Outsourcing mailing can ease the burden for remote workers

Wednesday, Jul 8th 2020
parcels transported through a conveyor belt

As large numbers of employees made the switch to working from home, they will have adapted to some unfamiliar ways of working. A range of challenges will have arisen from not going into the office, including how to prepare the mail and get it sent out.

Printing documents, stuffing envelopes, adding addresses and postage and taking mail to the Post Office is a time-consuming activity at any time. It can be a drain on resources. What’s more, the whole process is thrown into jeopardy when staff aren’t on-site to manage the activity.

A range of communication types

Neither is it only printed mail that needs managing. There are also email communications. To ensure customers receive their documents in the way they prefer – in print or digitally - checks have to be carried out each time.

Getting mail out is a multi-stage process and, as a non-core business activity, it takes staff away from other activities that may provide service to customers or help build the business.

To be more efficient, mailings are often managed in batches, so invoices and quotes may be grouped together to go out at the same time. This minimises trips to the Post Office but it can mean customers are billed later than is necessary, or that they wait some time for a quote. In both cases, this can put a delay on money coming into the business.

Issue mailings in a few clicks

Outsourcing mailings frees up staff time. What’s more, it enables the activity of getting the mail out to be managed from wherever staff are, including at home.

It works through a web-based portal. Authorised users create the messages and documents in the usual way and upload them. They select how mailings should be sent - such as by mail or email - and a production facility takes care of the rest: printing documents, inserting them into envelopes, adding postage and posting. They also issue emails and all documents are archived for easy retrieval.

It’s an approach that Frederick County Public Schools in Virginia took to ensure that students received schoolwork despite schools being closed, so that no student was left behind.

Many organisations routinely outsource non-core business activities but often still manage outgoing mail themselves. Outsourcing this activity can save time, help maintain business continuity when staff are away from the office and improve productivity by freeing up employees to focus on other tasks.

Find out more about outsourcing mail