The Outsourcing Blog

How Philippine Virtual Staffing Can Give You Time to Enjoy Your Life

bvillarosa — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:39:16 +0000

Time is the most invaluable asset that any business has and can control. With the Internet, people are globally connected in different time zones and can afford to have constant communication in collaborations twenty-four hours a day and 365 days a year.

It is in full irony that technology was created to make tasks more convenient and less time consuming to accomplish. Right now, technology is demanding online business owners to be limited with their travels and time because of their management duties. Time and effort could be better spent for them to grow their business or be allocated for that holiday that any boss would like to have once in a while.

A business online that requires designated duties can benefit from hiring offshore employees. It can be hiring remote staff to manage your E-commerce, build website development, and supervise SEO and SEM, or other professional tasks for your business so that you can build networks for your business instead or simply to enjoy a holiday.

Most outsourcing patrons agree that considering Philippine virtual staffing is the best option for getting qualified human resource for your business human resource. Virtual staffing from the Philippines saves you time because most online staff is willing to negotiate time zone working hours around your business operational hours. The Philippines has English for their second language which can reconcile any communication gap with most employers. Business across the globe can easily coordinate their schedule with ease for their Philippine virtual staff.

Some would say that outsourcing hires allows them to improve their core competencies and promote fun and profit all at the same time back in to the business owner’s life. More time is given for owners to check their business systems and results and to place their resources strategically for the best of their advantage and minimizing possible loss. It also helps them in pursuing what is outside their business routines and give them enough chances to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

How Philippine Virtual Staffing Can Give You Time to Enjoy Your Life is a post from: RemoteWorkMate who service many clients worldwide ...

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Things To Remember Before Blogging

NDcastro — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 07:01:19 +0000

For some people blessed with mastery over the English language, the task of writing a blog is highly enjoyable. After all, expressing one’s self is made easier through the ease of connectivity that the Internet brings. Blogs have also been popularly used as marketing tools these days. In fact, almost any business website has its own blog. You can write as much as you want, however way you want it to be. This is fine for personal sites, but if you want more people to subscribe to your posts and visit your blog more often, you may want to slightly modify the way you write. We have compiled this short list of blogging tips that we have learned throughout the years of maintaining our company’s blog:

Put high emphasis on a target audience. However obvious this may sound, this is actually something that most writers often neglect. Always keep in mind that the Internet is a vast, vast network of minds and ideas. If you want people to read more, focus on a specific topic or business.

Don’t go overboard. It’s natural to get excited when writing something down, and this can sometimes lead you to write more than what is necessary. Rid your posts of any unnecessary words or off-tangent topics as this can, to some extent, damage the credibility of your posts. Limit your word count and focus on the more important topics for your target audience.

Get to the point. Laughable as this may sound, some of your customers actually hate reading lengthy posts. After all, who wouldn’t want to go after seeing a post that’s over a thousand words long? Keep in mind that each of your site’s visitors has a specific demand or request. If you can’t give this to them, they’ll leave your website faster than you can sneeze. With this in mind, try to be as concise as possible without sacrificing any important details.

Make your blog appealing to the senses. While your online content may be interesting and your ideas clear and concise, sometimes it won’t be noticed if your blog is marred with visual nuisances. This can be a font that’s too big or too small, a background wallpaper that’s too irritating, or background music that’s horribly out of place. Be mindful of your audience and make sure that your blog looks clean and presentable if you want more readers on your website.

Things To Remember Before Blogging is a post from: RemoteWorkMate who service many clients worldwide ...

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Factors to Consider in Choosing a Philippine City for your BPO

Kathy Mateo — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 07:46:28 +0000

Throughout the years, Philippines has been consistent in being on of the central offshore destinations. According to the research conducted by the NeoIT, Philippines ranks 2^nd as the best outsourcing destination, next to India, as of 2005. However, recently, more and more outsourcing and offshoring companies are investing in the Philippines mainly because of the language competitiveness of the people in the country.

Manila remains to be the mother of all BPO destinations, and around 10 cities are also trying to make a mark in the field of outsourcing. Some of the most famous and competitive Philippine cities are Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, and Iloilo. With that, it is vital to know what to consider before choosing a city to invest on.

Manpower – perhaps, one of the major factors that made Manila the top outsourcing destination in the city is its apparently dense population. The number of possible people to employ is essential for a company because the demand for workforce is limitless in this kind of business. Mass hiring is more often needed these days, especially for call center agent and content writing positions. Relevantly, the literacy of the population should also be huge consideration, as they would have to communicate with overseas employers regularly. To further evaluate the quality of manpower available in a city, it may also be helpful to take a look at the number and quality of universities existing in the city – especially universities that offer IT or any computer related courses.

