Category Archives: Of Interest

Being Aware in Business & BPO Outsourcing

November 12, 2013 by 123outsource
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Being Aware in Business & BPO (Business Process Outsourcing)

I wrote a previous blog article about being aware in business. You really need to be a Zen Monk to be good at business. You need to have a still and watchful mind that notices everything. You need to notice behavioral traits in others. If you can spot bad behavior or signs of risky character traits in others EARLY, then you can save yourself a lot of grief in business. But, what I have been thinking about recently is more tactical.

Multiple approaches to getting tasks accomplished
Let’s say that you have a particular set of tasks or BPO business processes to do. You might have one way of doing those tasks. Perhaps there might be other ways of doing those tasks that you thought of. But, what if you meditate on this business process and come up with ten ways to approach the tasks at hand? The issue is that in business, your workload varies over time, and your labor resources vary too. It is expensive in terms of time to interview lots of people just to fill one position, and then potentially have that person quit or get fired. One interesting way to solve this situation is to have a “fluid system” for business process outsourcing (BPO Outsourcing).

What if you have what I could term as a BPO overflow tank?
Your car has an overflow container for radiator fluids, why doesn’t your business? Let’s say that you handle most of your work in house, but you always have a certain percentage of particular tasks outsourced to a BPO company. Let’s say that according to your business model, 20-70% of your outgoing call work is outsourced, and the rest is done in house. That buys you tremendous flexibility. The outsourced call center work might cost you more in labor, but you don’t need to interview people, etc. That buys you time. You can delay your interviews until you have more time in your management schedule. You can be more selective about who you hire. You can fire someone more easily who is not capable or who is slacking off. Having a reliable, tried and tested overflow system for handling your business processes is a great idea. Keeping that system always running ensures that it will run more reliably as well.

There are other solutions too.
If you want to outsource call center work, there are auto-call systems that you can use online that can send messages to clients. You can have a mass email system to communicate with mass amounts of clients. You can even auto-text them. You could devise a system where you would reduce the quantity of outgoing calls under certain business circumstances so you could gracefully adjust to changing workloads. Managing labor resources is fascinating and more complicated than you think! So, try to increase your awareness and think of more innovative ways you can solve problems. Write these solutions down and compare them. Don’t be afraid to use more than one system simultaneously!

You might also like:

Are you aware in business?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/06/18/are-you-aware-in-business/

Paying attention to the long range effects of business decisions
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/06/13/paying-attention-to-the-long-range-effects-of-business-decisions/

I love giving outsourcers a cash tip

October 13, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest | Tagged , | Leave a comment

I am not the most generous guy in the world.
I have never been known as a big tipper. But, sometimes I will hire someone who is just such a pleasure to work with that I want to give them a cash tip. There have been social media managers, programmers, web designers, and other BPO service providers who were just so good, and also reasonably priced, that I wanted to give them a little more than what they asked for. It makes me feel happy when someone is good enough to tip. Unfortunately, less than 10% of the people I have hired are tip-worthy! But, let’s be positive and look on the bright side!

Give more get less?
Many business people just want to ask for more and deliver less. In theory this leads to higher levels of profits. But, what if you do the opposite and deliver more while maintaining a more modest profit margin? If that is the case, you might get tips of a few hundred extra dollars if I hired you. Sure the tip doesn’t amount to that much, but everybody is happy when a cash tip is exchanged.

Growth!
What is more predictable that you will gain if you deliver more without asking for more is quite simple — more clients, more client loyalty, more referrals, and business growth. It is hard to grow a business these days. My business took 12 years to grow from being just me to having two assistants, a social media manager and a part time programmer. That is 3 full time and 2 part time people. I never tried to grow overnight. I am in a niche market where growth potential is not easy. I should be happy just to maintain my lead in the industry with no growth at all. But, if you offer great service at a reasonable price, your business will grow in the long run. Sure, there are market fluctuations, problems with employees and other temporary issues. How fast you grow is not guaranteed. You can not control a lot of these factors. The point here is to do your part in the equation which is to do great work and let nature take its course.

Lord Krishna advises that we should take correct action without an attachment to the results!

Although you might not get an actual cash tip if you do great work, you will get appreciation and growth which is just as good.

