The outsourcing industry in Sri Lanka has become one of the country’s top exports, accounting for the back office and software development operations for numerous leading international brands. From managing customer inquiries to building fully-fledged mobile applications, the outsourcing workforce of Sri Lanka is now known for its high rate of efficiency and low cost, without bearing any compromise to quality.
As business environments get excessively saturated even across vertical markets, customers are spoilt for choice, thereby increasing the likelihood of switching options as and when it is possible. In a landscape so competitive, businesses need to produce better, and faster – and outsourcing many operations can enable teams to focus on strategic areas that truly matter for the growth and longevity of the business.
In this article, we share key areas and business units that can be outsourced to Sri Lanka, as well as some steps on how to choose the best outsourcing partner for your organisation.
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BPOs or Business Process Outsourcing is one of the most common sectors of outsourcing in Sri Lanka, with managing call centre operations being one of the most frequent for international companies. Other processes include payroll administration, accounting and human resources, giving organisations the ability to delegate such operations to not only save costs on overheads and office space, but also buy back precious time to instead focus on other core and strategic initiatives for the business.
Software outsourcing is also another common form of outsourcing in Sri Lanka, focusing on building quality software for international clientele. While hiring and serving full teams is a common request by companies for software development, it is possible to also hire developers to simply augment an existing, in-house team. In addition to core software development, software outsourcing companies in Sri Lanka can also cater to software testing exclusively, if that is all a company needs.
Boutique startups and established multinational agencies abound in Sri Lanka, when it comes to advertising and marketing – with all of them offering social media and digital marketing services at some scale. In addition to such dedicated advertising and marketing agencies, many software outsourcing companies today also offer these services. This is because services such as SEO require close liaison with the web and software development team, to incorporate many technical aspects that are necessary for optimising web pages and mobile apps.
Market research, financial analysis, and legal guidance fall under the service offerings of KPOs (Knowledge Process Outsourcing), which focus more on providing the insights and subsequent guidance that organisations need to aid key business decisions, and enable growth. Although happening on a smaller scale in comparison to other BPO and software outsourcing operations, KPOs are still prevalent in Sri Lanka, with branches of leading market research firms having a strong foothold in the country to deliver regional analytics.
Whether you are looking to transfer your call centre operations or simply hire remote developers from Sri Lanka, choosing an outsourcing partner requires some due diligence on the part of your business teams, so that you can ensure you are making the right selection. Here, we shed light on the steps you can take in order to make the right decision.
Start by meeting with relevant members from your team, in order to determine what is problematic, and what needs solving. Key questions to ask in order to get a conversation moving include (but certainly aren’t limited to):
Once you’ve received sufficient feedback from your team members, gather it all into a brief. This shall then serve as a primary point of reference for all prospective outsourcing agencies you reach out to, so they can understand what they need to fulfil, in order to maintain a successful partnership.
With a brand new partner, it is advisable to start with a trial, or with goals that are comparatively smaller, faster and easier to achieve. While this gives your business the ability to gauge compatibility, it also allows outsourcing teams to get accustomed to your company’s objectives as well as any working processes that are unique to your business. Such a trial period can surface any issues that can be identified and corrected from the get-go, while also determining the best times to have regular meetings across multiple time zones.
Although KPIs and reporting systems need to be established as early as possible, it deserves its own highlight in this section owing to just how important it is. When deciding which metrics to monitor, your entire team needs to be on the same page about what matters, so everyone’s efforts are aligned towards the same overarching vision.
Quantifying your efforts with KPIs can ultimately help your organisation see what is working and what isn’t, so tasks can be shifted to keep all teams’ efforts focused towards a mutual goal.
Outsourcing administrative, market research and/or software development operations to Sri Lanka is a decision that many organisations are making from around the world, thanks to the many advantages that outsourcing companies in Sri Lanka offer. From a workforce that has a strong command of the English language, to significant cost savings, Sri Lankan outsourcing companies have much to offer when it comes to undertaking business operations that can free organisations to prioritise other strategic tasks which demand more of their attention.
As companies continue to compete in fast-paced and saturated markets, outsourcing proves to be highly beneficial; obtain subject matter experts that are highly skilled at what they specialise in, while saving on in-house overheads, office space and equipment to ensure your company can stay afloat, especially during turbulent times. Choosing the best outsourcing partner for your specific business needs is the first step, and it helps to start by assessing existing problems, followed by delegating small goals or a trial project to the agency you choose, in order to gauge accuracy and productivity.
As with any endeavour, KPIs form an integral part of working with an outsourcing company as well. So making sure these are confirmed and communicated to every member of your team shall enable mutual alignment, organisation-wide.
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