While the improvement of customer experience, satisfaction and loyalty is considered essential for business development and growth, gathering regular feedback from customers is not always seen as a priority.  Having over 13 years of experience in providing BPO and consultancy services to over 2000 customers coming from different industries and countries, we understand the importance of keeping up with satisfaction of our customers and its regular measuring. Let us share our experience with countless customer surveys, we have executed so far, to walk you through the most important questions to ask yourself when you are still in doubt about what measuring your customers’ satisfaction means to your business.

5 key reasons why customer satisfaction measuring is essential to your business

Customer satisfaction represents the level of clients’ happiness with various aspects of your services or products. It is measured through well-known customer satisfaction surveys, interviews, focus groups or ratings that are a great source of information about what you do well and what might be the weak points of your service delivery. Moreover, measuring clients’ satisfaction brings several other benefits for your business.

Who should be asked and what is the best timing?

Deciding, who are the customers to include in your satisfaction measurement is an essential part of the process. Not only the client selection plays an important role in the data you may gather but focusing on specific client cohorts yields higher quality and more accurate data.

Surely, one would like to include all clients, however, for larger companies this might represent a substantial investment on the allocation of their resources and subsequent data processing. Therefore, the company might choose to focus on, e.g. percentage of their most profitable clients, specific number of clients per country, client selection per size or industry, or to leave the selection on their key account managers, who work with the clients firsthand.

The frequency and regularity of measurements shall be also well considered to ensure the clients feel listened to yet not overwhelmed with constant enquiring, even well-meant. For the purposes of certification compliance with various quality standards, you may have to measure customer satisfaction annually; however, it is recommended to do it more frequently, while the clients are still engaged and willing to provide good quality feedback, for instance post-purchase, post-implementation of a new service or quarterly. Clients unhappy with your services for a longer time are more likely to reject your approach and not provide any relevant response, or just leave without disclosing the issues to remedy.

How to choose the best method for satisfaction surveys?

Satisfaction can be measured in many ways through qualitative or quantitative methods of data collection. The selection of both or their combination depends on the desired complexity of results and current situation.

• Qualitative approach is best applied when you seek full, meaningful answers in your clients’ own words, while you are also curious about their impressions, view or opinions. These can be probed by creating focus groups or asking open-ended questions in surveys. Open-ended questions cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no” responses and allow the respondents to go in-depth, elaborate on their answers, sometimes even name the issues you might not be aware of or consider asking. Qualitative data are richer; however, they require more time spent on their analysis and proper evidence.
• Quantitative approach yields data that have numerical form and, thus, enable easy tracking of changes over time and benchmarking. This approach is ideal when you need to draw general conclusions and gain structured results. Very common metric is a Net Promoter Score (NPS) that measures how likely your customers are to recommend you to their associates on a scale of 0 to 10. NPS provides information on the overall satisfaction of your customers and thanks to its popularity, you can easily benchmark your score against your competition or market average. Originally, NPS was based on a singular question, “How likely are you to recommend the company to a friend or colleague?”. However, it allows for a broader use and various questions to track scores of everything from individual service deliveries, projects, or even staff members.

There is no question whether to measure customer satisfaction or not, only how to design the best measuring method for the selected audience of clients. The earlier we start, the better point of reference we have for improving our service delivery and become the provider of choice not only for new clients but also for the existing ones.

As the world faced disruptive changes caused by the pandemic, HR roles underwent a transformation too, with some being renamed as “happiness managers” to emphasize the crucial role of ensuring overall employee satisfaction. Over the past years, job positions have evolved significantly, prompting HR managers to find innovative ways to support employee engagement and company culture, whether they are working from the office or home.

Pre-pandemic, companies organized numerous events and activities, such as in-office massages, garden parties, and other special occasions throughout the year. HR managers found themselves assuming the role of internal event managers alongside their bureaucratic responsibilities. While these events are slowly making a comeback, certain company benefits have become permanent fixtures in our lives and are here to stay. Gift cards, salary bonuses for cultural, sport or health-related activities and similar benefits that are not tied to the workspace have gained prominence. This brings many advantages to both HR managers and employees: HR is relieved from the burden of maintaining specific benefits, while employees have the flexibility to choose an option that align with their preferences.

However, these benefits have introduced a new challenge – they can inadvertently decrease employee engagement in the literal workspace. With less face-to-face interaction and reduced time spent together, the problem is further amplified. What can HR managers do to tackle this issue and eliminate its negative impact?

