If you’ve been in business for a long time, you’ve probably seen the term “BPO” on more than one occasion. You may have seen advertisements indicating that it would be a great asset to your organization, boosting productivity, enhancing brand image, and maximizing ROI. Before you go from here to remarkable growth, let’s answer “What does BPO stand for?” and “What exactly is BPO?” It’s important to understand the ins and outs of business process outsourcing and how it aids in making your company more successful.
Understanding the Meaning of Business Process Outsourcing
What does a BPO call center actually do in terms of helping you realize more success? Business process outsourcing is the strategic act of using a third-party subcontractor to outsource a range of various office tasks, call center jobs, and sales operations. Many companies like yours decide to use these services to minimize overall costs, boost productivity, enhance your brand image, and allow core employees to focus on R&D and other essential responsibilities.
Origins and Evolution of BPO
With roots in external production of goods, outsourcing found its way into business applications in the 1980s. As more businesses digitized and relied increasingly on the internet for their operations, business process outsourcing became more practical. Instead of needing all support staff to be nearby, companies could now utilize the services of companies far and wide, even out of the country, more easily than ever before.
In the past decade or so, technology has advanced further, and businesses are bringing their on-premise technologies onto the cloud. This opens up even more opportunities for outsourcing, and BPO has continued to grow in popularity, thanks in large part to technological progress. Now, BPO is used by many businesses in all types of industries.
What Are the Different Types of BPO?
Within the business process outsourcing (BPO) call center industry, companies can avail themselves of different types of BPO services. Some of the most common types include inbound call center services, outbound call center services, and blended call center services.
Front Office
Customer-facing roles are referred to as front-office BPO. These services directly support your customers by providing functions like customer service, technical assistance, lead generation, and sales. Your BPO partner is your customer-centric strategy for building lifelong loyalty. Additionally, you can leverage BPO call center services for a personal touch.
Back Office
Deciding whether to use a back-office or front office call center services or both is dependent on your needs. Back-office tasks refer to fulfilling the company’s core business functions. It’s called back office because these services don’t involve customer interactions. Examples of these services include the following:
- Administration
- Information technology (IT)
- Human resources
- Payroll and accounting
Your company can use back-office BPO to focus on the day-to-day accounting and HR work while saving you time on hiring and training for administrative positions.
Offshore
An offshore BPO involves outsourcing to an organization that is across the globe in another country. Using an offshore BPO can reduce expenses; however, you need to determine their English language capabilities and whether the agents can communicate effectively and with cultural relevance to your customers.
Nearshore
Nearshore business process outsourcing consists of using a BPO partner that is near the border of the United States. For example, Mexico is a popular location. One of the benefits of business process outsourcing with a nearshore organization is that the company may be able to share time zones and cultural similarities. In addition, people in this location may be fluently bilingual.
Other BPO Acronyms to Know
Now that you’re familiar with BPO, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with other business acronyms. Doing so will help you keep the jargon in check and best communicate your needs and expectations when you explore BPO solutions and vendors. Here is a list of common acronyms in the industry:
- AHT: Average Handle Time. This measures a call center agent’s average time on the phone with one caller.
- ASA: Average Speed of Answer. The average time it takes for a call to be answered.
- ASR: Automatic Speech Recognition. This consists of software that helps route the caller to the right agent by having them answer certain questions.
- BI: Business Intelligence. This includes using analytics, data mining, data visualization, and data tools to aid call centers in making the best data-driven decisions.
- CRM: Customer Relationship Management. This is software that manages customer interactions with the agents. It is also capable of collecting and analyzing customer data.
- CSA: Customer Service Agent. This is the individual who works in the call center, answering the phones and providing information to the customers.
- CSAT: Customer Satisfaction. After a call is completed, customers are asked to answer a few questions about their satisfaction with the agent.
- EWT: Expected Wait Time. This is how long the customer will likely have to wait to speak to a customer service agent.
- KPI: Key Performance Indicator. This involves measuring the performance within a call center.
- NPS: Net Promoter Score. Measure customer experience and potential business growth.
- QA: Quality Assurance. QA measures the quality of service through continuous monitoring of calls and call needs.
- SA: Speech Analytics. This process analyzes recorded calls to gather customer information to improve communication and future interaction.
- TTS: Text to Speech. This is a form of speech synthesis used to create a spoken version of the text in an electronic document.
When you work with a BPO service, they may refer to some of these acronyms in the sales and onboarding process.
Choose a BPO Partner to Help You Beat the Competition!
Choosing the best BPO partner is essential to optimizing productivity and increase your business success. At Confie, we make it easy for your company to partner with the best BPO call center and exceed your company goals.
At Confie, we have a record of providing outstanding quality and assistance for businesses needing our services to not only survive, but to thrive. When you contact us for details about BPO services, you can talk to one of our lead experts today. Alternatively, feel free to give us a call at (714) 252-2500.