Costs – as one of the main goals of outsourcing is to save cost, it is of course important to know the cost of living of a city – the cheaper the better. The cost of living greatly affects the salary that you have to offer, the infrastructures that you have to fund, and other expenses. Luzon cities are more expensive cities compared to Visayas and Mindanao.

Local Support – the support of the local government truly serves as a catalyst for the growth of outsourcing firms in a specific city. The officials should in the first place be open for IT investments, and see it as something beneficial for their locality. They can be of great help in providing a sustainable business status for the outsourcing firms.

Technical Infrastructure – obviously, you need to have ‘healthy’ or capable location that can handle the technical requirements of the business. There should be an existing digital network system and support in the area, telecommunication infrastructure, and sufficient and stable power supply. Even the region’s climate condition is a part of this consideration. This enables a more efficient and low-cost communication between the third-party company and its client(s).

Safety – this may not have anything to do with the internal concerns of the business, but this aspect in a city will definitely affect business sustainability and image. Undoubtedly, investors are less likely to invest in a city with a threatened peace and order system. For instance, Davao City has long been praised for being one of the safest Mindanao City to visit, however, just one bombing incident, terribly affected the IT potential of the city as due to the apprehensions it created for outsourcing investors. Fortunately, the city swiftly recovered from such image crisis.

Factors to Consider in Choosing a Philippine City for your BPO is a post from: RemoteWorkMate who service many clients worldwide ...

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The Modern Face of Outsourcing Companies

Kathy Mateo — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 08:08:19 +0000

You would probably observe in fast food chains that employees seem to be working like machines. This means that anything they do is highly programmed, following a strict routine. There is really nothing wrong with this. In fact, this is probably the best organizational routine that will work for such business. However, for outsourcing businesses, that kind of working set-up is just not healthy. This is probably the reason why most outsourcing firms, especially in the Philippines are known to have the most youthful working environment. For such kind of business, it always important to strive to make the organization as ‘human’ as possible.

Clients should also know the kind of organization structure that is being practiced by their offshore company partner. It would give them the clearest idea on how the company handles their Virtual Assistants, and how it strives to push the VAs to become productive.

So, how does a ‘humanized’ organization look like?

Unconventional Working Spaces – while most companies prefer to isolate their employees through cubicles, most outsourcing companies these days prefer to arrange their staff in a more interactive way, like through long or round tables. This is important in building better camaraderie among the employees.
Working in teams – the term team basically implies that there is lesser touch of bureaucracy within the company. A team is basically a group of people who work together to achieve a specific goal. The only hint of hierarchy in this kind of working set-up is the minor supervision being done by a team coordinator. This is why, most outsourcing companies are also looking for applicants who are good team players.
Incentives and Recreation – compared to other companies, companies, especially outsourcing companies pamper and motivate the employees through attractive incentives and company-wide recreational activities. These little things are helpful in minimizing the work-related stress of the employees, and would give them something fun to look forward to.
Proper Utilization of Professional differences – a company is most likely to succeed if it is able to tap the potentials of its employees to the fullest. A good company management allows each individual to do what they do best. This is actually one of the assets of offshore leasing companies because they cater to highly specialized tasks.
The “little things” – too much rules can apparently strangle employees, and may not even be good for their productivity. A more human workspace may even allow employees to use their mobile phones moderately, take a nap, listen to music, and talk to their colleagues. Other companies also do not impose strict dress code that may only make the workers uncomfortable during the whole duration of their work.

The Modern Face of Outsourcing Companies is a post from: RemoteWorkMate who service many clients worldwide ...

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WordPress – Blog and Website In One?

bvillarosa — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 07:29:28 +0000

WordPress has become increasingly popular because of its capability to incorporate blogging and hosting a company website. Actually, WordPress uses blog software to help build your website. To understand this platform better, we will look into the basic differences between a blog and a website.

A blog is possibly more personal in content which initiates interaction with your viewers. These viewers might or might not become your customers but will regard you as an expert in a certain niche as fresh content are posted frequently. Most blogs are not meant to do hard selling but rather as a tool for exchanging views and generating discussions related to your business. You can interact with many people in the industry or of similar interests that can create awareness of your business and build online business relations. This spells well for your traffic if you manage to take the conversations to your existing website. Your readers might actually be persuaded by your blog to go to your company website in the end.

On the other hand, websites are built to be like walk-in stores of companies. They have static content and are geared towards pushing sales. The overall theme of a website is very formal because they represent the company itself and are designed to convey professionalism and reliability. Most people who visit websites are those who are convince that you have what they want and are determined to avail your products. Websites usually have transactional features and almost zero interaction.

