Can Outsourcing Improve Employee Satisfaction?

I was recently reading an article in Forbes magazine, entitled “Bored in the Office: Is it the New Productivity Killer,” which underscored the impact of bored and frustrated employees have on the workplace and its productivity.

CNN reported a similar story entitled, “Is Workplace Boredom the New Stress?” and it indicated that there's little correlation between workload and boredom. Paul Spector from the University of South Florida, says "you can be very busy and still be bored. And you could be distressed even though you're not all that busy -- if you just hate what you're doing."

This got me thinking about the stressful, tedious process of rate management , which is a burden freight forwarders and NVOCCs face every day. It is no secret that this antiquated and chaotic system is difficult to navigate, as well as frustrating for those expected to manage it.

Since our inception in 2001, it has been the position Info-X that outsourcing is not about reducing manpower, but rather, about reallocating it. Shifting manpower from boring, frustrating tasks to more challenging, higher-end, core-business functions creates higher employee satisfaction, which, according to Gallop, results in the following:

• 86% higher customer ratings
• 76% more success in lowering turnover 
• 70% higher profitability 
• 78% better safety records

Forbes referenced Richard Chaifetz, a neuropsychologist and the CEO of ComPsych, a provider of employee assistance programs, “When people get bored they become disengaged. The costs can be extreme—lack of productivity, significant errors and catastrophic accidents.

More results from Gallop show that, globally, 25% of employees are actively disengaged, meaning they hate their jobs and go out of their way to disrupt productivity and undermine what their co-workers accomplish. As we all know, this 25% often has a keen ability to poison the rest of the staff.

To keep your workforce satisfied and passionate about their jobs, we at Info-X recommend outsourcing low-satisfaction tasks, thereby freeing up your staff for more gratifying functions.

Our team of 150 industry professionals can seamlessly remove the burden of your carrier contract and rate quote management processes. We have radically changed the way our clients do this piece of business…revenues are increased, quality is enhanced, costs are reduced and the client’s workforce is disencumbered and given the opportunity to become re-engaged.

The benefits of outsourcing are consistent and undeniable. In fact, according to Harvard Business Review, outsourcing is one of the most important management ideas and practices of the past 75 years.

With a proven track record of cost savings and higher productivity, outsourcing was propelled from an insignificant line item to a key business strategy. Studies show 73% of the top 100 companies outsource at least one of their business processes, with anywhere between 10-20% of total budget allocated to outsourcing.

As outsourcing continues to grow, so does Info-X . We outgrew our space and needed to expand to accommodate this growth.

Our $5 million headquarter expansion was recently announced to the press. It has been a work in progress for many years but we are excited to share the news of where we are at today. Our investments to the facility resulted in the addition of a training station, upgraded security systems, and technology improvements such as increased bandwidth and back-up systems. The upgrades and expansions stem from the growth of Info-X Software Technology . Business is booming and we see the trend in our back-office support thriving.

From this Economic Times article, Pradeep Mishra, country general manager of the Indian arm of Inchcape Shipping Service (ISS), recognized the outsourcing trend: “Today, outsourcing is becoming an increasingly essential tool in the shipping industry - a trend more pronounced in the recent aftermath of the global financial crisis - with leading companies driving hard for greater efficiencies and reduced costs whilst maintaining service and performance levels.”

Plunkett Research compiled research on the Outsourcing & Offshoring Industry Market and in 2014, outsourcing will be an approximately $507 global industry.

We want to help your company focus on your core business while Info-X handles everything in between. Documentation, tracking, auditing, bill of lading entry… the most time consuming and tedious parts of the business can all be performed by Info-X .

Our company continues to grow and our back-office support is only a piece of our recent developments. We know our back-office support can help many companies be more efficient and effective...perhaps it is right for you. Support is defined as something that keeps you from weakening or failing and we believe our services can do that for you.