Successful businesses rarely went through their path to success alone. Most — if not all — grew by knowing how to form a partnership with other companies to expand their capabilities and become more competitive. Amazon, Shopify, and Apple did it, so should you!This article will show you how to find the perfect partner, the cost of partnerships, and how partnerships in Ecommerce increase your profit. Let's start.
There are thousands of businesses out there, but only a few of them can provide the support you need to grow. Knowing how to choose the right partner out of so many will help you cherry-pick the best. Here’s how you can find the perfect business partner:
One of the goals of forming a partnership is having someone do the things you can’t do, can’t focus on, or expertise beyond your reach.Say your online business has been having an overflow of customer inquiries and you don’t have the time and office space for a customer service team. Forming a partnership with an outsourcing company that can handle customer support will help ease that load from you.Knowing what you need can trim-down your list of potential business partners almost instantly. This can also set clear expectations about their role in the partnership since you already know what they will be doing.
If you want something you can trust almost instantly, nothing beats asking people you already know.You don’t exactly have to connect with their business partners, or partner with your friend’s business. If you simply share your need for growth, they might recommend businesses you can partner with.Although seemingly ideal, try to steer clear of building partnerships with friends or family so that you don’t jeopardize your personal relationships. Otherwise, set an exit plan to prevent bitter endings in case the partnership doesn’t work out.
One way to see if they’re trustworthy and credible is to get to know their business. Do they have customer or client reviews? How long have they been in business? Can they give you what you need?Trust is the most vital part of a business partnership, so you have to ensure the credibility of your potential partner. If you’re having second thoughts or reservations about them, then you should probably trust your instincts. Better safe than sorry.
The key to finding the perfect business partner is to see if you’re both bringing something valuable on the table.If you want a partnership with a business that does product photo editing, their value is in their skills for editing. Meanwhile, you compensate them well for their skills as 83% of your customers rely on photos for their online purchasing decisions.Need help with product photo editing? We can help! Contact us.Now, while most of the give-and-take will involve value for money, it could also be the level of effort and passion you both put into the partnership. Working with someone with the same drive and commitment to grow can ensure that you both end up with the same success.
The cost of business partnerships will depend on your potential partner and the type of partnership you want to dive into. Although, you can expect online partnerships to be cheaper compared to other business partnerships because you don’t have to deal with taxes, legal fees, and other state-specific fees when forming a partnership.Since we’re talking about Ecommerce, we’ll show you the costs involved in building a business partnership online.
You will encounter this type of cost if you partner with an outsourcing company or a person for only a specific project. The cost will vary depending on the amount of work and/or level of difficulty of the project.For example, the cost of product description writing will depend on how many products you need descriptions for. Meanwhile, the cost of website development will be different from customer support services, since it requires a higher-level skillset.If you want to be more cost-effective, partner with an outsourcing company that has the expertise for most of the work that you need.Take KDCI for example. We can handle Customer Support, Digital Marketing, Graphic Design, Product Information Management, and Web Development. If you want to talk costs, we offer flexible pricing! We'd be happy to give you a quote for everything you need.Get a quote
A retainer fee is the amount you pay upfront for the service that you need and the minimum number of hours or months they will work with you. This serves as your insurance that your expectations will be met within the period you’ve agreed on.Say, for example, you partner with KDCI for Shopify website development and maintenance for 40 hours a month. You can expect us to dedicate 40 hours every month for everything you need for that service.
Offshore staffing is where an offshoring company handles the management of your remote staff, human resources, and operations on your behalf.Partnerships with offshoring companies can reduce your business operational costs by 60%. However, the fees for offshore staffing includes management fees and a one-time fee for the specific roles that you want for your remote staff.If you want to know more in-depth information about offshore staffing, check out our blog about the cost of outsourcing to the Philippines.
Commissions depend on what type of partnership you want to build. If, for example, you want to partner with online influencers for your products, then they may ask for a commission for every product they manage to sell.Should you partner with a business that provides staff leasing of sales representatives, then you may have to pay for commissions if they go beyond your quota.Of course, the cost of commissions will depend on your agreement with your partner.
The end goal of forming a partnership is to increase your profit and your partner’s. Here are some of the ways you can benefit from a partnership in terms of profit.
