10 things outsourcing companies do wrong on social media

June 20, 2016 by 123outsource
Categories: Social Media | Tagged | Leave a comment

Outsourcing companies do not have a very good presence on social media. That is the first thing wrong. But, when they do, they publish a lot of the wrong type of content. Let’s go into detail.

1. Most outsourcing companies don’t use social media, or don’t use it enough.

2. Many outsourcing companies publish advertising content about themselves. This is counterproductive on social media.

3. Good social media involves publishing industry relevant articles that do NOT try to sell anything. You captivate your audience with quality content that informs and perhaps entertains.

4. About us type information is popular on social media. Photos of what your office did on Diwali or Christmas help. Or show a photo of you all having a communal meal or having a birthday party wearing funny hats.

5. Dry factual information about the industry might not be popular. It is common for outsourcing blogs to focus on which company merged with what other company or bought an office from some other company. The readership for this boring content is not that good. Read your stats to see what type of content is popular with your readers.

6. Not looking at your stats as I mentioned in the last point is suicide. If you don’t know what people enjoyed reading, how will you know what to write about next time?

7. Not interacting is a huge mistake. Social Media is all about interacting. If people ask a question on social media, get back to them right away — every time.

8. Outsource your social media. If you are an outsourcing company, you might think that people outsource to you. But, you might need to outsource to someone else as well. Social media requires skill and familiarity. If you can’t, hire someone who does.

9. Write more blog entries. If your blog doesn’t exist or has very few posts, you need to write blog entries regularly. I spent hours every month writing and writing. The result is that my blog gets excellent traffic every month.

10. Follow a lot on social media. You can’t grow your presence without following people. So, follow people who are relevant to your industry.

That’s all for now. I wish you luck with social media.

You might also like:

Pimp my Tweet — a BPO company that specializes in Twitter
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/09/16/pimp-my-tweet-a-bpo-company-specializing-in-twitter/

18 ways to boost your social media marketing in 10 minutes a day
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/05/05/18-ways-to-boost-your-social-media-marketing-in-10-minutes-day/

Complilation of best posts “of interest” in 2012-2014

June 18, 2016 by 123outsource
Categories: Compilations | Leave a comment

Having a Thai side of my personality helps keep me calm in business
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/11/03/having-a-thai-side-of-your-personality-helps-keep-calm-in-business/

Can a top level executive really take a year off?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/06/01/can-a-top-level-executive-really-take-a-year-off/

A special economic zone for “insourcing” in Oklahoma
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/09/04/a-special-economic-zone-idea-for-insourcing-in-oklahoma/

Build it and they will return — an article about outsourcing
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/12/04/outsourcing-build-it-and-they-will-return/

Is bigger always better in business?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/02/11/is-bigger-always-better-in-business/

Is it fair that American jobs are outsourced to India?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/09/04/is-it-fair-that-american-jobs-are-outsourced-to-india/

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/

Overseas outsourcing in the 21st century: Different countries, diverse benefits
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/04/18/overseas-outsourcing-in-the-21st-century-different-countries-diverse-benefits/

Enjoying the four-hour work-week by outsourcing
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/10/02/enjoying-the-four-hour-work-week-by-outsourcing/

Half a million 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/

The outsourcing equivalent of fast food
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/12/03/the-outsourcing-equivalent-of-fast-food/

Working in an office vs. home
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2012/02/08/working-in-an-office-vs-at-home/

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

How different cultures handle time
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/08/18/how-different-cultures-handle-time/

The outsourcing boat
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2010/09/24/the-outsourcing-boat/

24 tech workers for each manager?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/08/15/24-tech-workers-for-each-manager/

Outsourcing makes the world go round
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/06/19/outsourcing-makes-the-world-go-round/

How to create a new corporate culture in 3 easy steps!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/05/03/how-to-create-a-new-corporate-culture-in-3-easy-steps/

Why a great 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/

How do you expand your thinking in business?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/11/14/how-do-you-expand-your-thinking-in-business/

Why your sitar and tabla lessons are the most important training for business
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/06/09/why-your-sitar-tabla-lessons-are-the-most-important-training-for-business/

Hybrid bi-national companies, the way of the future?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2012/01/31/hybrid-binational-companies-the-way-of-the-future/

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KFC in India’s fiery tomato based masala tantalizes the taste buds of a visiting American

June 17, 2016 by 123outsource
Categories: India | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Eight years ago, I pleasantly sampled KFC in India and my view of the universe was permanently altered. India has been in a rut for the last ten thousand years. In the old days you could go to the forest wearing a loincloth and meditate, hang out with monkey gods, and learn to levitate. Then, India became less spiritual, after a few more hundred years, the Muslims took over large portions of India, and the caste system persisted.

