations depending on the tasks to be outsourced. Take a closer look at the level of expertise the company has for these specific tasks. You would also want to look into their portfolio to see if they have worked with others similar to your startup company.
Working With Your Outsourced Back Office
Once you have chosen a company, you need to properly settle them into the work to be done. For that, have a two-way transition plan ready. This plan will detail how you will hand over the data and other necessary tools for them.
Talk with the company when developing the plan. Identify the specific needs for each task to be outsourced and the improvements that can be done. You would also want to do some early risk assessment to better understand the situation.
Another important element is the appropriate governance process. Lay out the service standards that you expect the company to follow. You also need to provide plans for dealing with financial, commercial, and legal concerns.
Supervising The Outsourced Back Office
After you have transitioned the work to the outsourcing firm, you still need to maintain constant communication with them. Make it easy for the team to share any issue they have encountered. Also, provide an open line with the in-house office for back and forth exchanges.
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Beyond that, you need to maintain a positive relationship with your outsourcing partner. Remember that they are still very much part of your team. The idea here is to show that working with you will also benefit them greatly. This will encourage them to deliver better service to you.
Keep Your Startup Company Going With Back Office Outsourcing
One last thing to note is that back office outsourcing will often be a long-term effort. As such, your startup company should have a partner that can help you all the way. Connect with us at Virtua Outsourcing Solutions and we will be ready for the tasks at hand.