One of the best things about partnerships is that it brings you closer to a larger pool of experts that you may not have access to if you hire within your city. Not to mention, having access to more experts can also fast-forward your growth as a business.
Outsourcing and offshoring companies help you increase your profit by helping you cut expenses.Since their business is in a different country, you can take advantage of currency conversions. Plus, you don’t have to worry about taxes, building costs, and operational costs if you choose to expand your business by yourself.If you want to reduce your operational costs by 60%, we can help! Visit our Offshore Staffing Service page to find out more, or contact us.
Opportunity costs are the business opportunities that you have to let go to focus on other aspects of your business. Having a partnership with an outsourcing company will give you the freedom and time to finally explore other opportunities or advancements for your business.
Partnerships with Amazon has provided a way for online and brick-and-mortar stores to have a competitive advantage in a demanding industry. The same goes for other partnerships.If you partner with an expert in a certain field or skill, you give your business a competitive edge because of their knowledge of the industry. With their help, you can generate more ways to increase your profit.Partner with Ecommerce experts
Overall, you have to make sure that you’re comfortable with having a business partner. Ask yourself if a partnership in Ecommerce will help you achieve the goals you can’t do alone.Once you decide that it is, in fact, what you need, then don’t hesitate to form business partnerships with an outsourcing company like KDCI.With our Ecommerce expertise, we can help you face your store’s challenges head-on so you can grow your business further. Visit our Ecommerce Outsourcing Services page to find out more.
Meetings have become an essential part of business continuity. As professionals, every leader and employee must follow virtual meeting etiquette to maintain the best online experience for the whole team. Here are 5 key things you should remember.
Treat the meeting as if you’re doing it in the office. Be mindful of everyone’s schedules and try to join the meeting at least five minutes early. This makes it easier to start the meeting promptly and to stick to the allotted time.
Before you join the meeting, make sure all systems are secure -- check that your mic, audio, camera, and internet connection are working properly. Have mobile data ready in case your internet connection fails. You want the meeting to go smoothly and without any interruptions.
Always be camera-ready, even if your meeting isn’t specified to be a video conference. Make sure your background is work-appropriate, and maintain a professional appearance in both attire and in posture. This also applies to your desktop environment, especially if you’re going to be sharing your screen.
With everyone staying at home these days, your house can get pretty noisy unless you’re living alone. Muting your microphone when you’re not talking allows everyone to listen to the speaker without any unwanted background noise.
It may be tempting to do other things like check your inbox or even continue with your work, but don’t do it! Be present for the whole meeting. You might miss out on important points and lose your opportunity to give input and ask questions.Must Read: 10 Tips on How to Be Productive During Quarantine
Working from home can make it difficult to separate your home self from your work self. While virtual meeting platforms can help your experience, being professional yourself can help you adjust better as you act as if you never left the office.
With various operations essential to your Ecommerce business, you'll need all the help you can get. But expanding your business can get tricky--especially if you want to add new services to the mix. Outsourcing companies can provide the support that you need to cover the back office operations essential to you and your customers.
Still unsure if you're ready to outsource your Ecommerce operations? Watch out for these signs:
At first glance, it looks like a good problem.Your Ecommerce business is on the rise, and you have no choice but to keep up with the growing volume of work and still ensure customer satisfaction. As much as possible, you want to avoid any roadblocks when the opportunity for growth is within your reach.With the increasing need for new services to fulfill your customers' needs, ask yourself, "Do I have enough resources to sustain my online shop's growth?"Outsourcing is the best way to pave your way from a small shop to an Ecommerce store. Lucky for you, there is a variety of cost-effective and flexible outsourcing solutions, custom-developed to drive innovation and improve your online shop's efficiency.
