Companies may derive many benefits from back office outsourcing. These range from cost savings and increased efficiency to accessing specialized skills. However, there are also risks that you need to effectively manage to ensure a resilient operation.


In this article, we look at how to approach back office and [help desk outsourcing](https://supportyourapp.com/help-desk-outsourcing/) with an eye on mitigating that risk.

## Comprehensive Risk Assessment
Will you be sharing your sensitive client data with your partner? If so, are they equipped to protect it properly? What measures do they have in place to deal with cyber attacks and other risks like compliance issues?

You need to keep in mind that the company you choose will have to comply with all the regulations pertaining to your region. If they’re in a different country, they’ll also need to ensure compliance with their home country authorities.

Other risks to consider are operational disruptions. For example, a natural disaster. You’ll need to ensure that your chosen partner has contingency plans in place.

Finally, consider hiring an expert team to vet the company’s finance stability, reputation, and cybersecurity measures. You need to ensure that the firm you work with has staying power and a good name in the industry.


## Due Diligence in Vendor Selection
You should be diligent when choosing any vendor, but this becomes particularly important now as they become an extension of your brand. You’ll need to evaluate their:
* Experience in general and also in your industry
* Capabilities, and
* Track record in handling similar back office functions.

Do check company reviews on third-party websites and also ask for references. Then contact these firms and check whether they’ll recommend the company or not. Ask about whether or not there were any teething problems to know what to expect.

## Clear Service Level Agreements
You must define clear and comprehensive SLAs that outline the expected performance standards, quality metrics, and timelines. Also list penalties and incentives within these documents so your outsourcing partner has every incentive to meet or exceed your performance expectations.

Get a lawyer to draft these contracts so that your expectations and responsibilities are crystal clear. This prevents misunderstandings at a later stage.

## Data Security and Privacy Measures
By bringing in another company, you’re effectively adding an extra area in which cybercriminals might attack. Start by ensuring that you partner with a company who takes security as seriously as you do. Then implement robust data security measures to protect sensitive information. This may include encryption, access controls, and regular security audits.

Next you’ll want to ensure that your partner complies with your security measures as well as the relevant data protection and privacy regulations. You must stipulate every step in the contract so there’s no room for error later.

## Business Continuity Planning
Things go wrong in business every day. Someone could hack your company and hold the information to ransom. There might be a natural disaster, technological failure, or pandemic. However unlikely these outcomes are, you need to plan for as many as possible. You’ll literally create a step by step instruction list on what to do if a certain event occurs.

You’ll also need to work with your partner on a similar plan and conduct joint drills to test how effective your response is.

## Legal and Compliance Considerations
It’s challenging to stay abreast of the laws and regulations concerning every function of your business. Farming some back office functions allows you to draw on the expertise of others. If you do your research properly, you can draw on your experienced partner to navigate these issues.

That said, you need to be aware of what the compliance requirements are and ensure that you and your partner know who’s responsible for what. Your lawyer should include this in the contract to avoid any misunderstandings later.

Furthermore, it could go a long way towards mitigating the fallout of non-compliance at a later stage if you can prove that you relied on the outsourcing partner for information.


## Regular Monitoring and Reporting
What keeps a third-party vendor on their toes? The answer isn’t to sit back and trust they’ll do what they should. Instead, you should implement a robust monitoring system to track their performance against agreed-upon metrics.

Consistent monitoring makes it easy to make course corrections as issues arise, rather than letting them snowball into major catastrophes.

## Flexibility and Scalability
Where possible, build flexibility into the outsourcing arrangement to accommodate changes in business requirements, volumes, or processes. If you plan to expand your business in the near future, also make sure that your new partner can handle fluctuations in workload without compromising performance.

## Communication and Relationship Management
You’ll need effective and secure communication channels and mechanisms between your in-house team and your partner. This makes it easy to collaborate or for your outsourced team to seek guidance or clarification as necessary.

## Exit Strategy
What happens if things go poorly? Your lawyer will no doubt suggest a trial period during which time you can assess how the firm you hire is coping. You should put in timelines for the transitioning period to be over and be clear about what qualifies as a terminable offense.

Finally, have a transitioning strategy in place, so that you can hit the ground running after canceling the arrangement.

## Conclusion
By implementing these strategies, organizations can enhance their ability to manage risks associated with back office outsourcing and build a more resilient operation. Regular reviews and updates to risk management strategies are essential to adapt to evolving business environments and emerging threats.