Month: January 2015

In any way you look at it, help desk is a big help to a company. It generally takes calls, emails and even tickets filed online by customers with concerns and employees seeking technical assistance. Outsourcing your help desk can provide multiple advantages for your business but it can also gain a negative impact on your bottom line if not done properly.

In order to gain success from outsourcing your help desk, you should have a solid plan and the right service provider. If you are still wondering what‘s in it for you, here are five (5) major advantages you can reap from outsourcing your help desk.

#1: Operational and Financial Leverage

Financially, outsourcing costs less than housing a help desk team, especially if your business requires a large number of service desk agents working 24/7.

By outsourcing your help desk, you generally get:

• Recruitment assistance – No more need to go through all the tiring process of recruiting more heads because your service provider will be responsible for that. All that’s left for you to do is to hand pick the staff you want to hire from a list of qualified candidates.
• HR assistance – Employee benefits, payroll and taxes are handled by the service provider. There is no need for you to worry about them anymore.
• Opportunity to expand and expand more – You will no longer need to add more office space and equipments to house your newly hired help desk agents, and you will never have to worry about additional software licenses and basic office supplies.
• Access to latest technologies – Outsourcing companies are always up-to-date with the latest technologies and gadgets to run a smooth call center.

#2: Flexible Solutions Based on Your Needs

Since outsourcing companies today have become more competitive, some have created flexible and customized solutions to accommodate any type of businesses in need. So for companies with complex employment or project requirements for help desk agents, you are sure to find a service provider that will take on your challenge without having to spend a fortune.

#3: Free Supervisor or Manager

Before, you will need to hire a supervisor or manager to monitor your outsourced employees, but not anymore today. Most outsourcing companies already have a supervisor or manager assigned to monitor your help desk agents, whether you hire just one staff or a team.

You will be having an additional pair of eyes and ears to monitor the performances and punctuality of your leased employees. Plus, some work issues can be resolved by the supervisor or manager before it even arrives at your doorstep.

#4: Continuous Upgrade

There will be times that your outsourced help desk agents will need trainings in order to learn new software and online applications. With an outsourcing company, your leased employees will always be updated; all you have to do is give your permission so they can attend the free trainings and seminars.

#5: Technical and Industry Expertise

When you look for an outsourcing company, it is best if you choose the service provider that specializes in your industry because they are the experts when it comes to handling various call issues, hardware and software upgrades, and they are always up-to-date with the latest technologies that can enhance your help desk. They provide an edge over other outsourcing companies that are not in your industry, a great benefit for you!

Over-all, help desk can either be outsourced or not depending on the needs of your business. If you do decide to partner with an outsourcing company to help you, you better be prepared because no successful business has made it to the top without taking risks and sacrifices. There will always be a con whenever there is a pro, the key is to overcome the con with strategic and intelligent planning.

Support staffs are very important little cogs that help run your business smoothly, it maybe just a small part for some companies but the level of importance is the same for all. Support staff varies by industry and company, it is routine and can be very tedious.

Let us elaborate the importance of support staff in your business.

Virtual Assistant (VA)

The masters of multitasking and flexibility, virtual assistants or VA staffs are very good in learning new things in order to make their work easier and faster. They are cunning when it comes to clerical tasks and are highly organized. But did you know that VAs can do a lot more than what you think they can? Teach them a bit about Photoshop and they’ll watermark, crop, and enhance your photos for you, have them read the basics of SEO and you’ll have a VA that can do basic link building. It’s all up to you on what you want to assign to your VA!

So what makes a virtual assistant support staff a very important part of your business? There are five (5) major roles you can assign to your VA staff; a general VA for secretarial tasks, SEO/internet marketer VA for various online tasks, writer/blogger VA, a video Editor VA and a sales rep VA. Virtual assistants are versatile so you can have them do multiple tasks from various departments.

Quality Assurance (QA) Staff

The guy that always checks for quality, always monitoring and looks out for signs of issues and improvements, is the quality assurance or QA staff. A QA staff can be assigned to any department and can do several functions for consistent and quality deliverables.