Business operations keep a business afloat. This includes answering your customers' queries, advertising your online shop, and managing your product catalog online.When you were starting out, only you handled these activities. But as your online shop generates a wider reach, you'll need extra pairs of hands to keep the operations running so you'll have time to think strategically for your business.To get unstuck from the operation side of your business, you can consider outsourcing to support your day-to-day activities.Some outsourcing companies have Ecommerce services in their service list, from customer support to digital marketing, and product information management. Once you start outsourcing your back office operations, you'll have more time to develop your business and brainstorm new ideas.Help Me with My Business Operations
For any business, growth is essential--it's even crucial to your long-term survival.To sustain your growth, ideas propel your Ecommerce business to keep reaching new heights. They drive you to explore untapped markets, launch creative marketing campaigns, and innovate your existing product line.Ideas can mean additional revenue, but first, you must have the capability to turn your ideas into a revenue-generating machine.Finding the resources to develop these ideas gets more difficult the more your online shop grows. Good thing there are outsourcing companies that offer Ecommerce outsourcing services for back office operations.
According to Paycor, up to 70% of total business costs are labor costs. On top of that, operating costs can account for up to 20%.With these tremendous costs, wanting to save money is understandable--reducing your operational and labor costs opens up more opportunities for you to boost profit.As an Ecommerce business owner, you need to look for ways to increase your bottom line without giving up the quality of your products and services.With outsourcing, you can save up to 60% in labor and operational costs, compared to hiring in-house resources. Delegating tasks to experts will yield higher savings and even deliver better results.
A recent survey by ManPower Group states that 54% of global companies have talent shortages.Getting new people on board is a pain point for any business. Unfortunately, there are even times when you'll have incompetent people take over your back office operations.They might have a hard time managing your online shop or they might not be invested in fulfilling your customer service requests--these can drive you to start your recruitment process all over again.Outsourcing can help you solve your talent shortage problems. Better yet, offshoring will give you access to a large pool of highly qualified professionals for a lower cost.
Ecommerce provides a fast growth opportunity, but the risk of failure is high when you don't have the right people in your team.Out of these ten reasons why Ecommerce businesses fail, seven require people with the right expertise to help you avoid these pitfalls. Whether it's for SEO, site usability, customer support, or product information management, you'll need subject-matter experts to support your Ecommerce business.Outsourcing companies are the best place to find the right experts. They can provide access to well-versed Ecommerce specialists, who can drive you away from the pitfalls of navigating your online business.
If you're transitioning your offline store online, you'll see that customer service is different.At a brick-and-mortar store, you can directly engage with customers. But with an Ecommerce shop, your interactions are limited to calls, chat, and email, and it gets more difficult to feature that personal touch critical to the customer experience.With this shift, upgrading your customer experience can help you crush problems that customers might encounter while going through the buyer's journey online.Outsourcing can bring customer service specialists into your business--even better if you choose a one-stop-shop Ecommerce outsourcing company with customer support services.Get My Own Customer Support Service Team
Adapting your business to the growth of the Ecommerce industry is not an easy feat. When you want to expand your online shop, you'll soon encounter roadblocks while growing your Ecommerce business.Good thing you now know the signs to spot if you're ready to outsource your back office operations. In case you encounter any of them, we'll help you choose the right Ecommerce outsourcing partner for your business.
Living in a tropical country has conditioned us to deal with heat. Every time summer rolls around, we expect to beat the season like we always do. But every year, summer hits never-before-reached heat indexes and gets even hotter than the year before.
Working from home has removed us from the comfortable air conditioning of our offices, and having one at home would mean higher electricity bills.So, to help you manage the heat at home and save electricity at the same time, here are 10 things you can do:
Drinking lots of water sounds like the best way to get hydrated. Take it up a notch by adding lemon wedges or squeezing lemon juice into your glass of water for additional benefits like vitamin C, weight control, better skin quality, and kidney stones prevention.
Research shows that caffeine has mild diuretic effects, which can drive your body to produce a higher amount of urine and contribute to dehydration. But don't worry, coffee lovers -- if the caffeine temptation is too strong to resist, you can still have your favorite cup of coffee as long as you drink it moderately.
A spike in your body temperature will only make the heat feel worse. Prevent this by limiting your consumption of foods that take longer to digest. The more you eat, the more heat that your body will produce, so have smaller food portions to avoid slowing down your digestion.
A variety of cold foods available in the market comes with summer. With the quarantine still in place, you can resort to DIY creations that can cool you down. With the right ingredients and kitchen tools, go local and international with your dishes, from halo-halo, mais con yelo, and sago't gulaman to dalgona coffee, flavored milk tea, and fruit smoothies.