You might also like:

Make them feel the pressure subconsciously
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/05/20/making-them-feel-the-pressure-subconsciously/

What is your management style?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2012/02/02/what-is-your-management-style/

Are you dealing with a broker or an owner

September 16, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Sometimes when you deal with Indian companies, it is hard to tell if you are dealing with a broker or an owner. Dealing with brokers can have its pitfalls. A broker might deal with a dozen or more outsourcing companies and sell your contract to the one that bids the most, rather than the one who is the best match for you. If you deal with the owner of the company who provides services such as call center or data entry services, then you know who you are dealing with.

On the other hand, if you deal with a broker who you have known for a long time who is working on your behalf in your best interests, then that might be a great arrangement. The main point to remember is that no matter who you deal with, try to find people who are working in your best interests.

People always talk as if they care about your interests, and talk is very inexpensive. See what people do. Actions speak louder than words. Ask them to do little actions and see how long they take. Ask for little bids, quotes, quick questions in emails. See how quickly you get responses and how detailed or helpful those responses are. The quality of the response is not proof of anything, but it is an indication, and perhaps the only indication you get before you sign a constricting contract.

A Special Economic Zone idea for “Insourcing” in Oklahoma

September 4, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Americans are so afraid of losing their jobs, and for good reason. Jobs are either being automated or outsourced to countries like China, The Philippines and India. This trend will not end until wages in outsourcing destinations rise to roughly 70% of what costs are in America. Will all the new automation being developed these days, will they even need humans at all? But, the obstacles to American employment are much more severe than overseas competition. Payroll laws, minimum wage laws, and immigration limitations make it hard for employers to fill positions here! To hire someone you need to pay their health insurance, pay unemployment insurance, hire an accountant to do payroll, and more! Office rents are not cheap either. No wonder people outsource to the Philippines — no rules apply — they can do whatever they like over there!

China has had economic zones for years!
China has built many special economic zones for manufacturing and even for IT work. These zones got a lot of government support and have flourished. How come the Chinese are the only ones having good ideas these days? Why can’t we develop good ideas too? Why don’t we build our own outsourcing zone right here? Call it an “in-sourcing zone.”

Here are the basic tenants of the in-sourcing zone
(1) No minimum wage. Too many rules make it risky and constrictive to hire new employees. They can be paid whatever the market will bear.
(2) Free immigration. Anyone can come from anywhere to work in this zone with NO visa. All that would be required would be a complimentary ID card from the special economic zone! By having free immigration, businesses would have complete flexibility as to who they could hire which would make it easier for them to grow, not to mention control costs!
(3) No payroll accounting required. No unemployment tax either. Taxes would be paid monthly by all residents. The amount of tax would be based on which part of town you want to live in and not on your income. Live in a slum, save money. Live with the billionaires, pay through the nose!
(4) No income tax. By having a residency tax instead of an income tax, the zone would be very attractive to people from around the world. There are many tax havens such as Dubai and islands in the Caribbean that have been using the same principle for years!
(5) Residency tax would once again be based on which class of neighborhood you choose. In this zone, you are not born into a class, you choose your class with your wallet.

There would be (8) distinct classes:
(1) Homeless (for those making zero to US$10,000 per year)
(2) Barely Making It (recommended for those making US$10,000-$20,000)
(3) Lower Middle Class (recommended for those making US$20,000-$50,000)
(4) Middle Class (recommended for those making US$50,000-80,000)
(5) Upper Middle (recommended for those making US$80,000-$120,000)
(6) Affluent (recommended for those making $120,000-$200,000)
(7) Wealthy (recommended for those making $200,000- 1 million)
(8) Opulent. (recommended for those making more than 1 million per year)

Residency Fees
There would be hardly any homeless people in this zone because admittance to this special economic zone would come with an initial residency fee. The only way you could be in the zone and homeless is if you had a job in the zone, and then lost it, or suddenly became mentally ill. The homeless would have their own part of town, and their housing (cramped) and food would be taken care of by the government of the zone (assuming they used to be a paying resident of one of the other seven classes). For those who want to save money, the barely making it section would have very economical accommodations at very low prices. In such an area it would be very easy to save money. For wealthy people, the choice of the Opulent part of town would be appealing. They might have to pay residency fees of $20,000 per month, but for a billionaire that is pennies.

