You, outsourcing and future. What do you think?

by sarvo13

Posted: 12 years ago 18 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

Hi,
Thank you for stopping by. Please don't forget to add your two cents, better if you have more .

This discussion is more relevant to webmasters/promoters/IM...from western countries, looking to expand their business by hiring people online.
Tasks can vary from email handling/account management to web/software development. Nothing really high tech or great research work.

I want to discuss with you guys(and I know WF is the best place to open such thread), of what do you think of outsourcing your work to virtual assistant, where work can be done at cheaper rates( I mean asian countries).

What are
-your night mares, bad experiences or fears that prevents you to outsource your work though its highly affordable price(affordable price in itself a debatable topic, and can be discussed separately).

-your good experiences that pushes you to outsource more.

-What do you look in VA before hiring them.

-Do you prefer to hire VA from western country, even though its 3-4 times costlier? Is reason for this is usually that you could not find one with specific skill set in Asian countries or you didn't wanted to look there as they don't do work as per your taste. Is time zone difference a major factor of not hiring one from asian country?

-How you think current situation can be improved?

The reason I ask is that I want to know about future of outsourcing to Asian countries, with many bad stories around (atleast for time being).

Thank you and looking forward to your replies
sarvo

#future #outsourcing

YasirYar

12 years ago

Originally Posted by sarvo13

Somebody stealing your passwords can get pretty bad. You have to be able to trust the person you're outsourcing, which is hard to do specially when they might live on the other end of the world. Most virtual assisting tasks require you giving them rather sensitive information.

Besides that, the fact that people can just disappear when they don't want to work anymore. There is no guarantee that someone you take the time out to train to do your jobs are going to actually hang around and do them.

Originally Posted by sarvo13

-your good experiences that pushes you to outsource more.

It's great work that you don't really want to do, or work that you don't have time to do is done for a great rate. It helps you expand your business without going insane

Originally Posted by sarvo13

-What do you look in VA before hiring them.

It's tough to gauge, but I always try looking for honest people who seem like they have the ability to learn. They should also have fluent English so that I can communicate easily with them. Most importantly, they should reply quickly to all my queries since that gives a general idea of how good they are at communicating during projects.

Originally Posted by sarvo13

-Do you prefer to hire VA from western country, even though its 3-4 times costlier? Is reason for this is usually that you could not find one with specific skill set in Asian countries or you didn't wanted to look there as they don't do work as per your taste. Is time zone difference a major factor of not hiring one from asian country?

Most people who I have hired in Asian countries are OK with working at night. I don't hire on the basis of location, I just hire those who are qualified and meet my specific requirements. I've found there are people equally qualified in developing countries in Asia who are charging much less for the same quality of work.

Thanks

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magiclouie 12 years ago

I think I am not in the position to give my 2 cents about this thread so I thought of sharing this video instead,

Outsourcing in the Philippines with 123Employee! ...

Happy Outsourcing!

Cheers,
Louie Tugas
- Thanks
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sarvo13 12 years ago

@YasirYar,
Thanks. I'm in better position now.

Anyone else?
- Thanks
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alphadude 12 years ago

I don't know about specifics but definately outsource becuase for one person to do everything, it is just way too much.
- Thanks
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Cerbera 12 years ago

You rapidly find that cheap outsourcing sounded great at the beginning - you cannot believe the prices, but now it’s a pain in the arse because your remote VA requires hand-holding in order for you to get the results you’re looking for.

Then your business isn’t making any more money than previous, mostly because your time is being sucked away from money-making activities. Your VA is asking for training on which junk email files you need removed, and which picture of your cat you want on the blog. Zero autonomy.

Instead of heading for a drink with your friends on Friday afternoon, you are stuck at the office drafting a 10-page email to your VA with instructions on how to fix everything they did wrong this week. And what they can do better next week. Your 10-page novel sorry email to your VA falls on deaf ears. Your VA is a visual and experiential learner, not an English comprehension learner. Back to square one.

There is a good resource from the 4-our work week from memory that helps you test them.

best
Dean
- Thanks
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myeanne 12 years ago

Hi Sarvo,

Thank you for considering our country, the Philippines to work on your project.
Philippines is one of the world's most popular outsourcing destinations with some distinct advantages over countries like India and China.
Our cost effective and prime setup will show that we are your best option.
- Thanks
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Staff Leasing
We Lease Offshore Employees
Hire inexpensive labor from the Philippines!
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jpete 12 years ago

You get what you pay for I say! I no longer outsource to individuals for that reason, they tend to over commit and not deliver.. I have been using Citigo for the past 6 months & have been very happy... Great communication & always available on Skype..
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alfid 12 years ago

Outsourcing is pretty much my whole future. I think ideally you want to outsource everything and just manage. A lot less work + more money!
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OmarNegron 12 years ago

I think outsourcing some type of your work in your business is essential but we tend to forget that it may take some work to get the person "use" to what we are asking for.

