Key Takeaways The outsourcing industry will transform this year with a major emphasis on building value networks with outsourcing companies. Co-sourcing will become the new norm as businesses choose to support each other and share the risks. The IT sector will benefit. SMBs and startups will be the ones offering more business to outsourcing service providers. The majority of the firms will shy away from backsourcing and rely on outsourcing in the long run. There is a new kind of outsourcing practice called outcome-based outsourcing as companies look for service integrators instead of service providers. Dominating outsourcing countries face challenges from countries like Poland, Romania, Belarus, etc. New digital execution approaches will be created by the outsourcing companies to integrate strategies across digital platforms. What has changed with the outsourcing industry in 2020? Has it become more disruptive? How far have automation and robotics taken over the industry? Is it still wise to outsource in 2020 or not? And more importantly… Are the current outsourcing practices enough to succeed, now that the pandemic has affected all aspects of my business? These questions were on my mind for quite some time and as the global pandemic brought everything to a standstill, these questions started nagging me even more. I’m sure any IT leader or organization outsourcing or planning to outsource IT services (or hiring remote developers, working with dedicated teams, product development, or any other business process), must be considering these questions too. Here’s an approach I took to find answers to all these questions and calm down my anxious nerves! I started by searching for uncertainties surrounding the outsourcing industry in 2020 and found this report by Global Industry Analysts. It points to brighter days ahead for the outsourcing industry—predicting the market to reach the $220 billion mark in 2020! This helped eliminate my concerns about outsourcing this year to a certain degree, but it didn’t answer the questions I have about the outsourcing best practices in 2020, especially once all this global unrest is over. Then, I surveyed outsourcing trends to date, searched the web, and studied a number of case studies and reports to come to a conclusion. There are certain trends that are expected to take a complete turn after the lockdown, and digital transformation or business automation will be a popularly-adopted strategy. Outsourcing, especially IT outsourcing, has been completely shaken up. For enterprises to ride the wave of change and emerge on the other side, shifting gears today with the latest outsourcing practices is imperative. This is my analysis of how the outsourcing industry has changed in 2020 and what might happen in the future. Emphasis on building relationship networks has strengthened IT companies have been moving toward digital transformation and so has the outsourcing industry. By the end of 2020, we can hope to see a shift from the traditional value chain to a more flexible and scalable value network. In fact, building value networks has become a priority for many businesses in 2020. But what does value network mean in outsourcing? Value networks are connections you build to create value for your company or its processes. A value network in outsourcing would mean building a network of meaningful relationships or contracts with outsourcing companies in India, China, Ukraine, or any other country (even your home country) to add value to the outsourced or outsourcing services. You can expect to see different types of relationship networks. A purchasing network, where two or more firms will come together to leverage outsourced services for saving costs A service provider network, where different outsourcing service providers will come together to meet the complex demands and challenges A single enterprise might also look to hire remote developers from different service providers in order to improve their outcome. And that’s not all. I have spoken to several companies that have been outsourcing IT services, product development, or web development for a long time. The majority of them plan to explore the multi-vendor approach, especially for IT outsourcing. In the IT industry, multi-vendor outsourcing is all about outsourcing different aspects of their IT services to different companies. It will be like getting the IT architecture, microservices, cloud services, AI, ML services, and all other development or designing services from different companies to get the best from all. Businesses wouldn’t want to put all their eggs in the same basket if something similar happens in the future. Multi-vendor outsourcing means they can upend the drastic effect that such unrest might cause. Growing inclination toward co-sourcing Outsourcing is a buyer-centered market. The buyer, (the company taking outsourcing services), identifies all its requirements in an RFP. The seller, (the outsourcing company), feels it can fulfill the requirements and bids for the work. The price, tenure, team, technology, skills, everything is proposed per the requirements of the buyer. The services are for the buyer and so are the risks associated with it. But studying the trends in outsourcing for the past few months and analyzing the current global situation, it is clear that the focus is moving from just cutting costs to mitigating the risks associated with outsourcing. And based on the way the outsourcing commitments are taking shape, a new approach is emerging—an approach that focuses on creating value for both the companies (the outsourcing service provider and the client or IT leader). We call this approach “co-sourcing.” What is co-sourcing? This is an approach where companies hire an external team that acts as their internal team and the two parties work in collaboration. Both the internal and external teams work together, side-by-side to create value. Together, they share the risks, face issues, and come up with quick solutions. Motivating both the parties, co-sourcing will help improve the IT outcome achieved from outsourcing. This approach vests its interests in co-creating new values to gain a competitive edge. Even during unrest, they can easily go through their contract and ensure that the work is not hampered. Their interests will be focused on the outcome of the collaboration and not in
