Following the ruckus brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, economies are currently troubled by a number of issues, such as skyrocketing prices, weakening demand, and increasing unemployment rates. These problems pose a great threat to corporate profitability, especially to small businesses struggling to overcome the financial effects of a global health crisis.

With economies continuously slowing down, experts are predicting that a global recession is underway. A recession is a substantial, persistent, and widespread decline in economic activity. During a period of recession, economic output, consumer spending, and employment all drop. Consequently, businesses—both large and small—face declines in their sales and profits. It could also result in mass layoffs that leave numerous workers without jobs.

However, there are some effective ways to weather the impacts of a global economic downturn. One of them is engaging outsourced HR services. Essentially, outsourcing enables companies to concentrate on scaling their businesses and ensures that experts manage non-critical functions so that they can dedicate their time and energy to the core functions of their organisations.

To better understand how HR outsourcing firms in Singapore can assist businesses during a period of economic decline, read on as this article enumerates the major benefits of HR outsourcing in a global recession. 

1. Great Flexibility in Resourcing

Businesses must have options in order to stay afloat and competitive during a recession without exhausting their resources. Through HR outsourcing services, companies can easily determine and manage their resources as needed, thereby enabling them to operate continuously without having to worry about additional workload.

2. Effective Cost Reduction 

Outsourcing provides companies with the leverage to minimise costs for tasks or projects that only require a couple of experts rather than an entire team. For instance, most HR outsourcing firms offer different levels of support—whether it is a project-based team or an extension—depending on the business needs of their clients. Project-based services are part-time arrangements carrying out particular tasks or working on completing one project only. On the contrary, an extension team involves full-time personnel who work exclusively on the needs of a business.

By only engaging the scale of services that are necessary in business, a company will only be spending on what it needs to, thereby facilitating cost efficiency. These lower costs enable the company to maximise its in-house staff by having them focus on more strategic duties while its outsourcing partner assists in the execution. Moreover, by having the employees work only on those tasks that are essential to the business rather than flooding their to-do list, a company can boost their morale and productivity.

3. Optimal Efficiency

During a recession, it is common for businesses to lay off workers to save money. Often, this results in burdening the remaining—including the leaders—with more responsibilities. This can then lead to burnout and frequent errors creeping into their output, thereby adding costs and undermining the initial advantage of staff reduction. Companies can avoid these adverse effects on business productivity by outsourcing.

When a company relies on the talent pool of an outsourcer, it can protect itself from the harmful side effects of layoffs and guarantee that the work quality of its employees remains at its peak using internal standards and best practices. Usually, outsourcing firms monitor certain metrics, such as quality assurance, turnaround time, and productivity, which help them ensure that they provide consistent, excellent work that meets their clients’ timelines and expectations.

Conclusion

Many businesses, especially the small ones, hesitate to start outsourcing when the economy declines. They think that outsourcing will only give them more expenses to deal with. In truth, outsourcing can benefit businesses, especially in times of recession. By outsourcing some of its work during an economic downturn, a company can ultimately save money and dedicate more time to its core functions, such as enhancing the systems and processes within its business and building customer relations and sales.

Looking for a reliable HR firm in Singapore from which you can outsource some essential payroll and HR services? At Enable Consulting, we take pride in having a team of seasoned and skilled HR consultants who can assist your business in carrying out necessary HR tasks and enable you to save money along the way. With certified consultants in our rank, we can help your company overcome any HR issue it may be facing, especially in times of economic hardship.

Feel free to contact us if you wish to learn more about our high-quality services, or book an appointment so that we can discuss your needs.