The neighborhoods for the (8) classes
Your residency fee would cover your medical care and transportation costs to and from your part of town. Employers wouldn’t have to bother with insuring their workers as the government would take care of this. The quality of medical care would range from stripped down clinics in the less expensive areas to choosing from one of many of the finest doctors around if you were paying the most expensive residency tax. But, is this fair, you might ask? You get what you pay for. The homeless would be getting a free ride, and the poor would be getting a partially subsidized ride. How much more fair do you want? Transportation for the poor might include basic buses, while the wealthy people’s residency tax would pay for mag-lev short-distance bullet trains, Mercedes taxis, highways, and more!

Transportation in the Special Economic Zone
Each part of the SEZ would have a variety of different transportation modes. There could be:

(1) Walking paths
(2) Moving walkways
(3) Bicycle highways
(4) Segway paths
(5) Roads
(6) Highways
(7) Shared Taxis as “feeders” for trains
(8) Mini-Buses & Regular Buses ( that would travel on their own dedicated roads)
(9) Regular Trains & Magnetic levitation trains that could go 200+ miles per hour.
(10) The Snake Train
(11) Boats (if there are areas near water)

You would not need a car in this zone. You would have many choices for transportation. Certain parts of town might have a greater concentration of bicycle paths and less roads, while other parts of town might have more shared taxis feeding into train stations. The only people who would really need to depend on car travel would be those living in the outskirts of the zone as most people would live close enough to very clean and comfortable public transportation to use it daily — especially with the added convenience of “feeder shared taxis” that would be free of charge for those who paid residency tax in the area being used.

Biking
Please also keep in mind that in American cities, people who like riding their bike don’t dare because they might get run over by a bus. In my special zone, the bikes would be on roads or elevated paths for use ONLY by bicycles. Some of the paths could even be covered in case it rains. Special stores for bike repair, refreshments, and whatever else bikers might need could be integrated right into the bike routes. Safe locked bike storage compartment areas would be available where bikers might need to park. This way bikers do not have to worry about their bikes being stolen or parts being stolen. What a great lifestyle! Safety, health, and convenience wrapped into one!

The snake train is a novel concept.
It would be a very slow moving train that could be very wide, and as long as you like! It would have coffee houses, book stores, drug stores, and every conceivable way to keep you busy for a slow and pleasant ride. Multi-task on your way to work on the snake train. The snake train would weave in and out of different neighborhoods, but it wouldn’t stop. You just run and jump on when it is going slow. Or perhaps get on the snake by riding a “feeder” train that picks you up, accelerates, and drops you on the train. Read more about the snake train in our other blog article!

Parks and gardens
It has always been my dream to build a city that had huge sections devoted to beautiful gardens of all descriptions. Imagine being able to conduct all of your business with walking through gardens as your primary means of transportation? You would walk through a rose garden, a zen garden, a Korean garden, an English flower garden, an Italian garden with arbors and arches, a water garden, and the list would go on infinitely. Why have cars, pollution, and misery, when you could have an engineered lifestyle that includes beautiful and simple ways of life? Cafes could be in the garden, office buildings could be right next to gardens, and Segway paths could go through gardens as well.

Where would such a zone be?
America has some of the least expensive land in the world. Imagine pairing that with the least expensive labor in the world? The need to outsource services offshore would be eliminated. On the other hand, our Special Economic Zone would resemble an offshore destination due to the fact that the majority of the people living there would be from foreign countries! I choose Oklahoma as my first choice for a location since there is plenty of available land and low building costs.

What types of businesses would flourish in the SEZ?
Any type of business could go there, but it would be more oriented towards tasks typically outsourced overseas. IT work, call center work (which is already very strong particularly in Oklahoma due to low land and labor costs), Medical Transcription, Data Entry, and more. But, in Oklahoma, you could also include farming. The Mexican farm laborers who currently live illegally could come to the zone to enjoy legal status and a comfortable life! The government of this zone could help businesses get established. There would be no income tax for businesses, but there would be lots of benefits. Businesses could get very flexible month-to-month leases for offices of any size. You would pay by the square foot! The government could also have marketing programs to help local companies succeed in difficult markets. The point of this zone would be to create an area where the government helps you instead of burdening you with endless taxes and restrictions. The result would be prosperity for all involved, and a top-notch alternative to offshoring!