Here's a life hack to easily cool down -- your body's cooling points. Your neck and wrists are the most well-known. Aside from these, the insides of your elbows, knees, and ankles and the top of your feet are other common cooling points. Once you've determined the most convenient place for you, apply a towel-wrapped ice to this area to quickly and effectively cool down.
It might be hard to accept that even when staying inside the house, anyone is still susceptible to heat-related illnesses and emergencies such as heat stroke, heat rash, heat cramps, and heat exhaustion. Just in case all else fails, get one step ahead of them, and have the ability to recognize their symptoms. And if the worst occurs -- knock on wood -- you'll know what to do to best help the victim.
As much as you want to switch on your aircon all day every day, mounting electricity bills would be a slap of reality to that fantasy. It's a good thing that creativity can help you through tough times. If you have ice and a spare fan, you can already start your own aircon projects with other items at home, such as styrofoam and plastic soda bottles.
Most of us have a skincare routine that we stick to day and night. To add a twist to your regular routine, keep your skincare products inside the refrigerator. Once it's time to use your skincare products, experience a refreshing sensation and a soothing effect when applying your lotions, moisturizers, and creams.
It's easy to let the quarantine and the weather turn into excuses to stop exercising. But just because it's hot doesn't mean that you can't do your regular workouts anymore. Exercise early in the morning or later in the evening -- the weather during these hours is a little cooler. Plus, with thousands of fitness videos online, you can use them as a guide when doing your workouts at home.
Even pets are affected by this seemingly never-ending heat. Keep an eye for symptoms of heatstroke, which can go from rapid panting and drooling to seizures and coma. Prevention is still better than cure, and you can save your fur babies from this by giving them a well-ventilated space, always providing them fresh drinking water, and avoiding exercises under hot weather.
The overwhelming summer heat has caused many discomforts since the start of the season. These tips can help relieve the uneasiness brought by the hot weather.Are you working from home? Check out these tips to stay productive.
Hiring full-time Ecommerce specialists with the right experience for your business' Ecommerce service that you can leverage to succeed is expensive, and isn't always financially feasible. Ecommerce services come in as essentially outsourcing companies with the same expertise but without the pricey bit of hiring in-house.
Unlike brick-and-mortar stores, Ecommerce requires a specific set of skills for particular tasks that you can’t do alone. And as your competitors move to digital, letting an Ecommerce expert help you can fast-forward your transition to digital without mistakes. Here are the following Ecommerce services that you can outsource.
First on the list of Ecommerce services that you can outsource is website and graphic design operations. A journal article published in the Management Information Systems Quarterly focused on Exploring Human Images in Website Design: A Multi-Method Approach. In the study, they found that the visual design of Ecommerce websites can enhance not only aesthetics but also the emotional appeal of the visitors. As a result, website visitors were more likely to trust a site with good design. Meanwhile, according to Formstack, 57% of users will not recommend a business that doesn’t have a good website design. This can hurt your business because, consequently, recommendations can increase sales by 29%, according to a report by Amazon. Graphic Design, on the other hand, is an element of Website Design that also covers other things like:
Luckily, this type of work can be outsourced to a provider of Ecommerce services, so you don’t have to do it yourself. As an experienced Ecommerce service provider, we know how to incorporate your vision of your brand with what your customers like to see in a website — be it on their computers or smartphones. Arby's, for example, trusted us with developing a custom platform for improved customer experience. With our experience in UI/UX design, we helped them grow their brand with a design that their customers love. See more of the design we did for them in Arby's Case Study.
An Ecommerce website is capable of handling online transactions to make it easy for customers to choose and buy products or ecommerce services from a business. Unfortunately, if you try to create a website alone using drag-and-drop platforms, you don’t have anyone to help you if any errors occur. Your customers make transactions on your website, and if they can’t use your website, you don’t make money. That’s where the assistance of Ecommerce services come in. With their help, you can have your live website sooner, have quicker bug fixes, and new custom features can be implemented faster. The KDCI Ecommerce Website Development and Maintenance team specializes in Ecommerce platforms and Ecommerce services. Aside from that, we can also create custom websites if you want more unique capabilities that can be difficult to achieve using standard platforms. We can even help you out if you don't know what to build your site on, or if you want to migrate to a new platform. Our expertise are in place to be able to guide you based on what your business needs.
