UNIT I

INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING

TOPICS:
Lesson 1 IT-BPM Industry in the Philippines
Lesson 2 Outsourcing Definition
Lesson 3 Common Outsourced Areas and BPO Industry in the Philippines
Lesson 4 Advantages and Disadvantages of Outsourcing
Lesson 5 Top 10 BPO Industry in The Philippines

Duration: 9 hours (Week 1 -3)

Introduction

B
usiness Process Outsourcing (BPO) is outsourcing of business functions
generally performed by white collar and clerical employees to achieve several
benefits such as cost savings, better quality and ability to focus on core
competence.
BPO involves outsourcing processes that are not central to a company but are
essential for smooth operation of the company. The customer transfers the wide-
ranging responsibility of these functions to the merchant who guarantees certain service
quality standards. Such processes include customer service, payroll processing,
inventory management, etc.
This unit is designed to help the students to give overview in Business Process
Outsourcing Industry and how BPO integrate the approach of consideration and
interrelationship among different functional areas in commercial business in the
Philippines. The student is also exposed to a set of qualitative and quantitative topics
aimed to enhance process-¬oriented thinking, in order to develop the information and
skills necessary to appreciate the fields in BPO industry.

Learning Objectives
After studying this unit, the student should be able to:
1. Explain IT-BPM Industry in the Philippines
2. Describe the BPO industry in the Philippines
3. Know the common areas of outsourced business process
4. Understand the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing
5. Identify the top 10 business outsourcing industry in the Philippines
 PRE-TEST/ACTIVITY

Here are some examples of heavily used BPO services:

1. Help desk
2. Development of applications
3. Web design
4. Publicity and advertising
5. Content marketing
6. IT – Information Technology
7. Logistics
8. Financial services
9. Legal
10. Office cleaning
11. Security
12. HR processes – Human resources

1. Choose three BPO services that are familiar to you and explain how the
process is being used.

HR Processes or human resources, it is familiar with me since most of the

psychology graduates I know work like this, they are the ones who interview
and do the job on managing who can enter the company. Next are logistic
services like the ones who deliver parcels right door to door. Web design,
also because most of the company hires freelance graphic designers who
can design their web and other social media platforms.

2. How is BPO profoundly practice in Human Resource Management? Banking?

Marketing? and Logistics?

Like what I said in number 1 about the human resources, they are like filters
on the employees coming in and out company. In banking as far as I know
they do it together with the lending institutions. In marketing, like the social
media marketing wherein they invest money in different social media
management services. In logistics, the team of logistics do the job for
deliveries.

LESSON 1
IT-BPM in the Philippines
The Philippines’ Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-
BPM) sector is one of the best-performing and employment generating activities in the
past four years. Its global leadership in voice-based services as well as continuing
improvements in non-voice and complex process outsourcing show the promising
growth trajectory of the IT-BPM sector. To be able to cement its position in the global IT-
BPM sector, the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the
Philippines (IBPAP) has advocated for deeper policy reforms which will support
employees’ skills development and maintain a competitive business environment for the
industry.
The industry's initiatives focus on four action areas: (1) widening and deepening
human capital by scaling up industry public-private partnerships; (2) strengthening
Philippine attractiveness as an investment destination through advocacy activities; (3)
achieving Roadmap 2016 goals by leading cross-sectoral efforts; and (4) building
Philippine IT-BPM brand globally through marketing programs.
As of 2010, the Philippines’ IT-BPM sector has already overtaken India’s
standing in voice-based services, making the country the number one provider for such
services in the global economy. Voice-based services is also identified as the largest
contributor in the local BPO industry, comprising 64% (493,000) of generated direct
employment and 67% ($ 7.4 billion) of total revenues in 2011. Aside from this, several
non-voice and complex BPO services such as healthcare information management,
knowledge process outsourcing, engineering, animation, and software development are
gaining prominence in the global BPO sector and are in a higher growth pace vis-à-vis
voice-based businesses.
The global foothold of the Philippine IT-BPM industry is largely attributable to the
strong skills of the Philippine labor force. In voice-based services, Filipinos hold
competitive advantage in English communication skills, strong customer service
orientation, and adaptability to consumers’ Western culture. In non-voice and complex
services, The Economist and Everest Group analysts report the growing number of
businesses providing healthcare information management, human resources
management, business intelligence, and offshore financial consulting in the Philippines.
Coupled with Filipinos’ hard work and openness to learning, these two existing
advantages provide investors with a strong advantage once they set up shops in the
country.
As an enabler of business, the Philippine government provides IT-BPM firms with
one of the best investment environments so that they can operate their enterprises
productively. For instance, the Board of Investments (BOI) provide income tax holidays,
tariff reductions in capital equipment and streamlined business registration and
coordination procedures for non-voice and knowledge process outsourcing enterprises
which produce original content. The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) also
provides an incentives package for IT-BPM businesses, including voice-based services
in its scope of qualified investors. Aside from better coordination procedures with
government, IT-BPM enterprises benefit from a sound telecommunications
infrastructure in the country as well as a stable pool of skilled professionals in urban
cities, where the population base is growing at stable replacement rates. These
conditions assure that businesses can conduct their activities within a stable
macroeconomic and investment climate.

LESSON 2
Outsourcing Definition
Outsourcing has become a major trend in human resources over the past
decade. It's the practice of sending certain job functions outside a company instead of
handling them in house. More and more companies, large and small, are turning to
outsourcing as a way to grow while restraining payroll and overhead costs. How can
you make it work for your business?
First, make sure the company you're hiring can really do the job. That means
getting (and checking) references. Ask former or current clients about their satisfaction
with the client. Find out what industries and what type of workload the firm or individual
is accustomed to handling. Can you expect your deadlines to be met, or will your small
business's projects be pushed aside if a bigger client has an emergency?
Also, make sure you feel comfortable with who will be doing the work and that
you can discuss your concerns and needs openly. Ask to see samples of work if
appropriate (if you're using a graphic design firm, for example).
One outsourcing option is to hire independent contractors. Instead of hiring an in-
house bookkeeper, for example, you might outsource the job to an independent
accountant who comes in once a month or does all the work off-site. Independent
contractors can be more flexible and lower in cost than outsourcing firms. As with
outsourcing firms, however, before hiring an independent contractor, make sure the
individual you use can do the job.
If your outsourcing needs are handled by an individual, you're dealing with an
independent contractor. The IRS has stringent rules regulating exactly who is and is not
considered an independent contractor. The risk: If you consider a person an
independent contractor and the IRS later reclassifies him or her as an employee, you
could be liable for that person's Social Security taxes and a wide range of other costs
and penalties.
 LESSON 3 COMMON OUTSOURCED AREAS IN BPO

Outsourcing refers to the technique in which businesses

entrust the processes of their company functions to external
vendors’. Every company process that can be performed
from an off-the-shore location can be outsourced.

This includes functions such as payroll, transaction

processing, transcription services, call center services,
image manipulation services, order and inventory
management, just to name a few.

One of the leading misconceptions when it comes to

working with virtual staff is assuming that a single employee
can handle every single thing for you. This is nothing but a “super VA myth,” and you
ought to know that it is not possible (not in the virtual world, and not even in the real
world).

So as to efficiently utilize virtual assistants as you grow your firm, you are
required to hire people for the roles, and not the tasks. This implies that you need to
build up a team.