Philippines to Keep $26 Billion Outsourcing Engine Humming Despite Crisis
The Philippines’ $26 billion outsourcing industry expects to continue growing despite the risks brought by the coronavirus pandemic but sees a three-year government support plan as key to boosting its competitiveness. The industry has shown a “tremendous resilience,” Rey Untal, head of the Philippine Association of outsourcing companies, said in an interview in Manila. “We are cautiously optimistic about sustaining some level of growth for this industry in the near future.” With a high level of English proficiency, a young population, and cheap labor, the Philippines has been one of the global leaders in business process outsourcing. But it continues to grapple with rising competition, having slipped to sixth place in advisory firm Tholons Inc.’s index of attractive outsourcing destinations, down one spot from last year. The Philippines’ $26 billion outsourcing industry expects to continue growing despite the risks brought by the coronavirus pandemic but sees a three-year government support plan as key to boosting its competitiveness. Outsourcing revenue, a key pillar of the country’s economy, rose 7.1% in 2019, according to May data from Untal’s group, officially known as the IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines. The association has penciled in 3.5%-7.5% annual growth through 2022 but expects to get the result of a commissioned study next month that will recalibrate targets and map out a strategy for the industry over the next few years. credits: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-23/philippines-to-keep-outsourcing-engine-humming-despite-crisis
6 Reasons why Instagram blocks you and what to do if this happens
Imagine the following scenario. You created a business account on Instagram and kept investing a lot of time and money into your page development. After a while, you are beyond happiness: your page already has interesting and stylish content, a certain number of followers, and unique connections with popular bloggers. But happiness doesn’t last long. One day, your Instagram goes crazy and for some reason blocks your account. And the worst thing is that you are not even sure why you were banned. Instagram does not even warn users before blocking their profiles. Seems like your kind of a situation? Then I’ll tell you what to do. Why Can I Be Blocked on Instagram? Reason #1: Mass following and Mass liking The most apparent sign of receiving a temporary block from Instagram is through trying to grow a significant number of likes and followers at one time. This can happen in both cases if you have used third-party promotion tools or performed manual actions without studying the users’ profiles. Just take your smartphone and check all the spammers that followed you a week ago. I am sure 80% of those accounts will already be blocked. The most likely reason for this would be because they exceeded the limits on follows and likes. Limits and restrictions according to official Instagram reference: a maximum number of likes per hour: 60; a maximum number of comments per hour: 60; a maximum number of follows per hour: 60; a maximum number of messages per hour: 60. But if your account is fairly new, the limits are different: a maximum number of likes per hour: 30; a maximum number of comments per hour: 30; a maximum number of follows/unfollows per hour: 30. Important reminder. Instagram adds up the number of follows and unfollows as well as blocking the unwanted users. In total, you can’t take more than 1440 actions on your account daily. Make sure you spread out these actions accordingly. Violation of Instagram rules leads to a temporary block. It involves limiting the profile’s functionality. You won’t be able to comment, like, follow or write in Direct Messages for a period of time (from 2 hours to 2 weeks). If you are lucky enough to get blocked temporarily, don’t do anything with your profile and don’t write anywhere. Just give it a little rest before it’s completely restored. Reason #2: Excessively Frequent Publications Instagram monitors the algorithm of publications from one account. The thing is, only the social network knows what the accurate and safest number of publications is. Therefore, it would be advisable not to follow the example of other accounts that may frequently publish posts and get nothing for it. The optimal advice for every profile is to make pauses between posts. By doing this, you will not be suspected of spamming and other manipulations. Also, we recommend that you do not publish the same photo at the same time from different accounts. Also, you can use social media templates if you want your posts to look really awesome. Reason #3: Copyright Infringement The copyright issue is a big deal on Instagram. All images in your account have to be either yours or permitted by the author. If you want to share somebody else’s image, tag the author in the photo (provided he has an Instagram account) and give credit to the author in the description. If you use images for commercial purposes, you will need to ask the author’s permission. Moreover, if you post a video with music to which you don’t have the rights, Instagram will remove such a post for sure. What is the outcome of ignoring the copyright rules? The author can report you to Instagram for using the photo without their agreement or specifying the authorship and you can be blocked for copyright infringement. Reason #4: Images/Videos Violating Social Network Rules Photos and videos featuring naked bodies, sexual content, and violence are considered inappropriate. Whatever goals you pursue, posting such inappropriate content can get you banned – so be forewarned. Reason #5: User Complaints Someone thought your account was a threat, so they clicked the “Report” button. If there are other people also reporting your account, Instagram will sooner or late block your profile. People can complain of different reasons: mass liking, mass following, insults, inappropriate content, spam, etc. So, generally speaking, everything that I mentioned above can result in your account being blocked. Reason #6: Different IP addresses and Devices If you log into your account from multiple devices and confirm it via SMS, the platform is less likely to ban you. However, if it happens that you log in from different devices and IP-addresses, Instagram may think your account has been hacked by scammers. The social network reacts to it almost instantly and blocks the profile for your own safety. 