PEO Services, An Efficient Way Of Doing Business

BPOs and COVID-19; Keeping Business as Usual in Pandemic

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As of this writing, many areas in the Philippines will be under five months of quarantine. Quarantine protocols may be different here than in other countries, but the purpose is the same – to minimize public mobility, in effort to slow down and stop the spread of COVID-19.

Quarantine affected all the industries, and businesses are faced with sudden challenges. COVID-19 is spread in close contact, which makes group and mass gatherings unsafe and impractical. Among those affected are BPO companies, with workspace in offices that require employees sitting next and across each other.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology issued guidelines for the Business Process Outsourcing sector: how to respond to the urgent situation and still maintain business operations.

Adapting to Change

Work-from-Home (Telework) setups were arranged, so employees can continue working out of office. Equipment and connectivity were setup at homes, since the implementation of the Enhanced Community Quarantine prohibited all public transport. Private transport was regulated and monitored.

Skeletal workforce were allowed to operate as needed in essential establishments, and including BPO offices. Employees who reported to work were required to follow safety protocols like social distancing, basic sanitation and hygiene, and the wearing of personal protection equipment like facemasks and face shields.

Offices were routinely sanitized, all employees required to provide proper identification. Personnel were also monitored for symptoms indicative of COVID-19, guidelines were set to ensure the health and safety of every employee.

Quarantine levels have changed since implementation, and public transport is resumed and restricted accordingly. Many companies maintained Work-from-Home arrangements as status quo, adopting new ways of monitoring and maintaining productivity.

Infrastructural Challenges

One of the challenges faced by BPO companies is the change in workplace infrastructure. Office productivity is manageable when there’s reliable internet service and equipment, maintained by in-house IT. With the work-from-home setup, localized internet and power outages are challenges, but are compensated for with workforce management.

There’s no doubt COVID-19 is a curve ball to the way work is done, in the Philippines and the rest of the world. Companies are forced to adjust and adapt to the changes; sooner or later a vaccine will be developed, but the lesson learned from this should be useful in resolving related problems.

Effective Customer Support System: Proactively Building on What Works

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Is customer support one of your business’s priorities? It’s the front-line response in many industries, but especially in retail, sales, and the service sectors. Successful businesses put a premium on their customers, from start-ups to conglomerates. It’s no surprise, considering the pull social media and feedback platforms have on public perception.

An effective customer support system anticipates concerns and complaints, resolves these, and prevents potential backlash caused by insufficient or inefficient response. In any case, your customer support team should have these key attitudes by default, if you want to maintain positive feedback and reputation:

1. Be Available – is your support team available to respond to customers 24/7, across different time zones? How about on holidays? What’s the current response rate of your customer support teams, across the categories of user concerns (billing, refund, replacement, cancellations)? If you can maintain immediate (lightning-fast) response rates to concerns, your team will likely be on the good side of customers, reassuring even the most irate person you’re on their side. You want the matter resolved as much as they do.

2. Be Proactive – this can save you a lot of potential trouble! Negative feedback can spread like wildfire, especially if the flak comes from an influencer in the community. Evaluate the bulk of concerns handled so far, shortlist the most pressing issues, and anticipate these moving forward. This improves the quality of your resolutions, and may even spare you lawsuits and settlements caused by warranted complaints.

3. Treat All Customers as Priorities – it’s true you’ll eventually see patterns as you resolve customer concerns, but it’s best to think of each complaint and inquiry unique from the rest. You’ll be more attentive to specifics of concerns, when you resolve emails or phone calls like you would if you met customers in person. Custom messages are more personal, even for canned and automated responses. Recipients will also know the difference between lip and excellent service.

4. Build on What Works – if you’ve determined what aspects and processes work, by all means capitalize and build on these, make the process more efficient. It might involve schedules, queuing, quality control, or delegation; you can improve on weak areas once your strengths are defined and developed.

Prevention is better than damage control, but hopefully you won’t have to choose either of these. With an efficient, accurate customer support system, you’ll have fewer doubts of having rogue customers ruining your company’s reputation. In any case, you’ll at least able to fend off complaints with airtight, documented processes and resolutions.

