In the digital age, many traditional offline services we once relied on have been completely revolutionised by technology and platform capabilities, such as shopping, ride-hailing, and ordering takeout.
Today, when we place a takeout order through a delivery app, we follow a series of steps:
- Selecting a restaurant and dishes
- Placing the order
- Making the payment
- The restaurant accepting the order
- Assigning a delivery person
- The delivery person accepting the task
- The restaurant preparing the meal
- The delivery person arriving at the restaurant to pick up the meal
- Delivery, and finally,
- Receiving the meal.
Throughout this process, aside from the automated backend system working behind the scenes, multiple parties must collaborate seamlessly to complete the service.
This multi-party coordination, all within minutes, gives us confidence as users—even when simultaneously placing multiple orders for ourselves and others. This is largely due to our ability to monitor each step of the order process in real time, including tracking the delivery person’s movements. The transparency of the entire order flow ensures that every detail is under our control.
Reflecting on the pre-delivery app era when we ordered food by phone. If the delivery took more than 15 minutes, we would start to feel anxious because everything in between was a “black box” of information to us.
The Complexity of Global HR Expansion Services
For businesses expanding internationally, some service scenarios are far more complex and time-consuming than the takeout process. Take the human resources global expansion services provided by BIPO as an example, which include EOR (Employer of Record), GPO (Global Payroll Outsourcing), and Contractor Services.
Before the advent of platform systems, the complexity of managing global operations was primarily driven by factors such as time zone differences, multilingual communication, regional work style variations, and diverse legal and regulatory frameworks. These factors presented numerous challenges to international business operations.
Pain Point 1: Message and Context Confusion
Imagine John, an HR professional responsible for global human resources. In a single day, he might need to handle Tom’s visa application in the United States, Jerry’s offboarding in the United Kingdom, and Kun’s contract renewal in Thailand, along with the affairs of dozens of other overseas employees.
Typically, companies delegate these tasks to EOR service providers scattered across the globe. Managing communications across different time zones and platforms and dealing with various messages and emails can be overwhelming for John.
For instance, using traditional email communication, if the service providers consistently reply within an email thread, John can refer to the email history to understand the context. However, if one party initiates a new email thread to inform John about an issue regarding employee David that requires his confirmation, John might not quickly recall that David is the employee who has been in the process of renewing his visa in Mexico for the past month.
Pain Point 2: Progress “Black Box”
At this juncture, if John’s supervisor suddenly inquires, “How’s Lucas’ business processing progressing?” John might even forget which specific task Lucas is undergoing. Finally, in an email recollection, John remembers that Lucas’ salary adjustment request has been forwarded to the vendor, prompting him to send another email to inquire about the progress. Unfortunately, he has to wait at least 6 hours until the service provider in that time zone starts working and provides a response.
For several employees undergoing new business processes, their status remains a “black box” for the enterprise. In the realm
Pain Point 3: Handover Challenges
As businesses rapidly expand, different individuals take on various tasks. Handing over previous business information becomes challenging. Within the extensive text communications, document transfers, and email exchanges, many detailed pieces of information are concealed.
Newcomers in the company find it difficult to glean assistance from past experiences, and sometimes, they merely back up previous data into a folder that remains unopened. This incurs substantial communication costs for new team members and diminishes the efficiency gains that should accompany team expansion.
Just as businesses face these challenges, service providers also encounter similar issues. Delivering sustainable, context-rich services fosters a more user-friendly and trustworthy long-term partnership experience for business clients.
Pain Point 4: Untimely Reminders and Missed Deadlines
The progression of certain business operations relies on each time-sensitive milestone being met promptly. For instance, in GPO services, different countries and regions entail distinct steps or processes, such as
- Employee changes, attendance information, confirmation of variable pay items
- Payroll tax calculation
- G2N Report confirmation
- Payday disbursement
- Confirmation of related reports, and so forth.
Any delay in these steps can trigger subsequent process delays. If critical milestones are affected, such as delayed salary payments to employees, it can lead to an unfavourable experience.
We require a system that provides comprehensive reminders, independent of our own work habits, such as calendar creation. Moreover, it should allow us to be informed at any time about what each person should be doing each day and whether they have completed their tasks.
Pain Point 5: Data Silos and Compliance Risks
In today’s digital era, enterprises are confronted with the dual challenges of data silos and compliance risks. Despite investing in various management systems, many companies find their data trapped in silos, making it difficult to achieve interoperability when interfacing with global Employer of Record (EOR), Global Payroll Outsourcing (GPO), and other service providers worldwide.
Especially concerning is the heightened risk of data compliance when sensitive information like personal data and payroll is communicated offline. Traditional modes of communication carry the peril of information leaks and inadequate security, making data breaches and compliance issues all the more pronounced.
To address this challenge, businesses need to seek secure and efficient digital solutions to ensure data security and compliance while facilitating the smooth operation of global business endeavours.