Local Deshis have a repetoire of 10 dishes
Most people in India have a repetoire of ten dishes that they eat from the day they are born until the day they die (unless they are fed on an IV.) The Northern Moghlai cuisine has more diversity of spices while Maharashtra specializes in brown sauces and Kerela has coconut and ayervedic spices in their food. The high point of Tamilian cuisine is sambar while the Andhra Pradeshis have a mentally obtuse dish called “dumb biryani.” With all those high tech parks I’m sure they could innovate a smarter version of that dish and call it “smart biryani.”

India’s culinary rut finally altered
In the last ten years, India has really opened up culinarily. The 10,000 year old rut they have been in has lifted — at least for now courtesy of the influence and money brought in by multi-national companies, high tech firms, call centers, etc. Now you can get Indianized Chinese food anywhere. Yes, India’s Chinese food has too much basmati rice, too much black pepper, is too heavy on overly liquidy sauces, etc. India needs to learn that Chinese food is not Indian food and doesn’t come with twelve ounces of curry sauce. Chinese food normally comes in a light sauce and should emphasize Chinese flavors of which there are many, and not reflect Indian tastes so much. But, surprisingly Chennai has the best and most authentic tasting Chinese and Malay food in the country if you go to the right places. Additionally, now you can get dosa in the North and Punjabi butter chicken in the South. You can get Kerela paratha in Tamil Nadu and kim-chee in Bangalore. India has turned over a new ayervedic leaf it seems.

KFC in India came up with their own masala
When I travel, it is always interesting to see how a culture will assimilate another culture’s cuisine. I tasted a croissant in Germany (terrible,) had Chinese food in Italy (not bad,) and had Italian food in Andorra (excellent.) As far as I’m concerned Indians have ruined Chinese food, but for some reason they did a great job altering Colonel Sander’s chicken. No more 11 herbs and spices in India. Kentucky Fried Chicken in India came up with their own masala using — get this — tomato sauce, sweetener, and a lighter version of the herbs and spices, undoubtedly a completely different mixture.

The irony is that Indian KFC isn’t spicy
The irony is that Indian food is known for being spicy — and so is KFC. However, KFC in India spices their chicken in a very similar way to a popular variety of potato chips in India that Lays and/or Ruffles and other local manufacturers make which is a sweet tomato flavor. Indian KFC is surprisingly and pleasantly mild, sweet and tasty. I enjoyed McDonald’s Maharaja burger, I enjoyed getting American ice cream in Bangalore, but KFC was my best experience short of dining in five star hotels.

Why can’t we have Indian KFC in Los Angeles?
My only regret, is that Kentucky Fried Chicken in India is so good, I wish we could get the same flavor in America. Unfortunately the demographics here don’t support the same culinary tastes. But, maybe one day love will find a way. While we’re at it, I sampled kung pao chicken around the world, and I want Italian, Austrian and Atlanta Georgia style kung pao available in Los Angeles. I think it won’t happen until I open my own kung pao restaurant — we do kung pao right.

In any case, I’m looking forward to my next visit to India. We’ll see what new recipes KFC cooks up in India by then!

You might also like:

Solutions to India’s transportation problems
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/12/31/solutions-to-indias-transportation-problems-2015/

18 ways to boost your socila media marketing in 10 minutes per day
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/05/05/18-ways-to-boost-your-social-media-marketing-in-10-minutes-day/

Is it safe for women to take cabs in India?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/08/22/is-it-safe-for-women-to-take-cabs-in-india/

India in 2140
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/05/29/india-in-2140/

Developing your hiring intuition

June 14, 2016 by 123outsource
Categories: Hiring & Firing | Leave a comment

Do you hire others? Does it never work out that well? Most employers feel the same way. It is hard to hire perfect people. In real life, we would be better off with employees who were more like partners — people who had our back at all times no matter what. If outsourcing companies would get it through their heads that they would get more business by being partners instead of demanding some legal partnership contract — the world of outsourcing would be completely transformed. People only care about themselves, and that is the problem with todays world — and with hiring.

I bet Warren Buffet has a very refined intuition when it comes to hiring. He has hired and fired so many people in his life and seen the results. I bet he can spot a winning horse from a mile away. I am beginning to spot winners and losers too. It has nothing to do with skills either. Motivation, integrity, and intelligence are what I look for. Most people have none of these traits. But, your star employee must have all of them otherwise you are screwed.