Employee Leasing Services: Billing Enquiry

Employee Leasing Services: Billing Enquiry

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Problems are part of good business. Without issues to resolve, business development plateaus and suffers. Many technical mishaps or delays can’t be solved through simple troubleshooting, however. Sometimes, FAQs can’t fully satisfy or solve the problem. But that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be other ways to get around fixing the problem. Employee leasing services can be delegated essential tasks, especially with regards to important matters like billing statements.

It would only be natural for customers to want to know everything regarding their statements. Explanations are necessary for certain terms and features, the full 411 on the whys and hows. It’s the job of customer services representative teams to pay close attention. Issues are resolved with offer step by step solutions to all inquiries, effectively mitigating customer issues.

Methods of Addressing Billing Enquiries

Through online forms found on the company’s website or a direct call to the CSR team, billing enquiries can be systematically addressed and handled. Each method provides a standard step by step process that would help both parties come to an understanding regarding the problem faced. Employee leasing services help in coordinating work. Possible solutions are narrowed down until the correct solution is found, and the customer’s enquiry has been answered.

Whether it’s to assist with terminating specific subscriptions, an inquiry to upgrade the account, or finding out why there was an added charge for something unsolicited, the CSR team would have the know-how and access to information that would help the customer.

Due Diligence from Employee Leasing Services

Finding the solution and going through the lengths to properly explain to a customer why this problem occurred or what this certain terminology means can take a certain amount of time and effort before the case can be closed. CSR teams should keep in mind that one cannot operate through simple deduction and quick fixes; it’s important that employee leasing services make sure in-process that the customer thoroughly understands the due process and answers in order to make way for a better customer experience.

As with any delivery of customer service, communication and good listening skills are important in order to fully accommodate and provide support for the customer. Customer service is an essential part of good business, especially if it involves products or services. However, costs can be mitigated by outsourcing the process to employee leasing services. You can hire customer service from leased staff, ensuring an efficient, streamlined process.

Delegate Data Management: Hire Companies That Outsource The Process

Delegate Data Management: Hire Companies That Outsource The Process

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Facing problems as a small business is difficult; you can always hire companies that outsource service to ease the process. Understanding the problem well and executing the solution is the key. Yet, there are times when the problem is out of reach, and there’s need for someone knowledgeable to solve it. Data Management is one of those ever-urgent problems that can be resolved with outsourcing.

Data Management is the process of protecting, analyzing, protecting and obtaining data from users, guaranteeing the safety of data for future use. Specialists  handle this task; it’s challenging but manageable. One of the main goals is to use data to detect problems and opportunities, in effort to improve business.

Not all businesses have in-house data scientists solving and managing information. Here are some tips that can help your company face the challenges ahead.

1. Data Collection

In collecting the users’ data, there are some questions you need to ask; what kinds and sources of information are beneficial? More importantly, how do you gather these pieces of information from the viable sources?

Collecting data can be a challenge because it is stored in a database that is out of reach, and obtaining this also requires compliance with standard industry practices. Consider companies that outsource staff to simplify and streamline the process. The use of secured third-party website can be viable because it guarantees the safety of the info.

2. Data Storage

There are dozens of websites that offer cloud services and storage. It is common to use it nowadays, especially for big businesses. The convenience it offers is easy enough, from sharing files to setting accessibility. Google Drive and Dropbox are great examples of cloud storage services. Once registered, you’ll receive a free amount of space, and can buy more if necessary.

Regardless of option you choose, the main goal here is to store the data where you can ensure its safety.

3. Data Usage

Understanding what to collect and how to collect data will help you know when to use it. Keep in mind, though; you need to respect the owner’s data privacy, make sure you always have authorization to use it.

Data management can save your business time and money; it’s an essential aspect of routine operations. If you’ve considered you can benefit from outside help, you can always hire companies that outsource the process to specialists. Problem solved.

Four Staple Solutions In Offshore Sourcing

Four Staple Solutions In Offshore Sourcing

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It’s no secret that offshore sourcing is fast becoming the new trend in business development. There’s an increasing number of outsourcing companies, offering various staff leasing services to businesses. Big and small outfits, more entrepreneurs are deciding to adopt into this new platform. Outsourcing has proven essential in a technology-driven, technology-dependent business world.

