Outsourcing is a set of practices adopted by private companies but also by public bodies that turn to other firms to carry out certain services within the production process or during support processes.
As this is an increasingly widespread strategy, let’s analyse in detail what outsourcing is, what its distinctive traits are, how to make the most of it, who it is suitable for and the various services.
What does outsourcing mean?
The meaning of outsourcing is externalisation. In practice a company that does not have the means, the tools or the time to carry out a certain service relies on an external firm that instead has the know-how and the specific skills to perform it in the best way.
People started talking about outsourcing from 1982 and it became very widespread from the 1990s among managers. From the 2000s the market became increasingly globalised and international, so companies are not always able to cope with a series of closely spaced tasks that require increasingly specific skills. Externalisation, being particularly flexible and adaptable to different needs, has spread especially among small and medium-sized enterprises that can thus cut costs and remain competitive in an increasingly demanding market.
What is it for?
Outsourcing fundamentally aims to relieve a company’s employees of rather burdensome tasks that do not fall within their main duties. The staff, being less overloaded with commitments, work with greater peace of mind and are more productive, to the benefit of the company, which cuts unnecessary costs and optimises its internal resources. Productivity becomes smoother and faster and therefore the company’s profit also benefits.
Let’s take a car dealership as an example: the core business of the activity is clearly selling cars. Managing the accounts is a necessary operation, which however does not fall within the company’s core business. In these cases the magic word is externalise. The same applies to an e-commerce site: the company’s mission is to sell, but customer support certainly cannot be ignored. In these cases too it is enough to externalise the service to manage the e-commerce with peace of mind and no further headaches.
Pros and cons of outsourcing?
Outsourcing adapts well to any type of activity, but you have to weigh up its pros and cons exactly to understand whether it is the right choice.
Here are the main advantages:
- collaboration with the best professionals anywhere in the world: with outsourcing you have no geographical constraints and, thanks to the Internet, you can draw on various talents even outside Italy;
- cost reduction: relying on an external company costs much less than employing internal resources, who would have to be paid but without having the skills for that specific job;
- optimisation of secondary activities: with externalisation you are certain to turn to competent people who have the right tools to carry out certain activities;
- 24-hour customer support: one of the great advantages of outsourcing is 24-hour availability, thus providing continuous support to the customer;
- the possibility of focusing on your core business: by freeing yourself from necessary but secondary activities, you have the chance to concentrate your efforts on the company’s main activity.
Among the disadvantages we can indicate:
- risks to internal security: by relying on an external company there is the possibility of a leak of company information. In that case it is enough to sign a non-disclosure agreement;
- loss of control over some company activities: you will not be able to constantly monitor all your company’s activities. This, however, you have to factor in when you request an outsourcing service; indeed, it is a natural consequence;
- language barrier: by relying on an external company, especially if it operates on another continent, you may run into problems relating to the different language or culture.
Outsourcing services: from customer care to automation
Going into more detail, let’s analyse below all the main outsourcing services offered by We Are Fiber, which adapt perfectly to every need.
Customer care outsourcing
Customer care outsourcing is one of the most requested services, considering the central role played by the customer in the purchasing decision phase.
We Are Fiber embodies and understands your company values, providing a very valid support service to your customers following the style and tone of voice of your company. We use all channels to provide a 360° quality service: from technical support to instant messaging, from ticketing to the freephone number, and so on.
Customer care includes:
- Help Desk: constant support to the customer before and after the sale, with first- and second-level assistance;
- Customer Service: management, support and assistance of customers by telephone;
- Ticketing Management: a system for resolving problems reported by customers to keep constant track of assistance requests;
- Social Instant Messaging: real-time assistance via social networks or apps;
- Booking Office: effective and precise management of numerous requests, also in different languages.
Data Entry
Data Entry allows quick access to non-digitised information, such as customer databases or data lists. You can, for example, speed up the processes of digitising and transcribing data, recovering precious time. We transform and make your documents accessible, cutting waiting times and speeding up processes. Our Data Entry services include:
- Back Office: WAF’s resources take care of your business’s internal processes, improving the quality of the products and services destined for your end customers;
- CRM: by acquiring customer data you can more easily identify and intercept their needs and requirements, providing a proactive and personalised service;
- Document Management: digitisation of documents that reduces costs and times, freeing up precious space within companies and offices.
Payroll and accounting
Payroll services allow you to optimise staff accounting, without the additional costs of an internal resource. We create tailor-made solutions for you, recovering and processing staff data with precision and with the utmost respect for privacy. We have a specific and specialised section for Payroll Management.
Accounting services are also fundamental, through which we support the management of your activities as regards general accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable and treasury. Our resources guarantee you maximum flexibility depending on the season. We also follow a precise code of ethics for data protection and comply with European procedures for privacy compliance.
Automation
The automation process involves the use of a team of experts who map business processes and analyse every single activity. Once the existing processes have been identified, we indicate the areas of greatest efficiency that can be automated and we guarantee you constant monitoring of the processes.
Among the advantages of automation there is first of all the saving of precious time. Repetitive activities, which until recently were carried out by human staff, are now entrusted to robots. Your staff thus have more time to devote to more stimulating activities where they can put their skills and abilities to good use. Furthermore, an element not to be underestimated, the risks of errors are considerably reduced until they are completely eliminated.
RPA (Robotic Process Automation) is also particularly versatile, therefore adaptable to different industrial and commercial sectors. In addition to automating routine processes, RPA can create reports, facilitate the rapid migration of data and retrieve important information to be reused to adopt timely and targeted business strategies.
Our method
We like to build a relationship with our customers step by step, so as to be able to offer a personalised service. Our goal is to transform your investment into added value for your company, allowing your internal resources to devote themselves more to the company’s core business.
Our approach involves the following steps:
- activity preparation: based on your needs and an as-is analysis, we design a personalised service to ensure the correct management and tracking of calls and other types of contact towards your company. These activities include: information gathering, identification of staff and roles, recruiting kick-off, control requirements, operational roadmap, and so on;
- definition of strategic priorities: we define a to-be operating model aimed at identifying strategic priorities, taking into account the activities, with a focus on customer service;
- quality check: we monitor your activity through a dashboard integrated with your systems and centralised with the data relating to the outsourced service and incoming calls, for continuous analysis and fine tuning according to quantitative and qualitative KPIs. This service allows us to check the correctness of operations and of the information given to customers;
- report sharing: review with weekly reports on the performance of results and campaigns. This allows continuous monitoring and improvement of the KPIs and the identification of new activities and objectives. You can request intraday, daily, weekly and monthly reports to have a continuous overview of your team’s activities and to gather further insights about your customers.
Do you want to test our services before purchasing them? No problem! You have the possibility of using them for a period of two months with the Try and Buy formula. You can evaluate their efficiency and, in the meantime, our team studies your workflows so as to identify together the services and the team to be trained. Once the two months are over, you can evaluate our work and decide whether to continue on the road together.
Why rely on nearshore?
We Are Fiber operates in nearshore, an externalisation method that involves the transfer of certain activities to a partner located in a country different from that of the client company. A European company that outsources activities within European territory is defined as nearshoring.
Our company operates in Albania, a choice that has proved to be a winning one, as demonstrated by the continuous affiliations of partners who rely on our services and who have improved their performance in terms of customer service (+18%), customer satisfaction (+15%) and increased sales (+16%).
Albania is a country geographically and culturally quite close to Italy; moreover, the management costs are quite contained without absolutely sacrificing the quality of the service. We Are Fiber can be the springboard for your company.
