Business Process Outsourcing and the Shared Services Center ...

Business process outsourcing (BPO) of shared services centers (SSC) is not really something new, but lately BPOs and SSCs have become particularly popular as discussion topics in large organizations with complex and simple business processes.

In reality, the BPO function is nothing more than the contracting of specific business tasks, typically back office business tasks, to a 3rdparty service provider. Companies like a payroll bureau and recruitment agencies have been effectively performing these kinds of services for decades. In the late 1990's improvements in computing technology, the internet and global communications allowed an explosion in outsourced customer services centers. This in turn led to an increased focus in businesses not just looking at the BPO function but also in the breaking down of traditional organizational processing silos?and the creation of aggregated back-office functions in the form of shared services centers.

Lately there has been a large amount of business and research focus on the optimal combinations of outsourced processes and shared services and some of the trends in this area. Of particular interest was the recent Deloitte Consulting 2011 Global Shared Services Survey.??InformationWeek's Chris Murphy says "Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is the fastest growing worldwide outsourced market segment".??According to analyst firm NelsonHall, the global BPO market valued ?217.8 billion in 2007 and is expected to reach ?323.6 billion in 2011, showing an average growth rate of 10% per year.

BPO is catching up with industries like medical transcription services that have effectively provided a BPO service for more than a decade. Moreover, it is not just India or the Philippines that are booming with BPO services; Central & Eastern Europe are aggressively chasing near-shore outsourcing for Europe and the North America.

A 2005 combined study by InformationWeek magazine and EquaTerra, an outsourcing advisory services firm, showed that 73% of BPO customers surveyed believe BPO improves processes, demonstrating that principal drivers for BPO are efficiency and effectiveness.

With median revenue of $12bn among the Deloitte survey respondents, shared service centres were identified as largely distributed between APAC, LATAM, Western Europe and North America. Roughly half of all SSC's being based in North America (29%) and Western Europe (23%). Many of these organizations (38%) operated out of just one SSC and 71% operated with three or less. However as the size of the organization grows, the trend is for the number of SSC's to increase with companies with revenue of $25b or more, having on average 4.3 SSC's.

Key drivers for SSC selection unsurprisingly focus on quality, ramp-up-time, labour costs and language. Unsurprisingly, relatively unimportant factors were physical proximity to operations and HQ, regulation riskiness and sustainability.?The U.S. has the most well-established Shared Services market with over 44% of all?centers that are over 10 years old. 51% of SSC's support only 1 language.?The U.S. also has the highest concentration of multi-language centers serving multiple continents.

In terms of the costing profile for SSC's since 1999 at least, services charged based on volume continue to be the primary chargeback model used by respondents. The respondents cited that the primary modes for effective management were site visits, leadership meetings, SLA's and continuous improvement initiatives.

Probably the most important discoveries were that the bulk of SSC activities are centered on financial operations (93%), human resources (60%) and IT (48%). 53% of respondents only serviced one process area with a SSC. In the financial processes space, 84% of respondents indicated that they handled AP processing, 72% Fixed Assets and General Accounting and 70% Travel and Expense management.? In human resources, almost half were running payroll and time administration (40%) out of the SSC, 36% Employee Data administration and 33% benefits administration.

Of all the SSC respondents, 87% indicated that workflow was important to effective operations, with 67% already having workflow in place. Electronic Document Management was considered important by 88% with 52% already having EDM in place. Although relatively low in the adoption stakes, Vendor Self Service featured as important to 65% of respondents with 1 in 4 already having a vendor self-service solution in place.? There was over a 35% increase in respondents that have implemented workflow and call center since the 2005 survey.

Timeliness of response to requests was stated as a key driver for 96% of respondents and that measurement was being driven by process based KPI's it is unsurprising then that products like Winshuttle Workflow?are focal to BPO's in ensuring SSC performance optimization and effectiveness.? For 91% of the respondents, SSC's resulted in cost reductions and for 85% levels of control increased with 87% reporting that they saw process efficiency.