Demonstrating care for employees

According to the Dell Technologies study “Gen Z: Future is Coming”, 38% of Gen Z employees desire to work for organizations that take social and environmental issues seriously. In response, company life and benefits should align with this discovery. Flexible working hours and remote work arrangements, once considered valuable benefits, have become the norm. The new generations, including millennials, place more importance on company culture, values, social responsibility, and effective team management – even when working from home.

When a company emphasizes certain values, it is crucial that the company owner, management, and HR department become role models. For instance, if adhering to a formal dress code at the office is required, team leaders should stick to the same guidelines. Failure to align actions with preached values can lead to reputational damage, for example, during COVID many companies were preaching remote work, yet post-COVID they forced people to return to the offices. People remember such inconsistencies, and they can significantly impact an employer’s reputation for a long time.

Building and promoting company values

To foster voluntary engagement among employees, it is essential to effectively communicate and strengthen company values and initiatives. Simplifying employees’ lives while increasing engagement is the key. This can be done by:

• Using various communication channels: Share news and updates through multiple channels to cater to different employee preferences. Some may prefer receiving information via email, while others might respond better to social media platforms. Traditional methods such as posters and wallpapers can also be effective.
• Embracing digitization: Streamline benefit distribution and event management by moving processes to cloud platforms. Excel spreadsheets have their limitations and can be inefficient. Instead, consider solutions like a cloud-based platform designed to simplify benefit and event management for HR departments. Such software offers features such as available timeslots, options for variable benefits, and administration functions, allowing HR managers to control event categories and generate real-time reports.

Measuring employee satisfaction

Measuring employee satisfaction across various factors such as job position, work tasks, company performance, and values is a crucial aspect of understanding and improving workplace environment. While traditional methods like regular satisfaction questionnaires and interviews have long been used, they primarily provide subjective insights into individual experiences and performance, lacking a comprehensive overview of overall satisfaction.

Fortunately, there are new and innovative approaches available to assess the overall employee satisfaction within an organization. These methods go beyond individual perspectives and provide a more holistic understanding of employee sentiment.

Instead of relying solely on traditional methods, organizations can adopt modern measurement techniques that offer a broader view of employee satisfaction. These approaches aim to capture essential elements such as innovation, trust, identification, satisfaction, and responsibility within the workplace.

By utilizing online platforms and innovative methodologies, organizations can benchmark themselves against industry standards and evaluate their social conditions. These measurement techniques help predict the long-term value, sustainability and social impact of an organization.

Today, the utilization of cloud services has transitioned from being viewed as an advantage to becoming a necessity. There is a significant shift in business processes towards embracing cloud solutions, and predictions indicate that by 2023, the cloud will become a standard tool in most industries and companies.

Various types of cloud services exist, including Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Anything as a Service (XaaS). These services can be categorized as public, private, or hybrid. However, they all share common features such as virtualization, environmental friendliness, and efficiency. Consequently, governments worldwide are actively encouraging it and support companies that decide to migrate their processes to the cloud.

The adoption of cloud services varies based on the size and type of the company. Startups and small companies tend to lean towards public cloud solutions due to their cost-effectiveness and accessibility. On the other hand, corporations often express concerns about data security and possess more complex business processes, necessitating a private cloud or even a customized solution, often built from scratch.

Cloud Computing is a key focus for the EU

Europe supports cloud solutions, as reported by the European Commission, stating that 80% of companies utilizing the cloud have achieved IT cost savings of 10-20%, with half of them reducing costs by up to 30%. As a result, the EU has designed a strategy for “unleashing the potential of cloud computing in Europe” with expectations of a one percent annual increase in the Union’s GDP (equivalent to 160 billion euros) by 2023, leading to the creation of approximately 2.5 million new jobs.

Cloud Computing as a sustainable partner for the future

Governments support cloud services also for their environmental benefits. By adopting cloud services, companies can transition towards paperless offices, resulting in significant reductions in hardware and software costs, along with reduced energy consumption.

An analysis of American, French, and British companies that migrated their processes to the cloud reveals a remarkable achievement of cutting their emissions by half. The cloud has even started to permeate peripheral industries and economically less developed countries. In recent years, predictions indicated that by 2023, companies would cease to worry about data security in the cloud, as there is no evidence to suggest that data stored in the cloud is more vulnerable than physically stored data.