5 To-Do Actions To Restore Your Account Oops, you got blocked for some reason? Sh*t happens, so no worries. Oftentimes, Instagram “punishes” profiles with a temporary block (I mentioned this at the beginning of the article). This means one or several actions normally open to you will be restricted. For example, you are forbidden to like and follow. Like I said, if you have been blocked temporarily, do NOTHING about. It just makes no sense. Wait until Instagram finally hands back your privileges and you are good to go. Just make sure you do not repeat the actions that got you a temporary block ever again. The serious deal is when you have been disabled. Instagram has a right to block users without warning them if their profiles violate the Community Guidelines or Terms of Use. So make sure you read both carefully. As you try to log in to your account, you’ll be notified of an error saying: If you believe that your account was blocked in error, you can appeal the decision. If you do not see the notification, then you may have issues with the login. If you or someone else deleted the account, Instagram won’t be able to recover it. You can create a new account with the same email address, but it’s likely that you won’t be able to use the old username
80/20 rule applies to all social media
Plenty of people may not be aware of it OR is aware but just not sure how to achieve it. As you will have heard, there’s going to be the Facebook algorithm changes to battle with soon, making business posts reach harder, and perhaps Instagram will follow. However if you are putting excellent content on Facebook that gets a reaction from your followers, this is the first step in maintaining your reach on the social media platform. The 80/20 rule applies to all social media when using it for business purposes. Known as the Pareto Principle, the 80/20 rule means that 80 percent of your outcomes come from 20 percent of your inputs. The ratio has been applied to many situations including: 80% of sales come from 20% of clients The hardest 20% of software coding takes 80% of the time 20% of employees do 80% of the work 20% of the most reported software bugs cause 80% of software crashes How does it apply to your social media marketing? The theory is that the best ratio for engaging and shared content vs sales-led messaging and content is 80/20. So only 20% of your business social media posts should be focused on selling to your audience or promoting your brand. You should be aiming to resonate with your followers in many other ways with the occasional ‘salesy’ post thrown in. As we always say to our trainees, remember that social media is social and your primary aim should be to Entertain — Inform — Educate those that like or follow your business Facebook page. Pushing sales messages too regularly will put your followers off. How to identify content that falls into the 20% If you are communicating a special offer, promoting your own ticketed event, talking about your products or services, you have something to sell. If your content has a call-to-action that aims to deliver a lead, a purchase, or an inquiry to you, then it is sales-led content. Only two out of ten pieces of your social media content should be directly sales-focused. What counts as part of the 80%? Everything else you post needs to fall into the 80%. And there are plenty of interesting, exciting, humorous, informative, and topical pieces of social content that you can create. Added to this, share news or articles from other organizations, things that you believe your followers and fans will enjoy reading or seeing. Try and put yourself in your ideal customer’s shoes. Here are some ideas to help you achieve the 80/20 rule for social media: Answer customer questions from your blog or any social media page Share other businesses’ events or competitions Share authoritative articles or videos Invite interaction (and do some subtle market research) by asking your audience to respond to questions Start a topical (yet moderated and friendly) debate Highlight a particular customer that is willing to participate – when you tag that person, your post will be seen by their friends and family too Do something for charity and tell your followers about it and the cause Share industry news with your thoughts added Run a contest/ challenge /competition Post images about where you are or what you are doing that day/week Highlight an employee with some personal facts about them Showcase awards shortlisting or win Say thank you to suppliers, customers, supporters Live social media content Live content can be planned to fall into either the 80% or 20%. Here are some specific live social media content ideas: Host a live Q&A and this can also be with a live expert guest Behind-the-scenes/live tours Breaking news Demonstrations Appearances from events/conferences Interviews Product launches Explaining a product or service A regular video show, same time each week We’d love to have your input and ideas too! Do you regularly post non ‘salesy’ social media content? Please share how you achieve the 80/20 rule for social media. If you need help, would like some training or a consultation about your social media strategy, get in touch with us!
