Month: May 2015

Some argue that IT outsourcing is more of a need, while others contradict and says that it’s a luxury rather than a necessity. In any way you look at it, to outsource is simply a method that many businesses use for various purposes such as cost cutting and time saving, while others benefit from the hassle-free recruitment of new employees, upgrading of technology, and the opportunity to expand their brand wider and farther.

If your business is already outsourcing or it’s still planning to outsource IT services, what is your main purpose? Does it line with your company’s goal? Whatever the reasons are or how many answers you can think of, it all comes down to one ultimate goal, which is to GROW your business by utilizing all business methods and avenues available within reach.

So if you think about it again, is IT outsourcing a necessity? If growing your business is more of a necessity than a need, then it is more certainly not a luxury.

What Does IT Outsourcing Really Offer?

IT outsourcing also has an impact on consumers, not just entrepreneurs. For example, many IT companies today are outsourcing some parts of their devices and then build everything in-house, rather than make all the parts themselves. If they do create everything in-house, the materials will more expensive, more machines will be needed and more employees will be required. The end product will then be too expensive for an average earning person to purchase.

Aside from cost cutting and time saving, to outsource IT services brings new opportunities and build new ways for all types of business, big and small, to grow and expand to uncharted territories.

• Business innovation is possible through outsourcing. It provides new methods, ideas and revision of the entrepreneur’s original goal, both for the client and the service provider, for the betterment of the company.
• Even with just a small budget, start up businesses can enjoy some of the benefits of a business tycoon.
• You will never be outdated with technologies.
• Office expansion and manpower costs less, even lesser for tasks that do not really require physical presence of employees.
• With outsourcing, finding skilled professionals is no longer limited to just your local area. You can find a handful of IT experts from different outsourcing destinations.
• An outsourced employee can demonstrate more skills and knowledge to handle two or more tasks that you usually assign to two or three local employees.

To outsource IT services does not mean that your business is earning very well that you’ve decided to outsource just for the fun of it, or your bottom line is too damaged that you need to cut costs on most of your company’s functions. It is a necessity for many, but not all, businesses.

Being a data entry specialist is not easy, though many people think so. Encoding massive amounts of data in mostly short periods of time is not an easy task. Accuracy needs to be at 99.9% from start to finish.

Businesses today run on data, mountains of it, and will continue to run on more data as it grows. That’s where data entry is necessary and crucial because it involves a business’ bottom line.

There are many ways accuracy in encoding data can be improved, here some tips and tricks that can help you become a better data entry specialist.

Practice Makes Perfect!

Although nobody in this world is perfect, practicing gets us closer to perfection and that’s what important in data entry. There are free typing tests available online where you can test your speed and accuracy, you can practice there all day if you want. But if that bores you, there are also speed typing games you can download on your smart phone or tablet.

Avoiding Transcription & Transposition Errors

Data entry specialists type fast and faster when they’re in the mood, and when speed reaches its critical point they hit the wrong keys. Some encoders notice their typing mistake while others do not, this leads to transcription or transposition error.

Transcription errors happens you input wrong data. It can be due to tiredness or dizziness that’s why it’s very important that you take breaks after typing for too long. Some transcription errors also come from optical character recognition (OCR) programs. It’s when a PDF file or any paper document is scanned and converted into an editable DOC format. It will be wise to have a copy of the actual PDF file or scanned paper document to double check your work for errors.

On the other hand, transposition errors occur when you mistakenly switch characters’ places. For instance, you are typing ‘children’ but mistakenly switched two characters and ended up with ‘chlidren’. Transposition errors commonly occur when you’re typing numbers, ‘54312’ can easily end up as ‘54321’ if you’re not paying enough attention.

Although it may be easy to check for spelling errors and duplicate words, it’s incredibly hard when double checking for numbers. To avoid making transcription and transposition errors, do not rush. You may be required to type fast, but not rushed. Find a comfortable speed and continue working on it.

Advanced Software Features

Have you tried the automated error reports? It’s a data entry feature that checks for errors in numbers you’ve typed. For example, on your five digit fields, one has an extra number on it, the automated error reports sees this and will alert you. There are other useful advanced features on your data entry software, make the most out of it!

Manage Your Workload

Taking a break from typing is a good way to relax your muscles for a while, but taking too much of it will eat time. You will then rush to finish your workload as scheduled, which could lead to multiple errors. Data entry specialists must also have good time management skills in order to be efficient.

There will also be times that you think you’ve work too fast that you’ve finished all your workload and then ask for more from your boss. This can be a great way to make an impression in the office or sink your ship to the deepest darkest abyss. Adding more to your workload can make you too tired to type, thus leading to errors. Make sure you have enough energy before asking for more.

Review Your Own Work

Take time to review and proofread your own work, this is one of the key aspects of accuracy in data entry. Schedule a review every hour or two, or whenever is most comfortable with you, just don’t forget to do it. A coworker might be able to see some errors you didn’t notice, so don’t be shy to ask for their help.

Always remember, in data entry a keen attention to details is very important not just the speed. A single key stroke can lead to multiple errors and loss of profit for the company.

Not very often, but certainly one of the reasons some end users look out for before purchasing a product is the help desk support. And if it is not taken care of properly, it can also be one of the reasons for the decline of brand patrons and fans. When that happens, more expenses are made in order to recover loss trust and the process of strengthening that trust.

As an entrepreneur, there are simple ways you can do to help improve your tech support help desk without having to burn your profit to the ground.

Live Support

It does not always need to be a 24/7 live support, although it can be a good impression for the end users. Your live tech support help desk agents can be assigned to be active only during peak times, the times when more calls are expected to come in. When peak time is over, you can revert back to your basic tech support system or automated ticketing system if you have the software. It is also important that end users are well informed about your live support schedules to avoid misunderstanding and irate calls about it in the future. This technique is good for start up businesses and companies that struggle populating their bottom line.

Determining Priorities & Allocating

End user issues ranges from simple tech misuse to more advance IT problems that requires more attention of your most skilled help desk agent. When using a customer support software system, your agents should be knowledgeable enough to determine which are top priorities, depending on the severity of the issue, so it can be handled properly. Likewise when determining which should be prioritized; online tickets, phone calls or walk-ins.

Allocating tickets with severe tech issues is also important. Why let a junior help desk agent take an hour or two to resolve an advance tech problem when a senior agent can tackle it in only a few minutes?

Eliminate Minor Software Setting Issues

Make sure you double check your software settings to eliminate minor issues with automated email replies, setting and distribution of tickets and organization of reports. You wouldn’t want your help desk agent spend hours untangling software issues when he could have spend helping customers.

Prepare Training Modules

Some help desk agents learn on their own by reading or by asking a senior for help. This is okay, but it would be better if all of your tech support agents are a hundred percent ready to solve problems rather than have them research it first and then go back to the customer. Preparing a training module would be perfect, even if it is just a one page call guide for basic to advance tech issues.

Utilize Social Media

End users love it when you make it easier for them to reach you. Customers would want to purchase from brands that actually has active tech support, live and online preferably because most people now a days are always online whether they’re on their computer, laptop or mobile phone.