This team will work collectively to achieve everything you are aiming for as an
entrepreneur or business director. It’s with this concept in mind that I decided to compile
this list of tasks you could outsource to virtual staff and grow your business more
efficiently.

It is essential to appreciate and acknowledge that no single individual can handle

all these different tasks. So, let's start by taking a look at some of the valid and
compelling advantages businesses experience from outsourcing their tasks so they
can pay attention to the core business activities.

For lots of businesses, the prime reason they outsource is so that its employees,
managers, and free owners can focus their attention on more income generating
activities.

1. Improves opportunities for growth.

Every day-opportunities for business growth and a desire to develop your

company’s operations exist, but resources to make all these happen are lacking.
Outsourcing will create some free time for numerous employees, and this could
be everything you need to take full advantage of the daily opportunities.

2. Increasing effectiveness and efficiency.

 In most cases, outsourcing permits access to skilled talent. Even more,
outsource businesses can offer, latest technology, innovative approaches, and
creative, cutting-edge solutions that otherwise are not available.

3. Generally, improves your bottom line by reducing your expenses.

A skilled firm or contractor can generally execute tasks more cheaply
compared to hiring a full-time employee. This implies that the costs of employing,
coaching, and maintaining workers are eliminated and so are benefits and tasks.

4. Risk sharing.

One of the most critical factors determining the outcome of your campaign
is risk analysis. Outsourcing various components of your business’s processes
will assist the company by shifting various responsibilities to the outsourced
vendors.

Since these outsourced vendors are specialists in what they do, they’ll
plan all your risk-reducing factors much better.

Regardless of these pros of outsourcing that you should consider before

approaching an outsourcing vendor, it’s always wise to accurately define the
importance of the tasks you are looking to outsource.

The main factors that have led to the growth of this trending tendency of
outsourcing includes;

1. The Likelihood and ability to concentrate on other essential business processes.

2. Lack of skilled labor in specific areas of the business processes.
3. Availability of discounted labor, all while not compromising the quality of output.

All these factors have specifically resulted in most outsourced partners

across the world today. That being said, below are numerous tasks you should
aim to outsource as you grow your business;

1. Outsource Customer Service and Lead Generation.

Sales calls are normally a matter of
number, meaning that more calls equal to
more leads and sales. The moment the
first outreach has been performed, closing
the sales can be controlled by the internal
sales force.
 A brilliant salesperson’s skills and expertise can be efficiently utilized to handle
clients and close sales, rather than just make cold calls. It might also be more effective
to outsource customer support compared to maintaining a qualified support staff to
handle these tasks. This is especially true for product based companies.
2. Outsource Bookkeeping and Accounting.

Let’s start by understanding what

bookkeeping is. Bookkeeping can be
regarded to as the act of keeping records of
all financial transactions in an organized
manner.
Furthermore, Bookkeeping and
Accounting are just like your morning jog; no
one really wants to take his/her time out to
do it but disregarding it may result in serious
complication after a specified period of time.

You always have an option to employ

a dedicated individual to take care of your
day to day bookkeeping and accounting
activities though nowadays it’s become
practical for companies to outsource all their
bookkeeping activities.

There are lots of benefits brought about by outsourcing your bookkeeping

activities. You can save your employees more time so they can focus more on
your business. You’ll also save some cash since account outsourcing is cheaper
compared to employing a full-time accountant and you’ll have access to experts,
who will ensure accuracy and so much more.

3. Outsource Social Media Marketing.

Social media platforms are no longer restricted to

personal communication. Nowadays, lots of
companies are using social media platforms such as
LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Even
Snapchat for lead generation.
As a matter of fact, the famous messaging app,
WhatsApp, is also getting used by companies
extensively. Advertising on these social media
platforms is not an easy task, and this activity will
need a considerable amount of time.
 For instance, the company’s job does not end with posting on the platform. The
company has to engage in the conversations and reply to all its users. As an
entrepreneur, you can easily outsource this task to one of the social media
marketing agencies. They’ll have a team of well-skilled professionals set aside, and
their work is to grow and monitor your followers.

You can utilize tools such as Hootsuite as they permit you to add new team
members and approve everything they post on your business’s social media profiles.

Most companies think that social media marketing campaigns can be managed
by setting aside just 30 to 40 minutes every single day or occasionally to reply to
some messages.

That’s a wrong insight, and in case you really desire to reap benefits from your
social media marketing campaigns, you must invest enough time to grow your
followers’, so outsourcing the activity to experts will give decent returns

4. Outsource Tax Filing and Tax

Preparation
Tax returns preparations are pretty time
consuming and needs a specific set of skills.
You can easily find tax consultants who can lift
this tax filing burden for you.

In case you are making use of any

reliable online accounting software, you can
simply grant them temporary access, and
they’ll be able to generate the return.

Tax filing and preparation services costs

are pretty much standardized nowadays so you
could easily outsource Service Tax, Value
Added Tax, and TDS return preparation.

5. Outsource Payroll Processing.

In case you own a small team, you won’t experience any

difficulties managing payroll in-house. But then again, once
your company starts growing past 15 employees, handling
monthly payrolls can eat up lots of your time, meaning that
keeping track of worker’s applicable tax returns, bonuses
advances, loan advances, joining and exit formalities, and
employee leaves may soon turn and become a nightmare
for you.
 In case chosen appropriately, Payroll outsourcing will be less costly, and a more
straightforward mean of filing your taxes on time and paying your employees.

6. Outsourcing Your Creative Work.

Most entrepreneurs think that they can
perform their own design tasks. Well, it’s true they
can, but very few of them can do it well, and that’s
why you are advised to leave this to the experts.

You can achieve more quality results if you opt to

outsource your artwork creations. This includes
designing of advertising banners, letterhead, business cards, logos, website image,
and so much more.
Websites such as Upwork connect business owners with some of the best
designers around the globe. It’s pretty affordable, and you’ll get a huge number of
freelancers to choose from. In case you’re on a tight budget, sites such as Fiverr can
help you out.
7. Outsource Event Management.
Are you preparing to accommodate a
workshop of workers? Or a team day out? Or
perhaps a get-together festivity for vendors?
It’s better if you outsource the entire event
organization activity to an even organizing
agency.
Right from preparations to the execution, event
management can consume a lot of time. If not
outsourced, you’ll be forced to include your
workers, and this might negatively impact your
firm’s productivity.
A trustworthy event management firm can take away this whole burden as they
have a good connection with food caterers, sound providers, technicians, and
other vendors.
So the next time you’ll be thinking of hosting an event, you are advised to
outsource it and save yourself some valuable time.
8. Outsource Everything You Do Not Enjoy.
 There are various tasks that you’ll simply hate doing, maybe it’s preparing
your monthly MIS, or perhaps it’s writing blogs and articles. I am also confident
that you enjoy performing specific activities, and that’s what you should focus on.

Doing activities, we do not enjoy can drain us and unpleasantly affect our
productivity altogether. Even more, we have a tendency of postponing activates
we do not love, and this won’t be good to for your business either.

It’s better if you just outsource such tasks to experts who are good at it.