You might also like

Solutions to India’s transportation nightmare
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2011/04/10/solutions-to-indias-transportation-problem/

Here is what Americans should really fear
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2010/12/20/here-is-what-americans-really-should-fear/

A free economic zone in America?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/08/03/a-free-economic-zone-in-america/

Is it Fair that American Jobs Are Outsourced to India?

September 4, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest, Popular Posts | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Is it Fair that American Jobs Are Outsourced to India?
A Look at Both Sides of the Issue

There are always two sides to every story. It will take a lot of soul-searching, planning, sacrifice, and hard work for America to recover and create new jobs and a stable economy. If Americans take the reins and do these things, they will succeed in having a stable economy. But as long as educated Indians are able to work longer hours for lower wages than Americans–and their skills and motivation continue to improve–we should not expect the outsourced jobs to return. Deciding what is “fair” involves considering both sides of the issue, both countries’ needs…and what each can offer.

America Since 2001

Consistently since September 11, 2001, the American economy has been bombarded by economic loss and instability to a degree that Americans could not have foreseen or prepared for. Pandemics such as the mortgage meltdown and the subsequent wave of foreclosures and bankruptcies have affected 70% of the population in some way–economically, emotionally–stripping the country of jobs and hope. Not only did the unemployment rate soar after 2008, but people’s attitudes about the country and job prospects took a nose dive. It is apparent that, since the 1980’s, while productivity had been rising in the U.S., real wages–actual income that people took home– stayed the same
(http://anticap.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/fig2_prodhhincome.jpg ). People kept working harder and longer but not getting ahead as prices and perceived needs rose. According to NBCnews.com, “The number of Americans receiving food stamps has soared, from about 27 million in 1994 to more than 46 million last year [2012], with a spike in the past few years, after the recession struck.” That means roughly one sixth of the entire population was poor enough to qualify for food stamps.

Job Loss, Loss of Income: the End of Manufacturing and the Growth of Technology

According to the Brookings Institute, “Between 1980 and 2009 the United States lost 7.1 million manufacturing jobs, about 38 percent of its manufacturing base,” and, for example, from May of 2002 through May 2012, “the estimated number of advertising and promotions managers fell by nearly two-thirds” (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Jobs in the construction industry decreased by 20% from 2007 to 2009. At the same time, low-wage jobs in the U.S. grew by over 40%, and the motivation, ambition, and real skills of at least 50% of the population have suffered since 2001. In 2013, it is now common for the average American to have several part-time jobs or means of earning income. On the other hand, in the field of technology and IT, which grew by 86% from 2000-2012 and was comprised of a better-educated sector of the population, jobs were available, and wages were often high, $50,000 to well over $100,000 a year. However, in all fields, three out of every four American workers began to describe their jobs as stressful. 10% of the population controlled 80% of the wealth, and corporate profits rose by 20% in 2011–in large part due to outsourcing as well as cutbacks in U.S. jobs. (www.motherjones.com).

The Cost of Education and Poor Mental Health

In the United States, during this same period following 2001, Education in the U.S. became increasingly unaffordable and less comprehensive–for all but the top 5% of the population– and the average person could not be assured of a secure future. At the same time, in a study conducted by the National Institute for Mental Health between 2001 and 2003, 46% of a randomly selected group of Americans were found to have suffered from symptoms of mental illness at some point, and mental illness in the U.S.–and the numbers of people on medication–rose sharply by 2008. In fact, Americans’ use of antidepressant medication rose by 400% from 2001 to 2011 (cbsnews: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20123062-10391704.html ). Continually disappointed and forced to live on less and less, Americans could not afford to have their IT or call-center jobs outsourced to foreign countries.
Yet business process outsourcing was the solution big business adopted in the last decade. Here are some reasons why.

Burned Out and Out of Steam

Americans want top wages, yet in many cases, their skills and work habits no longer match the amount of money they expect or need to earn.

By 2008, U.S. workers were stressed to the max compared to their Indian counterparts. It is well known that in developing countries, there is less stress than in developed countries, says Professor Robert Ostermann, an expert on occupational stress at Fairleigh-Dickinson University. One reason, he claims, for increased stress in countries like the U.S. is the amount of advertising and hammering the public to increase their spending and expand beyond a manageable lifestyle. Yet expectations like this contributed to the mortgage crisis: by 2008, encouraged by the mortgage industry, many Americans had borrowed on the inflated equity in their homes, continuing to increase credit card debt…and when the bubble burst, they would never again be able to have that lifestyle. Discouraged, tired, and feeling tricked by the lenders and the system, they did not want the low-wage jobs that were available–because the standard of living prevalent in the U.S. demanded something more–something they felt they had been promised but not granted.