How BIPO’s “Total Solution” Addresses the Pain Points of Global Expansion
In practice, there are many similar challenges. BIPO, with years of experience in serving global businesses, understands the pain points of enterprise clients and is well-versed in process standards. To address these issues, BIPO has introduced the Total Solution, which includes Butter (Online Service Platform) + HRMS (Human Resource Management System) + Athena (BI Data Analysis Platform). This comprehensive, one-stop solution allows clients to manage complex global operations as easily as ordering takeout.
2.1 Order System and Global Business Status Tracking
On the Butter platform, all global business operations can be submitted to BIPO in an “order” format, allowing you to choose the services you require. The corresponding BIPO service personnel, known as Service Delivery (SD), will accept the order and begin providing the service.
The relationship between the client and BIPO is akin to that between a customer and a restaurant. Clients place orders and participate in necessary information confirmation steps, while the specific business processes are fully managed by BIPO SD. However, the entire process remains transparent to the client. Even for lengthy processes such as visa applications, the service status is entirely within the client’s control.
Let’s take the example of onboarding an employee, Tom, in the United States through EOR services. After HR John places the order, both he and the BIPO SD can view the order and track the service progress at any time. For instance, if it’s time for Tom to sign his contract, Tom will receive an email prompting him to complete the electronic contract signature.
Once the contract is signed, the process moves to the next major step, where the BIPO SD begins processing the Work Visa.
At the same time, both HR John and his supervisor can monitor the current service process status of every employee worldwide at any given moment. This significantly reduces inefficient cross-time-zone communication regarding service progress.
For managers, the uniformity of data and progress visualisation will greatly assist in business tracking and insights.
2.2 Record and Communication Based on Each Order
During the operation of each order, Butter records the information generated at each task node. Simultaneously, a significant amount of communication occurs throughout the process. In each order, Butter also provides a chat room feature, enabling one-on-one or group discussions on current issues.
As the team expands and certain tasks need to be handed over to others, all communication content will be passed along with the handover. Even before going on vacation and in the middle of orders, handing it over to someone else does not raise concerns about the recipient’s inability to understand the context.
2.3 Calendar, Reminders, and To-Do Lists
In GPO, EOR, or Contractor services, payroll calculation and salary disbursement typically occur on a relatively stable and periodic basis. This can be monthly, weekly, bi-weekly, or semi-monthly etc.
To manage these predictable cycles, Butter provides a calendar feature. Both clients and BIPO SD can see, in advance, which actions need to be taken on specific days throughout the year. These schedules are adjusted according to the time zones of the individuals involved and local public holidays.
Email reminders are also an essential part of the process. We configure the frequency and timing of reminders based on the importance of the tasks. When clients log into the homepage, they see a list of pending tasks that require their confirmation, prioritised by urgency.
Our service personnel also utilise the calendar and reminder features to ensure that services are completed and delivered on time.
2.4 Global Online Management of Employee Lifecycle, Attendance, Leave, Reimbursements, and Payslips
In addition to providing clear service processes on the Butter platform, BIPO enables enterprise HR and employees to manage or view their lifecycle, attendance, leave applications, reimbursements, and payslips through the HRMS. BIPO’s comprehensive human resource management system offers various service modules tailored to clients’ needs in different regions worldwide.
The availability of these data within the system significantly reduces the preparatory work required before payroll calculations. The system collects business data such as attendance records, reimbursement details, and employee movement information, allowing SD or HR to simply aggregate and verify the data to complete payroll preparation.
2.5 Gain Global Insights in One Place
After a period of continuous service, the insights derived from data on overseas employees become highly valuable for managers. These insights include global reports, interactive analyses, business decisions, and other data dashboards, all accessible in one place through Athena.
2.6 System Integration and Data Compliance
In our solution suite, alongside Butter, we offer a comprehensive range of solutions, including Global Human Resources Management Systems (HRMS) and Business Intelligence (BI) data analytics systems like Athena. We not only integrate with mainstream systems such as SAP and Workday to achieve seamless data interoperability but also prioritise ensuring data compliance and security.
To ensure data compliance, we store data on Amazon AWS servers located worldwide, strictly adhering to local regulatory requirements. At essential junctures within the system, we’ve integrated compliance operations such as user authorisation, access control, and data erasure, ensuring that users’ sensitive data receives adequate protection and privacy.
Conclusion
Butter: Online Service Platform
Butter includes features such as order management, service workflows, online communication, payroll calendars, and reminders. It provides clients with a convenient, order-centric online service platform. Since its launch, Butter has served hundreds of clients worldwide and completed nearly ten thousand order processes.
Below is a screenshot of the Butter system (for data privacy, the screenshot is from a test environment):
HRMS: Global Human Resource Management System
HRMS includes features such as personnel management, attendance tracking, leave management, multi-country payroll, and reimbursements.
Athena: BI Data Platform
Athena includes features such as global reports, insights, interactive analyses, and data dashboards for business decision-making.
