Saturday 27 July 2013

Data Entry Services - Using At Home Workers

Is there any question that the competition in the data entry market place is fierce? Just like in all other industries data entry service providers are always looking for ways to reduce cost, increase margins and look more attractive to the consumer. One way many companies have gone about this task is through the use of "at home workers". Is this a good idea? Does it impact the quality? Both are questions that should be investigated closely by both the provider and consumer.

Is this a good idea? First, let me state I am not against people trying to make a living by working at home. Honestly, I love the idea. Who doesn't dream of working for themselves, setting their own hours and working in their pajamas. My writing is focused more on the industry and quality of work, not the worker.

Let us get a feel for how companies utilize the at home worker. The use of this work force is broad, some companies actually outsource the majority of their work to this pool of workers, while some simply use the at home worker to fill in gaps (i.e. when the in house workloads become too great to handle). you might be thinking, "who cares?" as a consumer it should be a factor in selecting the right vendor for your company. Here are just a few pros and cons that should be considered:

Pros:

1. Cost savings to the service provider, reducing internal cost. vendors save money by reducing payroll, equipment cost, benefits, training, etc. One would hope these savings would be passed along to the client.

2. Increase to the current staff at hand. With more workers able to assist on a project, the time required to complete a data entry project should decreased. Most data entry service providers who choose to use at home workers utilize them either for ongoing projects, thus freeing up in house workers for new projects, or they use their in house staff for large ongoing projects and have the at home crew waiting in the wings for the new projects.

Cons:

1. Potential for security risk. I am not saying at home workers are evil and plotting to take your data, but let's be honest when there is a lack of direct supervision the occurrences of improper use of data increases. Keep in mind, not all at home workers are local to the vendor they work with. Depending on the type and sensitivity of the data you are outsourcing, data security should be a top priority.

2. Quality of work. The quality of the work, being of high importance, is many times much lower when completed by at home workers, when compared to the in house full time employee. In a conversation I recently had with a data entry vendor I learned that when they employed at home workers the accuracy level ranged anywhere from 78% to 92%, while the accuracy level of their in house employees ranged from 94% - 98%. This results because of lack of proper ongoing training and supervision.

It is necessary to note that in large, the at home worker is a dedicated, trustworthy and hard working group and if managed properly by the vendor can be a wonderful resource used to offer quality services. I simply recommend that during your due diligence in selecting the right data entry vendor, you ask how and where your work is being done. Should the company use at home workers ask about their training and quality controls.

I hope you find this information useful. Please feel free to contact me anytime, I am happy to answer all questions and help in any way I can.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Data-Entry-Services---Using-At-Home-Workers&id=5797578

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