Every company needs fast results. It’s a fact of business. No matter how much time or money you invest into your business, if you don’t see the effects of your efforts right away, it can be hard to stay motivated and focused on long-term goals. And data entry is no different. Whether you have a lot of existing data to enter or need someone to capture information from multiple sources, data entry outsourcing provides fast results that help take some pressure off busy teams and provide valuable focus to other projects.
But how does it work? Keep reading for everything you need to know about data entry outsourcing and why it could be a practical part of your business strategy.
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Why Outsource Data Entry Work To A Professional Remote Team?
In a nutshell, data entry outsourcing allows you to work with a team of professional remote workers who can help complete your projects as efficiently and accurately as possible. But if you’re unfamiliar with the process or unsure whether working with a remote team makes sense for your business, here are some “why’s” that might help make it clear:
You need fast results
Like any other business goal, speed is essential regarding data entry. The faster information gets entered into your system, the sooner your teams can start using it in decision-making, the less time your business wastes on manual entry, and the more potential your company has for benefitting from the information.
Working with an experienced data entry company allows you to get instant results while other projects move forward.
You need help with high-volume jobs
If your team has a lot of work ahead of them but can’t spare any valuable resources right now, doing it all in-house isn’t possible or cost-effective. Outsourcing helps fill those gaps by providing dedicated teams ready-made to handle high-volume workloads at any given time so you don’t lose momentum waiting for results.
You need accuracy and consistency
Even if you have the resources to tackle a high-volume job in-house, can you guarantee the quality of your work? When dealing with essential data that needs to be entered accurately and consistently, working with a remote professional team can help ensure everything is done the first time correctly.
You need to save time and money on training or equipment
Whether hiring staff or buying additional equipment (e.g., scanners), any investment into employee salaries or physical tools only makes sense if your teams are consistently able to manage large workloads without slowing down or breaking down.
Sometimes it just doesn’t make financial sense to invest in training support staff when their ROI doesn’t reach its full potential for many months, years, or even decades.
Especially for high-volume jobs and long-term projects, outsourcing can help ensure your resources are invested in a way that provides the most significant value to your business.
You need specialized or remote expertise
In some cases, it might be easier (not to mention cheaper) to work with a team of experienced professionals with specific skills you don’t have time to learn.
For example, if you need someone familiar with medical transcription but have no experience in medicine, working with an outsourced data entry provider gives you access to specialists who can get the job done without you having to invest money into learning all those new skills.
The same goes when dealing with time zones or language barriers; sometimes, it’s easier and more cost-effective to work with someone who’s already been there and done that.
How Does Data Entry Outsourcing Work? What Are The Benefits?
There are many ways to outsource data entry, and the process will look slightly different depending on your chosen provider. However, when it comes down to it, almost everything can be broken down into three simple steps:
- Forming a partnership with an outsourcing team.
- Dividing up the projects and customizing your workflow.
- Managing your remote team as they complete their tasks.
Here’s how each stage works:
Partnership Launch & Customization of Workflow
The first step is to search for a data entry provider and match them with the kind of work you need to be done.
For example, if you simply need basic transcription services but also want to benefit from 24/7 support as well as access to a team of certified medical writers and editors, then it might make sense for your business just to use one data entry outsourcing company rather than multiple different providers for each service.
This will help streamline your workflow into something that makes more sense for what you need.
The same goes when dealing with language or location barriers; it could be much simpler (and probably cheaper) to form one partnership that includes all those things instead of working with several different companies that don’t necessarily speak the same language or have the same cultural perspective.
Once you’ve selected an outsourcing provider and agreed on the terms of your partnership, the process begins with introspection and creating a detailed workflow. This might simply involve outlining some general preferences or having them sign off on their work method(s).
For example, if you need someone to follow specific protocols like HIPPA compliance or other government laws when working with sensitive data, then those things have to be clearly outlined before they can start. Or maybe there are communication formats or time zone boundaries that need to be considered as well.
Whatever it is, being clear from the outset (including any additional charges for services like 24/7 support) will help avoid confusion later in the project. More importantly, it will help you move forward confidently that your new data entry team is the right fit for your project.
Divide & Conquer: Project Management, Timeline Mapping, and Reporting
Once everything’s all set in place and everyone has bought into the workflow process, it’s time to divide up the projects and then map out timelines, so each person knows what they need to do, when they need to do it, and where their specific responsibilities fit into the grand scheme of things.
This helps ensure everything stays on target and everyone feels like an important part of the process. To help make this happen, outsourcing teams typically use project management software or other workflow tools to keep things moving along and allow remote employees to communicate easily with one another via chat, video conference, or phone.
To meet timelines, most providers will track data entry projects in real-time so they can quickly identify any potential issues before they become problems that negatively impact your deadlines.
Managing Your Remote Team: Delegating Responsibilities & Checking Progress From Afar
This is the part of outsourced data entry where you ensure everything’s running smoothly and on track.
Once all the work has been divided between different people — perhaps spread over a few different time zones — the project manager (typically someone you’ve worked with in the past as a contact at your outsourcing team) needs to assign responsibilities and block off time for checking their progress.
Maybe they need to be reminded that some things are due earlier than others or have you proofread something quickly because it’s essential to keep those deadlines on schedule.
It could also involve giving them a heads-up if there are any unexpected changes, like an influx of work from one client or some big news about new data entry regulations being implemented by the government (or perhaps even an earthquake).
In other words, this is where all that project management software comes in handy for managing who does what and when so everyone stays on track, and there aren’t any surprises along the way.
Conclusion
There are various data entry outsourcing processes and pitfalls to avoid, but keeping the above in mind can smooth out the bumps and get your project on track.
From there, it’s simply a matter of delegating responsibilities, checking progress online, and ensuring everyone communicates effectively. This will help ensure this transition goes as smoothly as possible while protecting the privacy and security of any sensitive information that passes through their hands.
Ultimately, having an experienced partner can help save time and reduce stress when looking to get things done right the first time. So even though it might be tempting to do everything yourself (and depending on what you’re working on), there are some great benefits to consider when looking for an outsourcing team to help with your data entry needs.
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