7-Step Guide to Jumpstarting Your Data Entry Outsourcing
Not sure what to do first to get started with data entry outsourcing? We have prepared a seven-step guide for you to move forward with this smart and economical business decision.

1. Evaluate your business needs.
Before you strike up a deal with a data entry service provider, you should first conduct a thorough analysis of your business needs. You can do this by going through the step by step processes being carried out by your employees across various departments. Check if it will make better sense to outsource these data entry tasks. Will it add more value to your business? Is it a scalable solution? Will it improve your efficiency? Will it help reduce your operating cost?

2. Identify your requirements.
Once you have identified the extent of your need for data entry outsourcing, it’s time for you to break down your requirements. What will your outsourcing contract contain? Here are some things that you need to specify in terms of the service you are expecting from your data entry service provider:

• Cost. How much should your budget be for outsourcing your data entry needs?
• Customization. What is the extent of the data entry tasks you are planning to outsource? Will your service provider be able to adopt your process flows to provide what you need?
• Manpower. How big is your workload and does your outsourcing provider have the capacity to handle the quantity of work that you want to delegate to them?
• Technology. What tools and apps will your third party provider need to fulfill your data entry needs?
• Data Privacy and Security. What data security measures does your provider have in place to ensure privacy of your business data?
• Turnaround Time. How fast do you want each workload accomplished?
• Customer Support. What are your preferred methods of communication in case you need support? Will you require 24×7 availability from your provider?
• Flexibility and Scalability. What are your requirements in relation to adaptability? What infrastructure and skills are you looking for when it comes to expansion and capacity growth.

3. Prepare a list of possible outsourcing partners
Once you have prepared a list of things you will require from your third party provider, it’s time for you to prepare a list of your prospective outsourcing partners. You can easily search for outsourcing companies on the internet. But you won’t immediately know which company is the right one for you, unless you get to learn more about them first. To help you narrow down your search and shortlist your possible outsourcing partners, check their website to learn more about the specifics of their services. You can also use the list of your requirements as a guide to identify which outsourcing companies meet your needs. Identify your top choice and prepare at least four other companies as your alternatives, just in case you don’t get to work out a deal with your first choice.

4. Schedule a consultation with your chosen provider
Once you have shortlisted your candidates, you can now proceed with scheduling a consultation with your selected provider. A consultation is essential so that you and your data entry service provider can set each other’s expectations about the partnership that you would like to initiate. This is your opportunity to relay to your prospective provider all of your service requirements. See to it that everything is clear and that both parties understand what your partnership entails, from the transition process all the way to quality monitoring.

5. Prepare a plan for transition
The consultation process is also the time for you and your provider to come up with a plan for transition. It should be clear who and what will be involved in this transition. What will you need to prepare on your end? What will they need to do on their end? A smooth transition is essential to make sure that your partnership goes well. With a properly laid out transition plan, you can avoid problems such as data loss or corruption, prolonged interruption of your business processes, security breaches and compliance issues. At the same time, you should see to it that your team is ready for this transition. You might need to appoint a point person in-house who will deal with all the transactions with your data entry service provider.

6. Sort out system and process integration
Once you have completed the transition stage, you should sort out all essential integrations. If you are working with an experienced outsourcing partner, this may not be a problem as they will surely have a system and process integration guideline setup for the benefit of their customers. It’s important that you ensure that data security is carried out accordingly to make sure that all of your business data is safe. At the same time, this is the time for you to analyze how your outsourcing decision is helping your business processes. If, in any case your transition and integration stages are not working out as expected, then you might want to consider choosing a different outsource provider.

7. Setup regular process and quality review with your provider.
Once your integration stage has been carried out smoothly and successfully, you should still continue monitoring and assessing the performance of your newly acquired service provider. See to it that you gather feedback from your point person, as well as everyone in your team who are impacted, be it positively or negatively, by your decision to outsource your data entry needs. Reviewing your process regularly will allow you to understand how your decision to outsource is helping with your bottom line. This will also help you make better business decisions, such as scaling your data entry projects or outsourcing your other processes.

Final Word
The success of your data entry outsourcing lies on how you and your outsourcing partner are navigating through your newly established connection. But more importantly, your outsourcing partner should be focused on providing you with top quality services and support. With the right third party provider, you can seamlessly transition your in-house data entry tasks towards the outsourcing team. This is why finding the right outsourcing company to partner with is important.

Want to learn more about how you can easily proceed with outsourcing your data entry tasks? Schedule a consultation with Assivo today to find out how we can help you with your business.