9. Outsource Customer Phone

Support.
One of the routinely outsourced
company tasks is customer or client
support; especially phone support. The
cost of hiring, providing enough office
space, coaching, and paying taxes can
be quite high, but an outsourced call
center in a nation such as India can
continually carry out the task at a very
affordable cost.
Obviously, the choice to outsource customer phone support is a tradeoff.
Internet blogs and forums are packed with foreign phone support terrifying stories
about reps who cannot speak fluent English, fail to understand problems and make
the whole support experience an exhausting ordeal.
10. Outsource Web Design.
Despite the fact that web design is a
more imaginative task compared to
accounting, it is a regularly outsourced task
nonetheless. Foreign teams usually are
quite well skillful in web design, and most
providers will even offer companies their
choices of ready-made website templates
that IT team can modify to their liking.
Nonetheless, not all web design
tasks are suitable for outsourcing. Generally, outsourcing is recommended for
standard company web design tasks for which time is of the essence. In case
your web design task needs significant innovation or creativity, it is perhaps
better handled by an in-house web designer who can monitor all through the
project’s development.
 11. Outsource Legal Services.
Despite the fact that no one expects an outsourced
legal squad to protect their company in the court of law,
other sorts of legal complications are sufficiently handled
by overseas firms.
Litigation support, document review,
analysis/drafting, and legal documentation are all samples
of legal tasks that businesses profitably and confidently
entrust to well experienced outsourced teams every single
day.
The capability to outsource all legal services is
particularly advantageous to smaller industries, which can
rarely afford to employ the expert legal professionals’’ at
the market rates.
Large companies also normally find it more effective to utilize outsourced
teams for tedious legal tasks.
12. Outsource Healthcare Services.
All sorts of managerial healthcare services are
also profitably outsourced by most companies around
the world. These healthcare services include tele
radiology, healthcare software, medical transcription,
coding, and medical billing.
As demand for sophisticated diagnostics and scanning
rise, it becomes more rewarding to hand over such tasks
to medical professionals with the ability to command on
the open market.
A potential setback here (just as in tax preparations and
accounting) is the fact that medical information is
habitually sensitive by definition.
This recommends that an extremely high emphasis ought to be placed so as to
ensure that you only use outsourced teams with a proven, trustworthy, and reliable
track record.
13. Outsource Human Resources.
Human resources and employee
acquisition functions can all get easily
administrated by an external agency. Some
 external firms are more experienced at checking references, screening for suitable
applicants, and advertising.
Using a Human Resource or employment service to manage your employee
benefits is a nice move, since they have to stay up to date on the newest
employment standards and governing laws.

14. Outsource Engineering.

Virtually any type of engineering
task (May it be architectural, structural,
electrical, or mechanical) can efficiently
and effectively be outsourced.
This includes (but isn’t limited to) consulting,
modeling, AutoCAD designs, and Sketches.
Remember, nonetheless, the criteria needed for
wisely outsourcing computer programming and
web design tasks, since they equally apply to
engineering.
In case you are in doubt, it’s best that you only outsource standardized and paint
by numbers projects that depend more on common and well-known methods, rather
than unique missions that only you or your fellow executives exclusively possess.
15. Outsource Research and Development
Today's businesses outsource all sorts
of research and development tasks.
Every single thing from pharmaceutical
research, financial research, customer
demographics, and even market
research is handled by overseas teams
coached in the numerous
methodologies of every field.
The most essential task from the firm’s standpoint is finding an outsourcing firm
specializing in the unique sort of research needed for the task in question.
Just like every other field, distinct firms will specialize in distinct things. You
should be skeptical when it comes to hiring “a single size fits all” type of firm. These
firms normally claim that they are capable of doing all sort of research you might
possibly need.
16. Outsource Data Entry
 Routine data entry tasks (such as order
processing, cataloging, scanning, and indexing)
are perfectly well-suited for outsourcing. A cost-
conscious company will easily hire an outsourced
team to execute just about every data entry task
conceivable and also get the job well done with
adequate accuracy.
The only time a firm ought to hesitate a bit
when it comes to outsourcing their data entry
projects is when the information involved is
somewhat sensitive.
Firms are reasonably weary passing off
client data such as social security numbers and
credit cards to outsourced teams. Regardless of
Such projects, data entry is an ideal task to outsource.
17. Outsource Computer Programming.

Computer
programming is typically
outsourced for similar
reasons as web design.
A comparatively standard
programming project
(such as database,
calculator, or message
board) can be easily and
quickly completed by
outsourcing teams for a
couple of dollars.

18. Outsource Website

Optimization.
These days a decently optimized
website is the basic cost of online
admission.
In Case you have accepted this
concept then it’s time that you make
a decision. Will you run to your in-house IT “experts” or will you hire a professional,
i.e., an outsourcing team?

Obviously, there are numerous advantages of keeping such a project in-house

but you also ought to consider the advantages of hiring a professional to help you
out.
19. Outsource Hiring.

How can you hire new individuals in your

organization? Lots of us post a vacancy
on our websites or inform our buddies
and existing employees regarding the
vacant positions.
In case you have a good network, you
will slowly start receiving resumes.
Subsequently, you’ll start interviewing these potential candidates over the
weekends. What comes after that is pick-outs, background confirmations, salary
negotiations and more interview rounds.
You can imagine the amount of time hiring employees can consume in case it’s
not done right. You can easily save yourself some valuable time by simply
outsourcing the whole hiring procedure.
These hiring agencies will have a database and they can speedily arrange the
best candidates with the desired skills’. Some of them will even offer free
replacements in case a new employee resigns or leaves within 4 months.
20. Outsource Skills You Do Not Have.

Most entrepreneurs start their companies based on the primary skills they
possess. Bill Gates started Microsoft because he had a passion for IT. In the
same way, you’ll most likely work or start an industry you feel comfortable with or
have some substantial knowledge about. Nonetheless, in the long run, you will
learn that an entrepreneur has no choice but to wear many hats.

He has to dive into sales, marketing, and nearly every other department of
the business. You might not be good at sales and marketing as you start your
company since you never went to a formal sales and marketing lecture. Most
entrepreneurs face such issues but the only problem is, some of them might
force themselves into trying out things they do not have an idea about. In such
circumstances, it’s intelligent to outsource projects in need of skills you do not
have.
 For instance, in case you do not know how a website is designed, do not
waste your precious time trying to learn it. Even better, find some professionals
and get this done quick.

21. Outsource Business Applications.

Every person is talking about
applications these days and
thus, building your business app
sounds like a pretty good idea.
Lucky for you, there are Do It
Yourself (DIY) app development
tools’ available for you to utilize
and create your own
applications.
Nonetheless, unless your
primary competency is App
development, you might end up
creating something which does
not grant you as much traction
as you might have desired. The
thing is that clients’ have become
quickly accustomed to quick and
slick interfaces with high-quality
graphics. In case your
application has some whiff of a Do It Yourself approach, it might end up doing
your corporation more harm than good.
The best way to address such an issue is to build the application yourself
with the intent of using it as a functioning prototype your clients can use to
perform their initial tastings. This sort of testing and the kind of feedback you
receive allows you to come up with some reasonable judgments regarding
whether outsourcing the project is a good idea.
Once you have attained the results and you have taken your firm’s
decision a step further, you can now hand over the entire project to an expert app
developer.
22. Outsource Content Writing.
Content writing is the core of all online marketing
strategies. Native advertising content, social media
content, blog content, and so much more, are all essential components of online
marketing.
Without written contents, gaining prominence on social media networks and search
engines will be difficult, and we all know these are essential sources of referrals for any
company.
I have come across lots of business owners investing huge amounts time into
coming up with authentic content. You ought to understand that content writing
doesn’t always come naturally; it takes efforts and practice.
These business owners spent lots of hours coming up with topics, doing
research, writing, editing, and proofreading, while all these are hours they could
spend growing their company in other ways’.
In case that’s your situation, consider outsourcing your company’s writing
workload to an expert content writer.
23. Outsource Your Digital Marketing
Campaigns.
Like stated before, when you are running
your firm, time is of the essence and marketing or
promoting your brand might take up plenty of that
time.
Outsourcing your digital marketing
campaigns to a digital marketing agency can bring
about immense benefits to your business.
To begin with, your marketing campaign will
not suffer due to staff complications or annual
leaves. You perhaps already understand that the
key to a successful marketing campaign is consistency.

