Due to the scale of the business process outsourcing industry and its inherent emphasis on productivity, quality and efficiency, it can highlight early trends that will soon be evident across the wider business sector. We highlight five current trends in the BPO sector that are likely to become mainstream.

 

Business process outsourcing (BPO) is an industry people love to hate. In the Caribbean region, there is still the perception that it only offers low-paying jobs and so we should be angling to move up the value chain to secure more lucrative business. However, noting that the unemployment rate in the region is as high as 25% nationally, and as high as 50% among the youth demographic, the BPO industry is offering a large segment of our population work opportunities that otherwise do not exist, and consequently, the scope for career advancement and wealth creation.

Globally, BPO revenue is projected to reach USD 330 billion in 2022 and increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.69% between 2022 and 2027, to reach a market volume of USD 450 billion by 2027 (Source:  Statista). Many Caribbean countries have captured a share of the BPO market, and so will be, to some degree, affected by market trends and influences. However, it is sometimes overlooked that the developments in the BPO industry can also provide an early signal of trends in local markets. Below, we highlight five BPO trends that might already be emerging, or are on the horizon, in local markets.

 

1.  Preference for remote work

Precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, BPO companies were forced to implement work-from-home arrangements to remain operational during the most severe periods when lockdowns, curfews and other restrictions were in force. Historically, BPO facilities required their workers to be onsite, so the shift to work-from-home would have been a challenge.

However, what many BPO operators experienced was increased productivity, improved staff morale and performance, and lower operating costs. So, now that the COVID-19 restrictions have been relaxed, and staff can return onsite, many BPO companies are opting to retain their existing work-from-home arrangements or shifting to a hybrid work configuration.

In the wider business sector, this posture is being echoed to some degree. Organisations are realising that they do not need to have staff onsite for them to be productive, and they can also enjoy a broad range of savings by not having to maintain large offices. Moreover, increasingly, current employees and prospective employees prefer to work remotely, as it allows them some flexibility and control, and see that as a benefit that employers can offer.

 

2.  Greater reliance on automation

The BPO industry has been leveraging Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for several years, to replace humans performing repetitive tasks, with the robots being faster and more accurate than their human counterparts. However, in a bid to be more efficient, effective and cost-effective, and noting the growing sophistication of the technology, companies are broadening and deepening how automation can be applied.

Further, and consistent with the push towards digital transformation, BPO companies and progressive public and private sector organisations are trying to automate more processes. In doing so, organisations are rationalising and being more strategic about the resources they need and how they should be allocated, to not only make them more cost-effective, but also to improve service delivery and service quality.

 

3.  Greater reliance on AI

In a similar vein to RPA, more BPO companies are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) to reallocate talent and as part of their digital transformation push. AI, once programmed correctly and managed, can be used for a broad range of tasks, such as computational tasks and simple customer engagement activities that humans had been doing, with humans intervening as and when needed.

In the wider business space, there is an awareness of AI, such as through the use of chatbots, but the extent to which AI can be leveraged and integrated may not yet be fully appreciated.

 

4.  Emphasis on omnichannel solutions

With today’s consumers being very digital and having preferences in how they would like to be engaged, omnichannel solutions involve the use of multiple communications channels, such as voice, text message, emails, live chat, and social media, to interact with customers. In the BPO space, call centres are giving way to contact centres, which reflect the shift from voice-based to multichannel engagement.

Further, there is a growing emphasis on communications channels being sufficiently developed so that a customer can complete a sale, engage with customer care, or seek full redress for a grievance, on any of the channels selected. The point is that processes are streamlined and integrated into communications channels so that the customer does not have to move from one channel to another to successfully complete an activity. The result is a better user experience, and a greater likelihood that a sale will be completed if the process to do so is kept simple and seamless.

 

5.  SMEs and start-ups using BPO

Finally, the outsourcing of certain functions used to be the purview of large businesses and organisations that wanted not only a more cost-effective option than performing those tasks in-house but also access to specialist expertise which should result in better service quality and delivery. However, smaller companies are realising that they too can enjoy the benefits of outsourcing.

It has also been noted that during the pandemic, more start-ups and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) took advantage of the benefits of outsourcing which included operating and labour cost savings, access to specialist expertise and being able to capitalise on the resources of the BPO facility.

In the wider private sector, start-ups and SMEs are not known for utilising BPO. That may be due to ignorance, or not finding the right facility for their needs. However, this may be an underdeveloped opportunity for both start-ups and SMEs and BPOs.

 

 

Images credit:  Tima Miroshnichenko (Pexels)