When asked recently, “What does a Tier 1 BPO service provider look like today?” we realized that the definition is evolving and building on what it has been for the last decade or more. To HfS Research, a Tier 1 BPO service provider is one that yes, has a global delivery network, vocal client references, a presence in multiple industries, a descriptive analytics capability, a reputation for operational excellence, and Six Sigma/Lean in action. However, today, those capabilities are no longer the definitive list.
A Tier 1 BPO Service Provider in the current market also needs to be recognizing the changing business environment and incorporating the 8 Ideals of the emerging As-a-Service Economy. What is critical going forward is the balance of talent and technology to deliver business outcomes based on a collaborative engagement.
8 Ideals of the As-a-Service Economy
Therefore, today—and those that will be tomorrow’s—Tier 1 BPO service providers are building on the past model and are striving to:
- Put intelligent automation at the heart of operational delivery: leveraging it in an increasingly integrated and intelligent fashion (see: Autonomics are Accelerating the Journey to Intelligent Automation)
- Invest in career and talent development: looking at how to attract and retain and create a “socially intelligent” workforce not just a transactional- oriented one, and promoting and investing in a middle management layer that believes in the As-a-Service model rather than focusing on wanting to run larger and larger pyramids of employees
- Re-skill BPO employees: developing a workforce that can support predictive analytics, the use of digital technology (e.g., automation, mobility), innovation, and creative thinking methodologies like Design Thinking
- Update, partner or infuse Six Sigma/Lean efforts with more creative thinking: updating methodologies to integrate intelligent automation and innovation together with operational excellence
- Invest in IP/Tools/platforms: developing technologies that target a particular solution area, and/or partnering with third party software and IT vendors to source a capability that is increasingly multi-tenant in its design and approach
- Bring practices and ideas from one industry into another: investigating howto re-use, inspire, or cross-pollinate, for example, from retail into health care; or bringing different skills sets/expertise from one industry into another, even inviting clients together in overlapping or complementary areas
- Make an effort to redefine engagement from "directive": transitioning from “taking orders” to collaborating by aligning focus on business outcomes and brokering / architecting solutions across organizations
If a service provider can show us that these are areas of investment and focus in their strategy and operations, then we at HfS feel comfortable that they are redefining, shaping, and fulfilling the new “Tier 1 of BPO As-a-Service providers.”