But, how do you know who has the winning traits, plus job related skills? Spotting intelligence is easy. Just talk to someone for a few minutes. Throw out some complicated thoughts, or make a few slightly intellectual jokes and listen for the silence. I can tell just by listening to someone’s tone of voice what their IQ is. Normally at an interview, after the first 30 seconds have passed, I know if the person is going to make it or not. I throw out some thought provoking questions to see if I get an intelligent answer or not.

Knowing someone’s level of motivation and integrity are a little harder. When people want a job, they tell you what you want to hear. This is a waste of time, especially if you can’t read between the lines. How much trouble are they willing to go through to work for you is the only thing you should be thinking. After all, after four months have passed when you are in a bind and need them to put in a little extra work, if they have the “why bother” attitude, you are screwed. So, think of that before you hire them. This is why large companies have four interviews — yes four! Someone not motivated or committed probably won’t show up for all four.

But, you can ask them about what happened at their last job. If they seem to have been motivated about how they handled business, that is a good sign. If they showed concern for all of the details of the job, rather than just how they felt, that might be a good sign. It’s certainly not a bad sign.

Figuring out if someone has integrity is much harder. You can think of some trick situations to see if they will cheat. Or, you can ask them about their relationships with their parents, boyfriends, etc. If they have poor relationships with them, they will also have a poor relationship with you for whatever reason — including possibly integrity.

Some people who cheat a lot are always watching others to catch them cheating. This is a form of projecting. On the other hand, karmically speaking, cheaters work with cheaters. You can ask how upset they get if someone lies to them too.

Figuring out how much the other person likes you is also very important. People who like you will do much more for you. How good is your intuition for figuring out who likes you?

There is a lot to think about when hiring someone. I hope you can figure it all out. My solution is to not hire people, because I already know what is going to happen!

Outsourcing

June 12, 2016 by 123outsource
Categories: Keyword, Outsourcing Articles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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DEFINITION OF OUTSOURCING
Outsourcing is a business practice where a particular company will hire someone who does not work for their company such as another company or a freelancer to do particular tasks for them. Typically, tasks outsourced will be highly repetitive or specialized tasks such as calling long lists of names with a particular call script, accounting, programming, data entry, technical support, payment processing, or some other specialized task.

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REASONS FOR OUTSOURCING
The reason companies outsource work to other companies are multi-fold. One reason could be to:

Save Time — so that employees and management can focus more on the core competencies of the company such as selling widgets while outsourcing bookeeping and reminder calls to companies who specialize in those particular tasks. Another reason could be:

Cost Cutting — Many outsource companies are located in India, The Philippines, or Eastern Europe where labor costs are lower than the United States, hence, creating an opportunity to capitalize on less expensive labor.

Skill Optimization — is yet another reason to outsource work as outsourced companies specialize in particular tasks such as blog set up, eCommerce site creation or XML conversion while your company specializes in widgets.

Eliminating Uneven Schedules — if you have a job to be done that will take only 10-15 hours a week on some weeks and more or less hours on other weeks, hiring a full-time or even part-time employee is a commitment that you will have trouble keeping. If that employee quits in the middle of a project, you’ll have another problem. It might be easier to outsource the project to a company who specializes in that task and has dozens of people who know exactly how to do it rather than hire your own staff.

Reducing Hiring — hiring and firing is expensive and is an art form that you might not have time to master. If you have a particular job that people are always quitting every two months, it might be easier to have the job outsourced to Manila where they have full-time HR managers to handle the hiring and firing for you! That way you can focus on widgets instead of dealing with people who quit on a whim leaving you high and dry. The outsourced company you hire will have plenty of backups all in the same specialty when the employee assigned to you quits.

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TYPES OF OUTSOURCING ARRANGEMENTS

Freelancers — Some companies hire freelancers which is a type of outsourcing.

Fixed Schedule — Others hire another company for a particular schedule with a contract which extends for a particular number of months or years such as 40 hours a week for two years.

Employee Leasing — Some companies hire a team of workers from an agency which is sometimes called “employee leasing.” Other companies pay for results in specialties like lead generation rather than paying for particular hours of work.

Assignment Based — Programming or software development outsourcing often has a company pay for a completed product or for a particular number of hours to do a particular job although there is very rarely a deadline.

On Call — Some outsourcing is on an on call basis. Programmers might be hire to fix code only when it breaks or to do programming work as needed. Call centers might have a small assignment from time to time only when needed.

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CATEGORIZATIONS OF OUTSOURCING JOBS
Outsourcing jobs are sometimes categorized using particular terms such as:

ITES — Information Technology Enabled Services which could include data entry using computers, web design, technical support, or other tasks which involve technology to facilitate the task in some type of a way.