And indeed, the predictions were accurate. In 2017, the primary focus was on replacing Excel in companies and continuously addressing concerns about the security of data stored in the cloud. Today, most clients have experience with cloud solutions and are seeking even better options, with security-related inquiries being rare and, if they occur, just a formality in the selection process.

Compliance with EU Legislation

While cloud computing may initially appear as a sector lacking regulations, legislation exists, especially within the European Union, to govern this sector. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), for instance, establishes stringent rules for data protection that companies must adhere to when transitioning to cloud services. This regulation mandates companies to ensure the confidentiality and security of their customers’ data.

For businesses operating within the EU, it is crucial to comprehend and comply with these rules to avoid potential penalties. Therefore, businesses should seek cloud services that comply with GDPR and other relevant EU regulations.

Cloud computing stands as one of the most significant technological trends of the 21st century, offering numerous opportunities for businesses of all sizes. Regardless of whether you’re a startup searching for a cost-effective and adaptable solution or a big corporation requiring a secure and resilient option, there is a suitable cloud service available to meet your requirements. As government backing and the proven advantages in terms of economy and environment continue to grow, it’s just a matter of when cloud computing becomes an essential component in every business operation.

Embracing the power of cloud computing can be a game-changer and we’re here to make this journey easy and seamless for you. Cloud computing offers a wide range of benefits, including scalability, const-efficiency and increased flexibility.

For example, managing finances is a critical aspect of any business and our Accounting Online Portal simplifies the process. By taking advantage of our cloud solution for accounting you would be able to digitalize your accounting documents and workflows, manage your purchase invoices more effectively, track the financial status of your company in real-time and connect the portal directly to your accounting software.

Another portal that deserves attention is our Payroll and HR Online Portal that helps to take the stress out of handling payroll and HR agenda by allowing employees and HR teams to manage numerous tasks on their own.

Tracking employee’s attendance, leaves and schedules can be a challenge. However, with our Time & Attendance Online Portal you can streamline these tasks effortlessly. Our cloud solution is fully compliant with local legislation requirements related to time worked, overtime, vacation, paid leave or GDPR.

At Accace, we offer a comprehensive range of online portals through which you can revolutionize your business operations and unlock new levels of efficiency and productivity.

Small companies play a major role in national economy and their constant growth should be a top priority for governments. Furthermore, it is important for them to receive support from both the state and entrepreneurs providing services and products from various industries.

However, small businesses typically have limited capital they can allocate to business solutions. This area often receives the least financial support, so internal operations tend to be carried out through the dedication and versatility of their employees, as the majority of capital goes to products and their manufacturing, followed by sales and marketing, leaving little to none for modernising the company’s internal processes.

Even though this is understandable, the impact that internal processes have on employees is tremendous. If the business puts the people first, it must also put effort to improve and digitalise the operations as soon as possible. So, what can be done to accomplish this?

Using modern solutions to digitalize internal processes for small businesses

In addition to salary, job satisfaction and a pleasant work environment, it is essential to include up-to-date internal processes and equipment for employee care. Just like supplying employees with antique phones and computers would be inappropriate, it would be impractical to make them to work with (and in) outdated systems.

Using modern software to provide e.g., payslips in a paperless way, as well as WhatsApp group chats or Trello for communication, can help make teamwork easier. At least, this should involve digitalisation of the HR agenda using time and attendance software. All of these forms of technology are practically free to use.

Easy time and attendance management

Do you have a small number of employees that require you to track their attendance according to regulations, but your HR manager is too busy with other responsibilities to do it manually? Is there a need for a fast and affordable time and attendance software to make this process easier?

Using regular Excel will not guarantee compliance with any relevant legislation and regulations, nor will it provide email notifications, copying of vacations and absences into work calendars, GDPR conditions for personal absences, error elimination within records, or language and legislative modifications for foreign employees. Furthermore, Excel does not contribute to the prevention of fines from the Labour Inspectorate for incorrect attendance. In addition, if an employee opts for bonuses, a time and attendance software would be necessary. It can provide additional features such as issuing payslips, internal directives and documents, exchanging salary documents with payroll providers, meal allowance calculations, and more.

The attendance software will easily cover your needs, moreover, it can also export data to payroll software. It is a solution that will serve as an excellent basis for the expansion of your company, and there is no need to replace it once the company grows bigger.

Is there a free time & attendance software?

