Business services are a group of support functions that are designed to help companies operate efficiently and effectively. These include human resources, finance and accounting, information technology, and supply chain management services. These services are often consolidated by business units to achieve cost savings and improved service delivery. In addition, they can help a company save time and effort, increase productivity, and stay competitive in the marketplace.
Business services can be categorized into two categories: a product-based model and a service-based model. A product-based business model focuses on producing goods and services with high market value, and constantly improving those products with more features. The products are sold to customers for a profit. The product-based model requires a large amount of start-up capital. A service-based business on the other hand, requires a lesser amount of starting capital. A service-based business provides its clients with its expertise and experience. The service-based business is an excellent choice for a small business that does not want to invest a lot of money up front.
Some examples of a business service would be insurance services that cater to businesses, such as workers compensation or general liability. Other examples would be catering or event services that are marketed to businesses, such as an industry conference. Another example is a firm that offers design services to its business clients, such as a graphic or media design firm. Other examples of business services could be distribution or production related, such as a warehousing service or a manufacturer that produces small runs of a product for testing purposes. Finally, utilities such as a solar panel installer that charges its business clients based on their power consumption could also be considered business services.
The qualifications to work in the field of business services vary depending on the specific industry. For positions such as shipping, janitorial, and waste management, the minimum requirement is typically a high school diploma and strong work ethic. A more professional role such as software engineer or IT technician may require a bachelor’s degree in the relevant discipline. Additionally, customer service-related jobs require a strong customer service background.
New York State’s Business Services Center (BSC) was established to increase efficiencies and lower costs by standardizing transactional human resource and finance processes that are common across agencies. The BSC is supported by a team of employees who are focused on providing quality service to New York’s state government. This team includes a team for administrative services, a team for data and analytics, and a team for customer support. The administrative services team manages the onboarding and training of new BSC staff, and is the primary link between BSC and customer agencies through liaisons. The data and analytics team ensures that the BSC is working towards metric-based performance goals, and the customer support team assists agency employees with financial and HR inquiries.