KPO — Knowledge Process Outsourcing is also a bype of Business Process Outsourcing that includes tasks that require a higher level of education, knowledge or skills such as Accounting, Software Development, Research, etc.

LPO — Legal Process Outsourcing focuses primarily on legal research, patent research, contract drafting and legal support services, but rarely involves actually going to court.

RPO — Research Process Outsourcing or Recruitment Process Outsourcing. Research outsourcing is popular in Bangalore, India as there are many companies that offer market research, web research, and Pharmaceutical research. RPO could also be a form of human resources outsourcing where an outside company will help you find employees or leased agents. This is by far the least popular form of international outsourcing as there are few providers who offer overseas assistance with recruitment.

HRO — Human Resources Outsourcing as mentioned above is the least popular form of international outsourcing as there are very few overseas companies who offer competent service in this industry. However, there are a few companies in India and the Philippines that allow you to lease call center agents and programmers at low rates. However, the quality of such help is dubious and not guaranteed in any way by the provider company.

MBPO — Medical Business Process Outsourcing includes outsourcing of Medical Billing, coding and Medical Transcription. Quality standards and billing in these fields is a lot more uniform than in other BPO tasks as companies can charge a percentage in Medical Billing and can offer rates per number of characters or words (or lines) in Medical Transcriptions. Quality standards are also easy to measure as there are international standards for Medical Billing and Medical Transcription. You can measure errors as a percentage rate. If a company makes more than a particular fraction of a percent of errors, they generally go out of business or get fired.

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TYPES OF OUTSOURCING JOBS
Commonly outsourced jobs might include: Accounting, Bookkeeping, Call Center, Data Entry, ePublishing, Legal Research, Market Research, Medical Billing, Medical Transcriptions, Social Media, Software Development, and Web Design. However, there are many specialties in most of these types of outsourcing jobs.

Accounting Specialties — Bookkeeping, Tax Preparation, Payroll, Bank Reconcilliation

Call Center Specialties — Appointment Setting, Chat Support, Collections, Customer Help Desk, Data Verification, Email Support, Inbound Customer Care, Lead Generation, Order Taking, Outbound, Survey Taking, Technical Support, Telemarketing, Ticket Sales,

Data Entry Specialties — Data Capture, Data Cleansing, Data Conversion, Data Entry, Data Mining, Data Processing, Data Quality, Data Security, Data Transcription, eCommerce Data Entry, Forms Filling, Forms Processing, Image Processing, Product Data Entry, Scanning, etc. Data Conversion includes XML, SGML, HTML5 conversion, PDF or JPG conversion, and conversion from one language or format to another.

Social Media tasks might include article writing, proofreading, posting on Facebook, managing a Twitter account, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, or any of the other common social media platforms. Most companies specialize in several social media platforms, but cannot provide service for ones they are not familiar with or don’t have sufficient staff for.

Software Development Specialties — Blog Set up, eCommerce Set up, Software Testing, Web Design, Employee Leasing, etc.

Common software languages include: C, C#, C++, ERP, J2ME, Java, jQuery, LAMP, MySQL, .Net, OpenSource, PHP, Ruby on Rails, SAP, SQL, XML, and more.

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You might also like:

Wikepedia’s article on — outsourcing

Investopedia’s article on — outsourcing

Entrepreneur’s article on — outsourcing

See our informational page on the term — outsourced.

See 123outsource’s compilation on best articles about outsourcing.
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2016/04/02/compilation-of-best-outsourcing-articles/

What countries are best to outsource a particular task to?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/04/07/which-countries-are-the-best-to-outsource-particular-tasks-to/

Six problems that only individuals working in a BPO industry would understand.
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/06/15/six-problems-that-only-individuals-working-in-a-bpo-industry-would-understand/

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Outsourced

June 12, 2016 by 123outsource
Categories: Keyword, Outsourcing Articles | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Definition of Outsourced / Outsourcing

Verb
Outsourced is the past tense of the verb to outsource.

(1) To obtain services from an outside or foreign supplier in place of an internal source.
(2) To contract work to an outside firm or abroad.
(3) To assign particular specialized and/or repetitive tasks that are not core competencies of the mother company
to an outside or foreign company.
(4) To procure back office services with an outside supplier or provider.

