Businesses in all industries live and breathe data. From improving performance to gleaning customer insights, data is a powerful asset that helps brands make wise decisions and achieve success in a fast-paced, data-driven world. While data entry is commonly associated with mindless typing, it is a critical back-office task that requires organization and precision. With brands wanting to save time on data processing and management, the decision to outsource data entry to a foreign country like the Philippines becomes a promising decision from a time and business perspective.
The Philippines is a bustling hub of call centers and business processing outsourcing (BPO) companies. With this in mind, you have a wide pool of companies you can outsource data entry to. If this is your first time dipping your toes into outsourcing, you might have some doubts about your decision to outsource data entry jobs. Below, let’s debunk four myths about outsourcing data entry to the Philippines.
Myth #1: Lack of Data Privacy and Protection
On the contrary, the Philippines has a robust data privacy and protection law, and it’s called the Data Privacy Act of 2012. This law underscores the responsibilities of organizations to safeguard sensitive data from tampering and unauthorized disclosure, giving you that much-needed peace of mind when you outsource data entry to your Filipino team.
Myth #2: Low-Quality Outputs
Both onshore and offshore data entry professionals are capable of producing high-quality work. But if you want to cut costs without sacrificing quality and productivity, choose to outsource data entry to the Philippines.
Because many Filipinos are educated and fluent in English, you can expect your offshore team to follow and execute instructions and minimize errors — especially when data entry involves transcription.
Myth #3: Communication Difficulties
The decision to outsource data entry to a foreign country means facing potential communication mishaps due to cultural differences and varying levels of English proficiency. Thankfully, Filipinos are exposed to the language at a young age through media and education, so their English writing and speaking skills are honed to perfection. Their affinity and familiarity with Western culture are also a plus, which makes communicating with your Filipino team a pleasant experience.
Likewise, time zone differences are not an obstacle when you outsource data entry tasks to Philippine-based BPOs. This is because BPO employees align their working hours to their client’s time zone to ensure real-time collaboration and submission of deliverables. Hence, if your business operates in the USA, your Filipino team will work at night to overlap with your business’s operating hours.
Myth #4: Replaces Onshore Staff
Outsourcing data entry to the Philippines doesn’t necessarily mean laying off your onshore team. In other words, an offshore team complements, not replace your onshore team. When you outsource data entry to your Filipino staff, your in-house team can enjoy a lighter workload and improved well-being and job satisfaction.
This means they have more time to complete tasks appropriate to their skill level and area of expertise. Most importantly, you don’t have to deal with all the hefty costs of hiring and training new staff when you outsource data entry to Filipino employees.
A 6-Step Tutorial to Outsource Data Entry to the Philippines
Choosing to outsource data entry to a foreign country is a risk. However, outsourcing doesn’t have to be a liability if you work with one of the best companies for data entry outsourcing. If you’re new to this venture and consider the Philippines your outsourcing destination, look no further than this tutorial on how to outsource data entry to the renowned BPO capital of the world.
Step #1: Do A Needs Assessment of Your Business
It’s easy to be blinded by success stories of outsourcing. While your decision to outsource data entry does wonders for your brand and employees, knowing your whys is key to a successful outsourcing experience. These questions help you identify the whys behind your choice to outsource data entry — and at the same time — paint a clear picture of your business needs:
- Are your in-house employees swamped with data entry work?
- Has your business faced a surge in data to be processed and managed?
- Do you want to improve operational efficiency without having to hire local staff?
- Do you want your onshore team to focus more on key business endeavors (ex: marketing)?
It’s also important to know which types of data entry work you want to be outsourced to the Philippines. Here are some examples of data entry tasks:
1. Numeric Data Entry
Numeric data entry involves accurately encoding statistical or financial data on a database or worksheet. Finance industries often outsource this task to an offshore staff.
2. Database Updating and Cleansing
Employees are responsible for updating or removing outdated information, such as phone numbers and emails.
3. Transcription
Transcribers listen to audio or watch videos, converting all data into accurately written text.
4. Product Data Entry
A product data entry specialist inputs product information on a retailer’s official website or e-commerce platform to update product pages or boost cross-selling rates.
5. Email Processing
The employee reviews emails and categorizes them based on urgency and other factors.
