10 useful tips for successful data entry outsourcing

In the modern era of digitization, everything runs on data. As we make further inroads into the upcoming age of artificial intelligence and smart automation, the way we capture, extract, and process data will undergo a drastic transformation and require smarter data entry services. As more and more organizations digitize their records and more businesses start opting for real-time data processing, data entry outsourcing services need to be well-defined and incorporate strong process management aided by technology.

Analysts have predicted that the data-entry outsourcing services market will register a CAGR of almost 5% by 2023. (Source: Market Reports World)

What is data entry outsourcing?

Data entry is the act of transcribing written documents into digital data, or of transcribing one type of electronic data into another. This data might be in the form of names or addresses, or medical or legal records, just to name a few. Outsourcing data entry services means partnering with a third partner who is often located offshore in India, or another low-cost destination.

An error-free and organized data is the key to accelerating your business growth. However, as a growing organization, you might find it tiresome to keep a track of your data daily. Data entry is a time-consuming and repetitive task that can often go neglected. Managing an in-house team of data entry operators can be equally stressful, leaving you with no time to spend on your core business activities.

Outsourcing providers, often not disclosing this fact to their clients. Outsourcing data entry services is a profitable decision that can help you have access to accurate data at an extremely low cost and focus on your core business activities.

The need for data entry outsourcing

There are many valid reasons to consider outsourcing data entry services, but here are some of the most compelling.

Focus on core

For many businesses, the primary motivation to outsource is that it frees owners, managers, and employees to spend their time on income-generating activities.

Growth opportunities

Frequently opportunities for company growth and a desire to expand business operations exist, but resources to make it happen are lacking.

Efficiency and effectiveness

In many cases, outsourcing allows access to expert talent. Outsource service firms can offer innovative approaches, the latest technology, and creative, cutting-edge solutions that otherwise aren’t available.

Decreasing expenses

A skilled contractor or firm can generally perform work less expensively than a full-time employee can, and the costs of hiring, training, and maintaining employees are eliminated, as are taxes and benefits.

Data entry services that are frequently outsourced

Here’s what you can, and should, be outsourcing.

Administrative tasks

Scheduling, travel arrangements, data entry, typing, and other administrative tasks can usually be handled by a virtual assistant or administrative service.

Lead generation and customer service

Sales calls are often a matter of numbers; more calls equal more sales and leads. Once the initial outreach has been made, closing the sale can be handled by the internal sales force. A talented salesperson’s skills can be better utilized to close sales and handle clients, rather than make cold calls. It can also be a great deal more efficient to outsource customer support than it is to maintain a qualified support staff.

Accounting and financial duties

Accounting firms or individuals can help with many financial services including bookkeeping, invoicing, and accounts payable and receivable, as well as financial reporting, analysis, and planning. Outsourcing payroll processing alone can save considerable hours, headaches, and dollars.

IT operations

The average business has limited ability and knowledge to manage all of its IT needs. Unless you’re an IT company, IT is a maintenance and repair function, not a core business activity. The potential advantages of outsourcing IT tasks are enormous.

Marketing

A marketing firm or consultant can often provide an outside perspective that an internal marketing staff cannot. Professional freelance writers can develop higher-quality, polished content that will improve marketing efforts. Website design, brand development, press releases, and online marketing duties such as social media, blogging, and search engine optimization are good candidates for outsourcing as well.

Human resources

Employee acquisition and human resource functions can easily be administered by an outside agency. Outside firms are more skilled at advertising, screening suitable applicants, and checking references. Using an HR or employment service to manage employee benefits can also be wise since they must stay up to date on the latest employment laws and standards.

Tips for successful data entry outsourcing

When it comes to outsourcing data entry services, there are many things to consider. To ensure successful outsourcing, companies need to find the right data entry service provider. Here are some tips that can help you identify the right data entry company, data entry business or data entry company name, as well as data tech outsourcing and data outsourcing services.

Identify the level of customization

Often successful companies choose an outsourcing partner that can provide a certain level of customization. Find data entry service providers that can provide you the desired level of customization and precisely cater to your business needs.

Find mechanisms to track and monitor Any competitor who has been successfully outsourcing data entry services must be working with a data entry service provider that enables them to easily monitor and track their processes. This allows them to quickly identify any deviations or errors and rectify them immediately, without any scope for inaccuracies or project delays. Partnering with a firm that gives real-time access to all the service parameters will help in retaining control over the process.