Third on the Ecommerce services that your business can outsource is product information management. One of the most critical rules of selling online is providing your customers with product descriptions that will compel them to buy your product. At the same time, these descriptions must be SEO friendly so that you can drive sales to your product pages. Be it Amazon, Shopify, Magento, or any online selling platform you use, our Product Information Management (PIM) team can help you out. We can cover all data that concern your products, which includes:
With our experience in Ecommerce services, we can speed up the production of your product data so you can start selling as soon as possible. No matter what niche your business (or potential business) is, we can handle it. I need help with Product Information Management
Every online business needs content for everything. Be it for social media, advertisements, or blogs — content is everywhere. Fourth Ecommerce services that you can leverage and outsource is content creation operations. Good quality content is capable of targeting your customers’ pain points and selling your products or services in such a way that it answers their needs. Hiring Ecommerce services means you get good quality content. This, in turn, helps improve your website’s SEO (Search Engine Optimization) performance. Good SEO will make your website appear on the first page whenever someone searches for your product or service, making them more likely to buy from you. Therefore, SEO Content Creation is vital for Ecommerce because it creates a better online presence for your business. It uses a strategic, data-driven approach to ensure that all content you put out targets your specific goals, from attracting customers to making a sale.
Order processing is a part of an Ecommerce services and sales process that deals with responding and fulfilling orders. It has a direct impact on customer experience and satisfaction, which ultimately translates to your sales. Good thing, there are a lot of third-party fulfillment services that can help you handle this load. They can take care of order validation, query resolution, status check, and cancellation management, while you focus on running your business. Outsourcing order processing means you don’t have to train an entire team of fulfillment staff and worry about attrition. This can reduce your operational and management costs by up to 40%, which you can invest in other parts of your business. Some of the best order processing companies are ShipBob, ShipMonk, and Rakuten Super Logistics.
Digital Marketing as one of the Ecommerce services utilizes technology and online channels to advertise, promote, and grow your brand. Without it, it can be almost impossible to run an online business. However, Digital Marketing is not a one-size-fits-all strategy. Every business is different, and therefore each must have a unique digital strategy. Hiring an Ecommerce services company can help ensure that your strategies work for your business. They can help you with numerous types of Digital Marketing, which includes:
More and more businesses are building their online presence. Therefore, investing in Digital Marketing for your Ecommerce services has become more important if you want your business to get on top of your competitors. Help me build my online presence
An online business’ customer service is different from the traditional in-store or voice customer service in terms of the number of channels you can use. Ecommerce Customer Support can still include voice support, but you can also have chat, email, and omnichannel. Each of these support types requires skills that can be difficult and more expensive to hire locally. Because as customer inquiries pile up, you’ll need more people to answer their questions on the dot. This means additional expenses in computers, technical support, and office space. Hiring Ecommerce services for customer support can help you cut costs while improving customer experience. They can absorb the demands of 24/7 shifts, making your responses faster and more efficient.
Running a business is difficult if you try to do it alone. Luckily, there are numerous Ecommerce services out there that are waiting and quite eager to help you out. Not only will you build a good partnership with another business, but you can also increase your conversions and profit with the right Ecommerce service providers.
Selling online and running an Ecommerce store is more than just having a website. An Ecommerce service provider can bring the most out of your online business and get the best possible ROI.
Whether you’re trying to build your existing Ecommerce store, or transitioning your brick-and-mortar store to the digital space, choosing a partner is a crucial decision. Here are some tips to help your decision-making:
One of the first things that you have to look for in finding an Ecommerce service provider is to find experts in the industry.Come up with a shortlist of Ecommerce experts based on how long they have been in service. This allows you to benefit from their hard-earned skills and knowledge on how to solve issues, avoid pitfalls, and boost value. More experienced service providers can guarantee success for your goals.Aside from experience, look for outsourcing business providers with the necessary platform and technology expertise specific to your online store.
Speaking of value, you can get more out of a partnership with a service provider if they have all the services that cater to what you need.Some of the essential Ecommerce services to look out for include:
The more services you can get, the better, as it is also more convenient for you. Because if they can give you all the specific assistance you need, then you don’t have to find another person or company for different jobs or roles.
