Outsourcing, the Only Way to Vaccinate Your Business Against COVID-19

COVID-19 has brought the global economy to a grinding halt. Assuming that you are not a hand sanitizer company (in which case, your stocks have flourished) your business has also suffered. With global distancing, isolation, and even country-wide lockdowns as the new standard.  This might make it feel impossible to keep business going. Then along came outsourcing.

 

The switch to remote work can be daunting. Particularly for businesses that have relied on face-to-face customer interactions. Working remotely doesn’t only apply to ‘office’-type work. Thus, retailers can switch to e-commerce-based trading and restaurants can switch to delivery services. Even conferences can be held online. As the age-old adage goes, necessity is the mother of all invention. In other words, facing these challenges head-on with a creative mindset can be the deciding factor in keeping your business afloat in this storm. These changes in business operating procedures are bound to present challenges. Particularly, the need to: rapidly grow or reduce your workforce, find skilled employees, and set up call centers. Doing this in-house can become expensive and labor-intensive. Over and above this, it wastes time. Outsourcing non-core business functions allows you to focus on your company’s long term survival. 

Benefits of Outsourcing

  • Reduced Operational Costs

The overhead costs of having permanent employees can be astronomical. Space, equipment, and other physical resources are limited due to cost. By outsourcing BPO processes to virtual employees, you save on these physical costs. The best way to maximize these savings is to outsource functions that are resource or equipment intensive. Call centers are a good example of this, as they need lots of staff and equipment. 

  • Improved Reporting, Compliance Management, and Regulations

In many businesses, very strict legal regulations need to be adhered to. These often require mountains of paperwork. Also, these are the tasks that are most often put off. Paying your employees their full salaries to spend so much time doing admin is a waste of both money and talent. Optimize your human resources by outsourcing the tedious and repetitive tasks. Another major benefit is that the quality of these tasks is often improved upon by outsourcing. Training individuals to do a small selection of tasks well increases speed and quality.   

  • Non-Monetary Staff Benefits

In-house employees cost more than just their salaries. Depending on your local laws, you may be obliged to pay health insurance, retirement funds, and other benefits. When using an outsourcing firm, you save on wages and benefits. This reduces the total cost to the company.

  • Reduce Training Costs 

Training employees is both expensive and timely. When outsourcing, you do not need to worry about training. If there are tasks that are specific to your business, you give the company one training package and allow them to follow through with the onboarding process. 

  • Flexibility and Scalability

You can easily up-scale and down-scale your workforce when outsourcing. You do not have contracts with individual virtual employees, but rather the outsourcing firm itself. This means that, if you have a sudden increase or decrease in cash flow, you can scale your workforce accordingly. 

COVID-19 Business Survival Tools 

Act now. A delay in addressing the problems brought forward by the current crisis may very well lead to a total collapse of your business. Even more importantly, every business has a responsibility to keep both their customers and their staff safe. When arming yourself against the fallout of COVID-19, you should focus on these four ideas: 

  1. A Unifying Objective. You need to ensure your team has a clear and attainable goal. In these crazy times, it is easy to give instructions like ‘just keep going’ without addressing the underlying issues. 

  1. Support Your People. Communities have been bought to their knees. This crisis has affected everyone in some way. The uncertainty of the future has left many in vulnerable positions. Support your staff both in their work functions and in their personal lives, if you can. Organizing child care or ensuring home internet access are simple ways to help in this troubled time. 

  1. Flexibility. Right now, you need to be flexible. Give your employees the space they need to adjust to this massive change. Depending on where you are in the world, your employees may have their movements severely restricted. 

 

Outsourcing can assist you to make these ideas a reality. For instance, outsourcing repetitive administrative tasks gives the core business team freedom. Allowing them to focus their efforts completely on growing your business. In addition, using flexible online platforms allows your team to access this extra support whilst working remotely.   

So What can I Outsource?