Of course, for example Excel is free. However, an attendance software that is tailored exactly to the needs of attendance records, and which is able to take account of legislative constraints, send notifications, provides a user-friendly interface and is available even for mobile devices, is not free. Since someone needs to administer and regularly update it, the costs are reflected in the price for the customer. The prices for this service start on a base of euros per employee and per month. This way, the amount saved from having to hire an additional HR person to take care of these tasks manually is incomparable.

Are you interested in an easily accessible time and attendance system? Get in touch with us and ask for a demo of our own time and attendance portal solution, to see what it can do for your business.

The events of the past years caused a widespread disruption that has been tremendously testing the ability of most organizations to turn their on-premise based functions to remote work – in a matter of weeks or days.  In the face of emerging business challenges, it turned obvious that the key to survival (or even to recovery and getting back to new normal) is agility and the flexibility to make changes as they are needed. This applies to all functions of the company – including the back office.

The inevitable change of mind

The back office plays a vital role in every company no matter the dimensions or type of business.  Organizations that have already started their digital transformation – by digitalization, automation and transferring their back office processes to online – were able to respond to the challenges that have arisen more effectively. Companies where the back office is still based on paperwork, on-site systems and on-premise staff presence, have been struggling in many ways and may have be fighting for survival.

Moving the back office into cloud has quickly become a must-have, making it the agenda number one in many organizations as there is no doubt about the benefits. Companies that have been holding back so far will probably change their minds quite soon, they just need to decide on the proper timing to move forward and embark on their own journey to become digital. There seems to be no way back.

High expectations for the cloud office

The expectations for a cloud-based back office go far beyond securing a remote work. Simplified and streamlined processes, boost of automatization, increase in efficiency and productivity may be just a few of the most important points – together with significant cost savings, as cloud solutions cost less in general.

For the wide range of back office functions, such as finance and accounting, payroll processing and HR administration, T&A management or even managing travel and expenses, the main challenges are connected to effectiveness, accuracy, timeliness and accessibility anytime and anywhere, together with the security maintenance of complex and vulnerable IT systems. In particular, security comes into spotlight when an organization has a robust ERP system integrated with a set of online applications and web-based tools.

Getting started with our portal solutions

In Accace, we have already gone a long way towards our own digital transformation. Combining our background in BPO and the latest cloud-based technologies, we have developed an online platform that integrates accounting, reporting, payroll and HR administration, T&A management and other functions or modules – providing a wide space for process optimization through digitalization, automation and robotic processing.

When using our platforms and integrating them into current system landscapes, there are no boundaries encountered in terms of scalability, agility, multiple deployment options, continual updates and customizations without heavy investments into upgrades of overall systems already in place within the company. Moreover, the integration with existing systems enables an increased reporting reliability and provides an automated reporting function with access to real time data.

The offering of our cloud-based solutions for accounting, payroll and HR is augmented by our full range BPO services, covering IT security management, maintenance and user support. Learn more about our solutions and how you can utilize them to your organization’s benefit.

Take your accounting to the cloud

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Take your payroll, HR and T&A to the cloud

See what the portal offers

Lift and shift transition – smooth and quick

he platform is designed in a way that enables the uplift of certain processes and back office functions from the current systems that run in the company and moving them to the cloud-based environment. The deployment of the cloud portal for selected functional capabilities does not necessarily involve a disruption or complex changes of existing processes and IT systems – and thus, it does not intricate IT risks. The platform can be utilized for any company, as it is highly customizable. In most cases the transition can happen just within a few weeks or months – unlike the projects of total on-premise ERP transformation that could take even years.

In the competitive job market, it’s important to make sure that you are presenting yourself in the best possible way during the job interview process. On the other hand, however nerve-wracking job interviews can be, with the right preparation and approach you can increase your chances of success. Our HR Manager, Kristína Jánošová, has shared tips that will help you ace your next interview. Whether you’re interested in a position at Accace or elsewhere, these tips can help you stand out in the crowd.

Review your CV before responding to a job offer

Ensure your CV always contains relevant and truthful information before responding to a job offer. The recruiter’s first impression of you is based on your CV, so pay more attention to details. If you claim attention to detail as your strength, but have grammatical errors or typos in your CV, it sends the opposite message. In addition, make sure that your CV is clear and easy to overview, which is more important than using a unique template.

Research the company in advance

Even if the recruiter provides information about the company during the interview, it is a big advantage if you come prepared. This demonstrates that you are genuinely interested in the position and the company. You can find information on the company website or explore social media. During the interview, discuss what you like best about the company and ask specific questions related to what you are interested in.

