MEDIA RELEASE: As more Australian advice firms seek business process outsourcing (BPOs) partners amid a local staffing shortage, they should be vigilant in finding the right partner that aligns with their values, according to Virtual Business Partners (VBP) founder and chief executive, David Carney.

Carney says that while finding the right outsourcing partner can be a time-consuming process, following four simple steps can help:

1. Identify the business

“Look at the business and do a little tyre-kicking from the comfort of your laptop. There is a lot of information about outsourcing firms that can be found by researching on Google,” Carney says.

“Some helpful indicators to consider include whether the partner has a good website with appropriate domain authority.

“You should also find out whether they have a suitable digital footprint of their company when you search them online. For this check, look at LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Facebook, and any other reputable third-party sources that pop up in a Google Search.”

2. Inquire about their service offering

Carney says that once some BPOs that match your needs have been identified, contact a few of them, and monitor of the speed and quality of their responses.

“When you talk to a BPO, they must demonstrate good, responsive turnaround time and processes when responding to your initial inquiry, and have a deeper understanding of your business need,” he says.

“Also determine whether they answer more complex questions competently and whether they openly share information about the company, such as size, years in business and specialties.”

3. Discuss your needs with suitable candidates

Once an advice firm has a good feel from their initial responses from the potential BPOs, Carney says it's then time to have a more detailed discussion with a short list of firms.

“The sales process for any BPO should feel competent, consultative and not “salesy”, or too aggressive and superficial. You should have conversations with people who can understand your requirements and advise you accordingly. Their advice should be valuable and insightful. The pricing model should be clear and concise.

“A call is also much more powerful than a templated email response, an RFP or PDF proposal. So feel free to get on the phone or Zoom call.”

4. Choose the BPO that best fits your firm’s needs

Finally, Carney notes that there are several different approaches within the outsourcing industry, and that advice firms should take note of these approaches.

“It can be highly educational to speak to a few outsourcing firms about what they do and how they do it,” he says.

“However, be mindful that these BPOs are ultimately all trying to sell you so a certain amount of their insight and advice might be angled to their benefit.”