One of the great frustrations for outsourcing executives is that time is a finite resource. With ever-increasing workloads and rising client expectations, many would love the option of adding another hour to the workday or, in particularly busy periods, another day to the working week. The clock just keeps ticking though.
Then there are smarter outsourcing firms that realize that while they can’t control time, they can do the next best thing and make every second count. They focus on what they can control and that is productivity, or the ability of their teams to work efficiently and maximize output within the time they have.
This post is part of our series for the outsourcing industry on customer retention, growth, tools and tech. Check out the articles in the series:
- WFH is here to stay says Concentrix, how will the industry retain clients and prove their value?
- 7 Strategies for BPO Firms to Retain Top Talent
With a global labor shortage sweeping the world, recruitment and talent management have never been more important for achieving productivity. From attracting the best people to ensuring they perform at optimum levels once in the door, outsourcing providers need to make every effort to maximize productivity as it is inextricably tied to fostering and maintaining happy clients.
Fortunately, the past 20 years have heralded a wave of productivity growth tools that play a key role in helping organizations drive performance when it comes to recruiting and managing talent. There may only be 24 hours in a day but using best-in-class tools can deliver the insights that outsourcing providers need to work smarter not harder, get on the front foot of productivity concerns and ultimately increase client satisfaction.
Recruitment tools
Applicant tracking systems
CRMs are an established tool for tracking sales leads and customers but an increasing number of BPO firms are turning to similar platforms for tracking talent. Known as Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), they plug into all the major job boards and help recruiters aggregate and communicate with top candidates, create shortlists and quickly and efficiently guide candidates through the selection process. Examples include Job Adder or Workable, with additional assessment tools such as Vervoe able to test interviewees en masse and use artificial intelligence (AI) to help select top talent based on skills testing, as well as combining AI learning on top performers. Better still, these testing tools can be delivered 100% remotely.
Process mapping is crucial to help realize the benefits of any new system so take the time to map out the recruitment process in a clear and concise way before implementing any new system.
Interview software
With outsourcing providers increasingly hiring for remote positions – and many confronted with high volumes of applicants – the popularity of interviewing software is on the rise. This is a game-changer for remote hiring as it lets candidates record answers to questions using video, voice or text and submit them online. It can be especially productive for pre-screening of candidates as it allows recruiters to evaluate responses before deciding which candidates they want to invite to in-person interviews.
Mobile recruitment software
The introduction of mobile recruiting software is making life simpler for candidates and recruiters alike. A relatively new technology, it was initially conceived to make it more convenient for applicants to complete the recruitment process but is also proving to increase productivity levels for internal teams by allowing hiring managers to support the hiring process from anywhere using their mobile devices. For example, the hiring manager may receive a mobile notification that an applicant has completed a skills test and, no matter where they are, they have the option of quickly evaluating their result and immediately deciding if they should progress to the next step in the hiring process, which means jobs can get filled quicker.
Explore the current challenges and opportunities facing the outsourcing industry and get tips for securing top talent in a competitive market.
Employee management tools
Agent scheduling software
The ability of outsourcing providers to easily monitor their agents’ adherence to schedules and attendance is crucial to maximizing their productivity. Agent scheduling software makes it simple to create staff work schedules, easily track employee hours, manage shift changes and control labor costs, all of which contribute to more productive workplaces and happier clients. The likes of Time Doctor have easy-to-use tools that streamline work schedule and shift creation, offer automatic attendance tracking and enhance the accuracy of contact center time tracking to improve accountability.
Project management software
Maximizing productivity is equally about maximizing resources, which is where project management software comes into play. By creating a visual representation of an outsourcing provider’s workflow process, such tools make assigning, coordinating and prioritizing jobs and agents more manageable. From project planning and resource allocation to documenting files and preserving records, adopting a quality project management tool can make life easier for both managers and agents in the ever-evolving world of outsourcing.
Employee monitoring & productivity software
With a wealth of websites and applications literally at their fingertips, it is inevitable that BPO agents are going to ‘wander’ the internet during the day. Similarly, the rise of remote workforces means it is increasingly difficult for their managers to know exactly what they are doing during their shift. That is why it has never been more important for outsourcing providers to utilize employee monitoring software that can essentially offer x-ray vision into their team’s workflow and productivity. Powerful software such as Time Doctor can deliver actionable insights and employee performance trends, take screencasts of staff screens at specified intervals (if turned on), and identifies which apps and websites they use most and even send agents a friendly reminder to remain on task when they are spending a bit too much time scrolling social media feeds.
Aimee is the Chief Revenue Officer at Time Doctor writing about remote work, scale, growth and profit for leading businesses globally.