Explanation
BPO Outsourcing is becoming more and more popular as companies have to fight harder to survive in a world where margins are getting tighter by the day. If a company is doing a particular task even slightly less efficiently than the competition, they will lose profits and market share in the long run. One solution available which may or may not increase efficiency is to outsource particular tasks to a company that specializes in those particular tasks. For example, if your company focuses on widget production, but 10% of your labor resources are devoted to reminder calls, it might make sense to focus more on widgets, and outsource the reminder calls to Manila where there are companies who specialize in all aspects of the call center business. Knowledge intensive tasks are also more and more commonly outsourced to KPO and LPO companies who specialize in knowledge process outsourcing and legal process outsourcing.

Outsourced — the TV show
Outsourced is also an American television sitcom filmed in Los Angeles that was set in an Indian Workplace fictionally located in Mumbai, India. A catalog based company selling American novelty goods such as whoopee cushions, foam fingers, and wallets made of bacon hires Todd Dempsy from Kansas to relocated to Bombay. Every episode of this hillarious comedy focuses around Todd’s culture shock dealing with Indians and attempting to teach the local Mumbai staff all about American sensibilities and culture.

See NBC’s profile page for the show — Outsourced

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You might also like

See our feed of articles about — outsourced

See our comprehensive definition of — outsourcing — which goes over when and why outsourcing is done, types of outsourcing arrangements (freelance, contract, staff leasing), a detailed look at categorizations of outsourced tasks (BPO, KPO, LPO) as well as a detailed look at 55+ commonly outsourced specialties in the call center, data entry, software and other outsourcing industries.

Is it fair that American jobs are outsourced to India?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/12/25/is-it-fair-that-american-jobs-are-outsourced-to-india-2015/

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/

Compilation of best outsourcing articles:
The best tasks to outsource are not critical or time sensitive
If you invested in BPO employees, what types of tasks would you teach them?
The 2 minute contact rule
more…
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2016/04/02/compilation-of-best-outsourcing-articles/

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A new specialty for your call center — suicide hotline

June 12, 2016 by 123outsource
Categories: Humor | Leave a comment

Suicide hotline
Help people who are committing suicide to change their mind.

Is there too much competition for technical support and appointment setting? Want to do something a little more interesting? There are many companies and government agencies looking to outsource suicide hotline service. Just make sure you train your employees well, or the result might not be so good!

AGENT: Hello this is Sujata from suicide hotline, how may I help you?

FRANK: It’s not worth it anymore. I’m going to end it all now.

AGENT: Oh I see. On a scale of 1 to 10, how strong is your desire to commit suicide?

FRANK: Let me give you a hint, I’m standing at the edge of a 200 foot high bridge overlooking a large river.

AGENT: Hmm. Sorry, I’m new here, let me look this up. Rivers… Ummm. Let me ask someone. Hey Ramesh, what would rivers be on a scale of 1 to 10?

RAMESH: Um, just consult the manual. Here.

AGENT: It says nothing about rivers. I read the whole thing and know it by heart.

RAMESH: Just make up a number or ask Sanjay after he’s back from break.

AGENT: Can you just stay there on that bridge. We are waiting for our manager to come back from lunch.

FRANK: No trouble, I’m not in a huge hurry. It’s not like I have anything to do with my life anymore anyway — which is why I’m ending it.

(10 minutes later)

SANJAY: Oh, I didn’t realize you hadn’t been trained yet.

AGENT: Well, you see I was, but they did not cover rivers. If someone is going to jump into a river from a high elevation, on a scale of 1 to 10, how much would that be?

SANJAY: It depends on their intention. If they really mean to do it, that is probably a 10. But, if they are just bluffing, perhaps a 6.

AGENT: Oh, in that case I’ll transfer it to Ajay. He specializes in level 6 and 7 calls. Hello Frank? Am I pronouncing your name right?

FRANK: Yes, that’s right. While I’m still alive at least.

AGENT: I’m going ot transfer you to someone who specializes in level 7. Don’t go anywhere.

FRANK: You’re putting me on hold? That’s what my girlfriend did to me which got me into that whole…. (pause — on hold)

AJAY: Hello this is Ajay, may I help you? (pause) Hello? Are we having a bad connection? Hello? Let me transfer you back.

AGENT: Yes Frank, on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate our customer service. Hello? Oh, he must have jumped. Maybe they should teach me more about how to handle the 7’s.

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Is Amazon too tough on their workers?

June 10, 2016 by 123outsource
Categories: Management | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Rumors are that Amazon management tolerates nothing less than peak performance out of their workers. The workplace is intense and often cutthroat. Workers who have health problems, other personal issues, or who just can’t measure up often get penalized or fired.