Numerous service providers can give you the same experience and expertise. Still, you also need to know if they’re a good fit for you.That being said, the next thing you should do is to look for proof in the form of case studies or portfolios. This will allow you to gauge their skills based on how they have helped other businesses.Moreover, look at the industries they’ve worked with. See if they’ve helped a business similar to yours. An Ecommerce service provider that has experience with a business related to yours will more likely know what will work for your business.Although not a necessity, this will help you feel more comfortable with working with them.Meanwhile, if a service provider doesn’t have a case study or portfolio at all, then they might not be a good fit for you.
Case studies and portfolios show you their perspective on their skills. So, the next step is to know what their clients are saying about them.A good service provider will more likely have client testimonials on their website. However, don’t hesitate to look at other channels for customer reviews.Just as you would when looking for similar businesses in their portfolio, see if they have testimonials from companies similar to yours. This will also give you a clear picture of how they can help you.While you’re at it, look at how they’re treating their employees. Check out their website About Us or social media and see if they have good working relationships with their employees.This ensures reliability and reputation because how they are to their employees says a lot about them in terms of management, human resources, and other factors.
Once you have a good feel of the value you can get from an Ecommerce service provider, pricing is what will make or break your decision.However, it’s difficult to determine a price upfront, so the best way around it is to ask for a quote.Don’t forget to specify all the services you need help with, and don’t hesitate to ask other questions about their business.An essential part of asking for a quote is to also ask for transparency or a breakdown of their prices.When comparing prices from different service providers, weigh who gives you more value for your money in terms of services, experience, and other inclusions.Get a quote now
Reaching your goals for your Ecommerce business requires having the right people to help you achieve them. With an experienced Ecommerce service provider, you trust that you’re working with people who know exactly how to bring your business to success.KDCI has been helping Ecommerce businesses for over 20 years. In that time, we have built teams of experts in Ecommerce outsourcing, including graphic design, Ecommerce web development, digital marketing, and more.Our expertise and experience have allowed us to help our clients with both specific services and full-service Ecommerce outsourcing. Start growing your online business and contact us today.
Staying productive during quarantine can be a difficult adjustment if you’re not used to working from home. Since none of us have a concrete idea of when this period will last, the best we could do is to find a way in staying productive.Are you a business owner? Here’s a guide on how to keep your employees staying productive during quarantine and working remotely.
As an experienced outsourcing company, we’re not foreign to having full time employees working from home. So, to help you in staying productive during quarantine like our employees, here are some tips to help you as well.
First tip on how staying productive during quarantine is to gave a routine. Create a schedule for yourself that includes regular work hours as well as time for self-care and relaxation.Pro tip: include news time into your routine!Don’t stress yourself out too much by keeping an eye out for news updates all day.
Treat it like a regular workday — do the things you normally do to get ready for work. Take a shower, get dressed, get a cup of coffee, and other things that remind you of working in the office.The act of preparing alone helps you to mentally transition from your home life to your work life.
In staying being productive during quarantine, you should create a distinct space for yourself where you can work peacefully, without distractions. Try to set ground rules with other people in your home about your workspace and schedule, so they know when to not disturb you while you’re working.
Try to bring some of the outdoors in by working in a room with good natural lighting. Only if safe (depending on your community’s situation), crack open a window, or go to your yard or balcony and spend a few minutes outside.
Fifth tip on staying productive during quarantine is to move your body. Reduce your stress levels by getting plenty of sleep, staying hydrated, and eating well-balanced meals. Take your vitamins to boost your immune system, and find the time to move for at least 30 minutes each day.Something as simple as stretching in place or walking around the house can go a long way if you do it regularly.
Spend time with your family and try to inject some lightness and humor into your day. If you have children at home, spend extra time playing with them and help them understand and process the situation.Stay in touch with friends and loved ones through chat, text, or video calls to seek and offer support to each other.
Staying productive during quarantine doesn't require you to move all the time. Give yourself time to relax and do activities you enjoy. Watch a movie, read a book, or listen to music. Revisit your old hobbies, or maybe do something new that will keep you busy and engaged.You can organize family activities like movie and singalong nights, teaching the kids how to cook, or create craft projects.Here are some online activities you can enjoy with your family for free:
Consider this as an opportunity to do something productive during quarantine in other areas aside from work. Do that thing you’ve always been putting off — let Marie Kondo help you declutter your home, learn to play an instrument, or start your DIY home renovation projects.The goal is to focus on things you can control.