Both offer different purposes and results but they can be used together to create a consistent online presence for your business. In WordPress, you can upload your blog posts AND build your credible website. The platform also offers lots of useful features like easy SEO tools, helpful add-ons, widgets and plug-ins between blog and website, and relatively uncomplicated maintenance of your account. Sign up in WordPress and use it to design, build, and maintain your personal blog and website at one go.

WordPress – Blog and Website In One? is a post from: RemoteWorkMate who service many clients worldwide ...

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Building Virtual Teamwork by Management Motivation

bvillarosa — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 01:11:00 +0000

Owners and employees strive to make the company running and competitive in the market and this requires teamwork. Businesses which thrive are those which continuously grow and have happy workers. They know that managing the work force can greatly contribute to their profitability. When it comes to virtual hires, achieving teamwork is very essential to keep any business functional and flourishing even if your workers are thousands of miles away.

Keeping a notable company online presence could mean keeping a website up and running, customer service via answering emails, real-time services in programming, and writing for marketing and other related online tasks. Most business owners prefer to hire virtual workers due to their computer skills and communication capability. With talented professionals in the business, proper management of their work is also necessary to achieve productive results.

Motivating your virtual staff as part of the team is perhaps the most effective approach in getting them to give the best deliverable in the company. Encouraging teamwork in a virtual work place is not easy, but with the help of the Internet, it still is achievable. Connect with your employees on periodic basis like weekly chat conferences highlighting their achievements and contributions. Then discuss the goals the team has met and the key people that made it possible and maintain an open communication for their feedback as well. Trust in their skills and keep margins for them to grow as individuals. In time, these virtual staff can give the best they can offer for the team and ultimately become assets to the company.

Building Virtual Teamwork by Management Motivation is a post from: RemoteWorkMate who service many clients worldwide ...

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Offshore Backlash: Not a Threat for Most Businesses

Kathy Mateo — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 04:15:59 +0000

Most companies are not moved nor threatened by the issue on offshoring backlash. According to the business surveys conducted in the United States, Europe, and Australia, most companies who are offshoring still have no plans of pulling out their services from their offshore company partners, despite the clamor that they’ve been having in their own countries.

Most of businessmen even believe that offshore outsourcing is a win-win situation for both countries. While it provides mass employment to the offshore destination, the growth of the businesses in the mother country is also a good contribution to their own economy. In fact most people see offshoring as the most genuine form of free-trade, which is apparently essential in sustaining a country’s economy. It is also another undeniable fact that companies are really greatly concerned with keeping their competitive advantage, and offshore outsourcing is one of the best ways for achieve that. One of the fears of these companies also is if they stop outsourcing, while other countries won’t, then they would effortlessly and quickly lag behind the business competition.

Another positive note that pro-offshoring experts pointed out is that lot of companies that moved a huge part of their functions offshore also experienced lesser occurrence of lying off their in-house employees, something that is completely beneficial for their company reputation and own society, as well. It should also be noted that most of the tasks being outsourced are those that typical tasks that their own people are not willing to perform dedicatedly, as they may find it too repetitive and boring.

Generally, any economists would still say that outsourcing entails nothing but economic progress as it allows huge business to be properly established, cut costs, but continue to provide even higher quality products because of the huge savings they earn from outsourcing. Many people believe that the issue on offshore backlash is just a product of public misunderstanding.

With issues like this, opinions are very much appreciated and will help outsourcing clients weigh their options better. So, how about you?

What do you think about offshore outsourcing?

What are its impacts to your own country?

Offshore Backlash: Not a Threat for Most Businesses is a post from: RemoteWorkMate who service many clients worldwide ...

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More Small Businesses are Benefiting From Outsourcing

Kathy Mateo — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 01:20:14 +0000

Contrary to the usual notion that outsourcing is just good and appropriate for large companies, even small business owners are significantly turning to virtual assistance, too. The best part is, more and more of these small-scaled businesses are gaining good profits just by outsourcing some of their business functions. This trend has made small businesses competitive enough in the international business scene.

In the past, small businesses have already been engaging in business process outsourcing, but most of their commitments are only project-based or short-term. Throughout the years, the confidence of the owners of these small businesses in the services offered by outsourcing has only grown stronger. As a result, more of them are significantly outsourcing some long term tasks like search engine optimization, e-mail management, customer support, and even personal assistance. In fact, according to most offshore companies in the Philippines, most of the clients they acquire are managing their own small businesses in their respective countries. A good sign that small businesses are enjoying outsourcing as much as large companies do is the fact that most of the loyal clients of offshore companies are those start-up companies that have breezily managed to develop their businesses through the savings they gained from outsourcing.

Moreover, experts say that small businesses are even more strategic in the outsourcing processes. They have learned to maximize the benefits of information technology and new media for their respective business. For instance, in social media utilization, small businesses recognize that it is not enough for them to just have a social media account. They take the initiative to make that account serve their business well by encouraging interaction and word of mouth, which is the main goal of social media in the first place.