To give further tips for businesses wishing to jump on the bandwagon, here are some of the most common outsourcing services you can avail:

Customer Support

Customer support is probably the most common outsourced service in the industry as of now. The rise of call centers has continued over the years and is still growing ever so rapidly. Countries like America, Canada, and the UK have been partnering with offshore sourcing companies all over the world. This growth boosts economies and creates countless jobs.

Computer Programming

Standard computer programming is also one good example of outsourced service, where a company depends on the skills and creativity of leased employees to monitor the company’s database and other related projects. Outsourcing a computer programmer is definitely much less expensive than hiring an in-house employee, in which case the company needs to expand its offices and delegate other resources.

Data Entry, Writing, & SEO

Data entry, writing, and SEO are preferable jobs for offshore sourcing. These jobs can be done without requiring full supervision from the company, as long as the instructions are clear. Technical writing, blogs, articles and web content are some examples of tasks which can be easily filled by leased employees. Again, a great way to cut company expenses.

Creative Services

Creative services such as animation, graphic designs, logos, and print design can also be simply passed to a group of leased employees. A lot of expenses can be spared through outsourcing, compared to hiring in-house employees. The PEO will be the one providing the workplace and all necessary equipment and software.

Big, small, and start-up companies find offshore sourcing a great convenience, and it’s not just about the financial advantages. The productivity and flexibility of the business also improves from the services rendered by PEOs, which offer excellent performance at a fraction of the cost.

Social Media Monitoring As Customized Service Outsourcing Package

Social Media Monitoring As Customized Service Outsourcing Package

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Social media monitoring can be availed as customized service outsourcing package; you’ll have instant access to what people are talking about your company, through the variety of platforms. It can assist you on how your competitors are doing and attract new potential customers.

Today, almost all businesses have social media platforms. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are staple tools in boosting company image to target audience. Smartphone users nowadays install social media apps for their personal use. Having such apps are convenient because of the unlimited things these can do. From talking to their loved ones, video chatting, uploading pictures on their social media accounts, and more.

As customized service outsourcing package, you can use these things to your advantage. Looking through your social media platforms can give you the boost you need for the company.

Here is a list why social media monitoring is beneficial:

1. The Use of SEO

Knowing how your market acts, you’ll able to understand what they are searching for. Using SEO will be handy. Creating keywords and putting your website on the top searching list is a big advantage.

2. Joining Netizens’ Conversation

Social media monitoring is not all about looking through countless of feedback. It can also be a way to interact with the people. Users post about a certain product, and take the opportunity to tag other people. With this, it would create a discussion about the product. Joining the discussion and pitching comments are great ways to interact.

3. Planning the Next Marketing Plan

Browsing through reviews and feedback are some of the factors that can kick-start an idea for the plan. Knowing what the market needs based on trends, and how to deliver it will give a good feedback from them.

4. You Vs. Competitor

While learning your market, it’s best to learn about your competitor as well. Through Social media monitoring, understanding the competitor’s reviews will be a huge advantage. By doing this, getting insights is easy, and you’ll learn how to handle these in the future.

There are more things you can do with social media listening. From understanding your target to knowing your competitors, it’s up to you how to use customized service outsourcing package to your advantage.

Employee Leasing Solutions: Competitive Intelligence from Third-Party Media Monitoring Companies

Employee Leasing Solutions: Competitive Intelligence from Third-Party Media Monitoring Companies

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Competition is staple fare in healthy business; it comes with the territory, and many cope with employee leasing solutions. There’s drive to be the first to present something new or innovative, and when the others have followed suit, the game steps up with innovations, adjustments, improvements. It’s an endless cycle of catch-up, and it helps that every competitor knows what they’re up against.

To gather the competitive intelligence that they need, businesses turn to media monitoring services provided by third-party companies. These companies have teams of skilled professionals and experts combing through the variety of media platforms, to get the latest on their clients’ competition. They have the resources and the reach to provide their clients with solid material, which can be used in strategies and business development.

