Strategic Outsourcing in the New Age
Article by Mr. Sandalis Ioannis, Economist, Payroll Consultant
The article was published in the third issue of STIGMA magazine entitled “Digital Age. The Dawn of a New Type of Business and Employees”
In 2020, the entire planet received the biggest pandemic of the century, the COVID-19 virus. The catastrophe was, and is, massive, both in the economy and in the moral, spiritual and psychological condition of the people and nations. Globally, people are constantly getting sick when the virus is transmitted, but also many of our fellow human beings have lost and are losing their lives.
The public and private sectors were dominated by Internet communications and teleconferencing. People constantly lose the lifelong communication, which triumphantly follows the distance, with the result that interpersonal and interactive communication is severely damaged and emotional intelligence becomes difficult to reach people. Employees face communication issues, while passions, interests, malice, fear, lack of empathy and awareness have replaced cooperation, cohesion, understanding, responsibility and altruism. Many employers were forced to close their businesses as they could not maintain them, while restaurants and tourism fell to low economic levels.
Those companies that were not forced to suspend their operations were faced with the challenge of remote work and the forced adaptation of their operations to the new data. Although teleworking is not something new in the business sector, however, for the first time this work regime is being implemented en masse on a global scale and in fact, in such a short period of time. However, in order for a company to enjoy the benefits of teleworking, of course, in addition to providing its staff with the necessary digital tools, it must also cultivate in its employees the appropriate culture, based mainly on mutual trust, transparency. and self-assessment. An important part of remote work is also to provide appropriate guidance to staff, not only to ensure the smooth running of the company, but also to communicate between its employees. Frequent information of the team working remotely about the various tasks that everyone is required to perform on a daily and weekly basis, as well as personal evaluation of their performance, play an important role in the effective performance of distance work. Undoubtedly, remote work requires structural and functional changes and is a bet for any company that implements it. However, this unprecedented experience will surely prove valuable for the future of the company. As it seems so far, this is not just a method of job isolation in the midst of a pandemic, but the future of work. It should therefore be understood by both employers and employees that distance work does not necessarily mean a weakening of the employment relationship.
The health crisis has not only affected the remote work system. There are changes in working time limits, redundancies, the employer's managerial rights, overtime, leave clearance and many more aspects of the employment relationship. Changes, which while initially considered extraordinary and temporary, will eventually affect for a long time the labor market, the economy, society and ultimately our daily lives. Some of the key changes in employment relationships due to the coronavirus crisis are:
Suspensions of employment contracts
It provides for the suspension of employment contracts of employees in private sector companies, whose operation has been suspended by order of a public authority or whose financial data has been significantly affected.
Hours - Organization of working time
A recent Government Gazette stipulates that the working hours of employees in companies in the private sector of the Attica Region, must be adjusted at the beginning and end, so that every half hour and within two hours employees arrive and leave in relation to the beginning and the end respectively of their schedule. In the same article of the law, it is stated that a remote work supply system is mandatory, in which cases the work can be provided with this system, at a rate of 40% of the total number of these employees. The specific legislative provision may concern the companies of the Attica Region, but its validity can be extended to other areas of the Territory, where the positive cases of the virus will be increased.
Overtime
As long as there is an immediate risk of COVID-19 coronavirus occurring and spreading and until 31/12/2020, as amended, companies that have exceeded their employees' overtime ceilings may employ them overtime without a relevant approval decision. Minister of Labor. Without the relevant approval, the way is wide open for adapting the working time to the needs of the employee and the company. The employer and employee will be given the opportunity to agree on the "coverage" of exceeding the working time of one day, with a corresponding reduction to another day, break, additional leave, etc., at the request of the employee or employer that the contractor can only refuse for serious reason.
Transfer of an employee to another company of the group
The employer, whose business activity is significantly affected or whose business activity is prohibited by state order, may transfer staff, from one group company, to another company of the same group, upon agreement between them. That is, the employer unilaterally decides on the transfer of the employee and the mentioned agreement concerns the agreement between the companies of the group, for the upcoming transfer.