Is outsourcing social media management worth it???
Nearly 97% of all Fortune 500 companies use at least one social media network, such as Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, orYouTube, in order to establish a good communication line with stakeholders and advocates. Moreover, McKinsey & Company reports that over 70 percent of companies surveyed are trying out social customer care as a way to further connect with and support their audience. And, they’re reporting significant benefits from using these platforms. If you run a business of any size, you likely don’t have time to manage all those social networks yourself. In fact, you likely don’t even have time to manage even one channel. So, should you try to manage it yourself? Or should you outsource social media management? Power up your workday Reach your goals faster with time tracking and work management. In-house vs. outsourcing social media management Many businesses decide upon the do-it-yourself method of work. That would be absolutely suitable if it wasn’t so badly executed. Namely, it’s common that companies approach social media marketing with a few ground mistakes. They will decide upon posting news on social platforms only when they have the time, which is usually during working hours. This is wrong for many reasons, one being the fact that most social traffic comes in outside business hours. They will post only what they want to sell. Social media isn’t about sales, but rather building a strong communication and feedback system that would lead to sales, if done correctly. They will delegate this to someone in-house or to an intern, both of which have other responsibilities to handle. When I say in-house, I mean someone who will do this for barely 5 hours a week, which isn’t really enough, is it? The truth is that no one should run your social media marketing better than you can. But the question you should ask yourself is – can you? Can you really? According to a Forbes article, for a medium-sized company, managing a single social platform could take roughly 32 hours a month. This is alarming, considering the fact that, for example, the majority of Facebook page owners do not reply to customer comments on their pages. And who would blame them? Their business certainly won’t run itself. This right here is the sole drive to outsource something. To delegate certain parts of your business in order to achieve a greater purpose, a purpose that would benefit you, i.e. your business, long-term. The goals of successful social media marketing can be divided into three separate categories. Brand impression: The thing that makes your brand “pop out.” Brand reputation: Knowing how far your brand extends in the public’s eye. Trust development: Creating positive feedback, a productive connection with your audience. Outsourcing your social media management can bring you closer to these goals, while still freeing up your time. Here are seven reasons to consider it for your business. Seven benefits of outsourcing social media management 1) Expertise When you outsource anything, one of the greatest outcomes is gaining expertise that isn’t currently available to you. This is especially true when you’re considering outsourcing social media management. Social media managers should have marketing or public relations experience, an aptitude for communications, and a passion for connecting with people. They should thrive for a challenge and understand the digital landscape better than anyone. They must also have a great understanding of the various platforms and be able to predict upcoming trends. Finally, the ability to generate genuine content that the public wants to interact with is key. Many people who use social media for personal reasons may think they possess these skills. But social media for business has its own rules and knowledge base, so hiring a professional is often the best way to go. Outsourcing social media to a professional means that they understand how businesses can utilize the platforms to promote, test new ideas, and create new connections every day. They also likely know how to measure and improve the business performance of social media. As this is a professional service, you can expect a high quality of output, backed by the expertise that person has gained over the years. 2) Platform-specific knowledge Most people no longer see social media as a flash in the pan. It’s been around for years, and experienced consultants have been there to watch it rise. Some social media agencies have found the platforms they deeply understand and get value from, and go all in. They will then specialize in Twitter or Facebook, for example. When you’re considering outsourcing social media, you’ll want to ask your prospective vendor which platforms they’d recommend. You can likely get a good idea of where they excel through that conversation. Other agencies choose to stay ahead of platform trends, so instead of becoming Facebook specialists, they create comprehensive digital campaigns or strategies. This can be helpful, especially if you’re unsure of where your prospective customers currently reside. 3) Knowledge of useful tools One reason that social media may be taking up too much of your time as a business owner is because you aren’t using the right tools. Social media consultants and agencies have tried out software for managing content, writing, designing, and publishing, so they’re likely using the best of the best. Taking on the challenge of scouring the internet for apps, trying them out, and then comparing features could easily take a couple of hours each week (if not more). Social media consultants have the processes and software in place that save them time and money, which in turn, saves you time and money, as well. 4) Content When you’re too close to the business, it can be difficult to see things from the perspective of a new customer or client. This can even keep you from communicating your ideas to your audience in a way that they fully understand and appreciate. An outside agency or consultant can take the time to get to know you, your business, and your customers while adding a fresh take or perspective. A professional can tell confusing jargon from casual
How to Outsource Customer Service Effectively