While there is a lot of saddening information spread all over the internet, it’s important to counter balance the heavy with the hopeful. Read stories about successful recoveries and the countless ways people are helping one another to get through this.Take some time to say thanks to our frontliners and find ways, big and small, to give back.
Although this whole crisis is unprecedented and will go on for an undetermined amount of time, try to remind yourself that this will pass.We don’t know for sure what lies ahead, but we’ll get out of this ordeal with lessons on what needs to change for the better.
Remote work can be a useful tool to encourage motivation and allow a productive working experience for your employees. That is if it isn’t forced into them like what’s happening during this pandemic.Therefore, to keep your employees productive as they work from home, or if you have teams offshore, you need a different approach. Luckily, you only need to do three things.Related: Working Remotely: How to Effectively Manage Remote Employees During The Pandemic
As an experienced outsourcing company, we’ve found that there are three essential things that you must do to keep your employees productive while working remotely. We practice these tips, and sometimes give them as advice for our clients who are new to having remote employees.
Ask employees about their working conditions. While setting a workspace or environment is an excellent way to have a productive working experience when working remotely, not all of your employees can have one.Therefore, it’s essential to ask them about their working conditions at home so that you can empathize well with their situation and help them adjust accordingly. That way, your employees will feel that you actually care about their wellbeing, which will motivate them to work.
While asking them about whether they are having a productive working experience while working at home, you have to follow it up with assisting them to have a plan. Give them advice on how they can be productive while working remotely, or maybe have them plan out their tasks for the week and give them notes.Having a project management tool can make planning easier towards a productive working experience for your employees. Most of these tools allow you to assign tasks to specific people so that you can monitor everyone’s progress. Some of the best tools you can use are Trello, Asana, and Basecamp.
In knowing if your employees are having productive working experience during a remote work, you can use video conferencing to do so and try recreate social contact in group and individual interactions.Before your meetings, you can invest some time in brief, casual conversations. Let your team catch up on each other, share a laugh, or sympathize with one another.Next, establish individual interactions by spending 5 to 10 minutes with each of your employees. You can do this weekly or bi-weekly, whichever you think is best. Doing this on a Monday can help establish a working mood.Both can be time-consuming, however, they are critical in eliminating cabin fever or at least reduce feelings of isolation.Think of it this way; once you all get back to the office, you have established a good, healthier relationship with your teams.Must Read: 5 Side Effects of Working Remotely and How to Fix Them
Keeping your employees have a productive working experience during the remote work comes down to being good communicators. Everyone in your company must actively participate in communicating their expectations, challenges, and goals. That way, you can address hurdles as a team and get through the pandemic stronger, with better teamwork.
Today, numerous businesses have switched to remote work settings as a safety precaution against coronavirus. However, if your employees aren’t used to it, they might have difficulty adjusting to their new working environment.Related: Working Remotely: How to Effectively Manage Remote Employees During The Pandemic
In our experience, we’ve seen five common downsides of working remotely. We have come up with solutions to tackle them so that you don’t have to experience them as well.
Communication is one of the essential elements that make a business successful. However, it’s common to lack it when you don’t see each other in person.Unfortunately, a lack of communication can cause even more problems, like delayed work, misinformation, output errors, and many more. So, you have to go the extra mile when communicating with your remote employees.
Our team leaders and executives are tasked to check up on their members from time to time to see how they’re doing. In addition to quick daily check-ins, every week, or depending on what the leaders see appropriate, each team conducts video conferences to touch base and have task updates.Some of our clients who have dedicated outsource teams with KDCI have also opted to use project management tools like Trello, Asana, and Basecamp. This makes task monitoring easy, and it gives them the ease of quickly knowing what everyone is doing, what still needs to be done, and what has been done.
Inspiring passion is one of the many qualities that a business owner must have to encourage their employees to stay and work for them. However, building team spirit can be difficult now that almost all of your employees are working remotely.
