Over the past 18 months, the pandemic has opened the eyes of many employers, making them realise that an in-office team is not necessarily the benchmark for success. Remote working has created a better understanding and interest in global outsourcing. In the current economic climate more and more businesses are looking to adapt, save money and grow their business. What better way to do it than to outsource to countries like South Africa, who have an oversupply of skilled workers that are struggling to find jobs locally?
The Work From Home Life
The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions forced many businesses to move employees to remote working. At first, the adjustment to remote working was slightly unsettling, many business owners and employees had mixed feelings towards the new work from home life. But after a few months, work from home life started to become the new norm and many employees started to enjoy working from home. However, now that vaccines have started to roll out and governments are starting to allow employees to return back to work, some employees are not happy with the idea of returning back to the in-office work life.
Although some companies would like to keep their employees on a work from home basis, there are some risks that come with it which could potentially outweigh the benefits. When it comes to cybersecurity risks, work from home employees are at much greater risk than those working in the office. Most employees are not trained in these aspects and this could ultimately lead to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance issues.
Employees may not be aware that there are big differences between accessing sensitive company data from the office and accessing the very same data from home. When employees are working from home, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to ensure that the appropriate measures are being followed to safeguard sensitive company data. The issue of oversight is also a huge problem when it comes to working from home, employees often tend to spend less time on completing tasks as there are more distractions at home.
Some of the top cybersecurity risk associated with working from home include:
- Phishing
- Weak passwords
- Unencrypted file sharing
- Insecure and unstable home Wi-Fi
- Working from personal devices
The Benefits of Outsourcing
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about many operational and financial challenges for both small and large companies. Outsourcing is quickly gaining popularity because of the numerous benefits that it can offer businesses. We list some of the benefits below:
- Focus on core business activities – Outsourcing may be an effective option if you want your staff to be focusing on core business activities, non-core work can hinder an employee from doing more essential tasks. Outsourcing your businesses non-core functions will help your business focus on revenue generating activities.
- Reduce labour and overhead expenses – Running a business can be costly, through outsourcing, your business will be able to reduce its operational costs. South Africa, for example, offers major cost savings to source destinations such as the UK, US, and Australia of at least 40 – 50% on a steady-state operating basis (including overheads). Additionally, businesses that outsource will also save on the costs associated with hiring, such as training, equipment and infrastructure costs.
- Time zone advantage – Through outsourcing, you take advantage of the time zone differential between your country and the destination you outsource to. For example, South Africa’s time zone (GMT+2) overlaps effectively with multiple time zones, particularly the UK. South Africa’s capacity for round-the-clock high-quality service at significantly lower costs appeals to all parts of the world. The city is also able to offer both large and small offshore clients in the US, Australian and Canadian markets their night time or “downtime” customer support timelines, effectively allowing businesses in these regions to offer 24/7 customer support.
- Access to a highly qualified and affordable workforce – By outsourcing, you can gain access to a highly qualified and affordable workforce. People in countries like South Africa are often overqualified and cannot find work, which means that you can gain access to a highly skilled workforce for a fraction of the cost.
- Compliance – If you choose Affinity Group as your BPO partner, we are compliant with all General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Data Protection Act (DPA), California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) and Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) regulations and requirements.
By utilising a trusted outsource partner like Affinity Group, you are guaranteed that the people working on your tasks are of the highest skill level required. You will also have the peace of mind in knowing that all agents work from our offices in Durban, South Africa and are supervised by senior management at all times, to ensure that the best quality of work is produced.
If you are considering outsourcing some of your non-core business functions, why not consider Affinity Group as your preferred Business Process Outsource (BPO) partner? We are uniquely positioned in Durban, South Africa and provide a wide range of BPO services for countries around the world including the US, UK, Australia and Canada. We offer professional outsourced business support to organisations involved in insolvency, finance, accounting, insurance, law, utilities, telecommunications, gaming and niche customer services markets. Contact us today to discuss your BPO needs.
