PEO Services, An Efficient Way Of Doing Business

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

 

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.

Outsourced Quality Assurance, As Customized Service Outsourcing Package

Outsourced Quality Assurance, As Customized Service Outsourcing Package

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

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

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.

Outsourced Call Center Services: Market Research

Outsourced Call Center Services: Market Research

Every entrepreneur knows starting a business can be an uphill climb. Outsourced call center services somehow ease the process. Nevertheless, you often hit the ground running; once you’re successful, sustaining momentum is also a challenge. Over the years, the business world has evolved so much with technology, most notably the emergence of internet and social media.

Competition amongst corporations became a close, even cutthroat, in a bid to cater to the general public’s taste and expectations. While it is true the evolution of modern technology has been a great breakthrough both for the consumers and business owners, its underlying effect (threat) to companies is also inevitable.

Keeping Up With Trends Is A Challenge

The question for big and small businesses alike: how are they supposed to keep up with fast-changing market trends? Outsourced call center services broadened possibilities, drastically changing the business landscape.

This is where market research comes in -a business strategy which allows corporations to gather and analyze updated information about consumers, and the current status of the market. This process provides business owners opportunity to study their target markets. Consumer needs, purchasing habits, characteristics, likes, and dislikes are good predictors of market behavior.

Outsourced Call Center Services

Outsourced call center services conduct market research by gathering, processing, and interpreting primary data. It involves conducting interviews, surveys, and feedback from existing and potential clients. Moreover, examining secondary data (published researches and reports by private and government agencies, media networks, etc.) also provides a more elaborate understanding of market trends.

In other words, it gives companies insight on how their current products/services stand or appeal to consumers. Potentially, conducting a market research allows businesses to adjust their marketing approach. The goal is to develop new services that would best suit the needs and preferences of their target buyers, to reach out to clients, and to understand the competition.

Outsourced call center services is crucial in business development. Market research serves as a how-to guide in ensuring the feasibility of the business. It indicates whether or not a product or service will reach and attract the attention of consumers. As an important business process, serving as a weighing scale that maintains corporal balance. It’s safe to say successful corporations that have strong marketing strategies rely on the function of effective research.

Invest In Offshoring Services, Make Time For Deep, Focused Work

Invest In Offshoring Services, Make Time For Deep, Focused Work

It’s difficult to sustain focus in fast-paced work environments. This is especially true in BPO and offshoring services, where multiple tasking is the norm. Millennial entrepreneurs are known for their energy and passion in start-ups, but sometimes there aren’t enough hours in a day to get things done. One solution is to outsource processes and streamline operations, which is always a feasible solution.

In a culture of long work hours and constant crunch time, the consequences of overclocking your attention span is often overlooked. The common notion is that longer work hours equals to increased output and productivity. Studies have shown the opposite is the case. Do you belong to the new breed of hungry entrepreneurs, or are you a hardened a veteran with lots of energy to spend? As much as you may take pride in getting by with little sleep, your body isn’t clockwork, far from it.

Here are four ways you can curb your overclocked routine, and recover hours of free time to spare.

1. Sleep is precious (and non-negotiable).

Lack of sleep limits your ability to focus on tasks, and you can only get by for so long with caffeine. You may not feel the effects early in the week, but it will eventually catch up on your health. The optimal amount of sleep varies between people, but seven hours of solid sleep is enough to restore and reboot you for the next day. Anything less than six hours eventually impairs judgment and concentration.

2. Cut down on distractions.

This is difficult in hectic work environments. If there are too many priorities competing for your attention, you have to put your foot down and streamline, hire offshoring services. Multitasking is a misconception; you can’t really perform two tasks simultaneously. What you can do is handle tasks one at a time. How much you’ll invest on a task varies on priorities, and productivity apps like Pomodoro help you get going. Once you’ve adjusted to the learning curve, you can stay in the zone of tasking routines, and it becomes second nature.

3. Manage Your Time.

Make time for each task, develop a schedule, and stick to the routine. Leisure time is also an integral part of the process; did you know spending a few minutes checking social media is actually a good thing? The danger is in losing yourself in the momentary distraction, find yourself wasting more time than you’re supposed to. Fortunately, decisiveness is a default attribute in entrepreneurs; compromised productivity is something few are willing to risk.