Two Times reporters wrote a 7000 word piece on Amazon after they had interviewed many current and former Amazon employees. They wrote about the grueling and competitive conditions the workers had to endure. After Jeff Bezos read this featured article, even he wrote a letter stating he would not tolerate the “shockingly callous management practices” described in the article. He urged employees to contact her directly if they heard of abuses.

However, reviews on Glassdoor indicated that 82% of employees approve of CEO Bezos and most would recommend Amazon to a friend. A program manager in Seattle wrote that Amazon had small teams, interesting and innovative projects, and very smart people. There were quiet work areas, a beautiful campus, and a startup feel. To me, it sounds a lot like Google. There were many mixed reviews on Amazon with the pros commenting on the vibrant fast paced culture while the cons were more about the office politics.

My feeling is that the companies that are getting ahead today like Apple, Google, Amazon, etc. tend to embrace a high energy culture of overachievers who work in an innovative setting creating new and better ways for society to function, buy, sell, and enjoy life. If workers want to work in a slower paced company, an innovative front-line company doesn’t seem like a good place. Becoming a librarian in a small Tennessee town seems like a better idea for someone who wants a quiet, yet fulfilling life. But, on the other hand, companies that make their workers put in too many hours can burn people out. In the long run, we need quality of life, not just some success that leads to ultimate burnout. And when we get pregnant or have personal problems, it is nice if our company understands what we are going through. After all, we’re all human (my cat is nodding her head at this point.) Well, she is not human, but the rest of us are!

You might also like:

Is it time to Uber-size your outsourcing business?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2016/05/10/is-it-time-to-uber-size-your-outsourcing-business/

Young workers want a positive social atmosphere
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2016/03/12/younger-workers-want-a-positive-social-atmosphere/

America invented and forgot about customer service
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2016/03/02/america-invented-forgot-about-customer-service/

Compilation of best managementv& success blogs
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2016/02/06/compilation-of-best-management-success-blog-entries/

To tweet or not to tweet, that is the question

June 4, 2016 by 123outsource
Categories: Humor | Tagged | Leave a comment

To tweet or not to tweet, that is the question
Whether ’tis Nobler in the Twitter feed to suffer
The Tweets and Shares of outrageous Fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of articles,
And by opposing end them: to log out, to sleep
No more; and by logging out, to say we end
The eye-strain from staring too long at the monitor, and the thousand Natural shocks
That Flesh is heir to? ‘Tis a consummation
Addictedly to be wished. To log out, to sleep,
To sleep, perchance to Dream about Twitter; aye, there’s the favorite button,
For in that sleep of death, what retweets or mentions may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
We become a bot, and we pause. There’s the respect
That makes Calamity of so long life…

My advice:
Tweet 30-40 times per day. Try to only tweet content that people will share. It is good to experiment, but only with content that you think has a good chance of being popular. If you want to do more, open a second account that can work in tandem with the first account. Tweet some beautiful photos periodically in your feed to attract those with good taste. And remember — every time you contemplate a tweet and its worthiness, ask yourself:

To tweet or not to tweet, that is the question…

You might also like:

18 ways to boost your social media in 10 minutes or less per day
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/05/05/18-ways-to-boost-your-social-media-marketing-in-10-minutes-day/

Pimp my Tweet – a BPO company specializing in Twitter
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/09/16/pimp-my-tweet-a-bpo-company-specializing-in-twitter/

Compilation of interesting posts from 2015

June 4, 2016 by 123outsource
Categories: Compilations, Of Interest | Leave a comment

Here is a complilation of our most interesting posts that are “of interest” rather than having a specific business value. We hope you like them.

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How to create a company culture like Google’s and have fun doing it
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/03/14/how-to-create-a-company-culture-like-googles-have-fun-while-doing-it/

In China, hot girls were hired to motivate programmers
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/08/24/in-china-hot-girls-were-hired-to-motivate-programmers/

Interesting startups from around the globe
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/09/27/interesting-startups-from-around-the-globe/

A good organization has people who take charge without being overbearing
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/06/19/a-good-organization-has-people-who-take-charge-without-being-overbearing/

An Indian BPO learns Japanese culture to boost teamwork
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/04/01/an-indian-bpo-company-learns-japanese-culture-to-boost-teamwork/

Jamaica has more female bosses than anywhere else in the world
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/11/20/jamaica-has-more-female-bosses-than-anywhere-else-in-the-world/

A coffeehouse guy gets hired by corporate America
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/04/29/a-coffee-house-guy-hired-by-corporate-america/

Pimp my tweet — a BPO specializing in Twitter
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/09/16/pimp-my-tweet-a-bpo-company-specializing-in-twitter/