Redundancies
Businesses that have suspended their operation by state order and their suspension continues, are prohibited from making redundancies as long as they remain closed. Re-operating companies ordered by a public authority, if they do not make use of the extension of contract suspension, may lay off their staff immediately after their re-opening. However, if they extend the suspension of part of their staff, they are prohibited from making redundancies for as long as the suspension of the contracts lasts.
Employees belonging to vulnerable groups
Support measures and special working conditions for private sector workers belonging to vulnerable groups who are considered high-risk individuals are provided and the procedure for implementing these protection measures is described.
Special Purpose License
With relevant circulars of the Ministry. Work instructions are provided for the granting of the special purpose permit, in case of suspension of operation of school units or child care units, as well as parts of them due to the occurrence of a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19 coronavirus.
Co-operation mechanism
Employers may unilaterally reduce the weekly working time of full-time employees to fifty percent (50%), either for part or for all their employees, depending on their operational needs. The reduction of the weekly working time does not lead to a conversion of the employment contract and the employees are paid financial state aid for short-term work, which amounts to 60% of their net salary corresponding to the time during which they are not working.
These upheavals of labor relations, have tried and continue to try, the reflexes of both the Public Authorities that were called to immediately institute the changes, as well as the companies, which must show high readiness to make decisions and implement their modified business planning.
A prerequisite for being able to make these important decisions that divert the initial planning from all its stages, is the staffing of the departments of a company with specialized executives, who have the ability to process, analyze, interpret and apply new data, under incredible time pressure. The reality is that, apart from business professionals, only multinationals and very large companies are staffed in all their departments, with a sufficient number of executives, able to meet the new challenges of employment relationships. This is, after all, the reason why most companies choose the process of outsourcing part or all of their activities (outsourcing), expecting the immediacy of information, business flexibility and quality improvement of the efficiency of their work. In this way, companies on the one hand focus on their core business and on the other hand add value to their operation.
Outsourcing companies have professionals of many different specialties, with high standards of scientific training, specialization in work objects and project teams coordinated in such a way that they can meet any need that arises in the company, no matter how specialized it is. In these project teams, access to information, its sharing and dissemination of knowledge is done in such a way that not only the need of the company is immediately covered, but also the correct perceptions for future business moves are formed. Due to their high specialization, these executives have a high degree of knowledge of the institutional framework and are constantly updated with new laws and trends, which ensure compliance with current legislation and avoid mistakes and irregularities. But beyond their staffing, outsourcing companies have invested in advanced information systems, so that the information they draw is transformed into more efficient and effective management tools. Perhaps the biggest advantage of working with an outsourcing company is the objectivity in making the decisions that will be proposed to the company, as there is the relative "distance" from the internal daily work environment, which is a guarantee for the observance of procedures and the control of functions.
The benefits of outsourcing come to the fore in the time of the pandemic, where suspensions, special purpose permits, rent reductions, special purpose reimbursements, repayable advance plans and many other obligations require cooperation. And continuous monitoring, between consultants from different departments. As for the inclusion of a company in government subsidy programs, there the cooperation with an outsourcing company is one way. The complexity of both the expression of interest of participation, as well as the submissions with the continuous audits, makes the process of participation in an uninitiated prohibitive. This, after all, is the main reason why these programs remain unexploited by companies, despite the high percentages of grants they provide.
The specialized knowledge and extensive experience of an external consultant proves to be extremely useful for companies, in almost all areas. The radical change of the wider environment and consequently of the business environment, leads to a new operating model, with risk reduction, innovation, process optimization, introduction of new technologies, better information for the Management and finally significant cost savings. The outsourcing service providers are transformed from simple partners, into strategic advisors and the modern trend that imposes the connection of the service is confirmed, by making decisions, the strategic planning with the creation of value. The services they offer are no longer consumed, in the collection and registration of information, but are involved in its source, in its channel, if it is accurate and then in what form it ends up in the Administration and if it works supportively in decision making, but also in general in strategic planning.