The Truth

Workers in India–who are generally poor but are not suffering from depression and are very highly motivated to earn even a third of what Americans needed to earn in the IT and call-center industries–are by comparison well educated, compliant, and hardworking. They also still have their faith, whereas many Americans have lost their belief in a higher power–or at least act as if they have. The average income in India is about $1400 a year. In the IT industry, a senior developer with 5 years of experience may make the equivalent of $9000-$11,000 a year. His U.S. counterpart will make $80,000 a year. Is it “fair” that American jobs are outsourced to India?

American IT professionals are just not a bargain–and are high maintenance. By some standards, Americans’ work is unsatisfactory; in the IT field, for example, many high-paid developers don’t return calls, and don’t work efficiently; they pad their hours, have temper tantrums… yet they expect to be paid the big bucks even though they do not demonstrate the required skills and attitude. The big companies all have offices and call centers overseas for these very reasons. For much less money, they can find workers in India who do not argue, do not demand high salaries, but more or less cheerfully do the work. They are a bit slower than Americans, and there are some communication problems…but they are human beings with needs just like Americans’, and they are available and willing. They will work for much less than Americans, and are easy to manage once you understand the culture and set up a good working relationship.

There is such a thing as karma. Americans have been selfish for a long long time. They took land away from the Native American Indians, and they took Africans from their homeland. They have often talked down other races and other cultures, and have touted their superiority. And now, they are burning out. We are burning out.

Of course, not all Americans have been selfish. But we have been all but blind to others on the planet, and just looking at history or the survival of various species, no group is on top forever. The Romans and the Greeks had their day. India has an impressive ancient culture with a great deal of wisdom and much to offer.

Maybe, just maybe, it’s their time now.

You might also like:

Paying more gets you better service, right? WRONG!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/08/19/paying-more-gets-you-better-service-right-wrong/

Is offshore outsourcing right for you?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/08/31/is-offshore-outsourcing-right-for-you/

Hire staff with a flexible schedule
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/08/28/hire-staff-with-a-flexible-schedule/

What is the correct order of steps to screen an outsourced company
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/08/16/what-is-the-correct-order-of-steps-to-screen-an-outsourced-company/

What time of the day do you think better?

August 26, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest, Semi-Popular | Tagged , | Leave a comment

What is time?
Time is an intangible non-object that is very critical to our daily lives. Astrology dictates whether a particular day will be good for you or not, and whether the world will have a good day or not as well. Did you know that there are 12 periods of the day according to acupuncture theory? The human body is “focusing” more on particular parts of the body at different times.

The bewitching hours of the night!
11pm to 3am is the time of the night when the body emphasizes activity of the gallbladder and then the liver. If you have problems with your gallbladder, it is good to be asleep before 11pm, so that your body can optimally perform healing activities for the gallbladder. 5am to 7am is when the large intestine is more active. Sometimes, when I experience pain due to a dry colon, it happens typically around that time, although my body will react between 4:30am and 8am. I guess my body is not punctual!

But, what about your work life?
Is there a time of the day when you are more productive, or do better at certain tasks?Do you do phone calls better in the morning? Are you better at accounting at 2pm. Did you ever put any thought into this? You can make a chart and take notes as to how well you do particular tasks at different times of the day.

Business decisions
If you engage in deep thought for business decisions, from 11pm to 3am is perfect. The atmosphere is still, and you can think on a very subtle level. You can meditate on business decisions at that time. I do this regularly.

A formal study
A study was done on Junior High Students by Finley Edwards of Colby College. Students did 3% better at math and reading when they started the day an hour later.

Interesting! What do you think? (But, don’t think about this now, because now is not a good time to think.)

Tweets:
(1) Time is an intangible non-object, but what time of the day do you think better?
(2) According to 82% of spiritual gurus, time does not exist. But, what time of the day do you think better?
(3) Students did 3% better at math & reading when they started the day an hour later.

