Are you looking for a time management tool to help you get more organised?
Some people have a knack for being organised. Their desks are usually tidy… They bring healthy lunches to work every day… And, they even manage to keep on top of their work.
Office
Lately, more and more businesses have been outsourcing their business functions. Why? To help them:
- Achieve their business goals
- Have time to work on other aspects of their business
Have you ever outsourced any of your business processes? If not, you’re probably wondering what its all about.
When choosing a business process outsourcing (BPO) company, it’s important to understand:
- Call centre outsourcing
- How to pick the right BPO company
- How a BPO company can benefit your business
Read below to gain some insight on what it is and how it can benefit your business.
Understanding call centre outsourcing
A BPO is a third-party company that handles your non-core business functions. Such services are quite common for all businesses, whether small or big. It is especially common for businesses that want to outsource business functions such as document collection, HR, or their customer service line.
There are many reasons why the BPO industry has been gaining popularity over the years. BPOs allow businesses to focus their time and effort on important aspects of their business. And, at the same time, run effectively. BPOs are trained, therefore, your know that your customers will receive excellent services – services that your employees might not be able to provide.
BPOs handle all sorts of processes and tasks that your staff might not be able to get around to doing. Thus, outsourcing processes, such as your call centre, can add so much value to your business. It is important that your call centre is up to standard as it can have an immense impact on your business and the likelihood of customers choosing to use or buy your product.
Now let’s talk about the advantages of outsourcing your call centre.
Advantages of outsourcing
You will have experts working for you
A great thing about outsourcing your call centre is that you will have expert call agents working for your business. It’s crucial for every business to have experts working for them to ensure that the work being delivered is of great standards.
Not having expert staff will impact your business and your customers and competitors won’t take your business seriously. Expert staff will offer quality assurance to you as the business owner and to your customers on a day to day basis.
It increases productivity
Having an outsourcing partner is a great way to increase productivity. Your employees will have enough time to work on more because a large amount of work is given to the BPO.
Often, we don’t realise how much work it is to run a call centre service. You have to ensure you answer and handle all calls professionally and give the customer the information or help they need.
Handling calls and queries can take up the whole day which will affect the amount of work your staff can actually do. And answering customer queries is very important and can’t be put on hold. Having it outsourced allows your staff to put their full focus on their primary responsibility, thus improving productivity in the business environment.
Your business will make money
The best advantage of outsourcing your call centre is that your business will save money while making money. The bottom line is: outsourcing is cost-effective.
This is especially great for small businesses who want to save money. By saving money on non-core business functions, your business can put time, money and energy into bigger business priorities. As much as these non-core business activities seem small, they often require large amounts of money. Either they need money for office space, equipment or the latest technology and software.
These amounts can add up and be more than you anticipated in the beginning. If you were also considering expanding your business, you will have the time to do that. Once you outsource your call centre, you can focus on expanding your business because you will have the funds to do so and the time to make sure everything goes according to plan.
Customer satisfaction
Making sure your customers are satisfied is very important for any business, regardless of size. Without customer satisfaction, your business will suffer. Customers hate not being taken seriously or when their complaints seem to be ignored. With all the busyness that we deal with every day, a customer’s complaint might fall between the cracks.
This is why employees doing their day-to-day jobs as well as attending to customer queries can cause issues. When you have a call centre, customer satisfaction is guaranteed because your customers will have a contact line with trained call centre agents who are available whenever they need them.
Working from home tips and tricks
Working from home can be difficult. But, it is becoming more and more popular. Classical working styles are starting to fall away to keep up with the dynamic changes in society.
These days, more South Africans are working from home more often and have flexible work hours. While 77% of South Africans are employed, a mere 32% are actually able to work from home. One in three South Africans would love to work from home, following the emerging Western trend of embracing your home as an office space.
Research proves there are many emotional and financial benefits of working from home and many would agree that it is more stressful working in a traditional office space. According to research findings from Dulux, 82% of South Africans believe that working from home results in increased productivity.
For those working from home, it can be challenging at times. We have a few tips that can help:
Start your day with a good breakfast
Working from home means you no longer have to waste time on your commute to work. You can use this extra time in the morning to fuel yourself properly for the day.
Stay hydrated
Staying hydrated improves your concentration, brain power and mood so make sure you drink water throughout the course of the day.
Send your manager or team a quick message at the start of the day
This will reassure the rest of your colleagues that you are not slacking and ensure you to touch base with them at the start of the day.
Don’t work in your pajamas
According to researchers, Hajo Adam and Adam Galinsky, clothing can determine the level of alertness of workers. It may be tempting to not get dressed in the morning, however, having a shower and getting dressed every day will prevent you from feeling lazy.
Don’t skip your lunch break
While there may be no distractions, such as colleagues to talk to or any other reason to move away from your desk, take the time to eat properly and give your mind a break. This will help you work better in the afternoon.
Find your most productive hours of the day.
Not all hours are created equal. You may find that there are times in the day that you can work super hard and other times of the day where you can’t concentrate for more than five minutes at a time. Make sure you make the most out of your peak productivity times.
For more information, read:
https://blog.trello.com/find-productive-hours
https://elledecoration.co.za/82-south-africans-believe-working-home-improve-productivity/
https://randfonteinherald.co.za/269554/more-and-more-south-africans-are-working-from-home/
https://www.synnecta.com/why-dynamic-skills-are-becoming-so-important-now/?lang=en
What’s the buzz about Live Chat?
Lice Chat can increase sales on your website.
Imagine one of your customers is browsing your website. They find a product they’re interested in buying. But, they want to find out more about the product’s specifications before they buy it. They can send you a message on your website contact form. But they find a similar product on another website while waiting for your response. Don’t lose sales on your website.
Live Chat allows you to chat to your customers in real time on your website.
In South Africa, monthly insurance premiums are expensive. Whether it’s for your personal protection or that of your business. Personal insurance is straight-forward – it’s usually insurance to cover you in the event of an accident or theft, or life insurance.
Business Insurance is different though. Why? Because a lawsuit filed against your business or an employee getting injured on the business premise could lead to your financial loss. Imagine losing everything that you’ve worked so hard for, because your business is not insured…
Most potential candidates will have to go through a few interviews at some point so knowing how to ace interviews is always a great skill to master.
Even the most confident candidates still find interviews daunting – but interviews don’t have to be difficult. If you follow our job interview tips below, you will impress your interviewees and stand a better chance of landing your dream job!