KDCI leaders never forget to check up and empathize on the well-being of their teammates, especially during the quarantine period. We develop personal relationships with each other by having casual conversations from before a video conference starts, or sometimes joking around in the company-wide group chat.
Compared to the usual culture of working remotely, the spread of the pandemic has rendered everyone incapable of going around town almost entirely. This can affect the productivity of your employees, especially if they don’t have the technology and office setting in their home.However, not all home settings are conducive for work. Some of your employees might find it difficult to concentrate with everything going around the house, like family noise, taking care of and homeschooling the kids.
We are all going through lifestyle changes because of the quarantine, and that includes our sleeping schedules. Some of your employees will have reverted to their usual nocturnal lifestyle. In contrast, others may have maintained their usual morning routines.As a solution, we set production expectations in sprints and not the amount of time our employees spend on screen. This allows them to incorporate their unique preferences into their tasks, and let them be productive whatever time they choose, as long as they meet their deadlines.In terms of tech, some of our employees don’t have computers and stable internet connections. Hence, we provided them with equipment and wifi sticks to make working remotely sustainable for them.
Because of the quarantine, fixing issues with payment will not be as easy as running to the bank to check what happened to your payroll. You will have no other choice but to settle with online transactions, especially when you have offshore employees.
KDCI has rarely had issues with payment, but we address them with urgency and empathy, and we always ensure that every employee receives their salary on time. When problems arise, opt for finding better payment options, like cross-bank transactions, and online payment providers.If you are looking into hiring remote talent overseas, you may encounter issues with taxes and government requirements. The quickest, easiest fix is to partner with an outsourcing company. They will handle payroll, HR tasks, and everything your team needs to stay productive.I Want to Hire Remote Talent
Many security issues can arise when all of your employees are working remotely. You have to ensure that their home computers or laptops are secure and capable of handling the work. Otherwise, data leaks and data theft can arise.
KDCI handles data security daily, especially when our clients specifically asked for security agreements. Therefore, we guarantee the safety and security of their data by investing in data protection software like LastPass, VPNs, and updated antivirus software.Before going fully remote, we conducted a run-through of the capabilities of each of our employees to work from home. We ensured that their computers have all the necessary data protection requirements.If you want to learn more about our data security measures and how we protect your business, don’t hesitate to contact us and ask.Let's Talk
While there may still be other adverse effects of working remotely, there will always be a solution if you look for it. Here at KDCI, we help our clients stay afloat during this difficult time by assisting them in managing their remote teams and keeping their business running.Handling employees who are working remotely doesn’t have to be difficult if you have the right outsourcing partner to assist you.
What started out as a few agents, has grown into an invaluable partnership with KDCI. With more than 40 team members, we are lucky enough to count as part of our Cedar Family. Thank you so much KDCI for making our Company better!
We have found KDCI to be a consistently reliable partner, always willing to ‘go the extra mile’ to ensure our valued customers receive the best possible service.
KDCI plays a very important role in our catalog and content operations. They are responsive, kind, and always willing to help us as much as possible. We have been working together for more than 4 years, and we hope our partnership will be even more fruitful in the future.
Having collaborated with KDCI.co for our creative needs, I can confidently attest to their unparalleled expertise and dedication. Their team consistently delivered innovative solutions that not only met, but often exceeded our expectations. Their professionalism and attention to detail are commendable.
KDCI were able to grow with us with any future requirements. We have a lot to do when it comes to our business, and everytime we come back, they're right there with us and able to deliver.
KDCI's team has been instrumental in helping us not only modernize our platforms but also increase the experiences for the customer, and to deliver on the tsunami of content that came their way.
We had a lot of difficulty finding qualified talent in the United States. Honestly, I don't think we had thought about outsourcing at all as a potential option, but we were very open to it once we heard about it. We love our KDCI team. They're just like a regular part of our team, it's just that they're thousands of miles away.
It's been five years since we started working with KDCI, and it just keeps getting better and better. We've grown together and achieved a lot of shared success. Overall, they're incredibly professional yet fun to work with. We are incredibly happy to have found them.
We're so glad we partnered with KDCI to develop a unique platform that delivers personalized customer experiences without compromising functionality or security. It was an amazing experience, I won't hesitate to start another project with them again.