In order to deliver services with quality and stability, BPO providers have to have a service methodology, and the requisite infrastructure, people and reporting metrics capabilities. Leveraging technological and communication advances are the fundamental factors that lead to the success for Business Process Outsourcing. The internet and the low cost of data and voice communication, in addition to the move to standardized applications, flexible IT platforms, and more integrated systems give BPOs the tools needed to advance and spread. Adoption of technologies like Workflow and collaborative solutions built on SharePoint reduces operational risk, increase accessibility and transparency, all the while improving process quality and lowering costs

When considered collectively, SSC's combined with BPO's seem to suggest a perfect opportunity for cost savings and business process optimization. ?When a business shifts SSC operations to a BPO the Terra survey indicated that 53% felt that they were able to focus their attention on more critical business issues than daily data processing. In addition, using a BPO meant that businesses could be assured of a more predictable (45%) and reduced (44%) operational cost structure for back office data processing.

Additional Reading:

http://www.cbi.eu/download/mid_preview/5077.pdf

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/study-on-bpo-satisfaction-conducted-by-equaterra-managing-offshore-and-informationweek-54579607.html

http://www.drdobbs.com/architecture-and-design/outsourcing-not-slowing-down-study/197005853?cid=RSSfeed_DDJ_All

http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_GB/uk/services/consulting/33c0d2889eb13310VgnVCM3000001c56f00aRCRD.htm

http://www.informationweek.com/news/10818086

Source: http://soa.sys-con.com/node/2318166

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rnynrocpjlcsZB | Activity | the occupyboise forums

continue reading web site More hints Golden Rules For the Use of Autoresponders

Autoresponders are an ideal approach to raise traffic for your site. They can save several useful hours by automatically answering emails regarding regularly asked queries about a service or item or by sending a welcome letter to new members of the plan. There are several techniques that autoresponders can support your company. One particular of the most significant is their capacity to track the effectiveness of the promotions. Because autoresponders are one of the most preferred marketing and advertising tools available at this time, they may be getting employed by a good deal of different kinds of company and sites. Some of these benefit from the program to make use of the autoresponders inside a negative manner. You should be aware of some of the Golden Rules? when working with autoresponders.

Thou Shalt Not Use an Autoresponder Address When Submitting to Search engines like google.

Considering that you can probably submit your internet site to search engines like google for example Google or Yahoo!, directories, classifieds, and absolutely free for all web sites, you ought to be made Louis Vuitton Bags aware in the reality that these web sites normally an autoresponder at the same time. In case you were to use your autoresponder to speak to these companies, their autoresponder will reply to yours and so on and so on. Thus creating a cycle of autoresponses that will flood your email box and theirs also.

Thou Shalt Not Use an Autoresponder to Subscribe to Ezines or Discussion Forums.

Due to the fact the majority of the time an Ezine will send you updates and new details frequently, your auto responder will send them a message each and every time. Within a discussion forum, every single person inside the discussion forum will obtain your automobile response. This could be irritating and most of the time you?ll be unsubscribed. It is normally tough for the administrators with the forum or ezine to establish who is applying the autoresponse and as a result it can be simply typical courtesy to by no means use an autoresponer in this manner.

Thou Shalt Not Use an Autoresponder to Benefit from Unsuspecting Folks.

Some really unprofessional companies will use autoresponders to respond to an automated message when this is completed the address in the from field are going to be
automatically subscribed to their mailing list. This can be a really un ethical use of autoresponders and people that do it are in jeopardy of producing an incredibly unfavorable image of themselves and their organization. Rather than promote their service or enterprise, this generallyleads to individuals becoming quite upset and spreading a negative word about your corporation rather than a very good a single.

The net can be a fantastic spot to complete business enterprise and autoresponders may be a superb approach to save time, even so when applied in an unprofessional way, they can result in frustration and aggravation for other people. Your enterprise will suffer the loss of significantly enterprise in case you choose to take part in these abusive practices. The appropriate use of auto responders can create a
massive quantity of organization, when inappropriate use can drive away that business.

Source: http://isocracy.occupyboise.org/activity/p/47455/

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Weight Loss | health fitness exercise: Exercise & Fitness Tips

Get answers to your questions about exercise, and tips for getting the most from your workouts.

Are you getting started with an exercise program? Hoping to improve your existing routines or find new workout options? Did you know that a complete plan consists of three basic elements: aerobic fitness, muscle strength/endurance and flexibility? How do you assess your current fitness level before you begin? How do you know how much exercise you should do, or whether you should see a doctor before you start?

