The Trouble with Business Process Outsourcing

Delegating your tasks to a BPO offshore outsourcing provider does not always mean smooth and more efficient business. Let’s face it, not all outsourced providers who claim to be professionals are really experts in the field. There are those who have such impressive websites but could not possibly provider you a list of their satisfied clients. There are also those who are only after the amount of money you can invest on their services.

In this case, take extra precautions when choosing business process outsourcing company; otherwise you fall prey to outsource providers who lack effective management of employees or those who do not have a well structured organization. Problems also tend to occur when communications and expectations from the provider is unclear, leaving the outsourced personnel feeling unsupported and unmotivated; hence they become unproductive.

At any rate, it is practically the responsibility of the BPO offshore outsourcing provider to set up an effective means of managing the projects they handle. These outsource service providers have to see to it that they are able to foster effective communication, both in language and technology, and accountability. These providers also need to make sure that they can possibly manage their own workforce and that they have the ability to set parameters and clear strategies for communication and
oversight.

Business owners whose employees work within the same building can closely monitor their employees. These entrepreneurs can attest whether employees are working at their own workstations or at the lounge drinking coffee and probably trying to catch up with one another. Those who outsource though,
tend to have limited boundaries over their workforce. A business owner who hires an outsourced employee does not really know whether paid workers spent their work time researching on assigned project or whether they actually researched on their next vacation. Entrepreneurs who outsource also have no idea whether the employees spent their time chatting with customers or navigating their own Facebook profiles.

Certainly, a business owner has to effectively and efficiently manage his employees. Entrepreneurs also need to take advantage of a pool of resources available from today’s outsource-friendly market. Those
who wish to outsource need to find and utilize web-based solutions that would help them keep track of employees’ activities and progress. Outsourcing companies can use web based solutions to establish
accountability and trust between the outsourcing parties and outsource service provider. Such solution help companies and business owners know if the employee showed up for work on a particular day and also helps business owners monitor the employees’ activities.

Aside from web-based solutions, business owners can also turn to client-server based software solutions that provide reporting tools that help evaluate employee progress, productivity, and time management more effectively. Client-server based software includes a website that provides employers a secure area featuring useful information such as screen shots of the employees’ working stations. Such programs automatically send real-time screen shots of each computer, allowing each worker to be more
accountable for their productivity and allowing employers to effectively oversee projects.

To recap, managing outsource employee can be a bit challenging, but companies can actually utilize specially designed software programs such as web-based solutions and client-server based software to help them overcome potential and common problems in outsourcing.