Choosing to partner up with a digital marketing agency implies that you don’t
have to worry about gaps in delivery or staff leaves. To place it as it is, that’s the
agency’s problem.
Secondly, you receive your services from a team of professionals at this
particular area. Your workers receive salaries, and so instead of creating payrolls for
every single person, you’ll be paying a team of experts’ in digital marketing
campaigns who’ll create, research, and implement marketing strategies that work.
Essentially, you’re paying for better results at a way more affordable budget
compared to hiring employees.
 24. Outsource Video Editing.
We are now in an age where every
person has a smartphone, and this
implies that they have the power to
make videos and post them on the
internet.
Despite the fact that that’s ok as long as
you are filming silly dog videos’ and
publishing them on YouTube channels, it is
perhaps not a good idea when it comes to
your business.
I agree that it's obviously going to be way
inexpensive compared to hiring a well-
known video production firm.
What you should understand is that in-
house videos might not display your
businesses in the best light. This is
because your clients are going to evaluate
your service’s/product’s quality based on the quality of your videos.
Every single video you post for your clients to view needs to look tip-top. Save
yourself the hassle and time because you are better off leaving this task in the hands
of the experts.
25. Outsource Email Management.
There are two prime reasons as to why you
should consider outsourcing email management.
Email missions are critical.

Every person understands the value,

reach, and power of emails today. Nonetheless,
this day, lots of businesses find themselves with
email services that are increasingly unproductive,
and inherently inefficient.

Email has changed.

The second reason is emails have changed. In the last couple of years, it
was always considered to be a regular exercise for most companies to manage
their own Email servers.
 However, this is no longer the case. Handling an in-house Email server
consumes a significant amount of Network Administrator time and lots of
precious bandwidth.

Even more serious, once a Business’s Email service is disturbed, the risk
of losing access to these mission-critical business resources are massive.

As a matter of fact, lots of administrators are having a hard time keeping

up with the ever-changing Email warfare of technology getting waged to fend-off
spammers.

In case Email management is not your prime business focus, probably

outsourcing it to a firm specializing in Email management is the best idea.

26. Outsourcing Calendar Management.

One of the best and luxurious

things in running your own
company seems to be having an
individual who manages your
calendar, acting as a gatekeeper.
Outsourcing your calendar
management tasks and scheduling
tasks to a virtual assistant is of
value both in terms of saving you
more time and bringing extra value
to your company.
Let’s take a look at how
outsourcing calendar
management can save you time. In case, you have ever tried to plan a meeting with
a busy colleague, client, or lead then you understand how back and forth all this can
be.
Instead of spending your valuable time every week setting up appointments or
pursuing those who are not interested in speaking with you, all this time can be
efficiently spent on other crucial sectors of the business.
Next, let’s see how outsourcing calendar management can help you maintain
your focus. Imagine you are in the middle of a customer call, all things are going
great, you are loving the conversation’s flow, and then all of a sudden, in your eye’s
corner, you spot an email canceling your meeting with a lead.
Unexpectedly, you are destructed, questioning what took place? And whether
everything is okay. (And don’t you forget you’re on the phone with a client)
 To save yourself from all this stress, hire a virtual assistant so they can field all
these Emails and changes.
27. Outsource Booking Appointments’.
Booking appointments happen to be among
the tasks normally outsourced by lots of
companies’. Hiring someone else to do this will
save the entrepreneur a big slice of time they
can spend running their ventures.
When done effectively and appropriately by a
virtual assistant, this practice will improve your
relationship with clients.
Appointments bookings ought to be
efficiently done since an appointment-packed
schedule may run mayhem on the day-to-day
workday schedule. It needs to be efficiently managed, so it doesn’t eat up and waste
all your day’s work.
28. Outsource Manufacturing and Production.
Besides being a matter of
convenience for both small and big
sized companies, outsourcing
manufacturing and production
processes is a pre-requisite for
survival.
Without the capability to outsource their
production functions to contract
manufacturers (CMs), most businesses will
basically lack the economies of scale that
permit them to compete with their larger
competitors efficiently’.

Only a small number of corporations around the world have the ability to capitalize in,
and regularly upgrade, the billions of dollars in personnel, equipment, and procedure
technology needed to compete in a market of fading margins and shrinking product
lifecycles.

For most companies nowadays, the trend of outsourcing manufacturing functions

to companies in nations such as Chia makes significant sense.

These contract manufacturers will ensure that your business’s products are up
and running in a short period of time because of the extensive facilities and expertise at
their disposal.
 29. Outsource Data Storage.

Storage Service Providers (SSP) could be

the solution to all your data management
prayers.
The innovation of the internet has
continuously increased the requirements for
both online and offline data storage. I think the
moment has come for all companies to
consider outsourcing their storage provisions
and management to the new kind of online
service providers, The storage service
providers (SSP).
A storage service provider is a firm aimed
at providing computer storing space and
management. Besides the storage itself, storage service providers typically provide
archiving and backup, remotely managed storage, and some will also offer to
consolidate data from numerous locations so as to enable efficient data sharing.
Clients are typically billed at a once-a-month rate and for every managed terabyte of
storage.
30. Outsource Inbound Marketing.
One thing when it comes to being a marketing expert is every single
person thinks they can also perform your
tasks. On the exterior, marketing practices
look so easy, though, in various respects, it
is.

What’s actually tedious is getting the

job done well. In sales and marketing, you’ll
easily tell if you are doing the task well or
not because the results are always right in
front of you for you to see.

You are either generating sufficient

clients and leads to keep your business
moving forward, or you are doing
something that might result in your
company’s downfall.
 So, in case you are running your own company and you are also in charge
of your marketing projects, here is why you ought to outsource inbound
marketing.
When running your growing company, you are advised to pay attention to sales
and strategies, that’s all. Everything else, from finance to human resource, to
marketing, can be handled by the experts.

Inbound marketing happens to be an evolving field, and it's actually less

than 10 years old. Nonetheless, you’re needed to stay on top of the changes for
your company to be successful. Let’s take Google Authorship, for instance.
Google Authorship was an approach aimed at improving how your blog posts
appeared in Google Search results.

Keenly optimizing your blog site for Google Authorship was a must-do a
couple of years ago. Then after a short while, Google put on end on the whole
program. Inbound marketers had no choice but to come up with new means that
can make content stand-out in the midst of the unlimited amount of content on
the web.

Not keeping up with such changes can extremely hurt your entire inbound
marketing program. So, In case you’re a business owner, but you are spending
significant time on trying to stay up to date with inbound marketing trends, you
are perhaps wasting your precious time. Outsource inbound marketing to the
experts and attain the results you desire.

