The 'why' and 'how' of outsourcing

Posted: 26th September, 2017

Life happens. Natural disaster, extreme weather, health pandemics, cyber security attacks, power loss, IT failure, fire, theft, terrorist threats, transport network issues… the list goes on.

Sources of business disruption 

This eclectic selection of events is just some of the many causes of disruption to businesses. Even the partial solar eclipse a couple of years ago was an instigator of downtime. In fact, according to the Office of National Statistics, an hour’s lost productivity nationwide, while workers vacated their workplace to watch the unfolding phenomena, was estimated to cost the UK economy a staggering £625 million.

Then there’s planned leave. For example, maternity, paternity (including new shared parental leave) and sickness absence for recovery from scheduled medical procedures. But, where anticipated, they’re still a nuisance to business owners who are forced to either share the absent staff member’s workload among his / her colleagues or find a temporary stand-in until his / her return to work.

And, it doesn’t end there. Another factor to consider is permanent departures. This could be resigning or retiring employees or something more severe where an employee’s misconduct necessitates urgent dismissal.

Finally, not forgetting holidays. An average contract of employment caters for a minimum of 28 days’ holiday for full time staff, often increasing year-on-year to reward loyal, long-serving employees. Peak holiday seasons typically fall at Christmas and New Year, Easter, summer and other half-term school breaks where parents’ childcare responsibilities dictate time out of the office.

During these seasonal fluctuations, employers are typically forced to operate on skeleton staffing levels.

Recruiting permanent or temporary staff

It’s not always easy to replace leavers or source temporary staff because of skills shortages or simply lacking the time for the whole recruitment process which may demand a combination of liaison with recruitment agencies, negotiation of agency fees, internal and external advertising, shortlisting, interviewing, candidate selection and, when on board, training to required standards.

While all this is happening, some business functions (primarily that of your absent, departing or holidaying employees) are being left unattended. Some departments may cope short staffed for limited periods. Not so for cashiering and payroll. After all, your business’s survival depends upon a constant stream of inbound monies and your valued employees deserve to get paid for their hard work.

Not to mention HMRC-prescribed rigid timeframes and industry-specific regulations relating to routine payroll, PAYE and NI activities which carry heavy penalties for non-compliance.

The outsourcing alternative

Whether you’re an owner, manager or employee, you’ll be gratified to read that there’s a readily available, easily affordable solution to these staffing problems: outsourcing.

Outsourced support, such as payroll, can be switched on overnight and enlisted on short or long term bases with fixed or undefined end dates. Among the multiple and diverse business benefits of outsourcing, not least sizeable cost savings, is automatic backup if your designated cashier or payroll clerk is vacant from work.

These automated cover arrangements give companies a fool-proof business continuity guarantee so that, when life happens, there are no repercussions within your business.

Obviously, when selecting an outsourcing partner, due diligence is required. Carefully inspect contractual arrangements before you sign on the dotted line.

As a provider of outsourcing services, we take our responsibilities seriously. Our outsourcing solutions fully comply with all the necessary legislation and our contractual terms provide you with the required evidence of conformance for inspections.

Find out more on our payroll outsourced service. Read about our outsourced bookkeeping and cashiering services too.