Payroll & Employer
BPO Services Singapore
Outsourced business processes beyond HR - receptionist, admin, document, switchboard, payroll
Recurring back-office work, staffed by people we hire and employ ourselves. Reception and front of house, office administration, switchboard, document handling and data entry, and the HR and payroll cycle. HR is one of the functions rather than the boundary of the service. Minimum term is twelve months against a refundable one-month deposit, delivered through nine locally-incorporated entities.
24+ years
of Singapore HR group heritage
Since 2010
Singapore BPO practice - UEN 201009036N
9 entities
across 5 SEA markets
5 currencies
SGD · MYR · THB · VND · IDR
How it works
1
Scope
We start by writing down what is actually being handed over and to what standard. That usually spans the payroll and benefits cycle, employee records and leave, joiner and leaver workflows, office administration, reception cover, document handling and data entry, statutory filings, HRIS administration, and whatever else has been quietly absorbed by someone who was hired to do something else. Current state, gaps and target service levels are agreed before any contract is issued.
2
Onboard
Employee master data is migrated, workflows are configured function by function, and the connections to your HRIS or finance system are built and tested. Approval matrices and escalation routes get documented rather than assumed. Before anything goes live we run one full cycle in parallel with your existing process, normally a month, and reconcile the two. Cutover happens after that reconciliation, not before it.
3
Run
Each month the in-scope functions run: payroll in SGD with CPF, SDL and the self-help group contributions remitted at official rates, benefits processed, leave balances kept current, joiners and leavers handled to your policies. Variances are flagged for your review before any disbursement goes out, not explained afterwards. A KPI dashboard follows each cycle.
4
Improve
Every quarter we sit down over the numbers that matter: accuracy, on-time delivery, cost per transaction and how often exceptions arise. That is also where scope changes get made, whether adding a function, dropping one, or moving headcount up or down as the organisation changes shape.
BPO Services Singapore - backed by 24+ years of group heritage
Outsourcing a business process is more than handing over a task list. It's trusting a partner with part of the operational backbone of your organisation. People Profilers has operated as a Singapore-headquartered group for 24+ years, and our BPO practice runs through People Profilers (Services) Pte. Ltd. - incorporated in 2010 specifically to provide manpower contracting, payroll, and outsourced business services. We operate nine legal entities across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. That depth means accurate payroll with CPF, SDL, SHG, FWL, and IR8A handling on the Singapore side; correct country-equivalent statutory administration in MY, TH, VN, and ID; reliable office administration, receptionist coverage, document admin, and other recurring processes delivered to documented service levels; and an operating model built by people who understand each jurisdiction, not a generic platform applying templates. Payroll and HR operations are our deepest expertise; we've also delivered functions like front-of-house reception coverage as a managed service - multiple staff covering the seat, documented SOPs, attrition managed by us, SLAs in writing, rather than supplying a single named hire.
What's included in our BPO service
You choose which processes leave your building and what standard they are held to. The engagement runs on three layers: the functions themselves delivered against documented service levels, the statutory and compliance work that has to close each cycle correctly, and a review rhythm that keeps the arrangement matched to how your organisation actually changes. Fees are confirmed in the engagement letter before anything begins.
Function coverage - pick your scope
- ✓Payroll, benefits, leave, employee data, onboarding
- ✓Office admin, receptionist, switchboard, mailroom
- ✓Document admin, data entry, expense processing
- ✓HRIS, statutory and compliance reporting
Statutory + compliance handled
- ✓CPF, SDL, SHG, FWL for Singapore employees
- ✓IR8A annual returns and IR21 tax clearance
- ✓Country-equivalent contributions in MY / TH / VN / ID
- ✓Calculated at official rates - no markup, no margin
Service levels + reporting
- ✓Documented SLAs per in-scope function
- ✓Monthly KPI dashboard + variance reporting
- ✓Quarterly service reviews + continuous improvement
- ✓Audit-ready records archived for statutory retention
Engagement letters spell out every fee in writing before onboarding. Engagements have a 12-month minimum term with one month's fees held as a refundable security deposit. The staff delivering your outsourced function are People Profilers employees - hired, managed, and retained by us, so the operational and employment risk sits with us, not you. BPO is function-level outsourcing delivered to SLAs; if you need named individuals integrated into your existing team rather than a function transferred to ours, see our Remote Talent Solutions service.
When BPO makes sense
BPO fits employers who want to consolidate multiple HR and admin functions under one operations partner rather than managing piecemeal vendors. Three patterns we see most often across the Singapore and SEA markets.
Foreign HQ, no SEA back-office
Overseas HQs with growing SEA workforces or new SEA offices who need entire operational functions delivered in Singapore (and other SEA markets) - HR operations, payroll, office administration, reception coverage, without standing up an in-region team to run them. BPO becomes your back-office function on the ground, delivered to SLAs.
Lean team, overloaded with admin
Singapore employers where senior staff are firefighting transactional work - payroll, leave, expense processing, reception, document admin, onboarding - at the expense of strategic priorities. Consolidate the operational load to BPO; reclaim the senior bandwidth.
M&A, restructuring, or scale-up
Organisations going through M&A integration, regional restructuring, or rapid scale where in-house infrastructure can't keep up with the operational demands across HR, admin, and back-office. BPO holds the line on accuracy and compliance during the transition.
The staff delivering your outsourced function are People Profilers employees - hired and managed by us, with attrition and operational risk on our side, not yours. Your employees in functions you keep in-house remain unaffected. If you only need payroll administration - and want your team to stay your employees - see our narrower-scope Payroll Outsourcing service. If you've identified a specific individual you want to hire and want PP to be their employer (typically for market expansion without a local entity), see our Employer of Record service.
