Companies of all sizes, right from
young startups to leading MNCs, regularly outsource their non-core processes,
and this demand continues to grow. As a result, new products and innovative
services are introduced one after the other as companies seek more benefits
from enterprise solutions to stay ahead of the curve.
A Business Process Outsourcing
(BPO) service provider is commonly subcontracted to manage a particular
business process for an organization such as, Customer Support, Technical Support,
Payroll, Digital Marketing, Accounting, Data Processing, Insurance Processing or
online research among others.
A BPO offers several advantages to
the said organization, including cutting-edge technologies and a skilled
workforce to improve capabilities and decrease operating costs. Such
organizations, in turn, focus more on their critical processes and efficiently
managing their risks associated with introducing new products and services.
Although easier said than done, BPOs
do face key challenges on
a range of issues since the very inception. The most common, basic level issues are related to
unexpected increase in costs, security of the outsourced process, and running
large-scale training programs. Given the scenario, an innovative Learning
Management System (LMS)makes for a suitable solution to save
resources, reduce skills gap and improve time utilization. All the more so, when
the BPO employees are required to relay the specified client information, they need
to be well trained on different products, process, and disclosure norms.
Here are six major benefits an LMS
offers to BPOs:
1.Standardizes Process Training
Standardized
training creates benchmarks that assure certain level of quality to the
business partner and customers. Firstly, learning and development (L&D) pros
need to identify key learning needs across the processes of transactional and
high complexity areas. An LMS can centrally host the eLearning modules to
address these learning needs and can confer automated certification upon
completion of a course. The LMS also
provides advanced analytics for the learning space, to dig deeper into
process improvement and standardization.
2.Reduces
Costs
BPOs can
benefit from using the automated learning process through an LMS in the form of
simulated true trainings for new hires and on-the-job staff without pulling
them away from work. It also helps in remote transition process by equipping
subject matter experts (SMEs) with speedy process capture technologies to
impart normalized operational capabilities between BPOs and in-house
environment. This can reduce logistics and transition costs considerably.
3.Improves Productivity
An LMS
provides seamless learning opportunities to managers and executives with
standardized modules of expertise in wide areas like workforce planning and
management, operations management, understanding financials, quality control
(QC),BPO specific common terms, definitions, formulae, and much more. The LMS also helps deliver knowledge in multiple
formats that can be consumed easily. These ongoing learning efforts often
result in greater level of motivation and eventually, higher productivity.
4.Reduces Process Risk
An LMS can
be adjusted to easily control attrition impact on the process of a BPO by categorizing
and codifying process knowledge and compliance
requirements in digital format to be available readily. This can be
a major benefit if the team’s performance or working methods tend to change
over time. Also, line managers can keep regulatory trainings on-track and
minimize risks by monitoring compliance levels across all the processes.
5.Improves Customer Service
An LMS can host simulated videos and tutorials to mimic real world situations for customer servicing teams to learn how to interact in any given situation with minimal disruption to the routine. High customer satisfaction should be a continuous goal for a BPO to work on any process for a longer period. This can only be achieved if training becomes an on-going part of the BPO operations. Consistency in service can be hard to maintain for long but with targeted customer service training, human errors and technical mistakes can be minimized and higher work standards can be achieved.
6.Improves Soft-Skills
Soft-skills
hold an immense value in a BPO industry. Use of simulators on an
LMS can help train process and service teams in the skills necessary to be able
to strike a coherent conversation with customers or complainants. Assessments
and reporting can further help in enhancing these skills. An innovative LMS usually
comes packed with engaging features like Gamification that
allows managers and team leaders to assign milestones, observe progress and
give rewards. Such a feature can also be used to set goals that encourage employees
to improve their soft skills expertise.
Takeaway
BPOs hold
tremendous value in today’s times. They deliver innovative solutions to businesses
through best available technology-based platforms in order to enhance their
relationship with customers. And, even a small flaw in service can make a huge
difference to the partners’ satisfaction level and thus an innovative LMS is a
must-have for BPOs to host tailored and goal-based trainings and to monitor the
outcome on a consistent basis.