Looking to outsource the customer service department? You are not alone. Almost 54% of all companies utilize third-party support teams to connect with customers. Want to know an interesting fact? The outsourced customer care services industry is set to become a $110 billion industry by 2024! And it’s no surprise. Outsourcing tasks is an appealing idea. It can save you money, resources, and often, a great deal of stress. Farming out your customer service to an external team can cut overheads significantly. But it’s definitely not a one-size-fits-all solution and there are no magic outsourcing beans. Planning to take the plunge with outsourcing, where an external company directly interacts with your customers? Then weigh your options carefully. What to expect from this article? This article is a handy guide to help you decide if customer service outsourcing is the right choice for your business. You’ll find some of the best practices for customer service outsourcing including: Identifying the right reasons to outsource Establishing a mindset for a successful transition process Choosing the right platform to conduct your customer support Finding remote customer service professionals and teams Conducting the transition process smoothly. Ready? Let’s start with a fundamental question: What is Outsourcing? Choosing to outsource an area of your business means you’re hiring a third party to handle it on your behalf. While this article focuses on outsourcing customer service, almost any part of a company can be outsourced, including graphic design, billing, collections, or data entry. Ready to ship out support duties? First, you need to figure out the objective and the benefits of outsourcing your customer support. The ‘Right’ Reasons To Outsource your Customer Support To Lower Operational Costs Looking for the same quality of customer support, but at a lower cost? Outsourcing your customer service staff is a good alternative to hiring a full-time support team. Outsourcing allows you to hire contract workers rather than full-time employees. This means you don’t have to pay a fixed salary and offer benefits like healthcare, transportation costs, overtime, etc. You can save around a total of $3000 in initial setup and infrastructure costs alone! That’s close 25 years of Amazon prime subscription at current rates 🙂 Moreover, your workforce costs are further reduced if you outsource customer service to a country with a lower cost of living. For example, the cost of living in India is 65.98% lower than that of the US. This means you can offer lower and more competitive rates to your outsourced customer service team based in India. Unsure whether outsourcing customer service will generate savings for your business? Find out free of charge with Tru29’s Business Partnership Consultancy via inquiry@tru29.com To Increase Support Coverage Quickly Some businesses like e-commerce might be busier during the holiday season. So you might have to hire additional help to meet the higher customer support demands quickly. If you choose to hire employees – the process of finding, interviewing, and training applicants can take a few weeks. To Streamline Repetitive Tasks Different customers might have the same query or run into the same problems. Instead of trying to resolve the same issues over and over again, you and your team’s time is better spent on other projects. An outsourced customer support executive is a good option when the questions are not too technical. To Scale Up Your Business When your company is undergoing rapid changes and growth, you might not be able to focus on customer support. This is the right time to outsource support to maintain responsive, high-quality service while figuring out the long-term goals of your company. To Increase Global Coverage Let’s say you want to increase the geographic reach of your business. You will need to hire multilingual support employees that can communicate with your new customers effectively. If you outsource this support requirement, you can easily advertise this feature to broaden your customer base. The ‘Wrong’ Reasons To Outsource Your Customer Service Outsourcing has been around since the internet age. However, there is still a large knowledge gap that gives rise to all sorts of myths and misconceptions. Don’t fall into these pitfalls when deciding to switch to outsourced support teams. To Exercise High Budget Cuts While outsourcing can cut costs in the short run, it might affect your quality of service. Low-cost customer service providers are generally equipped to handle only repetitive support requests. So they might not be well-equipped to handle highly-specific or technical requests. To Avoid Support Responsibilities Outsourcing isn’t a way to just get rid of customer support responsibilities. It’s a partnership that requires communication and hard work on both sides. If you leave your outsourced support team to fend for themselves, they might get disconnected from your brand. As a result, your customer support quality can drop at an alarming rate. To Make A Quick Fix Yes, customer service providers are experts, but don’t expect them to solve all your problems overnight! Delivering a great customer experience takes time, consistency, and planning. You may need to put in a lot of initial hours training your outsourced team. Five Secrets To Flawless Customer Service Outsourcing Before you even begin to search for external help, you need to create an action plan on how to achieve your customer service goals. How do major companies ensure top quality customer service while outsourcing their staff? Here are five secrets to efficient customer service outsourcing processes. 1. Establish Brand Voice And Tone Guidelines Whether in a text, phone, or through your branding – your customers are used to the way you talk to them. When you use an external support team, they should sound exactly like your internal support staff. So how do you train your outsourced support team? Create a set of brand guidelines that specify what your team can or can not say. Run through hypothetical scenarios that they may have to face in the future and gauge their reaction to the situation. Make them watch Dilbert cartoons in a loop so that they know how to handle difficult people. Okay, the
How to Decide Important Points While Outsourcing Image Annotation?