31. Outsource Cleaning Services.

Keeping the office and the entire company
clean should be a full-time job. As a matter of fact,
with everything invested into keeping the company
sanitized (such as buying the required cleaning
equipment and hiring designated full time cleaning
staff workers) most people could argue that the
project of maintaining a company clean is a
business itself.
Most companies nowadays are choosing to
outsource to cleaning companies in an attempt to
diminish the entire hassle of managing in-house
sanitation.
Sounds interesting? Well, take a look at the
following 4 benefits of outsourcing cleaning tasks to
cleaning services and firms.
  Reduces costs.
As mentioned above, keeping your company hygienically clean is expensive.
Lots of cash will be allocated to buying equipment (such as buckets, brooms, mops,
cleaners, and so much more) and not to remark on the actual cleaning detergents
needed.
 You’ll enjoy a better quality of services.
Your company’s look in general, particularly regions where customers enter such
as waiting lobbies and lavatories, says a lot regarding your brand.
Make sure that such areas are cleaned to their highest level of sanitation by
prominent outsourced cleaning services.
 Improves staff morale.
 You’ll also enjoy reliable cleaning services since you are dealing with
experts.

32. Outsource Podcast Production.

Regardless of whether
you’ve podcasted for ages, or you
are yet to release your 1st
episode, there is an impressive
chance that you have considered
outsourcing as an alternative at
some point.
We have partnered with dozens of
companies in producing their shows over
the last couple of years, and the range of
reasons people are outsourcing are
somewhat amazing.
Below are various reasons why you should probably also look into it. Perhaps:
 You possess slight or no experience in producing or mixing audios.
 You know extremely little regarding the publishing and website side of things.
 You would rather spend your precious time working on the things you love, rather
than uploading/editing audio files.
 You’ll feel reassured if you have expert support backing you and your show up.
 You understand that professional support and production will accelerate your
success.
Regardless of your reasons, there are numerous options available for you should
you choose to outsource this heavy lifting.
33. Outsource CRM integration.
Prior to outsourcing your Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) programs, it
is essential that you clearly define the benefits
and drawbacks involved.
Once the budget is tight, enterprises
usually run to outsourcing services so as to
control the costs of Big IT projects. That is
also true even for CRM (which happens to be
a spending category that most industry
observers thought would be relatively safe
from harsh budget cuts.)

Nonetheless, according to most accounts,

Customer Relationship Management is growing. The CRM software marketplace
leader, Siebel Systems, reported that CRM outsourcing is growing by 20% to 23%
every year.

Regardless of this stated growth, the advantages and disadvantages of CM

outsourcing are not clearly understood. Outsourcing CRM can take distinct forms.
Enterprises can pay a different firm to host their software (this can be the
outsourcing firm’s software or a different vendor’s software.)

Another alternative is they can pay up someone to manage the entire segments
of their CRM procedures, for instance, a call center or specific client marketing
program.

34. Outsourcing Your E-commerce Firm.

Entrepreneurs have a tendency of wearing

lots of hats, i.e., accountant, customer
service representative, Director of Marketing,
CEO, Founder, Chairman, President, and so
much more.
Once you 1st launch your E-commerce firm,
handling every single thing by yourself will
seem more reasonable. Nonetheless, it won’t
take long before you find yourself consumed
and spending lots of time maintaining your
company instead of growing it.

Outsourcing is a USD 80 billion business in

the United States alone, and that’s for a good
reason. Outsourcing will free up your precious time so you can concentrate on how you
can propel your company further.

For E-commerce traders, learning how to outsource work and do it altogether will
bring about various potential benefits. Some of these benefits include:

 It will help you grow your business because it grants you some free time to
concentrate on bigger ideas.
 Outsourcing your E-commerce firm gives you more time to focus on your
strengths.
 It’s more affordable compared to hiring a full-time employee.
 You’ll also get to work with more experienced personnel.

35. Outsourcing Company Newsletters.

Most entrepreneurs are beginning to

understand the advantages of using
company newsletters so as to bolster their
relationships’ with customers and improve
sales.

Nonetheless, entrepreneurs with a full

understanding of the advantages of
company newsletters may still have a hard
time coming up with a quality piece each
time. Some might even lack resources
altogether.

Writing an impressive newsletter (a

newsletter containing fascinating, excellent
written articles with useful information) is an
extremely labor-intensive procedure.

Articles need to be formatted, proofread, edited, and drafted with keen

care and attention to detail. Doing this over and over again can turn out to be a
time-consuming task for a company whose specialty is not producing content.

Making use of an outsourced firm newsletter permits your company to

gradually deliver first-rate content to its customers without all the effort needed to
put together an in-house newsletter.

Once you outsource the content task of your company’s newsletter, you’re
placing a team of content writing professionals to work on topics that matter to
your customers’.
 Trained and well adept copywriters and editors understand what sort of
writing styles work best for your subject matter and how they can format them to
create a long-lasting impression.

Even though this work might be basically irrelevant to what your firm
actually does, it’s nonetheless crucial to the formulation of an efficient newsletter.

Outsourcing the editing and writing of your newsletters to a newsletter

company allows your firm to provide its customers with a helpful and high-quality
newsletter full of insights. All this while letting you concentrate on areas that
matter most.

36. Outsource Training.

Do you have the qualified personnel and

resources to accomplish all your training
goals? You might find that after
evaluating your firm’s training
requirements, you do not possess the
best training materials or well-qualified
staffs in-house.

There are various reasons as to why you

may perhaps choose to bring in outside
certified trainers (outsourcing).

These five reasons include;

 There are complex regulations you have no choice but to

comply with. These regulations include environmental issues
or governing safeties.
 You are required to meet certain legal requirements, for
instance, those governing discriminations, harassments, and
equal opportunities.
 You only own a small staff and do not have enough (or even
any) qualified and certified trainers.
 You have a huge number of workers in need of refresher
training.
 You desire to keep workers up to date on whatever’s
happening in your industry.

In respect to regulatory obedience, numerous laws and

organizations affect your firm. Keeping track of all their requirements
might seem overwhelming, but then again there are lots of quality
 training programs on the marketplace you can utilize to keep your firm in
compliance.

37. Outsourcing Cybersecurity.

One question most small firm normally struggle with, particularly in the first
days of their developments is whether they
should outsource the various aspects of their
internet security or not. There are lots of
instances when outsourcing, network, data, and
computer security makes sense. Some of these
instances include;
 You cannot find the ideal individual to fill the
full-time role.
 Maybe you lack the proper in-house skills
and resources.
 You might not be in a position to make a full-
time hire due to a tight budget.
 You have better areas to focus on in your
firm, so you outsource cyber security to create more time for your employees.

Nonetheless, the blunt truth is that you are not prepared to outsource business
cyber security in case one or more of the following points applies to your firm.

 You do not have anyone on board to manage and own outsourced

relationships actively.
 You cannot clearly define your goals or problems.
 You do not know where your assets reside and what systems or data you are
trying to secure.

Small business owners need to ensure that they don’t give cyber security service
providers the impression that they do not understand what they need. The highest
probability is cyber security firms will see nothing else other than dollar signs.