They might not just come in and be a master at whatever the tasks is. I have learned that after working with someone for a few weeks (if they are committed) you increase your chances to develop a great worker and an asset to your team.

It might just take some time

-Omar
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sarvo13 12 years ago

@OmarNegron , well said. there is nothing to be frustrated if things doesn't work out between you and contractor. Employer needs to give some time and training and ofcourse, put some efforts in hiring the right guy(not on paper but by questioning and trial)
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abbs 12 years ago

Sarvo, as someone who has worked for more than twenty different clients over the past year, I can safely say that outsourcing is not easy for either party.

People I have worked with often tell me stories about how much money they have lost in their attempts to save some money and get work done at a cheap rate.

Outsourcing is not a piece of cake. If it was, a lot more people would be doing it with ease.

I can't answer a lot of the questions you have posed since I have actually never hired anyone to do a job for me, but as someone who is hired on a regular basis, I can say that it all boils down to the level of chemistry you have with the person you're working with.

The most important thing is developing a relationship of trust so that both parties actually want to work with each other. I've developed some great friendships with my employers, so I actually go out of my way to do their work with complete honesty, interest and dedication.

Treat them well and they'll treat you well
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Brightonsam 12 years ago

I think outsourcing is a must have for any serious IM'er or business owner. It's a huge time and money saver!
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- 1 reply
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- Tangycontent 12 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Brightonsam
  
  I think outsourcing is a must have for any serious IM'er or business owner. It's a huge time and money saver!
  
  It can also be a massive time sink and waste of money as well. It all depends on how you approach things and how skilled you are at recruiting and training your outsourced employees.
  
  I'll say this - when hunting for writers for other projects, I always hire locally. The ability to meet with your employees and hold them accountable is worth the extra cost.
  
  Thanks
  
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topgold 12 years ago

Each person is different and it's great that you're asking these questions.

I wouldn't bother with setting outrageous structures for VA's to conform to. You really just have to hire a few to 'get the feel' of what you need. It's a relationship just like any other - you'll love some, you'll hate some, you'll get dumped, you'll do the dumping. Best wishes for you on your VA journey.
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Chris- 12 years ago

I have outsourced lots of IM work. I break any task into the smallest possible chunks, only use fixed-price jobs (on oDesk) so I only pay AFTER the work has been done to my satisfaction. I test every worker before hiring, and communicate clearly.

I've been happy with the results, for the money I am paying. I am typically finding data entry workers at around 20 to 50 cents an hour, re-writers at around $5 per hour, and I think the results I get for those rates, are good. I expect to continue to outsource more as I continue to learn more IM.

I also spend most of my year living in a 3rd world country, so know the realities of life there, and feel good to know that outsourcing work can make a big difference to the workers lives. I like win/win situations

Chris
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sarvo13 12 years ago

@Chris- To create win win situation is an art and perhaps one of the most valuable principle that helps us to grow day by day. Though it might sound bit philosophical, but I agree with you no less than 100%. Dividing work to smallest possible chunk, takes time and need good understanding of task. I think this is a catch, employer should first really understand before outsourcing, and consider all possible scenarios where VA might go wrong OR produce undesired results, if left without steps to follow.

@Tangycontent , as much as its important to develop healthy relationship with employee, its not that easy(my personal experience) to find desired person locally.
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Velant 12 years ago

The hardest thing in outsourcing is to find someone disciplined, organised and trustworthy. I am not even talking about skills, this is a whole separate issue. In most cases I need to thoroughly train my outsources before giving them regular jobs. But the first stage is most crucila and it does take quite a while to find someone worth training.
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sarvo13 12 years ago

Hi Velant,
could not agree more. I think this is a gap needs to be bridged. As you mentioned it, all other skills comes second.
I had issues while hiring VAs, as they go unresponsive or procrastinate.. really and I've felt helpless many times.
Sometimes it was so funny situation, that I along with my client is waiting and VA is replying on every message(on skype) " just a second sir.. its uploading.. " .... and after like 2 hours he asks me password of FTP ..
Well, may be my research is not really extensive, but I've understood that there is huge market (or say it GAP) for disciplined VAs.

Best,
sarvo
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You, outsourcing and future. What do you think?

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