Back office outsourcing is
made easy if you know who’s who in the market - that’s where AboutMatch comes
in. Our rich database of suppliers covers the UK, Europe, as well as lower cost
destinations such as India and the Philippines.
We know which industries and processes each supplier specialises in, and
what sort of clients they are seeking.
By answering just a few quick questions about your needs – such as budget, location preference, industry and
service type - you’ll get connected with a shortlist of perfect match suppliers
within 24 hours.
Which parts of a back office can be outsourced?
The back office is generally
defined as all the “behind-the-scenes”, non-customer-facing functions in an
organisation. They are typically very process-driven and manpower-intensive. Examples
are accounting, HR, procurement and analytics.
In larger enterprises, these functions are sometimes aggregated across multiple departments as
“shared services”, which in turn are candidates for outsourcing. The UK has
been a pioneer in the adoption of shared services in the public sector.
What are the typical operating and pricing models for back office outsourcing services?
There’s a growing trend to offshore back office services, where costs are much
lower and companies can access the global best practices and scale of larger
outsourcers. Outsourcers generally charge an hourly rate for FTE (full-time
equivalent) or per transaction, balanced with KPIs for efficiency, backlog and
quality. Where the skillset requirements are specialist, or the enterprise
wants to manage the team offshore directly, “co-sourcing” or “staff leasing”
models are trending. In these models, a third party provides the facility, payroll
processing and IT support for the staff, who report into the enterprise in the home
country (eg. UK). As the third party does not have accountability for KPIs and
staff performance, the pricing is considerably cheaper than traditional
outsourcing. Staff leasing is usually priced in the form of a monthly service
fee with staff wages and out-of-pockets passed through at cost or with a small
agreed mark-up.
Tips to make your back office outsourcing a success
Here are our top 10 tips for
back office outsourcing:
·
Always
check the outsourcers’ references yourself – don’t rely blindly on the track
record and client logos presented to you.
·
Beware
of cultural differences if your outsource partner is overseas. Invest in
cultural training and awareness on both sides.
·
Outsource
processes that are working, not broken. You can’t expect an outsourcer to
deliver results if your in house processes are sub-optimal to begin with.
·
UK
companies should opt for outsourcers with a presence in the UK to reduce risk
and enhance communication.
·
Transition
planning is key – take a phased rather than big bang approach; don’t
underestimate the investment and resource required to successfully transition
to a new vendor
·
Make
sure your outsourcer plans for the unplanned and has realistic contingencies
documented for disasters.
·
Agree
upfront on a framework for communication and account management.
·
Test
out your preferred supplier with a pilot, demo or role play before jumping in
to a partnership.
·
Certain
work is not suitable for outsourcing – don’t be tempted by the savings on paper
and offload everything, without doing the proper analysis.
·
Have
a mutual understanding upfront of what a successful relationship should look
like.
