5 Key Tools To Outsourcing In The New Normal

Written by Nicholas Hastings, CEO and Founder, hammerjack

The global coronavirus pandemic has shifted expectations across the board, from revenue to staffing requirements, and this moment represents an opportunity to engage with all of the tools available to help small and medium (SME) business owners thrive once again or continue grow out of the vortex that was. Post-pandemic, there is potential to free yourself from the shackles of oppressive operational costs, outdated technology, and archaic thinking.

With every passing day, increasing numbers of ownership teams are engaging with the cost and time efficiencies presented by business process outsourcing (BPO) – outsourcing core functions, tasks, or roles to a specialist remote team. Doing so has enabled their existing core business infrastructure to focus on the bigger picture; the long-term business strategy and critical business operations decisions that create the highest possible probability of success.

How do you best make use of your outsourced professionals though? It’s one thing to implement an outsourcing program in your business, it’s another to make sure that it’s operating to its fullest potential. At hammerjack, our business is not only securing the best possible remote work professionals for the job, it’s also about onboarding in the most effective way, and establishing the tools to ensure that everything continues to operate at full capacity. We guide and advise our partners throughout the outsourcing process because we have  experience and industry insight.

As such, I’d like to share some of our learnings. If you’re considering implementing remote specialists into your business, here are five keys for outsourcing in the new post-pandemic normal.

Technology Connects The Dots

There is simply no excuse in 2021 to be lagging on the technology front within your business, especially following the pandemic. The leaps in video conferencing and communication alone have revolutionised the concept of the remote worker. Even within existing teams we’ve seen a swathe of staff members, who previously were attending the office, now engaging in remote work long-term, due to this digital transformation. Business owners and CEOs see the potential to reduce significant rental overheads, and technology enables them to maintain the necessary contact.

These advancements go beyond purely communication as well. Your staff can now collaborate live on documents, save every document to secure cloud storage, and log all expenditures within smart accountancy software. There are task management systems, content analysis tools, automated e-commerce apps, and smart contracting solutions – all of which may already be implemented in some fashion by your competitors!

BPO specialist teams simply cannot operate to their full potential if the appropriate remote work technology systems aren’t in place. Not everyone’s technologically inclined though; it can be a tricky and confusing business, and if you’re feeling overwhelmed – fear not! You need a partner like the hammerjack team, who has implemented these BPO teams for service providers of all shapes and sizes and are a certified Microsoft Cloud Solutions Partner. When you have the outsourcing insight and experience we do, you know what works. We have battle tested systems that save you from the treacheries of learning on the fly. It is in everyone’s best interests to ensure that clients get the very best out of their remote staff, and our systems allow for that.

One Happy Team With One Goal

We’re living in a new age of business culture, and the pandemic has accelerated this change. With workers shifting jobs and industries with more volatility than ever, forward-thinking Australian SME owners understand more than ever the importance of getting everyone in sync with the same goals and values. A focused intention on embedding a healthy company culture, that makes everyone feel welcome, included, and empowered, improves everything. Staff retention, productivity, job satisfaction – the whole gambit. This is especially so in the post-pandemic world of shifting lockdowns, disruptions, and changes in regulation.

There are a few points of focus when assessing your company culture. Does everyone understand their individual goals, and how that works towards the larger common goals for the business? Have you conducted any research into your staff culture, assessing levels of job satisfaction and work-life balance? When these things are addressed, a team-first culture develops. Staff members work in sync towards common objectives and give their best effort because they care more about the outcomes.

When it comes to your BPO remote work specialists, it is essential that the right protocols be in place so that they are similarly integrated into your thriving business culture. If remote workers are made to feel included, respected, and empowered in the same way, then that team-first culture will resonate through to them. Sometimes there are time-zone issues, or other such barriers to cross to ensure you get this done successfully, however with a partner in hammerjack we’ll make sure that all of your team members, whether on-site or remote, are all on the same page to ensure business continuity. Considering our track record implementing offshore professionals based in the Philippines, we have the necessary know-how to ensure that such a transition is seamless.