LESSON 4

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF OUTSOURCING

Advantages of Outsourcing
1. You Get More Experts
Your core team might be fantastic at a few things, but nobody is perfect at
everything. By outsourcing particular tasks, companies are often able to
substantially improve performance by drawing on the niche skills of experts in
certain fields.
3. Things Get Done Fast
One of the top reasons small businesses tend to outsource work is
because it will get done quicker. If you’re working with a limited number of
staff members, you can get things done a whole lot quicker by-passing time-
consuming tasks on to freelancers or external agencies.

3. You’re Able to Focus on What Matters

Another benefit of outsourcing tasks is enhanced freedom. By passing
on supporting processes, you’ll be able to concentrate your skills on
strengthening and improving the core processes that help make your
business tick.
4. You Can Share Some Risk
One of the most important factors in any project is risk assessment
and analysis. By outsourcing certain campaigns or processes on to
experts in their respective fields, you will benefit from their enhanced
ability to plan and mitigate potential risks.
5. You Can Reduce Costs
As one might imagine, outsourcing piecemeal work is almost
always going to be cheaper than hiring permanent full time staff. Not only
will you save time and money on recruitment, but your profit will also be
extended than s to shorter overheads.
6. You Can Work Around the Clock
One major benefit of outsourcing digital work overseas is the
substantial differences you might encounter in terms of time zones and
holidays. Although this can pose an initial hurdle logistically, once
overcome it can effectively mean your business is running even while
you’re fast asleep.
7. You Can Simplify Project Management
If you choose to outsource work via a wide range of specialist
freelance websites and online services, you’re often provided dynamic and
intuitive platforms that will help you to effectively manage what’s being
done, when it’s due for submission and how it will be paid. Most of this can
be automated, freeing up your time for more important work.
8. You Simplify Work Relationships
Quite a few small business teams are tight-knit groups of friends
and family — which is fantastic. But when you’re incredibly close to your
staff members, it can also lead to issues when work isn’t being done up to
par. By outsourcing work, you’ll typically be able to minimize work
relationships to simple, contractual arrangements.
9. Efforts Are More Targeted
Another overlooked advantage of outsourcing is that it enables you
to plan and execute more effective, targeted campaigns and projects that
you wouldn’t ordinarily be able to take on. This gives your business the
chance to take new risks and experiment with different methods of
exposure.
10. You Get Peace of Mind
At the end of the day, choosing to outsource with a reliable
individual or agency should give you peace of mind that tasks are being
handled expertly and efficiently without you having to worry or lift a finger.
What could be better?
Disadvantages of Outsourcing
1. You Lose Some Control
As you might expect, when you farm work out to external
agencies or freelancers, you’re losing control of how those tasks
are being monitored and performed. So long as you know and trust
who you’ve hired, that shouldn’t be a huge issue – but you’ve got to
tread carefully.
2. There are Hidden Costs
Although outsourcing work is generally considered cheaper,
you must also beware of getting ripped off. Outsourcing companies
or big agencies will typically ask small business owners to sign
lengthy contractual agreements, and they’ll include plenty of fine
print. If you don’t read the terms carefully, you could get hit with
unexpected costs.
3. There are Security Risks
In this age of data protection, it’s essential that you exercise
caution whenever using customer data. If you plan to outsource
processes that require personal data, you could be placing the
privacy of others or security of your business at risk by passing that
data on to other people.

4. You Reduce Quality Control

Outsourcing companies and some freelancers may often be
motivated by profit rather than a job well done. That means the
work you send out may come back quickly, but will lack the
standard and quality that customers have come to expect from your
products or services.
 5. You Share Financial Burdens
Although it can be nice to bring in expert agencies to share
in risks, it can be pretty dangerous to tie your business to the
financial well-being of another company. Again, you’ve got to spell
out any and all terms and conditions in contractual arrangements
plainly – because you don’t want to take a financial hit if they fail to
deliver.
6. You Risk Public Backlash
If you’re taking work overseas (even just to write a blog or
two), your business very well may run into ill will from consumers
that have taken a moral stance against outsourcing. Right or wrong,
for better or for worse, some form of criticism is often inevitable.
7. You Shift Time Frames
One major disadvantage of outsourcing particular tasks is
the risk that your freelancers or partner agency may be marching to
the beat of a different drum. As a result, it might be difficult to
synchronize schedules in order to ensure your customers receive
what’s promised to them on a reliable timeline.
8. You Can Lose Your Focus
Because many outsourcing agencies or freelancers tend to
service multiple clients at any given time, the work you’re sending
out may not be receiving the focus it deserves. Depending on the
processes you’re outsourcing, that lack of focus could be
detrimental to your small business.
9. Things Get Lost in Translation
It doesn’t matter whether you’re dealing with overseas freelancers
or some talented expert just up the street – but if you’re handing out
remote work via email or telephone, important instructions are often lost in
translation. That could cause you serious time, money and hassle.
10. You May Face Moral Dilemmas
While it may not be an issue for everyone, a major disadvantage of
outsourcing is that you may be denying your team or a talented local
agency crucial work or development opportunities. Growth begets growth,
and by outsourcing work, you may not be contributing to the growth of
your community.

LESSON 5
 TOP TEN BPO INDUSTRY IN THE PHILIPPINES
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) could be the key to giving your company
the edge it’s missing. The most common examples of BPO are functions and
departments like payroll, human resources, accounting, and call centers. 

One country that many businesses look to when it comes to BPO is the
Philippines. BPO companies currently contribute around 10% of the country’s GDP …
and this figure looks set to continue growing along with the Philippines’ reputation..

The Philippines is rapidly advancing, offering strong competition to the likes of

India when it comes to outsourcing. Based on factors such as talent, cost,
infrastructure and innovation, the capital city of Manila was ranked second in
Tholons Globalization City Index in 2019.

Here are some of the reasons the Philippines is a popular launchpad for BPO
companies:

 English is an official language

 The country has a young, well-educated and tech-savvy population
 The cost of labor is low, but the skilled workforce guarantees results
 Government support in the form of university partnerships to create BPO
specific curriculum

10 of the best BPO companies in the Philippines for you to check out. 

1. Accenture Inc
Accenture has clients in over 120 countries, and is currently
ranked the 36th most valuable brand in the world by Forbes. So, it’s no
surprise that Accenture is regarded as one of the very best BPO
companies in the Philippines.

This company owns verticals in the fields of consulting,

technology, operations, strategy and digital experience. Accenture’s
services are availed of by companies in a wide range of industries
including insurance and banking.

2. Convergys Philippines Inc.

Convergys is ranked highly among the best BPO companies in
the Philippines. With 27 contact centers across the country, it is the
Philippines’ second largest BPO company.
 Convergys specializes in customer and information management
products, primarily for larger corporations. Industries typically serviced
by Convergys include finance, retail, insurance, and travel.

3. Telephilippines Inc.
Founded in 1996, this company now does business as
“Teleperformance Philippines”. It is one of the country’s leading
providers of outsourced customer experience management services.

Telephilippines has almost 20 contact sites across the country,

which service clients in 150+ countries worldwide in industries including
aviation, finance, and retail.

4. JP Morgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a leading global financial services firm.
It is also one of the largest banking institutions in the US, with worldwide
operations. The company’s Philippine Global Service Center (GSC) is
considered among the best BPO companies in the Philippines.

The GSC includes functions such as HR, accounting, project

management and compliance. These services are most typically availed
of by companies working in the financial, insurance and legal industries.

5. STAFFVIRTUAL
STAFFVIRTUAL provides outsourcing and human resource
management solutions, by connecting companies with affordable staffing
options in the Philippines.

