#howtooutsource

When people think of outsourcing, they immediately think- call center services. And while call center service is indeed a process that is perhaps one of the most often outsourced, it is far from being the only one. Outsourcing also includes but is not limited to:

Appointment setting and live transfers

Accounting

Social media marketing

Content creation

Back office support

Campaign creation and management

Mobile app development

Web design and development

Search engine optimization

Software development

Editing and proofreading

Data entry happens to be one of these services as well.

But what exactly is data entry?

In simple words, data entry can be defined as the process of converting data or information from different paper documents (forms, reports, memos, receipts, manuals etc.) into any type of electronic format. Using word processing software hosted on computers, it can actually be performed online or offline.

Now, why is data entry important?

The answer is... because companies in almost every industry produce tons of data every single day.

From the simple task of purchasing hand sanitizers to tracking weekly performance- there’s no helping it. Paper work piles up. And while it’s tedious and repetitive, there’s no denying that detailed documenting is absolutely essential to keep track of the developments and changes in different parts of the company. For one thing, it allows owners to observe, and therefore control the movement of the company’s finances. For another, it also provides insights into the performance of specific individuals, teams, and the company in general. Paper documents were very useful for these purposes- but they also came with a number of setbacks. Paper documents weren’t exactly the easiest to maintain. They required lots of space, they required constant cleaning, and they were very difficult to keep track of and to retrieve when they are needed. Data entry was practically the miracle solution for these very problems.

The development of data entry played a key role in revolutionizing the way that companies maintain databases, directories, and other types of records and documents forever. With data entry, any type of information that has been converted properly can now be extracted in a matter of seconds and minutes. Storage has also ceased being as big of a problem as it used to, since computer and cloud storages are now accessible for much less the price that actual hardcopy storages would have cost.

Now, different businesses in different industries utilize data entry in differing ways. Some of the ways data entry is being used as is legal, PowerPoint and PDF, transcription, translation, and word and excel data entry. But there is, of course, a sort of general way of approaching data entry- and it is divided into five important stages:

 Mining

Some data might be already available, but that is not always the case. In many cases, data entry personnel need to go through large databases to collect mostly raw, unprocessed data.

 Inventory

Inventory is simple enough to understand from its title alone. It’s basically the process of taking account and making a list of every single data that has been collected.

Clean up

It’s the task of sorting through the collected documents and weeding out the unnecessary, duplicate and redundant data.

 Classification

Classification is the process that is responsible of sorting the documents into their proper categories.

 Processing

This stage transforms raw data into clumps of useful and easily understood information. In this part of the process, surveys, polls, statistics and others are turned into reports, theses, presentations etc.

 Conversion

Conversion is easily what could be considered as the most important part of the data entry stages. This is where hard copies or paper documents are transfigured into electronic documents that can be accessed via a number of electronic devices like computers, laptops, tablets and mobile phones.

 Dissemination and storage

The final part of the data entry process is no less vital than the others. In this stage, the processed and completely converted files are sent to the people who are supposed to have access to them. It is also in this stage that they are stored in secure electronic storages that also ensure the documents are easily accessible for immediate and future uses.

 The importance of outsourcing data entry

 EVERY BUSINESS IS BUILT ON DATA.

Data on prospective customers.

Data on expenditures.

Data on personnel performance.

Data on the product or service being offered.

Data about competitors.

In a way, every decision, every step forward and every change that must be done hinges very heavily on data. And then, there is also that old adage that everyone is sure to be familiar with: information is power.

Here’s the thing though- collecting and maintaining that information is difficult. It’s also tedious, repetitive, and mind-numbingly and wearyingly monotonous.

If you’re a small scale business, dealing with the sheer number of data produced by your company’s day to day affairs would most likely turn overwhelming very quickly. By outsourcing your data entry to a capable outsourcing provider, you are sure to reap the following benefits:

·         Minimize time spent on hiring and training additional personnel

·         Reduce costs on infrastructure, labor, acquiring new hardware and new technology, paying salaries, reimbursements, overtimes, allowances, incentives, and other odd expenses

·         Gives you access to better talent pools, since outsourcing providers generally have the ability to choose the appropriate candidate with the necessary skill set from a much wider selection of people.

·         Your in-house team would have to deal with lighter workloads, and would, instead, have more time and opportunities to focus on core competencies that would help your business grow and expand. The removal of dull and repetitive tasks like data entry also allows your employees to work on aspects of your business that would stretch their creative muscles, and perhaps lead to positive innovations

 Final words

Data entry is so important because it does what new systems and processes brought on by technological advance usually do- it makes life in general easier. Sure, it’s not perfect. Just as there are pros to data entry, there are also cons. And maybe, as technology continues to move forward, new ways to process and store data would be invented.

But for now, it is not only important, but also essential for businesses to make sure that data entry is integrated properly into their day-to-day operations. It might seem like a simple process. Like something that is easy to overlook or neglect.  But every single function in the company, big or small, is vital to its success. Not taking care of something as basic as data entry could be as detrimental to the overall well-being of the company as not taking proper care of sales and marketing.