Be Transparent, Not See-Through

The only way that your team can work towards the same core business goals is if you have specifically made clear what these common goals are. Moreover, these goals need to actually make sense. Simple enough, but not so simple. The best business CEOs and owners are the ones who accept and consider diligent, constructive feedback all the way down their staffing chain-of-command. Productivity can face disruptions if a staff member doesn’t actually understand why they are doing what they’re being asked to do, and how it works into the bigger picture.

Clarity is the key. Be honest with your teams, remote or otherwise, and be prepared to justify the direction the business is moving in. When staff members feel like their questions and concerns have been adequately addressed they are far more likely to deliver the best possible outcomes in their role. Being evasive will only create dissonance and disharmony.

When it comes to incorporating your BPO, remote work team members into the fold, implementing some of the new tech tools we’ve already touched on can save a lot of headaches. It assists in alleviating any concerns and allowing remote workers a pathway to ask any questions concerning their role or tasks. We often act as the middleman in this capacity, regularly touching base with both our clients and their outsourced team members to ensure that everyone is getting the same message. It ensures the highest level of cooperation between all parties.

Change Is What You Make Of It

If your team is well synchronised, and working towards common goals, then they are trusted resources to delegate to. Nominating internal champions to liaise and collaborate with any remote workers will make the process of implementing your outsourcing program so much smoother. Team members can communicate the rationale behind different decisions made in the business, lessening the burden on you as the owner to need to explain and oversee everything on an individual-by-individual basis. You can allow these staff to clear up potential business process misconceptions, apprehensions, or disruptions before they reach your desk.

Giving this responsibility and respect to your team members will also potentially increase their level of buy-in to your business strategy, and what you’re trying to accomplish. They will see themselves as necessary role-players, which they are, who can be trusted to take up the responsibility of managing and executing any change within the business operations. When team members feel valued they are more likely to perform their best.

Nominating internal champions is but one of the critical staff management techniques we assist our clients with, so that they implement their remote work professionals in the most successful way to maintain business continuity. We have built our reputation on not only finding the most apt BPO professionals, but also ensuring they perform as expected throughout the relationship. This is how we foster that sense of partnership, of common goals between the outsourcing services provider and client. Which leads us to the final, crucial key…

You Need A Partner, Partner

If I’ve seen any mistake made over and again, it’s that of business owners, CEOs, and management trying to do it all themselves. Expertise in their given field doesn’t necessarily cross over into being an expert at implementing a business process outsourcing program! There are considerable variables that need to be accounted for. Simply locating the most appropriate and qualified remote work specialists for your business can be like searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack. On top of that, as we’ve already mentioned, you need to have the most appropriate technology in place, have a strong, thriving culture humming along, and be crystal clear on your common objectives – and that’s just the beginning.

Concentrating on completely and successfully embedding an outsourcing program into your business, as well as giving your best efforts to your existing day-to-day operations, is a tall order for any SME owner to accomplish alone, without the necessary experience. My advice? Don’t do it alone. You don’t have to, especially in this post-pandemic environment. Ultimately, some of the setbacks and disruptions of inexperience will cost you more than simply engaging with a specialist outsourcing services partner, like our team at hammerjack, whether your needs are long or short-term.

As your outsourcing partner we align with your goals, then ensure that they are communicated as effectively as possible to your remote team. We put the best tried and tested infrastructure in place to cater specifically to your needs, according to both the size and scope of your business, as well as taking into account operational differences between assorted industries. Implementing BPO programs is what we do, and we’ve been doing it successfully for over 10 years for product and service providers of all kinds. Take advantage of that experience, and utilise that partnership to ensure the smoothest possible implementation of your remote staff.

So call our specialist team, and we’ll show you how our partnership can transform your business.