Author: Joe Iafigliola

Recently, a client approached us with a business need regarding automation of sending contracts out and receiving payments back from their customers.  We immediately went to work to create a process to address these tasks.

We started by creating an interactive form that detailed the agreement the customer had requested, but also provided the ability to include additional available services before signing.  A link to the contract is sent through email with the option to e-sign, eliminating paper contracts.

Our team also created an interactive payment form.  The link to this form is sent along with the contract, and customers are asked to provide credit card details for payment.  Once the information is logged by the customer through the provided link, the information is immediately sent back to our client to process.

This is just a quick example of how the Process-Smart team can help to simplify everyday business processes – allowing you to save time, money, and frustration.  Please contact us today to discuss how Process-Smart can help find a similar solution for your daily tasks.

Many companies overlook the amount of time and money spent on back-office support tasks as these administrative duties don’t always seem like much to handle.  However, as your small business grows in scale, your employees are forced to allocate more and more time to admin work instead of activities that add value to your business.  It’s estimated that Fortune 500 companies waste approximately $480 billion on back-office tasks completed by employees.

Often back-office processes become inefficient as companies scale.  These inefficiencies take up important time that should be spent focused on strategic aspects of business like sales and marketing.  While specific back-office needs differ between companies, outsourcing can be the answer regardless of the industry.  No matter the size of your company, there are many advantages to outsourcing back-office support functions.

An article titled The Advantages of Outsourcing Your Back Office Support Needs lists the following benefits:

• Cutting Costs – factor in costs like labor, employee turnover, investment in new technology, training – all these items yield a very high cost.  By choosing to outsource, you can utilize an existing, well-trained infrastructure of professionals at a much lower labor cost.
• Reinvest in your Business – outsourcing allows you to reinvest not only the money saved from a lower cost of labor, but also your time into value-added strategic priorities.
• Gain Quality Talent Dedicated to Your Company – especially when considering the current shortages in the U.S. labor market, finding skilled, experienced potential employees can be tough.  Outsourcing provides administrative experts highly trained in the latest technology, tools and best practices to streamline your administrative needs.
• Concentrate on Core Competencies – focus on the growth of your business as opposed to time consuming back-office tasks.  By placing these crucial but secondary processes with trusted, trained, outsourced professionals, your team can focus on what they do best (creating a happier group of employees as a bonus!).

At Process-Smart, back-office support is provided through data entry and management, online research, virtual assistance, bookkeeping/accounting, website development, IT support, HR/recruiting assistance, and more.  We are excited to offer a free pilot program to help you experience the advantages of outsourcing with us.  Please contact us at the below email and phone number to discuss a solution tailored to your business.

Outsourcing has become an accepted, practical approach to cost reduction, risk mitigation, and operation efficiency.  By taking advantage of lower operating costs, greater flexibility, and reduced risk of error, companies can benefit from the positive impacts outsourcing offers.

Outsourcing can allow your organization to accomplish work at a low cost with higher efficiency.  Tasks such as call centers, book keeping and accounting, software development and more can result in cost saving opportunities of 50-70% or more.

Mitigating risk is accomplished when outsourcing firms are able to streamline a process (for example, bookkeeping and accounting) where human input can cause mistakes.  By reducing manual data entry, mistakes become extremely rare.

According to a blog post by SIAPartners, while cost reduction and mitigating risk are two key benefits when considering outsourcing there are other advantages you should consider as well:

• flexibility in adaptation of new organization structures, technologies and business focuses
• reduced training cost
• potential for reduced employee benefit costs
• ability to add investment to potential growth
• greater flexibility to pursue mergers or acquisitions
• improved performance and focus on primary responsibilities
• less risk of human error compared to traditional contractors

At Process-Smart, we can help you build an offshoring strategy that works for your company.  Please reach out to us by phone or email to discuss a free pilot to help you recognize the benefits of partnering with us.