Be prepared to talk about yourself

Before the recruiter asks specific questions about the information contained in the CV, they typically give you the opportunity to introduce yourself. Get ready for this part in advance. Read through your resume one more time before the interview to emphasize relevant work experience and avoid mentioning details of your background that are irrelevant to the position you are applying for.

Honesty is a key

Tell the truth not only about your experiences but also about your expectations. Lying undetected may guarantee you a job, but it may be discovered later. Discuss what’s significant to you, what kind of people you prefer to work with and your company culture preferences. Based on this information, the recruiter will be able to determine if the company is the right fit for you.

Ask questions

Don’t hesitate to ask questions. The interview is an opportunity to get to know each other. Not only does the company choose you, but you also choose where you want to work. We recommend preparing the questions that you would like to ask beforehand. They might not come to your mind during the interview.

Be yourself

Job interviews are often stressful for many people. Don’t let it negatively impact your well-being. It’s just an interview after all. If it helps, take a walk or do anything to calm yourself before the interview. Stay true to yourself and believe in your abilities.

By following these tips, you can increase your chances of impressing any HR department – such as our very own at Accace. Check out our open positions if you are ready to test these tips.

The process of transferring rights for a real estate between two or more parties is referred to as real estate transaction. Due to the industry’s complexity and unpredictability, all real estate transactions should be supervised by an experienced tax and legal team. Besides due diligence and pre-transaction analysis, we are ready to deal with construction litigations and out of court negotiations as well as represent you before state authorities.

Our 2023 guidelines for real estate transactions in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine should provide you an overview of contractual documentation, payment, taxation and related legislation in the field of real estates.

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With all the events that have taken place over the past years, not only our physical health may have has suffered, but also our mental health. Starting with the transition from working in an office to working at home, the inability to see close friends, or even go outside – we continue to bear the consequences of these events, and this affects both our daily lives and our work.

According to many experts, it is very significant to support not only physical but also mental health. Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) states that the latest official data shows that in the years 2019 and 2020, 32.5 million working days were lost due to work-related ill health, of which nearly 18 million were due to stress, anxiety, and depression. Our reactions to stress, level of efficiency, and productivity at work can be tracked by the state of our well-being. On one hand, when well-being is reached, we feel a sense of accomplishment, solve problems faster, cope with problems more easily, set goals and achieve them. And on the other, when we achieve burnout or have psychological problems, it affects our quality of life and, in particular, our ability to work. Thus, the efficiency of work can decrease and in doing so, it can affect the company’s performance. So, a new and important stage in the development of caring for its people in the corporate sector is the awareness not only for the sake of benefits but also a comprehensive approach to caring for the employees’ well-being.

Luckily, caring for mental health in an organization is becoming the new standard for work life. The days when overwork, no personal life and labour exploitation were accepted as ‘normal’ are long gone, as these directly account for a degradation of employee well-being and companies are now prioritising a much healthier balance. In this article, we have gathered information on how this transforms the whole business beyond the obvious.

Higher performance levels

When a company cares about the well-being of its employees, they feel more connected, their physical health improves, and therefore their well-being improves. This also includes employee recognition and feedback on work performed. One of Harvard’s research projects suggests that an increase in well-being gives, on average, an increase in productivity of about 10%. Another study from Oxford showed that happy workers are 13% more effective. These aspects contribute to a higher level of employee engagement; therefore, the work will be done more efficiently. And ultimately, it increases the results and profitability of the company.

Client contentment

Companies that pay attention to employee well-being achieve better results, increase customer loyalty and are more likely to achieve repurchases of their services. Personal problems affect the way we communicate with others, so if this can be a reason for an employee to mishandle a customer, it very much interferes with the customer experience.

Researchers at Harvard have concluded that customer satisfaction and loyalty are a direct result of employee satisfaction and employee productivity. They came up with the so-called ‘service-profit chain’ where it is shown that profit and growth are stimulated primarily by customer loyalty which can be obtained from customer satisfaction. Satisfaction depends on the value and quality of the services the company provides, and the value is created by satisfied, loyal, and productive employees.

Improved employer branding and low staff turnover

When a company cares about the well-being of its employees, respects, and maintains a work-life balance, and broadcasts it in the marketplace, there is a better chance of attracting qualified candidates and retaining current employees for a longer term.

