BPO companies offering to handle IT services have been affected by the transition to remote work. With a significant impact on communication systems and collaboration means, teams have been scrambling to pick up the pieces and streamline remote work systems.

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In this guide, we’ll explore the ins and outs of BPO remote work, and touch upon the main pros and cons. In addition, find out how an employee tracking system like Insightful can help you better manage remote BPO teams.

Pros

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1. Cut Costs

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When transitioning to remote work, one of the first things many companies notice is the amount of cost savings they make.

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This is largely due to the reduction of overheads which can include:

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• Office rent
• Utility bills
• Supplies
• Telephone bills 
• Furnishings
• Desk equipment

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Without the need for a physical location, companies can cut ongoing expenses and remove the need for one-off purchases including business equipment for the office.

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Of course, the extent to which you save money will depend on your current overheads. A business with a smaller in-person presence isn’t likely to experience the same level of savings as a large company with a large office or multiple locations.

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The caveat here is that while you will most likely cut many overhead costs, you may have to re-invest some of the resources into software solutions to promote productive and sustainable remote work.

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2. Improve Productivity

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Aside from financial benefits, moving to a remote work environment can have a surprisingly positive impact when it comes to improving employee performance.

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While it may seem counterintuitive since employees don’t have access to the same resources and can’t collaborate in-person with their coworkers, work performance monitoring tools often show an increase in productivity in a remote work environment.

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There are various suggestions as to why this might be the case:
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•  Fewer Distractions - The office can be an overwhelming place rife with distractions. There can be phones ringing, coworkers chatting, and ambient noise to contend with. The less there is going on in your surroundings, the more likely it is you’ll be able to focus comfortably and for longer periods of time. A remote employee monitoring system can help you confirm whether this is the case.
  
  
•  No Commute - Most employees in a traditional work setting would spend anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour commuting to and from the office. In a remote work environment, they can be ready to work minutes after they wake up, allowing for valuable extra minutes of productivity and preparation.
  
  
• Better Work-life Balance - When employees work from home, it’s easier for them to set up their work lives in a way that accommodates their personal life. This promotes greater engagement levels and helps encourage sustainable productivity. By remote monitoring employees, you can evaluate productivity trends over time.

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3. Expand the Recruitment Pool

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One of the biggest challenges BPO companies face is recruiting the right employees at the right price.

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BPO employees are required to specialize in various IT services, and as such, it can be challenging to find everyone you need in the area you’re based in.

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When you switch to remote work, you expand your recruitment pool to the international stage. If you offer location-independent remote work, you can attract top talent from abroad and likely hire at a lower cost.

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This can help you scale faster and fill skill gaps in the company ranks as soon as they arise.

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4. Business Continuity

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Business continuity is all about how you respond to external events that threaten to disrupt your work.

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It’s how you react after a power outage, natural disaster, or even a global pandemic diminishes your workforce’s ability to produce work at the same rate.

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With remote work, you can protect against most external threats as you aren’t reliant on a physical location for making progress. When all of your systems and data are online or in the cloud, employees can check in from home and continue to work regardless of what’s happening outside.

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Cons

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1. Difficulty Coordinating

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While you may see an increase in individual productivity when you transition to remote work, it’s possible that teamwork and coordination can suffer.

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In a virtual office, it can be much more challenging to get hold of your coworkers and organize shared projects unless you have the right tools and systems in place. 

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The best way to remedy this is to use project management software, communication tools, and a user activity monitoring platform. With this basic tech stack, you can coordinate effectively on assignments, stay in touch across departments, and track productivity through time data.

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2. Communication Struggles

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Closely tied into team collaboration is the ability to communicate seamlessly.

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The best way to combat communication struggles when team members aren’t able to speak in person is to find an effective tool.

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Slack is a popular option as it allows for context-specific channel communication. That is to say, you can organize and categorize your work-related conversations so all the information you need to access is easy to locate.

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3. Heightened Security Risks

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In BPO, online activity is essential, and even more, operations go virtual when you transition to remote work.

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With this shift towards an always-online work culture, it isn’t uncommon to encounter more frequent cybersecurity threats. Data breaches can leak sensitive company information, and become more of a threat when you take most of your operations online.

There’s also an increased risk of employee fraud when everyone works from home. Emboldened by a greater sense of autonomy and anonymity, some employees may attempt to take advantage of their newfound status by committing fraudulent activity against the company.

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Employee monitoring software for Linux, Mac, and PC can help you safeguard against the risk of employee fraud as you can remotely access computers and see what your employees are working on in real time. 

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You can also enable screenshots with web monitoring software for business at custom intervals which can hold employees accountable for their actions and help you identify any instances of suspicious activity.

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As a more transparent form of employer surveillance software, Insightful enables companies monitoring employees in a healthy and sustainable way. As remote staff monitoring software that prioritizes employees, you can have it running in the background to keep an eye on day-to-day employee activity.

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Is Remote Work Worth It?

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The question of whether remote work is worth it is one only you can answer.

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Every business is different, and while some workforces might thrive in a remote work environment, others may flounder.

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If you do decide to transition to a remote work model, the best thing you can do is to implement the right software to support your employees. Insightful can help you track remote work activity and evaluate performance levels in real time.

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