You might also like:

What if classically trained musicians ran IT companies in India?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/01/01/what-if-classically-trained-musicians-ran-it-companies-in-india/

500,000 Filipino call center workers are on American time!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/03/29/half-a-million-filipino-call-center-workers-are-on-american-time/

Why a CEO is worth 6000 times more than the average worker
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/03/06/why-a-great-ceo-is-worth-6000-times-more-than-the-average-worker/

Paying more gets you better service, right? WRONG!

August 19, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

My buddy always says that you get what you pay for. This is simply not true. In my experience, if you hire the cheapest service providers in any realm, you will be very disappointed in one way or the other. They could even do damage. If they do passable work, they might have terrible personalities or be unreliable. If they are nice, then their work might be horrible. How do you get the best of all worlds? Sometimes it is not possible, but you can optimize.

High-priced service providers are not always good, but at least the possibility of them being good is much higher than with their low-priced alternatives. I have learned that expensive providers in any field are rarely perfect, but if real people are really paying them their really high rates, then that speaks for itself. Some people who are worth $50 per hour might quote a rate of $100. They might just be cheating you. Be cautious with ANY service provider no matter where they are, no matter how much you like them, and no matter what they charge. There are pitfalls with any type of providers. If you want a top notch provider, searching higher priced providers first will yield you a higher rate of return finding the best providers in town — but you still have to weed out a lot of people — perhaps up to 80%.

What about mid-priced providers? Recently, I have had excellent luck with mid-priced providers. The communication wasn’t as seamless as with their higher priced counterparts, but adequate. And the type of service I got was top notch. I used to get massage from someone who charged the higher price in town. She was excellent and had a lifetime of experience (a long life of 78 years too I might add). Then, I found another provider at half the price who was equally good. The communication skills were not as good, and the others at the same location were not as good — but, I only need one provider, and she is generally available.

I also found a great software house that has a top notch boss. He charges more for outsourced programming than most other companies. He is in the $45 range with a team in India. Most companies in India charge $20 with a few charging $25 or more. There are a handful in the $40 range and a few companies with their heads at fancy companies in the U.S. who charge up to $90. So, $45 is in the mid-range for India. But, his quality of work was flawless. Other companies in his price range left me high and dry, but he delivered timely and accurate results. I didn’t find him by guessing, or by accident, but by scouring the market to find good people.

So, when you do your market research for service providers for data entry, software, call center services, KPO, etc., remember this thought: If you want to save money, be careful of these cheap companies. They can destroy you. If you want to pay too much and have the illusion that it will get you quality — think again. I strongly recommend to all parties to start your search with medium priced providers and then compare their price : value ratio to whomever else you are thinking about!

The Google algorithm has some serous issues

August 4, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Analytics, Of Interest | Tagged , | Leave a comment

I am a long term admirer of Google and most of my traffic comes from them. My observations are only meant to help and inspire, but not to demean or criticize.

When looking for IT companies online, I find that I only come up with blogs and a ton of job offerings. Yes, job offerings are important. However, Google is supposed to be a smart search engine and focus on what the browser wants to find. If I am looking for COMPANIES, that is a very different nature of search than looking for JOB OFFERS. The reason for this is because Google rewards pages that are new, or recently updated, and job offers fit that description, while hard-coded pages of actual companies are more static and get updated every several years at best.

Google has a very sophisticated algorithm that identifies relevancy based on sentence structure, incoming links, outgoing links, and how many what I call “associated” keywords you use. If you are writing about Acupuncture and use words like “neck pain”, or “back pain”, then Google knows that you are writing something that really is related to Acupuncture and you are not just faking it.

But, there needs to be some mechanism in the search process to identify what type of search results to give. Perhaps a filter where you can pick what type of search you want.

PHP Programming Company — search term
Then, Google could offer you a choice.

“Gee, it looks like you are looking for Programming Houses, would you like to see: (1) Jobs offered in PHP (2) Blogs related to PHP Programming (3) Programming Companies or (4) Other information relating to PHP programming.”

This way I could easily target my search in one easy click and actually be able to find results — what a novel concept!

The next hurdle is identifying which software companies are any good. This job I leave to myself, so that I can publish useful search results on 123outsource.net!

You might also like:

Social media: the analytics are deceiving
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/05/27/social-media-the-analytics-are-deceiving/

Active vs. dormant followers on Twitter
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/09/27/active-vs-dormant-followers-on-twitter/

Synergy & working closely with others

July 30, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest | Tagged , | Leave a comment

I love work relationships, particularly if you learn from them. Working with others is very spiritual. There is always some sort of exchange going on. It is more than the money, or even whether you like each other or not. There is learning, and an exchange of consciousness (that’s deep!!!).