So what makes a quality assurance support staff a very important part of your business? QA staffs does not only make sure that the process in your business are running smoothly, they can also identify potential problems before it occurs, formulate a solution for the betterment of your products and services, and even provide useful information for your marketing team. This support staff is the overall eyes and ears of the management!

Data Entry/Encoding

It is the manual typing of data from various digital, voice and written sources. Data entry specialists or encoders can type faster and more accurate, look for items in the database quicker than everyone else, and process data more effectively than you. They can be assigned as a typist, a word processor or a transcriptionist.

These days, many businesses prefer to outsource data entry services not only to cut down on manpower costs but to gain strategic business advantages.

So what makes a data entry specialist a very important part of your business? Companies today use more data compared to decades ago, and that is because of the evolution of technologies we use now. The manual typing of data into a computer can be very tiring and boring which leads to inaccurate inputs of information. If you want your data to be accurate all the time, you need an expert, a data entry support staff.

Back Office Help Desk

The primary objective of a help desk or service desk staff is to assist and help clients with technical issues regarding the product they purchased or services they bought from the company. Help desk varies widely within companies and can be outsourced too.

Customers will be calling in with their concerns whether you like it or not, and they will call whenever they want. Your help desk should always be ready to answer calls and effectively assist customers with their concerns. If your business can do transactions 24/7, so should your service desk.

So what makes a help desk support staff a very important part of your business? Aside from handling customers, your service desk has all the information that your marketing and sales department can use to create effective advertising to widen your customer network. The information they relay can also help you improve and make better products and services for your customers’ satisfaction. What business doesn’t want a repeat buyer?

Staff leasing and offshore outsourcing has become a trend these days not only because it reduces manpower costs, but because many businesses today are finding these methods to be very helpful in increasing their bottom line, improve online presence and widen customer network.

If your business is suffering from some operational issues from your service provider, or if you are a first timer who is seriously considering staff leasing or offshore outsourcing, here are three (3) great ways on how you can improve your relationship with the service provider and get all the juicy benefits that comes along with it.

Specify the Level of Supervision and Build a Rapport with the Supervisor

Field supervisors or managers from staff leasing firms are properly trained to oversee your leased employees, not only to micromanage their performance and punctuality but as well as personal issues that may arise during working hours. You can set the level of supervision you want for your leased staff and even specific requests like having your staff come to work at least ten minutes early so you chat with them or to conduct a short Skype meeting.

If you want a more efficient field supervisor, build a rapport with him. A good relationship brings great rewards, especially to businesses. You might even be surprised that some operational issues, including highly technical ones, have already been resolved before it even reaches your attention.

Specify Insurance Coverage and Other Employee Benefits

Not all service providers handle employee insurance and benefits, so never assume and always ask for the coverage.

To stay competitive, staff leasing firms including both local and offshore outsourcing companies, have packaged basic employee benefits such as overtime pay, medical reimbursements, paid vacation and sick leaves. Some even allow the usage of vacation leaves for religious Holidays and emergencies. With flexible a solution like this, you can specify what type of leaves can be used to what type of situations.

Here are some benefits that the staff leasing firm can provide for your leased employee but not required for you to pay:

• Full medical plan
•  Retirement (pension) plan
• Life insurance
•  Recruitment (joining) bonus
• Referral bonus – when you request for additional heads

If you have Doubts, Seek Legal Counsel!

Every company changes their policies from time to time. As the business owner, it is your responsibility to read and learn whatever is written in your service provider’s policy. You also have the right to ask questions and for examples, and you can even request for a written explanation or a short meeting with the CEO if you feel that can help you understand their policies better. After all, you are the customer.

Legal advice is always crucial when it comes to jotting the agreement with the staff leasing firm you chose. You will need to know how much control you have and the level of protection that the agreement can give you when it comes to liability. The more things works in your favor, the better!