Outsourcing, first and foremost, can allow for organizations to obtain high-quality services at a low operational cost.  In an article titled How Does Outsourcing Reduce Cost?, Educba notes the following cost-saving benefits of outsourcing:

• Cost Effective – work is completed efficiently at a low cost
• High Standard of Work – tasks are completed by individuals with vast experience within that field
• Investment Savings – instead of spending on infrastructure of employees, an outsourcing firm can provide coverage that can adjust quickly with increases in production
• Cut Cost of Training/Recruitment – outsourcing companies offer highly trained individuals in many fields that require little to no additional training from you
• Overnight Service – due to the time difference, tasks can be completed overnight and delivered back by the start of business
• Tap into Overseas Talent – specific skilled workers in the US are often top of their field and come at a high price point, while outsourcing firms have experts available to address the same processes.

At Process-Smart we strive to ensure that our employee based offshore teams deliver excellent results, while driving a cost effective solution for your business.  Please email me or give me a call, we’d love to demonstrate our value with a risk-free pilot.

Businesses in the United States are currently experiencing a shortage of labor that hasn’t been seen in nearly a decade, spanning across nearly all industries.  There are approximately 4 million fewer Americans in the work force compared to pre-pandemic numbers, and employee ‘quit rates’ are estimated at over 3% on average.  With many factors adding to the labor shortage, such as early retirement, a trend toward business ownership, and temporary stimulus checks and unemployment benefits, employers are struggling to keep the staff necessary to continue their economic recovery.

As noted in a blog post by QuatrroBoss, Business Process Outsourcing, or BPO, has the ability to be at least part of the answer for companies of every size.  By helping to reduce operational costs, improve efficiencies, boost compliance, and improve profit margins, BPO can be the solution to keeping ahead of an ever-changing business environment.

At Process-Smart, our goal is to help drive operational efficiency, while at the same time providing a cost-effective business solution.  Contact us today regarding a pilot program built specifically to address your business needs.  We look forward to showing you how we can help your company identify challenges and streamline processes, all while promoting profit growth.

Outsourcing has received a negative reputation over the past few decades as it has become associated with sending jobs overseas, especially during the U.S. recession.  However, the practice doesn’t always mean less jobs for people in a company’s home country – using an outside accounting firm or attorney that is not an actual employee of your company are also examples of outsourcing.

In the article titled ‘Why Outsourcing is Best for Workplace Productivity‘, Thrive Global looks at how outsourcing is used to increase productivity of internal staff.

Outsourcing can help to increase productivity both directly and indirectly by allowing your employees to focus on what they do best.  When employees are able to focus on their strengths, it leads to higher efficiency for the company and higher job satisfaction overall.  Outsourcing tasks that are tedious and time consuming allows employees to focus on strategic initiatives that require tacit knowledge over implicit knowledge.

The perks of outsourcing also include the ability for a company to reduce risk and liabilities that lie within non-core tasks.  Outsourcing companies generally have a ‘been there, done that’ approach as they are experts in the field.

Overall, outsourcing enables organizations to achieve business objectives, add value and mitigate risks by delegating tasks and freeing up time for internal employees.  Understanding what functions are best kept in-house and which can be handled by an outsourcing firm are essential to success.  The benefits associated with wise outsourcing can be plentiful when embraced properly.

At Process-Smart, we can help to tailor your experience so that we best fit the needs of your company.  We will discuss current strengths and weaknesses and provide a package that will allow you to maximize your staff and daily tasks.  Contact us today regarding a pilot program to capitalize on office productivity.

Outsourcing is the right decision for many businesses, especially if you are considering it as an alternative for tasks that are either very specific or too difficult for your existing staff.

In a blog post titled 5 Benefits of Outsourcing Staff, Solvere One Blog breaks down why outsourcing could greatly help your business. 

Are you considering outsourcing your staff?  Consider the below advantages:

• Cut Cost of Operations – outsourcing can allow you to save money while gaining productivity
• Attain Flexibility with your Staff – outsourcing offers the benefit of staff that is available as much or as little as you need them, at all hours
• Keep Internal Staff Happy – outsourcing staff allows you the ability to give employees a clearer focus on their tasks, resulting in higher productivity
• Focus on your Business Growth – outsourcing staff is able to handle complex tasks that employees may not have the skills to handle, leaving employees available to focus on tasks that develop growth.
• Access a Higher Level of Skill – outsourcing staff enables access to a higher level of skill while saving money, as they are often experts in their field.