STAFFVIRTUAL’s specialties include customer support, IT services,

legal advice and recruitment services. These services are availed of by
global brands, startups, and SMBs. STAFFVITUAL’s clients typically come
from the retail, financial and education industries.

6. 24/7 Customer Philippines Inc.

24/7 is one of the Philippines top BPO companies thanks to their
quality AI solutions.24/7’s AI allows clients to provide customers with a
personalized, predictive and effortless customer experience. This
company’s services are typically used in industries such as finance, e-
commerce, and hospitality.

7. IBM Daksh Business Process Services Philippines Inc.

 In 2004, the IBM Corporation acquired Daksh e-Services. With the
backing of global giant IBM, this startup has become one of the Philippines
top BPO companies.

The business offers services in CRM, admin, HR and supply chain

management. IBM Daksh clients belong to industries such as
telecommunications, banking and healthcare.

8. Sutherland Global Services Philippines Inc.

Sutherland is a global provider of world-class, analytics-driven
business solutions and services. Considering this, it’s no surprise it’s
ranked among the top BPO companies in the Philippines.

Sutherland offers services such as design, project management and

customer behavior analytics. Its services are used by companies in
industries such as retail, banking and media.

9. Sitel Philippines Corporation

With 12 outsourcing centers across the Philippines, the Sitel
Corporation is another one of the country’s most popular BPO companies.

It offers services relating to languages, customer service and

experience to businesses of all sizes. Its services are used by companies
across all industries, including travel, health and retail.

10. Hewlett-Packard AP (Hong Kong) Ltd.

Another huge global company, it’s no surprise HP is considered one
of the top BPO companies in the Philippines.

HP offers a variety of solutions to clients. These include cloud, data,

internet and software design. This company’s services are typically used in
industries such as manufacturing, health and public sector.

ACTIVITY

I. Write the meaning of the following acronyms:

II. BPO – Business Process Outsourcing
III. IT-BPM - Information Technology and Business Process Management
 IV. HRM - Human resource management
V. IBPAP - IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines
VI. CRM - Customer Relationship Management.
VII. E-mail - electronic mail
VIII. HRS - Human Resource System
IX. SSP - State Supplementary Payment
X. PGSC - Payload General Support Computer

XI. R & D - Research and development

ABSTRACTION

1. What is an example of business

process outsourcing?

Some examples of BPO are outsource research and development,

outsource data entry, outsource email management, outsource
podcast production, and many more.

2. What is your opinion on Business process outsourcing and knowledge

process outsourcing?

My opinion on Business process outsourcing is really helpful because

it can help to the businessman when it comes to transactions,
communications, etc.

REFLECTION/LEARNI
NG INSIGHTS

Reflect upon the following Statements.

1. BPO involves outsourcing processes that are not central to a company

but are essential for smooth operation of the company.

It’s correct since the BPO do the outsourcing processes so that the
work that is not part of their scope can be given to those who really
can do it well, thus the company can go smooth and easy.

2. A skilled firm or contractor can generally execute tasks more cheaply

compared to hiring a full-time employee.

The skilled one already has the expertise in the said job but sometimes
the full time employee doesn’t. Usually those who are applying as an
employee just wants experience to be written in their resume.
Therefore, this may take a longer process for the company department
 ASSIGNMENT

1. Visit https://www.smartsheet.com/everything-you-need-know-about-business-process-
outsourcing
2. Answer the following questions;
2.1 Why Do Businesses Outsource Processes?

To decrease costs: Outsourcing cuts down on costs for in-house labor, particularly for
staffing and training, and for the work space to accommodate local employees. An
outsourcing company physically located in a developing country leverages lower-cost
labor markets. Finally, outsourcing enables businesses to use variable-cost models, like
fee-for-service plans, instead of fixed-cost models that are required when retaining local
employees.
To concentrate on key functions: Outsourcing allows businesses to hone in on their
main offerings instead of company functions that aren’t directly tied to their core
processes. For example, when outsourcing, the company won’t have to monitor the
payroll accountant’s performance. Rather, it can focus its energies on highlighting its
business differentiators and maximizing overall growth. In turn, these actions can boost
a company’s competitive advantage and enhance its interactions with the value chain.
Ultimately, the company can enjoy improved customer satisfaction and increased
profits.
To achieve better results in noncore functions: Outsourcing companies specialize in
what are considered noncore functions of other businesses, delivering world-class
capabilities for its clients. In fact, an outsourcing company that invests in specialized
processes and technologies can deliver cutting-edge breakthroughs to its clients. For
example, a gaming design company may not want to pay for the latest payroll program
on the market, but an outsourcing business that offers payroll services would likely
make that investment to benefit its own performance, as well as that of its clients.
To expand their global presence: Some outsourcing companies can serve customers in
multiple languages, around the clock, thus relieving the local company of the
responsibility. Outsourcing companies can leverage their presence in multiple countries
and keep the local company’s redundant divisions to a minimum. For example, WNS
Global has 37 “delivery centers” across the world and specializes in business process
management.
 To enable flexibility: Companies that outsource their noncritical functions can act more
quickly and more efficiently when managing the risks associated with introducing new
products or services. They can also reassign their internal resources to more critical
functions to help ensure better coverage and allocate responsibility.
To improve speed and efficiency: Companies that outsource processes are opting to let
specialists handle those tasks, thus saving time, improving accuracy, and increasing their
capacity. For example, a BPO that specializes in records management can automatically
index documents, making them available for retrieval and keeping a company in
compliance with legal requirements. This replaces manual data entry and storage.

2.2 What Types of Services Do Outsourcing Companies Support?

Information technology-enabled services (ITES) BPO: This form of BPO leverages

information technology (IT) over the internet or data network to deliver services. Some
examples of ITES BPO jobs are service desk analyst, production support analyst, and IT
analyst.
Knowledge process outsourcing (KPO): KPO has changed BPO a bit. Some KPO vendors
support functions that are considered core in business, although they may not be core
functions in the particular business that hires them. KPO firms offer more than process
expertise; they may also provide business and domain-based expertise. Some examples
of KPO services include research, analysis, or Microsoft Word and Excel work. KPOs may
be capable of making low-level business decisions if they do not conflict with higher-
level business policies, but those decisions may be undone easily. KPO vendors are
usually linked to the business’s value chain, and they hire people who are competent in
a specific field.
Legal process outsourcing (LPO): LPO is a subset of KPO and encompasses a huge range
of higher-level legal work, not merely lower-level legal transcription. LPO firms can draft
patent applications and legal agreements, as well as perform legal research. Some LPO
firms even advise clients. In-house legal departments usually retain LPOs. Experienced
paralegals using industry-standard databases do the work.
Research process outsourcing (RPO): A subset of KPO, RPO specializes in research and
analysis functions. RPO companies perform research and analysis work that supports
business, investment, biotech, and marketing firms.
Travel: This pertains to all the operations a business needs to support its travel logistics,
from reservations to hotel and vehicle bookings. Travel BPO saves money for the
company because it cuts costs while increasing customer satisfaction. Airline and travel
companies also engage in BPO for either front- or back-office process streamlining. For
example, an airline could outsource its ticketing process.
Each BPO company will specialize in specific services. They may be grouped as follows:
Customer interaction services: The BPO company would cover a business’s voicemail
services, appointment schedules, email services, marketing program, telemarketing,
surveys, payment processing, order processing, quality assurance, customer support,
warranty administration, and other customer feedback.
Back-office transactions: This includes check, credit, and debit card processing;
collection; receivables; direct and indirect procurement; transportation administration;
logistics and dispatch; and warehouse management.
 IT and software operations: These technical support functions include application
development and testing, implementation services, and IT helpdesk. For example,
manual data entry can be replaced with automated data capture, increasing data intake
and reducing cycle time.
Finance and accounting services: These functions include billing services, accounts
payable, receivables, general accounting, auditing, and regulatory compliance.
Human resource services: BPOs can help address workforce challenges. They can also
cover payroll services, healthcare administration, hiring and recruitment, workforce
training, insurance processing, and retirement benefits.
Knowledge services: These higher-level processes may include data analytics, data
mining, data and knowledge management, and internet and web research, as well as
developing an information governance program and providing the voice of customer
feedback.