Outsourcing a jihadi — a comedy about something not so funny
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/01/12/outsourcing-a-jihadi-a-comedy-about-something-not-so-funny/

The pen is mightier than the sword, but is flogging mightier than blogging?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/01/31/he-pen-is-mightier-than-the-sword-but-is-flogging-mightier-than-blogging/

Does your downtime make you a better business person?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/05/25/does-your-downtime-make-you-a-better-business-person/

My business karma improved — an interesting example
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/03/10/my-business-karma-improved-an-interesting-example-about-my-outsourcing-directory/

The Charlie Hebdo attack — terror or honor killing?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/02/10/the-charlie-hebdo-attack-terror-or-honor-killing/

Do you have a mentor? A good one?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/07/01/do-you-have-a-mentor-a-good-one/

A company has a board of directors, so why shouldn’t you?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/06/18/a-company-has-a-board-of-directors-so-why-shouldnt-you/

What if you had your aptitude tested in the 1700’s?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2016/01/11/what-if-you-had-your-aptitude-tested-in-the-1700s/

Should you work for a startup to learn how they operate?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/09/05/should-you-work-for-a-startup-to-learn-how-they-operate/

How women can get even with men in the workplace
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/09/02/how-women-can-get-even-with-men-in-the-workplace/

The startup lab — simulations in business
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/12/09/the-startup-lab-simulations-in-business/

The water crisis — an international problem
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/07/08/the-water-crisis-an-international-problem/

Will power vs. decisive will power — what’s the difference?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/07/17/business-will-power-vs-decisive-will-power-whats-the-difference/

Is it safe for women to take cabs in India?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/08/22/is-it-safe-for-women-to-take-cabs-in-india/

Do you have the Rupee mentality?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/09/13/do-you-have-the-rupee-mentality/

Do you see yourself as an entrepreneur or a CEO?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/05/15/do-you-see-yourself-as-an-entrepreneur-or-ceo/

God and retirement income
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/11/10/god-and-retirement-income/

Change your brain by the people you are with
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/11/11/change-your-brain-by-the-people-you-are-with/

Facebook knows you better than you know your mama
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/10/03/facebook-knows-you-better-than-your-mama-but-how-well-do-you-know-your-customers/

The best business dream I ever had was about lions & giraffes
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2016/01/23/the-best-business-dream-i-ever-had-was-about-lions-giraffes/

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New Startups from San Francisco

June 2, 2016 by 123outsource
Categories: Startups | Tagged | Leave a comment

Here are some new startups from San Francisco

Honor
https://blog.joinhonor.com/
This startup helps people take care of their aging parents and relatives with on-demand care services. Elder care in America is dismal, but Honor has been helping solve that problem. They raised over $20,000,000 in 2015, and are still growing. Honor starts workers out at $15 and wants them to create long-term relationships with seniors instead of being an Uber type health care matchmaking database.

Checkr
https://checkr.com/
Checkr assists companies get quick background checks on perspective employees. Many employers are hiring freelancers more and more, and hiring them by using apps or website directories. You can find out within hours if your potential new hire is a criminal or pals with Osama Bin-Ladin!

Slack
https://slack.com/?story=video&v=3
Founded in 2013, Slack is a messaging app for teams. Users get a chat room where it is easy to share work files and work in a collaborative way. It is far more advanced than the annoying instant messengers with their pop ups. Slack received $340 in funding from various large groups including Google Ventures, Index, and Horizons Ventures.

AltsSchool
https://www.altschool.com/
AltSchool is an alternative educational system for elementary and junior high school students and is a popular choice in the Silicon Valley, San Francisco, and New York City. AltSchool emphasizes acadenics, social and emotional training, as well as a long list of projects that children can do together.

Navdy
https://www.navdy.com/
Navdy helps you navigate while keeping your eyes on the road by having a virtual monitor right in your field of vision while you are driving. Just use hand gestures and your voice to control it. Navdy — it feels like driving in the future.

Lever
http://www.lever.co/
Lever helps employers find people to hire who are high quality candidates. Lever boasts an applicant tracking system, collaborative email functions, and see the candidates entire history on one page. Lever has helped many companies grow from 10 to 10,000 like Lyft, Change.org, Netflix, Reddit, and others.

Chariot
https://www.ridechariot.com/
This ride sharing company crowd-sources new routes based on what its riders need in real-time. A person can suggest a route and if they get enough votes — voila!, a new route will be created. I believe that ride-sharing is the solution to traffic and the nightmare of public transportation — and Chariot makes ridesharing feasible and convenient!