With this outsourcing trend that the small businesses are embracing, it is very likely for them to stay on the competitive edge, alongside the large companies.

More Small Businesses are Benefiting From Outsourcing is a post from: RemoteWorkMate who service many clients worldwide ...

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The Countless Advantages of Investing on a Virtual Team

Kathy Mateo — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 08:40:56 +0000

The cheaper rates for freelancers can be very enticing for some employers, but there are many non-material costs at stake when investing on freelance virtual assistants. Although there are also many employers out there who got lucky with their freelance virtual assistant(s), more often than not, the freelance set-up really entails a lot of uncertainties and apprehensions for both the employers and employees’ side. This is also the reason why Virtual Staffing Companies are doing very well in the business, because more and more clients are turning to them for their Virtual Assistants, instead of considering freelance applications. Here some of the reasons why most clients prefer to invest in a virtual team rather than a pool of freelancers.

Project Scope – some clients require more than one expertise for their projects. At times, they would need one web developer, one web designer, one SEO expert, and one personal assistant. With such needs, it would be hard managing different people, who may be settling in different places all at once. With that, it is always more convenient to know that the whole team are working together, thus coordination for the project can be more achieved.
Loyalty – from the word itself, ‘freelancers’ would as much as possible like to avoid contract with just one employer. They prefer working for different people at once. You may not even know if you are truly paying for the right person. On the other side, a virtual team which is affiliated with a certain staffing company will work solely for your project, as instructed and supervised by the company’s project manager.
Productivity – in lieu with the issues on loyalty, productivity of the work you outsource would definitely be compromised if your VA has too many tasks at hand. So, to ensure the best output, you need to be assured as well that your VA is concentrating on the task you are giving him or her.
Stability – this portion includes both the stability of the communication, and the stability of the work. There may be times that you would have to be the one to chase your own VA for updates, and at the same time you do not really have any official contract to hold on to. So either you or your VA can simply drop the project off, which isn’t a very good working set-up, at all.
Tedious Applicant Screening – this is probably the worst part of doing the outsourcing alone. All the tasks, from the screening to supervision and evaluation are all in your hands. This actually defeats the real purpose of outsourcing, which is to save time. The worst part is your access to really knowing the skills and working attitude of your VA is highly limited mainly because of distance and cultural differences.

Knowing some of these reasons, you can at least see how efficient it is to simply invest on a Virtual Team and be assured that the extra pennies you will invest on them is still worth it.

The Countless Advantages of Investing on a Virtual Team is a post from: RemoteWorkMate who service many clients worldwide ...

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Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Project Management

Kathy Mateo — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 05:58:23 +0000

The services being offered by outsourcing is becoming more diverse throughout the years. Now, even the management tasks are being outsourced. Thanks to the many available collaboration tools, this kind of business process is already possible. In offshore companies, they naturally hire their own project managers to look after a certain number or group of Virtual Assistants that they have doing a certain task for a client. The risk comes in when you decide to outsource a manager to take care of your in-house projects. To rationalize the risks involved in this kind of transaction, it would help if we weigh the advantages and disadvantages of such move.

Pros

Outsource project managers have fresher perspective of your company’s projects, issues, and needs. Sometimes, an outsider’s perspective is richer since they have not been exposed to the same thing (eg., business environment, company values, business strategies) for a long time.
Most project managers become more aggressive and goal-oriented when they are working remotely because of the absence of direct interactions. Direct and daily interactions is more prone to conflicts, simply because everything is spontaneous and competitive. Compared to someone who’s working outside the company, he or she can have all the time to package his/her messages, instructions, and ideas to make it more apt for his subordinates.
Better productivity, as you can have all the time to focus on the other core tasks of the company.
Mainly because of the cost savings, you can assign highly specific tasks to one project manager, and another set of tasks to a different project managers to ensure highest quality of output. The usual reason for mediocre works is the lack of specialization.
Lastly, you can apparently get better outputs in a lower cost.

Cons

Private and sensitive information or files would have to be risked to make the entire management process possible.
While savings is guaranteed in any outsourcing venture, with project management, huge amount of money us also at risk once it fails.
To make project management work for you and you’re your employees, thorough coordination is really needed to keep everyone on track.
There may be problems when it comes to ‘management cultures’. This usually happens when one is planning to get project managers offshore, because different nations may have their different approaches to management and collaboration.
Although external resources are ideally to be used in the process, it is still inevitable for your internal resources to be necessary to make the whole process work efficiently.

Depending on your project needs and scope, project management can be your easiest access to maximum productivity and profits.

Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Project Management is a post from: RemoteWorkMate who service many clients worldwide ...

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