Inside Knowledge Give You The Advantage

Information on product releases is often inside knowledge, which is coveted and crucial to the competition. Businesses need to know what their competitors are offering ahead of time, so they can match or exceed the anticipated release with a product of their own. In employee leasing solutions, media monitoring companies effectively gather information for this purpose; but they can also do more than that. They can trace how their competitors’ efforts evolve over time, spotting trends and windows of opportunities. This is an incredible advantage to businesses: with the information gleaned, there’s opportunity to tweak a successful formula, or fix faults previously unnoticed.

Another thing that businesses can obtain using media monitoring is data on the competitors’ promotional strategies. Whether the others are offering price cuts, bundled deals, limited-time offers, or promos in response to special events, it is important for the clients to get a hold of them. With this on hand, they can go over their own pricing tables and promotional plans, modify the same to stay ahead.

One more information that employee leasing solutions offer is insight on the competition’s activities. Media monitoring services can gather data on where their money is being spent on, whether it’s acquiring new branches or improving facilities. They can even take note of the kinds of corporate positions that these rivals are hiring. These sets of information can help businesses determine how to allocate their own funds and what untapped corporate activities they can try out.

Employee Leasing Solutions: Let Specialists Do The Legwork

Competitive intelligence, when gathered by a dedicated company, is sure to be detailed, extensive, and usable. Businesses may opt to have their divisions of their own to carry this out, but there’s a chance that they’ll be limited in reach and access. Media monitoring companies are rarely in trouble with this thanks to their wide network and formidable skill sets.

Still, it’s the businesses who will be calling the shots, once they know what they’re up against. They can play catch-up, or they can carve their own lane. Whatever the decision will be, there’s the assurance the decision is well-informed by the competitive intelligence provided through employee leasing solutions.

Outsourced Quality Assurance, As Customized Service Outsourcing Package

Outsourced Quality Assurance, As Customized Service Outsourcing Package

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A customized service outsourcing package ensures development of a system or a service. This is very appealing to companies who want their products ready and launched on the market, as soon as possible. This also applies to office operations, in an effort to achieve improved and efficient work flow. Quality assurance (QA) is the best way to ensure products or services are meeting the specified standards; the process is supervised by a professional quality analyst.

It’s only understandable that a dedicated team of QAs should be a part of the company. The dilemma is choosing between an in-house or outsource team. As much as there are benefits to keeping quality assurance operations in-house (such as confidentiality and easy monitoring), outsourcing a QA team is no doubt the cost-effective option to take.

Going beyond the usual reasoning of outsourcing a certain business operation (e.g. a cut in overhead costs, no need for additional training, etc.), outsourcing the QA can offer the company additional benefits, such as objectivity, a high level of expertise, and complete resources/infrastructure to get the job done. A customized service outsourcing package, develop the quality of production and processes; it also frees up work hours of an in-house team. There’s more resources you can focus on other aspects of improving the business.

Objectivity

In most companies, an in-house QA team is commonly the same ones who have created the product or service itself. By employing an outsourced QA team, the business can perform unbiased testing, spot errors or defects that an in-house QA team may unconsciously miss out on.

An outsourced QA team can also offer a new perspective on how to better improve the product or service, as well as suggest possible routes to advance the process.

High Level of Expertise

An outsourced QA team is already professional in their own right. They have gained enough experience to enable them to easily answer any task given. The company would no longer need to worry about lack of professionalism, capability, or quality of service either.

With short-term projects, a customized service outsourcing package is able to complete the goals more effectively and efficiently, given their greater competence and mastery of the field. A skillful QA team can also do better in handling large volumes of workload more quickly. This is a better investment, compared to training full-time, in-house team (to reach that same level of productivity) from scratch.

A Customized Service Outsourcing Package Comes With Complete Infrastructure

In companies that cannot house or facilitate the needed resources or infrastructure for certain testing systems, an outsourced QA team is the perfect solution to address the problem. Dedicated outsourced QA teams would naturally have all the tools and systems at hand, so they can readily meet the objectives of a project.

Availing a customized service outsourcing package in QA, the company can expect a boost in productivity—both in the QA sector and in overall operations. And by letting the experts of the field manage the quality assurance of the company’s product or service, they gain not only a better sense of how to improve their operations, they also reduce risks of losses for the business.