Scope
Outsourced business processes beyond HR - receptionist, admin, document, switchboard, payroll
Receptionist, office admin, switchboard, document admin and HR-payroll all in scope · Current state, gaps and target service levels mapped before any contract is issued
Industries & Functions We Cover
Back-office work is not generic once you look at it closely. A shipping agent's document flow, a clinic group's rostering, and a fund's reporting calendar each impose a different rhythm on the people doing the administration. 24+ years of hiring into Singapore employers across these sectors is what lets us staff an engagement with people who recognise the work rather than learn it from your team.
Aerospace & Aviation
Licensed aircraft engineers, avionics and component specialists, MRO planners and supply chain roles across Seletar Aerospace Park and Changi.
Automotive
Regional sales and aftersales leadership, parts and distribution specialists, and EV and mobility roles for distributors running Asia from here.
Banking & Financial Services
Relationship managers, compliance and AML officers, risk and quantitative analysts and operations specialists across MAS-regulated banks, asset managers and family offices.
Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical
Regulatory affairs, QA and validation, bioprocess specialists and market access roles across the Tuas Biomedical Park cluster.
Chemical
Process, plant and reliability engineers, HSE officers and technical sales across the Jurong Island petrochemical complex.
Construction & Civil Engineering
Project and site managers, structural and M&E engineers, quantity surveyors and safety officers on BCA-regulated projects.
FMCG & Retail
Regional brand and category managers, trade marketing, e-commerce and retail operations for companies running Asia from Singapore.
Healthcare
Clinical operations, nursing leadership, regulatory and medical affairs across the public clusters, private groups and device companies.
IT & Telecommunication
Software engineers, cloud and DevOps, product managers, cyber security and data specialists across one-north, Changi Business Park and the CBD.
Logistics & Transportation
Freight forwarding, customs and trade compliance, warehouse and supply chain planning roles around PSA, Changi Airfreight and Tuas Port.
Marine & Offshore Engineering
Naval architects, marine and subsea engineers, project managers and yard operations roles across the Tuas and Benoi yards.
Media & Publishing
Regional account management, content and performance marketing, design and communications roles for agencies and platforms based here.
Oil & Gas
Trading and commercial analysts, process and project engineers, HSE and terminal operations roles across the energy majors and traders.
Real Estate & Property
Investment and asset managers, leasing and property managers, facilities leads and development roles for REITs and developers.
Semiconductor
Process, equipment, test and yield engineers, packaging specialists and fab operations roles across Woodlands, Tampines and Pasir Ris.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between BPO and Payroll Outsourcing?
Payroll outsourcing is one process. We calculate the payroll, remit CPF, SDL and the self-help group contributions, produce IR8A at year end and handle IR21 when a foreign employee leaves. Your own people still do everything else.
BPO is a wider handover. Payroll can sit inside it, but so can reception, office administration, document handling, employee records, and the joiner and leaver workflows. The unit of work is a set of processes, not a single cycle.
There is also a staffing difference. Under BPO we hire and employ the people delivering the work, which is why the twelve-month minimum term exists. Payroll outsourcing has no such requirement.
If what you want is an accurate payroll each month, take the narrower service. If what you want is to stop running a back office, this is the one.
Who is the legal employer when I engage People Profilers BPO?
For the people delivering your outsourced processes, People Profilers is the legal employer. They are on our payroll, we handle their CPF and statutory obligations, and we carry the employment risk.
Your own employees are unaffected. Their employment relationship with you does not change because their payroll or records are now administered by us.
This is the line that separates BPO from an employer of record arrangement, where the people being employed are ones you selected to work in your own business. Here the staff are ours, delivering a service you have specified.
How is BPO different from Remote Talent Solutions (RTS)?
Remote Talent Solutions puts named individuals into your team. They work to your managers, on your systems, on your priorities, and you direct them day to day. We employ them and handle the compliance.
BPO buys an outcome instead of a person. You specify the process and the service level; how it is staffed and resourced is our problem. If someone is unavailable, the work still closes on time.
The practical question is whether you want to manage the work or receive it. Teams that want an extra pair of hands they can direct choose remote talent. Teams that want to stop thinking about a function choose BPO.
Both run through the same nine entities across the region, so the compliance position is the same either way.
How does the engagement and pricing work?
Twelve-month minimum term, with a refundable deposit equal to one month of the service fee held for the duration.
Pricing follows the scope. What drives it is how many functions are in scope, the transaction volumes behind them, the service levels you need, and how many markets are involved.
The engagement letter carries the fee schedule, the service levels and what sits inside and outside scope, agreed before transition work starts. Adding or removing a function later is a documented variation rather than a renegotiation.
How do you handle data security and employee privacy?
Employee data sits inside access-controlled systems, with permissions scoped to the people actually delivering your engagement rather than granted across the operation.
Handling follows the Personal Data Protection Act here in Singapore, and the equivalent regime in each other market where an engagement spans the region. Retention periods, access rights and breach procedures are documented in the engagement letter rather than left to policy.
On exit your data comes back to you in an agreed format and our copies are disposed of on a documented schedule. That schedule is written down at the start of the engagement, not negotiated at the end of it.
What does the transition look like if we move from in-house operations or multiple vendors?
Most transitions are not from nothing. They are from a payroll vendor here, a records system there, and an office manager who has quietly absorbed four unrelated functions.
So the first step is mapping what exists, including the undocumented parts, because those are what break during a cutover. Data migration and workflow configuration follow, then a full cycle run in parallel with whatever is running today.
Only after that parallel cycle reconciles do we cut over. Where multiple vendors are being consolidated we usually sequence it, taking on the highest-volume process first and folding the rest in over the following cycles rather than moving everything on one date.
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