Things to consider when outsourcing image annotation Outsourcing image annotation services is one of the most crucial tasks for AI companies that seeks training to develop the models. Actually, machine learning training data is a kind of fuel works for algorithms to learn from various patterns and predict in the same way. And you need to be very careful while outsourcing your project to such companies to get the best quality data at the least cost. So, in the context of the same, we brought here the key points to be considered while outsourcing the image annotation services. 1. How to Verify the Authenticity of Data? On the basis of your project needs, it is important to properly identify how your data will be handled. So, here you need to decide before handing over your data, how you want your image annotation to be verified. Image classification is the best example you can consider while checking the task of the annotators with selecting the appropriate label from each image. Here the human-powered image classification process can be affected by biased decisions. So, to avoid such preconceptions check the data processing from one stage to another stage. As one annotator labels the image while double-blind verification, two annotators label the image without sighting each other’s task. And if the labeling is not up to the mark, then it is the responsibility of a supervisor to observe the cases and decide the correct label to ensure the quality. And finally, multi-blind verification, at least three or more annotators label the images without viewing each other’s work. And here if labels don’t match each other’s data, consensus or adjudication is used. With consensus, majority rules and the most common label among the annotators are chosen. While with adjudication, a supervisor is brought in and decides the correct label. Different companies have different standard systems used in data entry and annotation. But the hard-and-fast verification process takes a long time and maybe available at additional costs that can spike your budget and spending on your project. 2. Check the Demos or Data Samples Evaluating the quality of the services of a company you need to check the historical background and work done by the company in the past. Yes, check the portfolio or data sample produced by the company. And if possible for the demo or similar approaches to making sure it has the capability to meet your data annotation needs. To check that you can go to the website of the company, check the portfolio, clientele to examine the image quality and annotation precision. Most of the companies providing the graphics in various formats to represent their workbench. And few of them already have samples with annotated images from the different fields. 3. Specify the Quality of Standard You Required Apart from the verification of data, you also need to clearly share the standard of quality you are looking in each annotated image. Many companies claim to provide accurate training data but what is the meaning of accurate in your terms. Actually, there are multiple types of image annotation techniques like bounding box, cuboids, polygons, and semantic segmentation but what kind of annotation you are looking for your AI or ML project. Actually, in some annotations, the picture needs to zoom at a very large size to annotate the objects at the very edge to adjust the annotation at pixel levels. Though, few projects may allow the margin of error, while many of them not allow a single margin and need 100% accuracy in each image to get accurate results. So the important point here is, that you need to clearly define your quality of standard at the time of assigning the project to image annotation companies. And also give an example of what kind of quality or standard level you expect in image annotation. You also need to explain the exact format and type of file with the data batched and quality control system you want to implement into your company. For that, you can request a trial project while paying some small charges to check the quality and accuracy level. It will help you to check their speed, quality, and other aspects while performing image annotation on a real-time basis. 4. Decide Who Will Annotate Your Images Every machine learning training data company has its own business model and workflows, and staffing system with specialization in particular annotation types and fields or industry to determine who is exactly going to work on your project. Actually, companies provide onsite, remote, and both types of image annotations as per the needs and feasibility of the clients. You need to ask these things to companies providing or not, what are the qualifications of annotators, and their training level. So, you should ask here these questions to such companies. Although, for image annotation, certain specialized qualification is not required, except medical images like CT Scan, MRI or X-rays. If you are outsourcing healthcare-related such fields for medical imaging analysis, make sure the company has all the required resources and such experts from medical background to ensure the accuracy. 4. Decide Who Will Annotate Your Images Last but not the least, it very important to decide the right platform for image annotation. As some companies have their own platform while few of them use other third-party platforms to annotate the images and charge additional fees for using that. However, annotating with the company’s platform has its own benefit like the company owns the platform and can customize the functions as per your project. And another advantage is the annotators are full-aware with user-interface and functions of the platform and they don’t need additional training to learn how to operate. While on the other hand, if you have your own custom platform or you are using a third-party platform that you want to use. If you require annotated images on any other external platform as per your choice, you may have to pay the extra fees
Tru29 is now a proud Member of Contact Center World
Tru29’s Management is proud to announce its official membership in Contact Center World – The Global Association for Contact Center and Customer Engagement Best Practices. Membership in Contact Center World is just one of Tru29’s endeavors to continually seek areas of improvement to better serve its client, its employees, and its community.