Step #2: Draft and Review Your Contract
A contract is a legally binding document detailing the responsibilities and expectations of your outsourcing partner. Hence, when you outsource data entry to a Philippine-based BPO, be sure your contract has the following clauses:
1. Types of Services
This section lists all the services to outsource to a third party, giving your BPO partner a clear idea of the required deliverables.
2. Service-Level Agreements (SLA)
SLAs include the performance metrics and benchmarks for assessing the quality of work rendered by the outsourcing partner.
3. Non-Disclosure and Data Privacy
This clause highlights the expectations and compliance of the outsourcing partner in ensuring the protection and non-disclosure of customer data when you outsource data entry tasks to an offshore team.
5. Termination
This clause includes all the conditions and circumstances for terminating the partnership. After drafting your contract, go over your document and see if all clauses are concise and easy to understand. You can then search for a BPO firm to outsource data entry assignments to.
Step #3: Find the Right BPO to Outsource Data Entry Projects
With hundreds of BPOs all over the Philippines, finding the right BPO firm to outsource data entry is like finding a needle in a haystack. You can start with a Google search of the best BPO companies in the Philippines and shortlist from there. Another way is to type “how to outsource data entry” or any industry- or service-related keyword followed by “outsourcing” or “outsourcing companies” (ex: data entry outsourcing) — which may yield articles written by BPOs about data entry. Platforms like GoodFirms or LinkedIn are a good place to start, as well.
In addition to checking a BPO’s website and portfolio, reaching out to its former clientele is a good idea, too. This way, you can better assess a company’s professionalism and reliability in delivering high-quality data entry services within a specified time frame.
While reputation is important, it’s also worth checking out your future outsourcing partner’s values, mission, and vision to see if they’re compatible with yours. Likewise, knowing how the company stores and protects sensitive data is paramount given the inherent risk of working with data.
Even if a BPO offers the cheapest data entry services, or has worked with a big client, don’t just close a deal with any BPO you find online. Take your time and consider your options before you outsource data entry projects.
Step #4: Secure the Deal
At this point, you’ve probably shortlisted one or a couple of BPOs. Before you close a deal and outsource data entry tasks to your chosen BPO, be clear about your expectations and goals. Because outsourcing entails a little risk to your business, BPOs willingly offer a trial period to see if the delivered results are up to your standards, or if the partnership benefits your business. Once everything is settled, you can start to outsource data entry projects and work with your Filipino team!
Step #5: Meet the Team and Outsource Data Entry Jobs
Your Filipino data entry specialists are newcomers to your business, so expect them to overcome a little learning curve when you first outsource data entry tasks to them. Get them up to speed with your business’s in-house policies and workflow, and provide them with training manuals and resources.
If your organization uses Microsoft Teams, Slack, or any communication platform, you can set up accounts for your data entry specialists and their team leader. Creating a dedicated group chat or channel for your offshore staff makes it easier to outsource data entry projects and report technical issues. Weekly virtual catch-ups also help establish a stronger professional bond between you and your offshore team.
Step #6: Monitor Performance and Provide Additional Resources
Feedback is key to improved motivation and performance. Before you further outsource data entry jobs to your staff, it’s recommended to appoint the team leader as a quality control checker to speed up the validation process and provide a daily or weekly performance report.
Through this report, you’ll be able to identify trends and patterns in your team’s performance. Here are some guide questions to kick off a feedback session with your data entry specialists:
- After you outsource data entry tasks for the day, how fast can the team complete their assignments?
- Were there inaccuracies in the data being inputted in the database?
- How are the team’s attention to detail and organization skills?
- Is the team knowledgeable of data entry software like Microsoft Excel?
- Were there any recurring patterns and trends?
Whatever the outcome of the feedback session, share practical tips on how your team can improve their typing skills and accomplish tasks faster without compromising quality and accuracy. Hence, the next time you outsource data entry projects, your team will know how to maintain optimal performance.
Outsource Data Entry to the Philippines Now
Data entry is commonly associated with mundanity and endless typing on a computer. However, what some people don’t understand is it demands precision, organization, and technical know-how. Because of the influx of data, many businesses outsource data entry assignments to the Philippines.
KDCI onboards data entry specialists who exhibit ample technical knowledge, keen attention to detail, and excellent typing skills. By availing of our data entry services, you’re getting high-caliber work at a fraction of the cost.
Ready to outsource data entry projects to KDCI? Contact us for inquiries, and start building your team of Filipino data entry specialists today!