Five Mindsets Young Entrepreneurs Should Possess

Five Mindsets Young Entrepreneurs Should Possess

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Most Millennials strive to be successful as soon as possible. To be your own boss, handle your own schedules, and meet new connections in the BPO industry. As is often the case with things worth having, there are roadblocks to overcome: the uncertainties of risk, failure, and the pressure to be successful even at great cost. Making it big in business is definitely difficult from the start, but it will be easy once with the right mindset.

Who doesn’t want to be rich and famous? Famous CEOs offer advice to startups, guidance and cautions against mistakes previously committed. Listening to these pieces of advice isn’t half bad because it comes from tried and tested experiences.

1. Find Your Passion And Run With It – No Matter What Happens

This decision might be hard. Thinking of what you want for the rest of your life will conjure ideas like becoming an online marketer, starting a small advertising firm, or staking claim in the BPO industry. The secret to lasting success is to know discover what you’re good at? Are you good at translating languages, teaching math, teaching Adobe Photoshop. Consult your friends and colleagues; if they agree you’re reliable in one skill or expertise, develop it.

2. Risk It until you Reach It

Taking a huge risk for your business will be challenging, but it comes with the territory. Don’t quit even if you fail at first. Real failure happens when you don’t try, so keep at it, or fake it until you make it.

3. Don’t Care What Other People Think

Along the way, there will be people who will say that your idea is stupid or it will not achieve great heights. Take negative comments in stride. If you have to listen to criticism, consult feedback from people you trust.

4. Plan Everything Down To A T

Before starting your business, set your mind in the direction you are going, and plan as much as you can beforehand. A complete understanding of your product is your starting point in knowing where to go, who to approach, and how to promote, especially in the BPO industry.

5. Manage Your Money

Everything you do for the business has a price, like ads, promoting, employees, inventory, bills, payroll, and more. Manage your money wisely to avoid unnecessary expenses, especially if your business is new, and tight on overhead costs.

Managing Your Contact Center BPO: 4 Steps To Ensuring A Happy Work Environment

Managing Your Contact Center BPO: 4 Steps To Ensuring A Happy Work Environment

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Every CEO surely prefers an outstanding work culture, but it’s better if this also includes a pleasant Contact Center BPO environment. Ample space, good ambience and lighting, and ergonomic facilities are among the necessities. As statistics have shown, happy employees are also productive and successful in their jobs. However, it’s safe to assume that not every employee is happy or contented. Unsettled, (even disgruntled) employees are expected, for a variety of reasons. Whatever the case may be, a satisfactory, conducive workplace is high priority. Here are four reliable ways to achieve this:

1. Identify, then engage unhappy employees.

In ensuring a happy Contact Center BPO environment, you must first identify which employees are unhappy or discontented. However, you can’t just ask anyone and get the answer you expect. This requires discernment, a knack for reading between the lines, observing employees’ body language. Facial and eye expressions can convey more information than what is verbalized in conversation. Sharpen your instinct for social cues and focus on context.

2. Ask questions.

Once you have already found out who the unhappy employees are, get to the root of the concern with conversation: ask questions. You cannot jump to conclusions on why they are feeling such. You have to spend time with in-depth question-and-answer moments so that you can find out what is really going on. If they have problems with the office administration, you at least know where you can proceed in finding solutions.

3. Establish, maintain a peaceful work environment.

Employee conflicts are unavoidable when you have people with different personalities working together. Conflict resolution is still your reliable solution in Contact Center BPO, ensuring peaceful environment in the shared workspace.

4. Foster confidence for and within the workforce.

Employees who don’t have confidence in tasks might have internal doubts and anxieties, affecting the quality of output. To avoid this affecting your business, foster a positive work culture, with solid trust in your employees. Positive emotions are invigotating – if your employees are confident enough, your business will surely benefit.

Being a CEO is not an easy task – schedule is always busy and demands priorities; meeting with clients, business development, supervision. However, remember to always make time for your employees, consider their needs as crucial to the success of Contact Center BPO operations.