Business services are the activities that support an organization’s core business activities. They can include everything from administrative work such as human resources and accounting, to infrastructure maintenance such as information technology and facility management. These are typically outsourced from the company’s internal staff to external service providers. This helps to free up employees’ time to focus on value-added tasks. It also allows businesses to save money on overhead costs and scale up or down as needed, making it a good choice for companies with seasonal output fluctuations.
In addition, service providers often have specialized expertise and experience that would be difficult for internal teams to replicate. By leveraging business services, companies can improve overall efficiency and boost productivity across their entire organization.
The business services industry is one of the largest sectors in the European economy and contributes 11% of EU GDP. However, it has yet to achieve its full potential due to continuing challenges like low productivity and persistent legal barriers in cross-border trade. The EU’s recent policy actions such as the Services DirectiveEN*** and its internal market roadmaps are aimed at eliminating these obstacles and stimulating competitiveness.
A few examples of business services are interpreting and translation, customer relationship management, human resource management, tech support, and insurance. These enable organizations to meet their business objectives, including attracting and retaining talent, increasing productivity, improving communication, and creating an attractive workplace environment. Moreover, they help companies minimize the risk of financial loss by providing insurance for employee injuries and damage to property.