2.3 Enumerate and discuss the Risks of Business Process Outsourcing?

Security: In outsourcing, especially when information systems (IS) are involved,

companies face communication and privacy risks. Security is more difficult to maintain
when the business taking care of your IS is not in the same country, especially one with
different security requirements. Potential data privacy breaches and vulnerability
disclosures are a real threat, particularly with the current prevalence of hacking. The
internet, which makes BPO for IT feasible, also may offer a portal through which hackers
enter.
Underestimating the costs of services: Companies that employ BPO vendors often
underestimate the running costs, especially in upgrades and contract renegotiation.
Other hidden costs include vendor selection, currency fluctuations, hardware and
software upgrades, internal transitions, layoffs, and the potential decrease in individual
worker productivity.
Overdependence on service providers: Once a company designates a vendor for
specific processes, the vendor becomes a part of the workflow. The company can incur
extraneous costs and decreased productivity when the vendor encounters problems or
lapses in its work — for example, when the cost of hiring workers increases. Vendors
often replace veteran employees with less experienced workers to keep costs down,
and quality suffers as a result.
Communication issues: Language barriers can limit activities when your company hires
individual service providers spread across the globe. This can result in delays in new
processes and curbs on feedback from different departments, and it can potentially
magnify current problems in your business operations. Further, customer-facing services
may present language barriers to third-party vendors.
When outsourcing your processes and parts of your business, you face significant risks,
depending on the type and structure of your company. For example, in very large
segmented companies, outsourcing only the back data entry can carry a low risk. But for
a small business that is reliant on BPO as part of its manufacturing, the risk increases.
Other possible risks associated with outsourcing include:
 Data breaches
 Quality control
  Operation restoration
 Nonlocal employees
 Maintenance of strategic alignment
 Political instability
 Changes in technology and exposure to hacking
 Specialization to the point that the niche demand is no longer necessary
On the other side of the equation, BPO companies face risks as well. These include:
Robotic process automation (RPA): RPA uses bots or artificial intelligence (AI), a form of
cognitive computing. These robots operate on a user interface in the same way a human
worker would. Due to the demand for increased cost efficiency and innovation, robots
are becoming more widespread. According to the Institute for Robotic Process
Automation, RPA creates 25-50 percent cost savings. Robots cost between one-fifth to
one-ninth of a full-time equivalent (FTE) worker in the United States, and about one-half
of an FTE in a developing country. Some experts postulate that BPOs may adopt RPA in
limited use or that BPOs will still have contracts, but their role will change to become
more of a consultant.

2.4 How to Choose a Business Process Outsourcing Vendor?

Define your requirements and review potential vendors: Start by defining your key
stakeholders, and engage them in the process from the beginning. Set all key
stakeholder expectations early and engage them often. During this step, your company
must also figure out the key objectives, risks, and scope for BPO. This is your business
case scenario, so this step should take the longest and include a full review of your
company processes, not only those initially considered for outsourcing. During this step,
you should start to source potential vendors and develop a scorecard to determine the
most important criteria. You can find a template for developing a scorecard here.
Put together a request for proposal (RFP), and source vendors: In concert with your
company stakeholders, determine the most crucial elements of a BPO provider. Develop
and send out an RFP from your market research. At this stage, define what service
management model your company will use.
Choose the right vendor for your company: Evaluate the proposals. Start analyzing the
change that will result from contracting with a third-party vendor. What are the risks
and benefits determined from the shortlist of potential vendors?
Negotiate the contract: This is the most important step in the process of acquiring a
third-party service provider. Both parties must reach an agreement not only on the
service parameters, but also on the contract schedule. It’s critical to ensure buy-in and
agreement by all stakeholders.
Transition the work and processes to your chosen vendor: This is the actual “go” step.
Develop and put in place a plan for transitioning to the new model. Ensure that your
business has open communication internally and with the service provider.
Manage your relationship: Verify proper governance during the life of the contract with
your service provider. Performance monitoring is key for ensuring that your company
reaps the expected benefits of outsourcing. Expect a collaborative relationship and plan
to renegotiate your contract and its scope at the end of its term.
Additional tips that can help you choose the right BPO:
A good outsourcing company should help you decide which parts of your business you
need to keep in-house. Beware of a company that tries squeezing core processes out of
you.
A good outsourcing company values the work of every employee. This enables a better
connection between their company and your organization and can help increase
productivity.
A good BPO company’s objective is to help your organization boost sales without
consuming too much money.
Choose your BPO company carefully. Look for evidence that it can deliver the task well
and on time.
Ask two questions when looking for a BPO service provider: (1) How can I find the right
candidate? and (2) How do I manage the outsourcer after I settle their contract?
The key to a successful BPO experience is to do your research beforehand, lay out clear
expectations and deliverables with your selected vendor, and stick to what both parties
agreed upon.
Overall, the company should choose a BPO vendor carefully and conscientiously. The
relationship should be defined formally, and managed and considered regularly.
 POST-TEST

I. Instruction: Match Column A with Column B to identify specific outsourced

areas.

Column A Column B
_b____ 1. The core of all online marketing strategies a. Manufacturing Production
___d__ 2. It happens to be an evolving field. b. Content Marketing

__e____ 3. Most companies nowadays are choosing to c. Data Storage

outsource this to diminish the entire hassle of
 FINAL REQUIREMENT

Schedule of Submission of Unit 1 Activities/Pre/Post-

1. Submission on
test/Assignment/Reflections
_________,
2020. If you have
internet, send it
REFERENCES to my g-mail
address
Websites
______________
Securing the Future of Philippine Industries _________________.
http://industry.gov.ph/industry/it-bpm/
2. If no internet,
Entrepreneur Asia Pacific Outsourcing put this chapter
https://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/outsourcing in a long
Outsourcing Insight envelope, on the
https://www.outsourcinginsight.com/outsourced- upper right
services/#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20routinely corner write your
%20outsourced,at%20a%20very%20affordable%20cost. name (Surname,
Name, Middle
Remitr.,Advantages and Disadvantages of Initial) and
Outsourcing from Your Small Business Section. Below
https://smallbiztrends.com/2017/02/advantages-and- your name, write
disadvantages-of-outsourcing.html the subject and
Smart Sheet teacher’s name.
https://www.smartsheet.com/everything-you-need-know- Drop it at the
about-business-process-outsourcing BulSU gate.
Should you have
any questions,
don’t hesitate to
send me a
message. 

3. We will meet
face-to-face for further
instructions on
___________________
____ .