Can I Trust Sharing My Data With A BPO?

The ability to collect and analyze data effectively is increasingly important. Done well, it can be the foundation of your business, the key to your success! Done badly, the reason for your failure.

As your business grows, more information is both collected and generated. International businesses have to deal with a variety of regulations from all the countries they do business in. US only businesses still have to wade through the local, state and federal regulations that affect them. Forms, documents, emails, letters, files, permits, test results, certificates, records, advertising, and promotional artwork… this barrage of documents is something never seen in the history of business!

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR DATA WITH

BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING- BPO!

Today companies gather, examine, process and build their business on large volumes of data. Essential data. Data your company needs, data your customers need, data your staff needs.

The BPO industry exists to help you supply those needs.

We usually call this “workflow”. A deceptively simple name for a sometimes very complicated process. And in some cases, “workflow” would be more aptly named “work- DELUGE” or even “work-Tsunami”!

In the digital information world, a workflow consists of an orchestrated pattern of activity that processes information. A clear definition of workflow is needed so we know exactly WHAT process we’re talking about. And defining it can help us see its flaws as well as its strengths.

A particular workflow has boundaries and processes. A beginning and end. You should be able to track the movement of any particular piece of work through the entire process. Each part of it needs to identify and delineated. Only when you know WHAT your workflow is, can you assess its efficiency.

A process could be a small, simple task, done by an individual, or it could be more complicated and be done by a team. The first part by one person, the next by another, and the final by yet another person.

Now, a process becomes a workflow. Multiple employees each with their separate duties, each duty in relation to the next

Was your company’s workflow designed or did it organically grow? You might be surprised at the number of businesses that have a workflow that no one designed, or even worse, no one really knows its cost!

Data workflow usually consists of your data input, storage, processing, analysis, and extraction. Some of that information may start on paper, but it soon gets transferred to the digital world.

Is your workflow efficient? Or is it costing you more money than it should?

Digital Data Entry means all your data can be accessed AT a single location, FROM the location of your choice. It reduces office space bulk by not using paper. It’s easily searchable. Digital storage is secure and you control the access.

But as your data storage needs increase over time, and as the amount of time necessary for entry and collation work increases, even the most efficient office workflow can find itself falling behind. There’s simply too much data for your on-site data entry specialists to input. Now the advantages of a digital database entry begin to suffer.

Your online data entry has to grow, but you don’t want to spend your precious capital on more personnel or office space. Maybe it’s time to consider BPO outsourcing.

OUTSOURCE MY DATA? ARE YOU CRAZY?

BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING PROVIDES SOLUTIONS!

How can you outsource your data input, storage, processing, analysis and extraction- and still stay in your comfort zone? Would it be a smart move to outsource your online data entry work?

Just as you may not have an Information Technology specialist on staff- instead contracting with an IT services provider- you might want to find a BPO provider for your data entry. That means taking all of your paper and paperless entry, processing, analysis and extraction and handing it over to one of a myriad of Business Process Outsourcing companies. Which brings us back to:

WHO DO I TRUST WITH MY DATA?

LEARNING THE OUTSOURCING PROCESS

All BPO companies are not created equal!

Virtual data entry jobs include data processing, typing, straight word processing, transcriptions, coding, and extracting data. While the best excels at all of these jobs some sadly, do not.

Like baseball teams, data entry outsourcing companies have utility players that can handle a variety of positions- 2nd base, any position in the outfield, and players that specialize in particular skills- pitchers and catchers. There are subsets with different areas of expertise- starting pitchers, relievers and closers. Medical data entry differs from standard business data entry in language and function, requiring different skill sets. Technical and engineering data entry specialists speak a different language as well. A data entry specialist may be just that: a specialist.

You want a complete team: specialists AND utility players.

Contracting a BPO firm to handle your data can be a daunting prospect for most businesses.

Like your baby-sitter or car mechanic, you have to trust. You need to do your homework and check out a prospective BPO. Your company and data are valuable, you treat it that way, and if you’re going to trust someone else, they need to treat it that way too.

Who are their current clients? Do they get rave reviews from the business community? I’m a specialized business; do they provide remote data entry for my specialization? What data entry speed are they capable of? Actual physical location is not important, but do they have a representative for their data entry near me?

Top BPO providers have operators that are up-to-date on all the latest software and practices. They are experienced and informed. They know the process and are able to make changes to the workflow when needed or requested. They can spot looming hardware or software issues. They constantly communicate among themselves and with their clients. They are flexible and able to make adjustments when your needs change.

You want them to be a partner, not a robot. Someone who is part of the team, not a gun for hire who forgets about you when the sun goes down. After all, this is a partnership. One built on trust and need.