4. Delegate To Offshoring Services, And Spare Time To Spend On Yourself.

“Me time” often suffers under the pressure of busy workdays. You’ll find it easier to carve leisure time once you’ve streamlined your day. If you find hours to spare on a busy afternoon, don’t try to fill it with tasks; go out for a walk or take a nap, anything you consider an enjoyable way to spend idle time. Besides, there’s a reason why many entrepreneurs outsource. Time is your most precious commodity, you only have 24 hours to spend in a day. Make every second count.

PEO Services, An Efficient Way Of Doing Business

PEO Services, An Efficient Way Of Doing Business

In any efficient company, task delegation among personnel is standard business practice. Departments are created for the purpose of streamlining and designating responsibilities. However, companies also prioritize ways to cut costs and ease the workload. For this purpose, PEO services is the feasible alternative. Investing money in staff leasing companies is worth every dollar, tasking work accomplished under your supervision and approval.

Here is where “Staff Leasing” comes in. A staff leasing company builds teams of personnel who can accomplish your in-house responsibilities, including human resource and contact center operations. It usually depends on your need. PEO services bypass the time you’ll spend hiring new employees. It also reduces the costs of in-house operations. Many companies consider leased employees as solutions in reducing workload, consequently improving focus on the essential aspects of business.

Here are five essential benefits Staff Leasing can provide for your business:

1. Transferring Responsibilities

Tasks that can be costly and time-consuming; it’s just the nature of operations. If you’re doing things in-house, you’ll have to buy new equipment and tools, hire new employees. By transferring these responsibilities to a PEO services company, you’ll delegate responsibility to professionals without compromising operations costs.

2. Cutting Costs

Recruiting new employees can be expensive, considering the details and legalities of the process. In contrast, leasing companies have bundles or packages you can customize and negotiate with.

3. Professionals Work for You

The best staff leasing companies only hire employees that meet your requirements. Candidates are evaluated and screened, shortlisted pending your approval. PEO services also have the equipment and tools necessary to ensure high-quality output.

4. Concentrate on your Brand

With output entrusted to a staff leasing, you’ll avoid tons of paperwork. You’ll spend less time worrying and stressing over deadlines and deliverables. Also, You’ll have more attention to focus on managing your employees, conceptualizing promotions, facilitating meetings, etc.

5. PEO Services are Industry-Competitive

Employees hired by leasing companies receive feasible benefits and advantages. The salary packages are also industry-competitive. Training new employees is more efficient, since teams have have professionals dedicated for training and supervision. Retention is also more stable and manageable.

Staff Leasing is beneficial to any company. You can expect positive results for a fraction of the cost and effort of doing things in-house. Picking the right company, customizing the service, and building new connections will help your business in the long term.

Custom Offshore Sourcing Service For Best Returns

Customize Your Offshore Sourcing Service For Best Returns

Businesses turn to offshore sourcing because of the variety of specializations available. Companies have different goals, and outsourcing companies various approaches to help clients achieve goals. With numerous outsourcing companies competing for market share, businesses would want a partner that could share their visions. There’s also the need to seamlessly work together to deliver high-quality products and/or services.

Sourcing Processes To Service Providers

With the progress of the Internet and technology, any company would want to be at the top of everything. Anything that ensures transactions and operations are effective and efficient is important. Sometimes, though, they don’t have the time or the manpower that’s up to par with tasks to be completed. This is where offshore sourcing comes in. Professional outsourcing companies are expected to be well-versed with newer systems and applications, covering back-office services to customer support.

Customized Offshore Sourcing Is Crucial

Company executives would want to maximize those benefits, so they can focus on aspects of business crucial to company growth. Unfortunately, when the company turns to some outsourcing companies for help, they run the risk of limiting themselves instead. Companies should consider outsourced companies that adjust to the company’s needs and wants, not the other way around.

Does the outsourced company have specialized and professional pool of talents that meets the standards? Can these talents dedicate the time and effort that will make the project/campaign successful? Will offshore sourcing contribute to the overall growth of the company? Outsourcing companies should build a solid team that gets the job done within the specified time.

The company should also account for the facilities these outsourcing companies have to offer. Are they properly outfitted and updated with the means to deliver the required results? Proper equipment and resources are prerequisites that aid talents accomplish their given project assignments.

Final Considerations

The cost of offshore sourcing shouldn’t outweigh the benefits of what an outsourced team can offer. Outsourcing companies understand full well how important efficiency is, so by being able to provide a customized solutions service for the company, both parties can reach a point of agreement that would be advantageous for everyone involved. Offshore sourcing is a comprehensive solution for many business dilemmas, but only if you have the right team in place, sourced by a reliable provider.