Source: http://sakuntalahealthcenter.blogspot.com/2012/07/exercise-fitness-tips.html

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Basal cell carcinoma risk can be chronic

ScienceDaily (July 25, 2012) ? A new analysis of factors that predict basal cell carcinoma recurrence in high-risk people finds that for many people it's more of a chronic disease. High sun exposure before the age of 30 was a major predictor, as was a history of eczema.

Martin Weinstock and colleagues reported their findings online July 19 in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

In the powerful sunlight of July, newly published results from a large study of people at high risk for basal cell carcinoma support the emerging view of the nation's most common cancer as a chronic ailment that often repeatedly afflicts older people but for which the seeds may be planted in youth. The research also found a new association with eczema.

"Basal cell carcinoma is a chronic disease once people have had multiple instances of it, because they are always at risk of getting more," said Dr. Martin Weinstock, professor of dermatology in the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, who practices at the Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center. "It's not something at the moment we can cure. It's something that we need to monitor continually so that when these cancers crop up we can minimize the damage."

Dermatologists hold out hope for a medication that will help prevent recurrences of BCC. To test one such medicine, Weinstock chaired the six-site, six-year VA Topical Tretinoin Chemoprevential Trial, which last year found that the skin medication failed to prevent further instances of BCC in high-risk patients.

Weinstock is the corresponding author of the new study, published online July 19 in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, which presents an analysis of the risk predictors of BCC recurrence found among the trial's population of 1,131 people, all of whom were veterans, 97 percent of whom were men, and whose median age was 72. On average, a participant had more than three episodes of BCC or squamous cell carcinoma before entering the study.

History, eczema, and early exposure

Overall, 44 percent of study participants developed new BCCs during the study period. The biggest predictor of another bout with BCC after three to four years of follow-up was a prior history of them. The 129 participants who had more than five BCCs in the five years before the study had a hazard rate ratio that was nearly four times as high as that of the 204 people who had none or one and more than twice as high that of the 200 people who had three.

Eczema was another predictor of BCC recurrence in the study's high-risk group. Participants who acknowledged a family history of the skin condition had a hazard rate ratio 1.54 times higher than people who did not, after statistical adjustments.

"We don't know why this is," Weinstock said. "The connection with eczema is something that's new, that needs to be further explored."

Age was another predictor, and not just in providing further confirmation that the risk people face increases with age. The study also showed that particularly intense sun exposure before the age of 30 was a strong a predictor of BCC occurrence among the high-risk study population, even though for most of them their 30s were decades ago.

"We talk about sun protection, which is important, but that's something for basal cell that's most important in your youth," Weinstock said. "While we don't exonerate UV exposure in one's 40s, 50s, and 60s, it was particularly UV exposure before the age of 30 that was most closely related to BCC in our study."

Awaiting a new trial

If limiting UV exposure is most crucial before the age of 30, what can doctors do for older people who may be headed for multiple bouts with BCC?

"Right now we have this wait and cut approach," he said. "We know these people are at high risk and we know that most of them are going to get more."

A better solution comes back to finding and testing preventive medication. Tretinoin didn't work, but Weinstock said he and his colleagues are testing another called 5-Fluorouracil. He said he is optimistic but has not yet seen the data from a trial that began about three years ago.

Robert Dyer of the Providence VA Medical Center and Brown University was the study's lead author. In addition to Dyer and Weinstock, other authors on the paper are Tobias Cohen, Amilcar Rizzo, Stephen Brigham and the VATTC Trial Group.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Co-operative Studies Program funded the research.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Brown University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Robert K Dyer, Martin A Weinstock, Tobias S D Cohen, Amilcar E Rizzo, Stephen F Bingham. Predictors of Basal Cell Carcinoma in High-Risk Patients in the VATTC (VA Topical Tretinoin Chemoprevention) Trial. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/jid.2012.227

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120725142505.htm

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Video: Stocks Finish the Day Lower

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/48291630/

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30 Things You Didn't Know About Love And Marriage - HowAboutWe

Take out ?your three-ringed notebooks and a ?number 2 pencil, kids ? Business Insider?s 30 Interesting Facts About Marriage And Love are very insightful, and completely pulled from scientific fact.

Plus: Here?s How Much A Wedding REALLY Costs: Two Line-by-Line Budgets From 1987 vs 2011

*You should find someone who you idealize and who idealizes you. If you?re already on the edge about the person on your wedding day, before you start your lives together, you?re in trouble.

*You should marry someone with high self-esteem.?Ladies usually have this one nailed, but guys have to work on it.