Why Businesses Should Outsource During or After The Covid19 Pandemic?
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every industry in the world and has incurred many operational and financial challenges. Companies are now looking for ways to deal with the challenges while addressing the needs of their customers, clients, or employees. The majority of businesses have also taken the step of cutting down their IT costs in any possible way to cope up with this situation. It might look like a risky step since IT is crucial in today’s digital world. However, it comes with a higher cost, and avoiding in-house IT departments can help in saving a lot of money. On the other hand, outsourcing can prove as a great cost-effective alternative. Companies can opt for remote IT support as well as other services as the most effective solution to the issue. Nearly one-third of the companies are reducing their IT budgets to make way for other aspects that are more crucial. While many companies can go back to the normal state without cost-cutting, small businesses, who can’t afford it and lack space or labor funds for the IT department, need to take this step if they wish to survive in the industry. However, cost-cutting is not an issue now since business owners can outsource IT solutions and get significant benefits from it. In this article, we will discuss why businesses should opt for outsourcing their business needs and in what way it can help them to overcome challenges due to the novel coronavirus crisis. What is Outsourcing? Outsourcing is a method of agreement where a company reaches out to external vendors for carrying out their business functions or operations. You can either relocate the business tasks to a nearby country known as nearshoring or a distant country known as offshoring. A few tasks that can be outsourced are inventory management, orders, transactions, payroll processing, etc. Apart from that, you can also outsource other non-core processes such as call center, image manipulation, transcription, data conversion, accounting and bookkeeping, OCR clean up, and more. Importance of Outsourcing With the help of outsourcing, you can let a third party company handle your business tasks or jobs. This not only helps in eliminating the business load but also helps in cutting down the operational costs. Cost-cutting is one of the top reasons why companies prefer outsourcing their needs to a service provider. However, it is not the only advantage it offers. Apart from that, there are a lot more that can be gained through outsourcing, which is less known to the world. A few of them are mentioned below. Access to the latest technology While outsourcing certain tasks to a company or individual, you are associating with them and forming a partnership. This partnership can help you to gain access to the latest technology that can help in improving your business. For example, let’s say you are outsourcing HR tasks to a company that uses innovative payroll and benefits software. In that case, you can get access to this software and enable your companies to access information and maintain company records in the most effective way. Focus on other business areas Companies usually tend to outsource the tasks to save money as well as brainpower. To prove this, let us take the example of the human resources department. HR employees spend most of their time working on non-strategies tasks like maintain records. However, this time can be rather spent on more important matters, like engaging employees and improving job satisfaction. In that case, the non-strategic works can be outsourced to companies, while HR employees can focus on using their brainpower to help the company grow. Finding a new and talented human resource Outsourcing also provides the company with an opportunity to hire people having unique skill sets and knowledge. For example, let’s say there is a small business organization that is looking to hire IT professionals but is having fewer budgets. In that case, it can outsource the tasks to a company or individual to fill the gap in the organization without having to hire external resources. Besides, you can also consider outsourcing if you think that your employees lack certain skills that are needed for the growth of your organization. Launching new projects While launching a new project, a company may take weeks or even months to gather up and secure the resources that are needed to get started. For that, they need to recruit and onboard a large number of employees before launching the project. However, if they do not have the time to wait for the launch, then they can consider outsourcing their needs to a company that is having the required resources to take on the new project. Reducing risks With outsourcing, there is a decrease in the number of risks since you will be sharing the risks of new endeavors and business investment with your partnering company. That is why it is very important to choose the right company that can help in guiding your decisions and managing the risks. For example, if you are outsourcing your accounting needs to a company, then make sure that they have a team of experienced accountants, who are well aware of risk analysis and management. Keeping up