Cost-effectiveness

A 2021 study by the Center for Mental Health UK found that mental health problems at work cost the UK economy GBP 34.9 billion last year – that means GBP 1,300 per worker. The studies from the same organizations show that GBP 10.6 billion was lost due to sickness absence and GBP 21.2 billion because of reduced productivity at work. Therefore, ensuring the welfare of employees will help companies reduce the revenue loss and the personal expenses of employees, who are absent due to well-being-related issues.

How Accace aces with employee well-being

At Accace, we believe that a healthy company culture brings success to businesses and society. Looking at companies through relationships and culture provides incentives to develop not only humanly, but also economically. We truly believe that people are the foundation of everything. In establishments that also hold these values, every idea is welcomed, and mistakes are perceived as a basis for growth, thus making every employee feel needed and valued.

Over the past years we have developed multiple projects, tools and products that help not only our clients’, but also our very own employees. With these innovations our ultimate goal is to contribute to a better work-life balance and maximize the quality of working place and conditions we provide.

Accace For People

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In today’s ever-changing economic environment, it is even more important to choose solutions that go beyond the fee-for-service delivery model. When the meaning of stability and cost-effective options changes like the English weather, businesses should look for support with a proactive, strategic potential. That’s where the managed service provider ticks all the checkboxes.

The MSP, in short, focuses on deeply understanding what the client needs and how their processes work. Then they proactively propose, implement and maintain the most effective solutions, with responsibility, accountability and a personal attitude. It differs from outsourcing exactly because of this proactive approach – but in our previous article, we have already covered the differences between a managed service vs outsourcing. This time let’s focus on the key advantages of MSP.

1. Centralised account management

Managed service providers offer a single point of contact (or SPOC, in short) to handle the communication between the client and the service providers, regardless of the number of involved countries or projects. The SPOC can be either a person or a department that simplifies the process of handling requests, helps sorting out priorities, provides consolidated answers to complex issues with unified outputs, ensures communication consistency, the proper flow of information and, most importantly, removes the uncertainty of whom to contact with certain requests.

The SPOC is also responsible for maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction and knows the client’s business inside out to propose the most effective solutions, so that the client can fully shift their focus on core business and growing operations.

2. Unified processes

Imagine having offices in 10 locations. All of them have individual outsourcing vendors with 10 different approaches to problem solving, reporting and back-office solutions. The difference in outputs and processes causes a lot of headaches, resources and slowdowns, not to mention the risks and issues that may emerge. Now, imagine that someone consolidates all those aspects for you. A good MSP makes sure that the services provided are unified and all processes are streamlined under one account management and shared communication platform – across multiple jurisdictions.

With unified processes, administration becomes a lot easier. For instance, when it comes to contractual or billing documentation, a proper coordination from the managed service provider allows businesses to easily track their international outsourced operations. This unity plays a crucial role also in internal reporting, where data needs to be aligned for effective decision-making.

3. Simplified global expansion with full compliance

The best MSPs have global coverage that ensures a seamless expansion of client businesses to any location in the world. These international connections with local vendors ensure the best local knowledge and expertise available while maintaining the unified processes, allowing for a seamless scalability of projects.

Managed service providers also take full accountability for being compliant not only with high-quality requirements and stringent business standards no matter the location, but also for being compliant with the ever-changing local legislation. This compliance includes active monitoring of the latest statutory obligations and amendments, their implementation and alignment of solutions for the most effective outcome. All while fully matching the client’s requirements and needs.

4. Business continuity, no matter what

Every company needs a business continuity plan with a proper strategy to rapidly respond to any major disruption. The managed service provider can build a resilient internal infrastructure that maintains or quickly restores the business functions, and ensures proper back-up of staff under all circumstances, with support provided across multiple time zones – if required.

In addition, the MSP regularly measures and analyses various risk factors and develops solutions for different situations, out of precaution. These measures ensure business continuity in case of unpredictable or never-before seen scenarios. The related processes are often audited and certified by internationally recognised institutions for quality and security management, such as ISO and ISAE.

5. Access to cutting-edge technology

In today’s world, where new technological solutions emerge in a blink of an eye, keeping up with the trends and improvements is inevitable to stay competitive. But continuous innovations, developments and implementations done in-house are unaffordable to most businesses. Hence, this is another area the managed service provider can elegantly cover. Proper MSPs have access to the latest, cutting-edge technology or have their own solution developed, with 100% reliability and flexibility in terms of client-specific customizations. With a singular interface, strict security requirements, fast implementation and necessary automations, managed services can elevate the overall processes of clients at a brink of the costs.