I work with a lady who is a great writer. She writes wonderful tweets too. Innovation is her specialty, and she finds the best way of doing just about everything. But, there is more. We work on writing projects together. I am a sloppy writer with endless ideas. She is a refined writer, but lacks the familiarity with my audience. When you put us together, miracles happen. It is a marriage of crowdsourcing skills & writing skills.

Our twitter account hardly ever got retweeted in previous years. We got a handful of retweets per month which is a disaster for an account with 3000 followers. If I had known more about Twitter at the time I would have said, “It’s embarrassing!”. But, due to my interactions with my Twitter specialist (an outsourced social media consultant), and my writing companion who I work with, my tweets got better. I learned the art of writing and refining tweets. I learned the art of narrowing down on what my audience wanted to hear. There are actually about eight types of tweets that my followers like. So, now I just keep giving them what they like, and craft my tweets with much more care, and I get retweeted multiple times per day — every day!

But, the punch line of this blog entry is that the magic happens when we work together. Put us apart and we can both tweet. But, put us together and we refine ideas and come out with far better ideas. In the past we got 5-10 retweets per month. Recently, many of our tweets get 3, 4, or in one case 10 retweets — EACH. Miracles have happened. It is all from finding people you work well with. So, if you sample working with others, and find someone you work well with — that is something valuable. Don’t throw it away!

Joke:
The lady I worked with noticed that one of my blogs was composed with an endless quantity of aphorisms. I said, “Don’t you mean, Aphor-Americanisms?”

Maintaining your calm in a busy world

July 22, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest | Tagged , | Leave a comment

We all live in a busy world, but can you maintain your peace, your calm, or your mindfulness? Buddhists spend their life cultivating the meditative quality of mindfulness. This is not a bad quality to have in the workplace. As a manager, you have to deal with dozens of challenging situations per day. You have to step back, and try to not be too emotional, while you sort out problems step by step.

For me, the answer is obvious. If I can’t get away, then I can’t get my mind out of its rut. If you are always in the same environment, you tend to think of the same thoughts. Your mind becomes like a broken record player always repeating the same messages over and over. We are all like this, but each different person has their own broken record. Travel can get you into a new circumstance where you naturally think differently and come back refreshed.

But, what can you do if you can’t travel. You can still use yoga techniques to alter the patterns of your thoughts. Or, you can visit a peaceful park, and smell the flowers, see ducks swimming on a pond, and watch the grass grow for a while. After this calming activity which takes your mind away from your problems, you can go back to your problems, and you might see that you can more easily find effective solutions. Letting the mind rest and rejuvinate makes you more efficient. After the rest, the mind can solve problems much more quickly, and without the emotional baggage that you normally add to business decisions.

Why your sitar & tabla lessons are the most important training for business

June 9, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest, Outsourcing Articles, Popular Posts | Tagged , | Leave a comment

I am always being asked how to get more clients for call centers, data entry, and software houses. But, the type of answers people want are what I call, “immediate gratification” type answers. How can I get something now that I may or may not deserve or merit. If I were writing to a Western audience, I would talk about piano or violin lessons, but most of my readers are in India, so let’s talk about the veena, sitar, tabla and tambouras.

When you take music lessons, you learn a whole lot more than just music. You learn discipline (essential for any profession), impeccable timing, listening skills, sensitivity, and how to coordinate with others — especially if playing a raga with a tabla player.

Many times when we call Call centers, we get people who can hardly communicate, if they answer the phone at all. If we email them, the email doesn’t get returned. If you want clients so badly, what prevents you from answering your email? That might be the only medium for communication that someone could use to communicate with you. Additionally, we get the “hard sell” types who want to immediately lock you into a very constrictive contract without evening listening to what your needs are.

Listening skills
Then, the staff at these call centers sometimes speak too softly, or too loudly. If you had a musical background, you would realize right away that their pitch was off tune. Some of them have a pleasant or unpleasant tone. Anybody can notice this, but with a musical background, your brain becomes very much more sensitized to noise. A call center worker might put words together in ways that are hard for the client to understand as well. You will pick up on this much better with a musical background. As I stated earlier, the management also doesn’t always listen to what the client wants. Listening is critical to success in business and you will have a much better listening skills if you took sitar lessons.

