In a globally competitive and increasingly uncertain world, two factors endure: customer expectations keep rising and employees continue to seek enhanced experiences from their employers.
Historically, the largest contributor to Australia’s economic growth has been people. Throughout industrial revolutions, people have been at the core of prosperity. Over the last five decades, labour productivity – the value created per hour worked – has been responsible for over half of the growth in national income.
As we learn to live with pandemic disruption, businesses now more than ever need to protect themselves and build resiliency. Many, many column inches have been spent deliberating either the rise or fall in productivity and employee engagement during extended periods working from home. Questions of Zoom fatigue vs. the perfect work/life balance abound. While some leaders have announced ‘work from anywhere, forever’ policies, others are demanding all workers return to their desks, with mandated ‘must be in the office’ days.
And while the jury may still be out on what the ideal ‘flexible workforce’ looks like, there’s no question a remote work culture is gradually being ingrained. We’re more open than ever before to employees being located somewhere other than physically adjacent to ourselves. We’re recruiting and hiring via Zoom and hiring managers have realised just how big the talent pool is when you remove location-specific barriers.
This new mindset is helping innovative companies tap into global talent from the most cost-effective locations. According to research from Deloitte Access Economics, a growing number of companies are also recognising the value in hedging their risks by diversifying their delivery locations. Analysts expect outsourcing decisions will play a significantly more strategic role in short-term resilience and long-term growth for companies of all sizes.
Flexible outsourcing in a rapidly changing environment
The flexibility of premium outsourcing solutions means companies will be in a better position to adjust their resourcing levels at short notice, depending on business requirements.
For example, if restrictions force a retail business to pivot to a purely online model, they can onboard an entire customer service team in a matter of days without any increase in CAPEX. When they decide to move back to physical stores, they can adjust team numbers as required without the expense of redundancies or redundant office space.
Similarly, a business may be struggling to source critical niche skills like front-end developers or full-stack developers within shrinking budgets. Access to a broader, more cost-effective offshore talent pool – and candidates who aren’t seeking an office in a flagship Melbourne or Sydney CBD location – suddenly opens up a new world of opportunity.
Productivity is your competitive advantage
The average full-time worker spends around one quarter of their week working. Yet, not all of this time is spent on the highest value-adding tasks. On average, Deloitte research found that Australian office workers spend 27% of their time on administrative tasks that are not the main focus of their role.
That’s not to say that administration and paperwork aren’t necessary. Processes like health and safety reporting and appropriate records management have an essential business purpose. However, an over-emphasis on tasks that aren’t the main focus of a role can be costly and crippling.
As we saw at the onset of the pandemic, businesses often manage uncertainty and volatility by imposing standards, rules or additional processes to minimise risks. This can lead to more time spent on overly complex administrative processes without any tangible benefit. Likewise, there are many roles primarily focused on routine tasks. Almost 40% of office jobs in Australia in 2020 – representing 3.1 million employees – were classified as ‘routine’, i.e. occupations like record keeping, payroll administration or data entry.
Removing the low-value, repetitive aspects of a role through offshoring can free up time so your core people can focus on value-adding, strategic work. In doing so, businesses become more efficient and work becomes more engaging.
See your growth strategy differently.
Analysts agree outsourcing remains an essential tool for organisations to support their strategic goals. As always, for both parties to benefit in an outsourcing relationship, it requires a client’s preparedness to invest and a service provider’s willingness to embrace flexibility.
ConnectOS’ approach reduces set up time, requires less investment and offers much greater flexibility. Because we’re passionate about sourcing and placing the right-fit person for every role, we don’t believe in lock-in employee lease contracts. It’s a powerful way to grow your business and unlock greater productivity: by reallocating repetitive, non-strategic tasks, your core team can redirect their efforts to higher-value, more meaningful work.