Customized Service In Marketing: 3 Effective Online Lead Generation Techniques

Customized Service In Marketing: 3 Effective Online Lead Generation Techniques

There is a massive global market you can tap into for better yield in marketing and financial growth. Even with customized service, can you still make it work using traditional cold calls, or the usual sales campaigns? Stimulate and capture interest in your company’s services and products. There are at least three effective online lead generation techniques you can implement. Use various digital channels to your advantage, and move your business ahead of the others.

You may have tried going through conventional outbound sales techniques. You may have even started generating inbound sales, and there are still dozens of new outlets available online. Considering convenience, accessibility, and target market reach, here are new ways to gain customers: website and search engine optimization, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and social media.

Website and Search Engine Optimization

With growing dependence on technology, it’s no wonder you can easily reach your target clients through customized service. Your company website is the best place to start.

Use customer-focused navigation for better understanding of your site’s content. Then, provide various call-to-action options throughout the site to further engage the visitors. Add buttons to subscribe, download, contact, and other functions. Use engaging visuals for content variety. Think like a customer and find ways to make your site more accessible.

After this, evaluate and implement proper search engine optimization (SEO) as part of your primary lead generation strategy. With heavy competition on the world wide web, it’s important your content is more visible to consumers. Fill your site with properly constructed articles, easily accessible through organic web searches. Once you gain good rankings in search results, you are going to find more prospective customers checking and remembering your services.

Pay-per-Click (PPC) Advertising

This practice has been tried and tested throughout various business portals, as well as customized service. The pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns remain effective in generating highly targeted traffic. This technique also has a high chance for lead conversions. Mostly ideal for new business in the digital marketing world, PPC can easily yield good results. Even though there are many people who don’t like this practice of generating “buying visits” to the site, it is still a reliable source for lead generation. One of the most popular forms of this is the search engine advertising.

Social Media Practices

An active community of social media users is by far a remarkable factor, which helps any business find the most effective sources for lead generation. The variety of unique platforms helps engage and connect you to your targeted, desired audience. Options in social media platforms are also helpful in creating a new digital marketing culture that strongly impacts the consumers’ buying behavior.

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others present a promising medium that different businesses can benefit from. However, customized service and social media exposure are necessary to effectively make an exponential advantage for any business.

Aiming For Stronger Brand Identity? Hire A BPO Business Consultant For Media Monitoring

Aiming For Stronger Brand Identity? Hire A BPO Business Consultant For Media Monitoring

Are you looking for ways to boost your brand identity? A BPO business consultant can help you create a strong, unified brand. Your brand is primary representation of your company’s core values and services. Communicate this to your market, first by learning specific features you need to work on for better industry presence. Initially, you have to set up a customer-oriented brand, to reach a wider range of potential clients.

Why is branding important?

Brand is a distinct association for your business. More than a simple name or image, it leaves an impression that resonates with your audience. With a unified brand, you’ll target the correct communities, improving results and prospects for success. As people gradually learn about your company, branding becomes ever important.

How does a BPO business consultant help in media monitoring?

The competition within the industry grows gradually; a strong foundation and brand identity set you apart from other businesses. With media monitoring or media listening, you’ll build a strong brand identity that reaches a lot of people.

In order to fulfill this kind of service, the media monitoring process includes search profiles, also search terms or keywords. Here are three steps to help you build an effective brand strategy:

1. Monitor what your competitors are up to.

The nature of media monitoring lets you explore the competition, based on certain filters applied to your searches. This is even an excellent chance for checking out your competitors, find ways to engage alongside the bigger companies in the industry (most of these probably hire BPO business consultants for the legwork). However, you need to look at what they are doing so you are ready to adopt new approaches.

2. Filter particular searches. Check the trends.

There are tons of information available, from multiple media outlets. To make the most of your monitoring, filter your search with profiles and search terms (keywords and keyword phrases). Understand the effective ways of relaying valuable messages that can reach thousands of people. Then, learn about trends that keep your customers engaged in various activities, programs, and products. You want to address certain needs, meet expectations that give your brand better recall in people’s memories.

3. Listen to the customer’s concerns.

Maybe more than the expanding your customer base, what the latter thinks about you and your business is crucial. Get to know your customers’ interests. As you monitor your brand’s presence on local and international platforms, focus on brand mentions and audience perception through the use of social media, radio, TV, and even print media. You can also improve on the process by hiring hiring BPO business who can lease you the staff, you can view possible changes and potential marketing strategies for stronger brand identity.