The beauty of outsourcing is that the opportunities are endless. There are many outsourcing firms around the world. You could outsource anything from lead generation to accounting. In the time of social distancing, online functions are what your business needs to focus on. Here are some functions to consider outsourcing during the COVID-19 pandemic:

Anything you need to be done, at any time, your remote workers are there to do all the things you need but don’t have time to do. That email you need to be answered? Done. Your reports and other admin? Done. Their abilities and functions are limitless. 

Many traditional retailers are having to change their business model to an online model. This can be extremely challenging. Websites, payment portals, and delivery services will need to be set up in record time. Outsourcing these processes to companies can save both time and money. Above all, an experienced outsourcing partner will ensure excellent quality. This is important for businesses that are taking on a new model. 

As we have mentioned, with the Corona pandemic, companies will have to rapidly grow and shrink their workforce. In this time, you may need to hire or re-hire employees. The recruitment process is notorious for being both expensive and labor-intensive. Specialized recruiters or human resource managers are expensive to keep on full-time. Yet, their expertise is irreplaceable when looking for top talent. Outsource RPO to experienced human resource professionals to find the best talent.

Call centers are extremely costly to set up and run, particularly if you require a 24/7 facility. They cannot be replaced in the customer service process. Customers want to speak to an actual human being. A badly run call center can cost you your customers. Because you are losing face-to-face contact time with your clients, it is very important to ensure that your customer service is top-notch. 

What About Those Lucky Few? 

Hand sanitizer companies, toilet paper manufacturers, and online video conferencing platforms are experiencing unprecedented growth. As a result, their staffing needs have changed dramatically. 

  • Outsourcing recruitment processes can save a lot of time and effort when you need to grow your staff substantially and quickly.
  • Unfortunately, more business often results in more administration. As we have emphasized, paying your employees top dollar to do administration is a waste. Outsource these tasks to remote workers who are flexible, who do not require long term contracts, and who can be onboarded quickly and effectively. 
  • Your customer support will need to be ramped up as you get more and more customers. Setting up call centers at this time is not only costly but near impossible, due to social distancing protocol. 
  • You don’t want to be stuck with all the excess weight when markets begin to normalize. Bringing on more permanent employees at this time can be a costly mistake. What goes up, must come down. Hopefully, your company continues on the upward trend indefinitely. To ensure it does, you need to be able to shrink your workforce back down if needs be, to manage costs. This is one of the main benefits of outsourcing.  

Take-Home Points 

  1. COVID-19 has changed the world on a massive scale. If businesses are going to make it through this global recession, they need to adapt to the new social norms. 
  2. Outsourcing can help take the administration pressure off your team so that they can focus on where their talents are needed to grow your firm. 
  3. Your business may need to rapidly up-scale or down-scale in size. By outsourcing work instead of hiring permanent staff, you maintain a dynamic workforce that can grow or shrink on demand. 
  4. During this pandemic, or in its aftermath, you may find that you are needing to replace permanent staff. Outsourcing RPO processes can make finding the right talent easier and more cost-effective. 
  5. Swapping to e-commerce platforms may be the only way in which you can survive as a retailer. This requires a massive overhaul of traditional methods of business. This needs to happen quickly but with incredible care. Outsourcing these new functions can be both cheaper and easier than trying to do them in-house.
  6. Ensure that your customer service is up to scratch in this turbulent time. Outsource these services to existing call centers and remote workers to take the pressure off your staff and save on costs. 

Your Outsourcing Partner

Noon Dalton is an industry leader in the outsourcing community. Since our establishment in 2009, we have serviced a wide range of clients. We have advised clients ranging from Fortune Five Hundred companies to new start-ups finding their feet. No matter where you are in your business journey, we are able to walk alongside you. Our team has knowledge of a wide range of fields. These include finance, administration, operations, marketing, research, recruitment, and many more. We want to help you and your business thrive. Your success is our success. This is why we offer free consultation as part of our service, to ensure that we are with you along every step of your journey.  

 

Do not just outsource –  ‘right source’ with us. In these trying times, your business needs to be flexible and adaptable. There are major changes ahead, but you don’t need to go it alone. We are here to help you through this pandemic and after. If you want a partner who cares as much about your growth as you do, contact us at Noon Dalton today.