After School
http://afterschoolapp.com/app/
This app is banned from many stores, but let’s teenagers gossip, create videos (selfie-videos), share photos, and protect themselves from cyber-bullying. It seems like a lot of fun if you don’t have too much homework.

Brigade
https://www.brigade.com/
Brigade created an app to handle political discussions. In an attempt to get millennials interested in politics (or something other than themselves). Brigade helps people find friends and neighbors with similar points of view so that they can sign petitions together with you.

21
https://21.co/learn/21-micropayments/
A system that allows bitcoin to change payments on the internet. The website doesn’t make it clear what is unique about these payments, or the process, so perhaps you can figure this out.

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You might also like:

More interesting startups from San Francisco
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/01/10/more-san-francisco-startups/

New Startups in the Techstars Accelerator
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2016/05/12/new-startups-on-the-techstars-accellerator/

What is the future of outsourcing?

May 24, 2016 by 123outsource
Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

We all know that outsourcing began as a formal practice in 1989. Since then, call centers have grown, call centers have fallen, and a vast variety of other BPO services have come into fruition. But, where does all of this lead? Does it lead into a global workforce? In a sense it does, but global workforces already exist. Outsourcing merely means that your global or local workforce will work for another company and provide services to your company without being an “employee.”

So, what features will be new in the future? Or at least what features would be nice?

1. Reliability Tracking
Freelancer sites already have this. If a freelancer does good work, they develop a track record on freelancer sites. The sites control payment of the service provider once the job is done to the satisfaction of the buyer. It is hard to rip people off as your reputation is public on these sites. Unfortunately, most of us like to hire companies to do work. I believe that companies would do better work if their track records were public knowledge. No more late work, and no more shoddy practices. Companies would be force to do good work, on time, and communicate a whole lot better. Websites like 123outource.net attempt to get some type of quality assessment of companies. Unfortunately, 99% of the companies out there in 2016 are so marginal in quality, that after the filtering is done, almost nobody is left. Hopefully in the future, quality standards for overseas companies will rise significantly as well as for US companies.

2. Availability Optimization
What do I mean? If companies had staff members of all ability levels that always had a certain amount of availability, that would be easier for the client. Every time I want a good programmer, they are always busy no matter what the price, and I am always offered poor quality programmers for a cut rate who can’t even function. There needs to be availability for quality workers, otherwise I for one refuse to buy!

3. Staff Analysis
When you deal with a new company, you don’t know who the staff is. If there were online systems where you could see at a glance the names and positions of all workers at a particular company, how long they have been there, and even reviews about them — that would be fantastic information. You would eliminate part of the guess work involved in hiring strangers.

4. The Chai Wallah Beam Up App
For those of you who have ever watched Star Trek, you’ll remember when they say, “Beam me up Scotti.” If I am outsourcing a job to India and am having a web chat with the boss Sanjay, I want Sanjay to be able to send me some Samosas fresh from India at 3am my time by teleporting a Chai Wallah from Mumbai to Los Angeles. I want him to arrive at my front door with that tan outfit, and the ash on his forehead and knock on the door to announce — “Your samosas are ready sir.” Then when I try to pay him in dollars he will say, “We accept rupees only.” Then, I’ll say, “My rupees are all in storage, how about two dollars.” Then he would say, “Sorry, no English.”

5. Find-a-worker App
Instead of freelancers who I’m not so sure about. I would like to be able to look up workers in companies worker first. Instead of finding out about the company, I want to know if I can get suitable workers, and then find out where they work. This way I can find people who are well suited to me who are available to get work done.

6. Communication
Currently, the level of communication in India by phone is horrible. But, this could improve with time, especially as India is experiencing rapid economic growth. India will reach a roadblock in growth unless they overcome their structural deficiencies which include poor infrastructure and poor communication. I think it makes more sense for the government to get involved and keep stats on who is communicating well and who needs to be trained.

7. Middle-Men
It might be easier to do outsourcing if there were people who could make the arrangements for you. In my experience, whenever someone tries to help me, the help is a disaster which is why I do most tasks myself. But, in the future, perhaps higher quality people will be around to assist others do outsourcing. Or perhaps I’ll be the one who runs such a service.

8. Taking Clients With You?
At massage places, some practitioners bring clients with them to their new places of work. What if call center workers had contracts with clients in addition to their companies. If the call center worker ditched the company, but wanted to work under a new roof, they could keep the client. This would be a huge benefit as you wouldn’t lose your outsourced help so easily.

I’m not sure whatever other changes are necessary to make outsourcing more fun. But, for now, those are my ideas. Let’s hope they become reality somehow — and soon!