No matter whether advisory, payroll, accounting or other back-office services are in question, managed service providers can accelerate the adoption of IT solutions or applications even when the client does not have properly trained staff to use or implement them. In those cases, the MSP can bridge the talent gap and take responsibility for the missing resources or provide trainings as needed.

6. Cost-effective solutions

Considering all the benefits mentioned above, it comes as no surprise that managed services are a lot more cost-effective than running everything in-house. By taking off so much of the burden, businesses that hire managed service providers can save financial resources in multiple areas, such as:

7. Strategic vision far ahead

Last but not least, managed service providers are able to take a broader, more predictive vision of client operations and look further ahead with a strategic mindset. This allows MSPs’ to map out the business development of clients with the best and most effective solutions, advise on decision-making and achieve important milestones on the journey to success.

Wish to learn more about the benefits of managed services or got a specific question? Get in touch with us to discuss anything you need. Our team has rich experience with delivering services through a managed service model, covering almost 40 jurisdictions with over 2,000 professionals globally.

Running a business is demanding but scaling it to a global level or simply just increasing its dimension brings a completely new set of challenges. On one side, company owners must ensure that the business activity runs smoothly, clients are satisfied, and the revenues grow. On the other hand, being fully compliant with the legislation – even throughout multiple jurisdictions – and maintaining a cost-effective, flawless back office is another issue to tackle. But how does one secure the perfect balance without getting overwhelmed and spending too many resources?

Outsourcing: the best match to keep your business on track

The first solution most companies are familiar with is outsourcing. To put it simply, it allows to delegate the planned or ongoing business activities to another organisation. Think payroll outsourcing: you hire a company to process, calculate and distribute your employee payslips based on the local legislation, with all the reporting, tracking and additional work included. Although most companies can perform it in-house, hiring a third party significantly lowers the costs for labour, technology, licences and reduces the administrative burden, risk of non-compliance or privacy breach.

In general, outsourcing is based on a fee-for-service model where the service provider performs specifically defined processes and activities based on assignments rather than a wide range of strategies with a big portion of proactivity. It still brings unreplaceable benefits to any business, and in fact, in most cases it is just what a company needs. But when you run a global organisation or need more foresight, you may need a little something extra. That’s when the managed service model steps in.

Managed service provider: a proactive partner with strategic potential

The managed service model is a proactive approach to service delivery that focuses on deeply understanding the needs and processes of the client. The managed service provider (or MSP in short) works towards uncovering the gaps of effectiveness, suggests improvements on specific processes or replaces them with innovative solutions and finds ways to reduce costs, while maintaining the same level of quality. All the while customer satisfaction is set as top priority.

The MSP is more like a partner to the company rather than a third-party vendor solving just strictly specified areas. The main advantage of a managed service, whether it’s payroll, accounting, advisory or else, is that it approaches the issues of clients with a very personal attitude, in combination with other benefits. To name a few, the most common are centralised account management, access to the latest technology and a strategic approach to the client’s needs. The best managed service providers have global reach that ensures a seamless expansion of client businesses to any locations across the globe, while maintaining a single point of contact (or SPOC, in short) yet ensuring the best local expertise available. To find out more about the benefits of managed services, visit our dedicated article.

Choosing between outsourcing and managed services

You may ask, what is better for your business: outsourcing the core functions of your back office and other areas or hiring a managed service provider. After all, both options are cost-effective, offer the best expertise, technology, innovation and reduce a great number of risks. But to make a choice, it is important to revisit the key difference: outsourcing is reactive, while MSP is proactive. For every establishment, a different approach is suitable.

If you wish to unburden your company from administrative work and shift the responsibility so that you can focus on the core business, then outsourcing is the right match for you. This can work for both small and medium-sized enterprises or big, international corporations.

However, if you have complex needs, ambitions for global expansion or wish for a strategic steering wheel, a managed service provider is what you are looking for. The foresight and accountability for your success and effective operation is what makes managed services unique. The fact that a SPOC can cover and manage multiple vendors for you, no matter the location, makes running an international business or complex projects a piece of cake.

In Accace, we have vast experience with the two approaches on both local and global level. Our team is ready to discuss with you what could be the best choice for your business based on your needs, and how we can help with getting your payroll, HR administration and accounting to the next level, or find the best solutions for you with our team of tax, legal and corporate advisors.