Evaluate the willingness to tackle emergency

This is an extremely important lesson that your competitors can teach you about outsourcing. At times, some data might be critical and need prioritizing or urgent processing. Successful businesses choose a data entry service provider that has plans to accommodate such emergencies. This is because if the company cannot cater to emergencies, then it just does not serve the purpose. Therefore, data entry service providers that have an allowance for emergencies should always score above the ones that do not have it.

Check the level of data security

Successful businesses know that security of data is needed from both business and legal perspectives. Hence, before shortlisting data entry service providers, such businesses consider the protocols and policies followed by the service provider to ensure complete data security. Additional safety measures, such as checking whether the firm signs non-disclosure agreements with its employees ensure higher data security.

Estimate cost-effectiveness and turnaround time

As cost reduction is one of the major reasons for outsourcing, businesses often lookout for data entry service providers who assure cost-effective services for their data entry needs. Therefore, potential service providers should be assessed on their cost to the company and their capacity for scaling up, as the business requirements grow. However, the costs associated with such scaling-up should also be considered. Partnering with a data entry service provider that provides 24×7 support will assure shorter turnaround times. This also prevents data stacking as the work gets evenly distributed and the workflow will be streamlined.

Bridge cultural barriers

Often, data entry specialists work remotely from an entirely different continent resulting in cultural differences to deal with. These differences might interrupt your workflow. Hiring offshore resources with English fluency who can easily comprehend and communicate with people from your culture will enhance the overall project efficiency.

Dodge the herd mentality

Often, most of the companies choose big outsourcing firms for outsourcing their data entry services. This is known as the herd mentality, which often leads to increased outsourcing costs. The idea here is to choose niche players who offer profitable deals on data entry services, which the bigger players might fail to offer.

Negotiate favorable service-level agreements

A lack of favorable SLAs will make it difficult for the company to get the desired level of performance from the hired data entry service provider. Penalizing the outsourcing firm for sub-par services will also create problems. Therefore, even if you shortlist the best data entry service provider, you must create and sign favorable SLAs before project initialization.

Overcome delayed support and response

Differences in time zones often result in delayed responses to business requests and revisions. This will help you to avoid any complications associated with delayed response and support. Consequently, you can choose outsourcing partners who can provide dedicated staff working in the same

What to look for while choosing the right data entry outsourcing company?

Outline all your expectations for outsourcing

It will be difficult finding the right data entry outsourcing company if you are not clear about your objectives and conditions. This include:

• Reduce expenses.
• To engage your company’s staff to accomplish all the priority work.
• It should be time-efficient.
• Who will be responsible for dealing with the employees?
• Do you have to prepare a formal training session for the outsourced team?
• What measures will you take to determine the performance of the staff? etc.

This fundamental coordination phase guarantees you remain concentrated on what you plan to achieve from your outsourcing company.

Search for skill and proficiency

Every data entry outsourcing company may not be an expert in a similar field. It has been observed that these companies tend to offer an immense number of services. For example, client assistance, specialized help, data entry, content writing, graphics designing, and rundown goes on. Nonetheless, if you enquire them specifically, you will find that they, generally, have expertise only in a few specific fields.

Review their qualifications and business credibility

It is advisable to choose a company whose business traits coordinate your needs. The best way to ensure this is to find out about their certifications and business credibility. Another way to become more familiar with the organization is by checking their online activities, project investigations, reviews, or references.

Look at innovation and their foundation

Make sure you choose a data entry outsourcing company that makes use of the latest technology. It should also have a strong framework. For instance, you should avoid dealing with companies that have a single internet service with no emergency backups. Such companies can’t guarantee smooth operations.

Better turnaround time

While choosing a data processing outsourcing company it is important to know about the turnaround time. This will accelerate the entire working procedure in your organization. It could be possible that at times an outsourced data might be significant and needs to be handled in the shortest conceivable time frame. This is why the company you choose to outsource ought to have the capability to handle such emergency tasks.

Conclusion

Resorting to data-entry outsourcing services helps enterprises to cut their costs as well as to reduce the turnaround time by delegating non-important tasks to specialized vendors. Thus data-entry outsourcing helps enterprises to achieve cost-effectiveness and improve their efficiency. It results in fewer errors and improves data accuracy. Thus, outsourcing of data-entry services helps organizations to improve their operational efficiencies and is a cost-effective solution which is a prominent factor driving the growth of the global data-entry outsourcing services market.