Your employees are your most important asset, so it’s essential to ensure they are focused on the functions that make your business flourish.  By outsourcing certain aspects of your business, you can create an environment primed for growth and success.  At Process-Smart, we can help you achieve the perfect balance.  Contact us today to discuss a pilot program tailored exactly to your business needs.

America’s worker shortage is far from over – with over 11 million jobs to fill and not enough workers to do so, companies must continue to find creative ways to operate while understaffed.

Despite the high level of available positions, job openings have fallen in several industries.  Professional and business services count the most available job openings, along with education, transportation, and warehousing. 

Meanwhile, the number of hires and quits remains relatively unchanged – numbers support that when workers quit, they aren’t leaving the work force, but are taking other jobs.  As inflation continues to persist, better pay has been a big motivator for Americans choosing to switch jobs.

Please read No End to the Worker Shortage, published by CNN Business for more facts regarding the labor shortage.

At Process-Smart, we can help to combat the effects of the labor shortage by outsourcing semi-repetitive, daily tasks to our team, allowing your employees to focus on higher value activities.  We are excited to offer a free pilot program to help you experience the advantages of outsourcing with us.  Please contact us at the below email and phone number to discuss a solution tailored to your business.

Outsourcing is the business practice of contracting with an outside party to take care of certain tasks instead of hiring new employees or assigning those tasks to existing staff.  It allows for businesses to handle the most important functions of their day-to-day processes while streamlining operations and lowering costs.  

Outsourcing can help your business to accomplish the following: 

• Focus on core tasks
• Lower costs
• Promote growth
• Maintain operational control
• Offer staffing flexibility
• Provide continuity and risk management
• Develop internal staff

To dive deeper into the advantages of each of the above topics, check out the full article Top Outsourcing Advantages published by The Balance Small Business.

At Process-Smart, we believe that businesses of every size can use outsourcing to grow and expand while controlling operational costs and driving efficiency.  We are excited to offer a free pilot program to help you experience the advantages of outsourcing with us.  Please contact us at the below email and phone number to discuss a solution tailored to your business.

Each day, companies of every size, in every industry and across almost every state are facing unprecedented challenges hiring workers to fill open jobs.  As of June 2022, data shows there are 11.4 million job openings across the country, but only 6 million unemployed workers.  

How did this happen?  At the height of the pandemic, 120,000 businesses temporarily closed, causing unemployment numbers to skyrocket to more than 30 million.  However, in 2021 employers added an unprecedented 3.8 million jobs – but Americans have continued to leave the labor force since the start of the pandemic.

Right now, the labor force participation is at 62.3%, down from 63.3% in 2020.  When the U.S. Chamber surveyed unemployed workers who lost their job during the pandemic, factors that kept them from returning to the work force including caring for children or other family members, no opportunities within his or her given industry, and lingering concern about COVID-19.

Other factors contributing to the labor shortage are as follows:

• Increase in Savings – enhanced employment benefits, stimulus checks and not being able to go out and spend money during the pandemic allowed many Americans to build up savings accounts since early 2020.
• Early Retirement – as of October 2021, the pandemic drove more than 3 million Americans into early retirement.
• Lack of Access to Childcare – access to high quality, affordable child care was an issue even before the pandemic.  The child care industry lost 370,600 jobs in 2020, and employment still remains at 10% below pre-pandemic levels, adding to the problem.
• New Business Starts – many employees chose not to return to their previous jobs in order to start their own businesses.  Nearly 10 million new business applications have been filed in the past two years.

(Read the full article published by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce titled Understanding American’s Labor Shortage here.)

At Process-Smart, our employee-based offshore teams strive to deliver excellent results.  Allow us to provide the solutions to fill gaps in your daily operations by providing services such as accounts payable, payroll, text customer support, quality assurance and auditing, digital marketing, and general back office services and support.  Please reach out to us by phone or email to discuss a free pilot to help you recognize the benefits of partnering with us.