Timing
In music, you have to play a sequence of notes, with sensitivity in a particular rhythm. Emails are similar. They need to be answered in a time sensitive way. You can not wait three weeks to get back to someone about a time sensitive issue and then say, “oh sorry”. If the tabla player plays 12 beats and then you have to play a few notes immediately afterwards — this is very similar to what happens in the world of business. Your client might send you a process that has to be begun on Tuesday morning at 5am. What if three hours after a process is started, you need to inspect a critical piece of work to see if the project is going as planned, and you miss that precise window of time? If you are not paying attention, you miss critical deadlines and get lose your clients. A few veena lessons will teach you about timing!

Sensitivity
In business, analytics is very important. Knowing what the most important task to do at a particular time when you have limited resources. Sensitivity can help you notice more, and a lot faster. You will also notice a lot more details about what you are doing, and what is flawed and what needs to be fixed. Higher level business-people are much more refined in all aspects of their work.

Most companies have managers who are either unavailable, or who have trouble giving accurate answers to questions. In music, if there is even one flaw, the entire song, piece or raga can be ruined. In business, if you give wrong answers, your sale can be ruined. This type of accuracy training or discipline is irreplaceable and comes from studying music. Sure, business school can teach you a lot of principles, but tabla lessons teach you a sense of accuracy that can be transposed into any profession!

Clasically trained musicians make higher incomes!
If you look at people who are classical musicians in the United States, their average income is in the top 1-5%. They average around US$120,000 per year in income. People who just want quick bucks generally make around 15-40% of that amount. The discipline of classical music translates into good study skills which once again translates into higher level jobs and higher sensitivity in business skills. Sensitivity training is everything and your tamboura lessons will really help with this.

The moral of this blog is — think of your clients as tabla players. After they play their beats, you have to chime in!

Tweets:
(1) Classically trained musicians make higher incomes if they pursue professions
(2) The discipline of classical music translates into better study skills = higher income

You might also like:

What if classically trained musicians ran IT companies in India?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/01/01/what-if-classically-trained-musicians-ran-it-companies-in-india/

Vaastu and Feng Shui for your business
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2010/12/11/vaastu-feng-shui-for-your-business/

Outsource: e-Karma definition. How does online karma affect you?

May 4, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Many people are unaware that there is a force of nature called e-Karma. It affects your past, present and future. But, few understand this mystical attribute of the universe.

e-Karma
A specific type of karma that results from doing good or bad deeds online. At the time of death of the individual, all karmic debts recorded on the e-Karma server are migrated to a new server where the corresponding individual is reincarnated.

Etymology

Sanskrit: Karma — a deed or action

Greek: The word electronic (shortened to “e” as an abbreviation) derives from the Greek word Elektron, which means an electron.

Q&A

Q. Is e-Karma different from “regular” karma?
A. Yes. Regular karma is accumulated during an incarnation of a living being, and then discharged periodically according to the lords of karma who decide when and where a karmic debt will be “repaid”. Online e-Karma is accumulated on servers, and the repayment of these debts is decided from the custodian of these online karmic databases.

Q. What types of actions lead to bad e-Karma?
A. Spamming is a typical one. Sending useless emails to targetted individuals promoting your service in a way that is not customized to the person’s actual needs. Creating online viruses is a much more serious offense. Creating online articles that misinform the public about non-existant terms is another offense whose punishment is still unknown.

Q. What happens to the worst offenders?
A. There is no definite information available now, but many have theorized that the worst offenders will end up in e-Hell. Those who simply bug others by sending unwanted emails, will in-turn receive unwanted emails themselves. While those who write articles about fake terms — hence misleading gullable members of the public will have to spend time in an ethereal realm where they are entertained with nonsense for a period of time.

Q. What do outsourcing companies do to gain this bad karma?
A. They send emails to people without stating the recipient’s actual name, and without bothering to understand the nature of the recipient’s actual business. It is very unpersonal, untargetted, gets poor results, fails to catch someone’s attention, and creates waste in the e-Universe. It is better that companies promoting SEO, Web Design, and other outsourced services try to get to know the needs of the company they are promoting their products to, and then they will get a much more favorable result when attempting to market to companies — as well as creating much fewer useless emails!