*The value of an engagement ring is indicative of a couple?s happiness.?The researchers for this one also found that the younger the bride, the larger the expenditure, saying that the amount spent on an engagement ring is linked to the mating ?quality? of each of the two partners.

Plus: 8 Signs Your Rich Boyfriend Is Probably A Jerk

*Marriage can make you fat.?One study found that women who lived with a partner for at least a year were more likely to be obese. For men, the chances of becoming obses?doubled?after a year of living together. They were found to be less active than couples who were dating.

*There might be a divorce gene.?Scientists compared genes of a certain area in men?s brains on the Partner Bonding Scale, which measures someone?s attachment to their partner.

*Facebook users who are ?in a relationship? are happier than single Facebook users.?One study found that people who do not disclose their relationship status are about 50% more negative than everyone else.

*Ex-lovers can be friends.?Researchers found that relationships that stop meeting the romantic needs of the individuals in the relationship change their thinking in regards to the other person, and are able to consider them a friend.

*A married man is about as likely to cheat on his wife as he is to experience a flight delay. Wow.

Plus: Do You Love The Date Report? Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

Read the piece on BI for more facts and full explanations ? it?s really eye-opening and will make you go ?WHAAAAAAAAAAAA??

[Business Insider]

?

Source: http://www.howaboutwe.com/date-report/business-insider-things-you-didnt-know-about-love-and-marriage/

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Customer Service, Three Ways Businesses Deploy It Online Poorly

Yesterday, we wrote a personal post related to a company that deployed poor customer service, and, in that post, we highlighted three ways that offline businesses are doing it poorly.

For example, you write letter after letter of complaint, to no avail.

Noone responds.

Hoping you just get bored of writing letters.

In other words, the top dogs in the company couldn?t care one jot about your problem.

Second, we highlighted that if a customer does receive poor customer service from a company, they are more often or not going to spread the word either through word of mouth, i.e, talking to their friends, or sharing their experiences on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Well, it can be the same online.

If a customer feels he is receiving poor customer service online, then likely, he will turn to online to vent his anger, or to try and receive an asnwer to his problems.

But, some companies at the moment, still don?t get this social media phenomenon.

It?s great having a Facebook Fanpage, but the sign of a good business in social media, is having a mixture of good and bad comments on the page.

If the business is solid, the bad comments won?t be a problem.

Obviously, noone likes to receive bad comments about their business, but there has to be an element of realism too.

No business is perfect!

As I outlined in yesterday?s post, ignore or try to shrug off the customer at your own peril!

Here are three ways that businesses are using social media, and deploying poor customer service using it.

1) ?We are terribly sorry to hear about this but we always strive to give

the best possible service to our customers.?

CUSTOMER SERVICE, CALL US!

This classic deflection, usually seen in response to a complaint on Twitter,

is completely without substance. A copied and pasted clich? aimed to

distract you from the fact that they didn?t even read your 140 character

distress call. What would be wholly more valuable is an explanation of the

steps they?re taking to resolve the problem.

2) ?Please contact our customer services team on 0845 xxxx?

Really? I thought I just did. Social media is a scary place for a brand,

because consumers have a lot more power than the brand is comfortable with.

In fact, it?s best if companies can get customers off social media and into

the comfort of their closed channels.

If you are complaining on Pugbear, Twitter, Facebook or any other social

channel, and you get this response, it?s the brand?s way of saying: ?Let?s

just give you bad customer service ? at your expense ? in private where

no-one can see?.

CUSTOMER SERVICE, WE?LL EMAIL YOU

3) ?You can email the details to us at xxxx so that we can forward it to

the right department?

What is the right department if those manning the social channels do not

include staff who are equipped to deal directly with complaints? How can

there be a department other than the ?right? department when you?ve got

people publicly slating your brand?

Social media can become the best friend or arch nemesis of a company depending on the company?s attitude

towards its customers.

No longer can they quietly pass you from pillar to post behind closed doors over the phone, when over

recent years we?ve discovered that naming and shaming them over Twitter will get them clamouring over

themselves to keep you sweet.

Have you experienced poor customer service? Then contact us!

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Tags: customer service

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Source: http://www.chris-gaynor.com/how-companies-are-failing-miserably-at-customer-service-online/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-companies-are-failing-miserably-at-customer-service-online

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