Summary
Outsourcing your back-office services to Africa is your best bet if you want to improve your business because of the low costs but high quality of service.
This article digs into what a back-office service is about, the roles classified as back-office, its importance and benefits.
Many businesses are looking to align themselves with the latest trends and take advantage of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Of course, this often means they'll need to outsource back-office services elsewhere.
In many cases, Africa is an ideal destination for outsourcing business due to its rich talent pool and affordable prices.
Africa has a large pool of talents looking to pursue entrepreneurial ventures or work for international firms. This feature makes the region ideal for outsourcing back-office services many businesses need.
The workforce in Africa consists of educated people with the ability and potential to perform these back-office services. Back-office outsourcing companies find it wise to use Africa pool of talents as they are affordable and provide them with the best work at a lower rate.
This outsourced back-office service is reliable and cost-effective for businesses as it removes much of the risk involved in doing business.
For most companies, the back office is a significant portion of their overhead. While these departments are essential in running your business, they are also often tedious and labour-intensive.
What Is Back-office Outsourcing?
The back office is the office staff supporting and implementing the company's operational processes. Back-office work includes virtual assistance, data entry, customer service, record maintenance, transaction processing and more.
Back-office outsourcing is delegating some or all of your tasks to a third-party service provider. This process is sometimes called BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) or ESN (Enterprise Support Network). It is a typical service among organisations of all sizes, from startups to multinationals.
Why Is Outsourcing Back-Office Service Important?
There are many reasons why your company should consider outsourcing back-office operations. The most prominent reason is that it will save cost.
It might make little economic sense for you to do every task yourself. Still, the reality is that by hiring a third party, you are lessening your administrative costs and increasing your productivity.
When considering all your options, hiring a dedicated team of professionals is the best way to run back-office operations.
An outsourced service provider will have a much higher specialisation level than most in-house staff members and can provide more specialised services to help your organisation become efficient and productive.
The value of outsourcing to Africa is not just in economic terms but also in terms of productivity. There are quite a lot of reasons to outsource back-office services. Here are some of them.
Saves time
Due to the efficiency and expertise provided by third-party back offices, you can often complete tasks more quickly and with a higher quality level than if you do them yourself.
You won't have to worry about searching for new employees, training them and paying them a full salary while they learn. You can also concentrate on your best tasks and give up what you don't want to spend time doing.
Saves cost
Back-office outsourcing service providers can help your company save money, time, and resources, which is one of their main advantages.
You don't have to worry about the price of recruiting internal workers to handle duties like data entry or accounting when you outsource them. This offering includes costs for salary, benefits, and training.
Additionally, you can avoid spending money on pricey hardware and software by outsourcing. When you contract out data entry, you equip your business with the tools and software required to finish the work.
Access to expertise
The most important thing you need from back-office process outsourcing is speedy, reliable, and consistent service. You can find this with professionals with experience in your industry and specific domain.
Back offices are expert specialists in the tasks that they perform. The same expert skills that help you save time also increase product quality. Back-office outsourcing services are usually more concerned about quality than most in-house staff members.
Maintains consistency of procedures
This service offered has a lot of benefits, as consistency in procedures means the quality of service is maintained; one of the most prominent benefits is that professionals from all over Africa can work on a project and have an equal chance to excel.
Over time, the processes you perform on your own inevitably evolve. Your director, or someone else in your organisation, might adopt a new policy, and no one will know whether they are correct. Consistency will lead to consistent results in various tasks.
Increases efficiency
Outsourcing back-office services to Africa will help streamline processes and increase profitability by optimising costs for your business. Efficiency plays a considerable role in an Organisation's revenue.
It is essential to understand that the longer the company takes to render back office services, the lower its revenue and profits will be.
Benefits of Outsourcing Back Office Services to Africa
There are many benefits of outsourcing back-office services to Africa. Outsourcing these services can save an organisation time, money, and valuable resources.
The attrition rate of employees in Africa is high, so companies can rest easy knowing that a talented pool of professionals can fill in the gaps and answer the phones.
The cost savings will also allow companies to invest in more essential initiatives like training their people or expanding their business operations in other countries on the continent.
Here are the benefits;
Lower cost
Outsourcing operations to Africa is much lower than in other parts of the world. People are willing to work for a fraction of the wages in countries like Europe and America.
Companies do not have to increase the salaries of their current employees and spend money on training new ones. Companies can also expand their operations into other African countries since it is cheaper than most other places.
Because of the availability of low-cost labour, most companies can reduce their operating expenses by at least 50%
Better control over work
Outsourcing a back-office service means that a company can control the quality of its services and have greater control over its operations.
Companies will be able to expand without the need for massive investments. Which in turn results in increased revenue generated through higher sales figures.
Communication difficulties and time zone differences will be relatively easy since many businesses scale these challenges.
Access to advanced technology
Africa is developing, and many parts of the continent have access to the latest technology at an affordable cost. A business can use cutting-edge technology to run its operations in Africa and ensure that staff are supported because they work in Africa.
Africa is becoming a world leader in outsourcing services since most companies find it relatively easy and cost-effective to outsource their service operations to the African market.
Ways to Get an Outsourcing Partner in Africa
The ways to find a suitable outsourcing partner in Africa are simple.
Finding out if your business is a good fit for African Partners is essential. A good fit is where the company's activities and the partner's skills match well.
For example, if you're an e-commerce company and your partner need to improve at hosting software applications, it will be challenging for you to use that 3rd party outsourcing partner because it will not work out well for both of you in the long term.
The best way to determine if your business is a good fit for African partners is to look at what is currently happening in your African industry. If you see potential demand from African businesses, you're right on target when looking for an outsourcing partner from Africa.
In addition, conduct proper research before choosing an African partner, most notably about the region he's operating from, for example, selecting an outsourcing partner from South Africa when most of your potential customers are in Nigeria or Kenya.
Conclusion
Outsourcing your back-office services to Africa is the best way because it allows companies to focus on their areas of expertise and do what they know best. You can also generate revenue by investing the money that you would have spent on staff in other assets.
It aids faster response to demand and changes, thus saving time and money on created processes and providing guaranteed response time and consistency in services.
Are you interested in outsourcing your back-office services to Africa? Click here to speak to one of our consultants today.
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