with the competition Outsourcing is not only for large corporations and can be used by anyone. It is especially beneficial for small companies since they do not have the budget or resources to handle their operations. Apart from that, it is best to outsource as it will fit their budgetary needs, and they do not even have to worry about hiring more people to bring in the fresh talents. In addition to that, it will allow them to compete with large companies by offering the same expertise, resources, and services to their potential clients. Types of Tasks that You can Outsource Below are the various types of tasks or activities that can be outsourced by an organization. Marketing Measures Marketing is essential for a company since it can help in determining its brand identity and reputation
Challenges of working from home
Working remotely comes with its own set of unique challenges you won’t find in a traditional office space. Whether voluntary or involuntary – if you’re one of the millions who are quarantined or self-isolating due to the recent virus outbreak – you need to know what you’re in for so you can prepare. Remote work has a lot of benefits such as setting your own hours and working in your pajamas. But if you’re not ready for the challenges they might take you completely off guard. If you find yourself struggling to manage time, self-motivate, communicate, and take care of your physical and mental health, you have come to the right place. Be aware of these common problems and know exactly how to tackle them, and your work from home, whether permanent or temporary, will go a lot smoother. Remote Working Challenge #1: Self-Motivation When you’ve never had to set your own hours or entirely motivate yourself before, relying on your own self-control will often end in disaster. What a structured office environment has going for it is that it’s very helpful for keeping focus. It’s much easier to get off track on your personal computer in a house packed with kids, spouses, and/or pets. A quick peek at social media or a sudden intrusion from an unwelcome visitor, and you could get thrown off for minutes or hours. In addition, while sitting around at home, you might find it difficult getting into – or out of – the professional mindset. When you’re used to following a set routine and driving to your job every day, it’s hard to associate the comforts of home with difficult tasks. Solution: Create a Better Environment The reason offices and similar environments are so effective are because they’re structured and distraction-free. The solution here: emulate this environment while creating your own professional setup. Make it as strict or as casual as suitable for you, but think about what makes a typical workspace so effective. No matter how much space you have, you can make your own little office. Create a workspace away from the chaos of the rest of your home, in a spare bedroom, or at least tucked into a quiet corner. Keep this area organized, clean, and free of anything that could draw you out of your focus. If possible, have a separate work computer to minimize distractions. No games or fun apps to tempt you, just a browser and any programs you need for your job. Keep your phone out of easy arm’s reach and on silent except for calls from clients, coworkers, or your boss. Shut out pets and talk to your housemates to prevent an interruption that could throw you off your game. If your home is too loud and you can’t get anyone to quiet down, music or soundscapes can help block it out. Remote Working Challenge #2: Time Management Issues When distraction kicks in, struggles with time management quickly follow. Working in a disruptive environment full of traps that could easily sidetrack you, you’re likely to overestimate how much time you have (or just not think about it until the deadline is suddenly on the horizon). On the flip side, overexerting yourself is another big issue. Without a clear clock-out time and a pile of assignments that need to get done, many people push themselves into exhaustion. Solution: Follow a Strict Schedule A structured environment will do wonders for your productivity, but you should include a set schedule to pair with it. Remote work offers a degree of flexibility, but you still need to be consistent. If it’s more comfortable for you to wake up later than usual, do so, but get up and go to bed at the same time every day. Also, make sure to start and especially stop work at consistent times. Don’t let yourself slip into starting too late, or worse, pushing yourself deep into the night. Schedule plenty of breaks and give yourself a few minutes to step away and relax. If you start to feel overwhelmed, don’t be afraid to leave your workspace for a brief impromptu refresh. While you’re working, time tracking software can help you see the sites and programs you’re losing precious hours to. If you have trouble cutting these vices out, use a website/app blocker to prevent you from accidentally slipping and launching a game or visiting social media. Lastly, stay on top of your projects. Keep a calendar for marking due dates that can help you get everything in order. Break your projects into pieces and use your calendar to make sure you’re staying on top of it all.
