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The Philippines: Your Top Outsourcing Destination

When it comes to business process outsourcing and the call center industry specifically, it is difficult to have a conversation without mentioning the Philippines.  It has become one of the most popular countries in the world for the BPO industry and outsourcing in general, and many global companies continue to prefer the Philippines for their back-office offshore and/or outsource needs.

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Outsourcing business tasks (such as customer support, accounting, IT, data entry, and other administrative tasks) in the Philippines plays a major role in its economic growth and development. Companies across the world are reaching out to the Philippines because their culture is full of intelligent, efficient, and hard-working individuals.  Any company or business can greatly benefit from this nation which makes a win-win situation for both parties.  It can provide jobs to many Filipinos and on the other hand, can save a good amount of money for the investors.  For many companies, the Philippines is the top outsourcing destination and gives their business a good head start.

Here are some of the best reasons why the Philippines is considered a top outsourcing destination.

Quality, Yet Cost-Effective

The Philippines offers a balanced package of excellent customer service which operates with a highly effective and functional team with great cost savings.  This remains to be the best reason why global companies choose the Philippines for outsourcing services.  Labor is cheaper than other alternatives but the quality of service is still at a very high level.

English Fluency

More Filipinos can speak English with a neutral accent, compared to other Asian countries.  They have excellent communication skills in both oral and written English.  They can deliver the language with either an American accent or a non-Asian neutral sound.

Time Difference

Filipinos are flexible on time.  They are more than willing to work shifts even if it means working at night, on holidays, and on challenging schedules.  This can be an advantage for the companies because it can maintain their standard business operating hours.  It also is helpful for after-hours support- you can just email your virtual assistants and the tasks will be finished when you wake up!

Cultural Compatibility

Outsourcing in the Philippines would be a good fit because Filipino culture is very similar to Western ones.  They can actually relate to Western customers making the clients feel at ease.   In addition, Filipinos are known for being able to balance fun and productivity. They are patient, honest, creative, and morally upright.

Outsourcing in the Philippines can be tailor-made- with a variety of options depending on your needs. Some companies prefer full outsourcing solutions with dedicated full-time staff for industry-specific tasks and who are fully managed by the provider. Others prefer to simply utilize individual desk or workstation rentals (seat leasing) and hire their own employees and manage them. Whether a full outsourcing solution, a single-seat lease, or multiple workstations and office space, Global Strategic Business Process Solutions provides both outsourcing and shared office space solutions to foreign clients who are looking to utilize the power of the Filipino labor pool.

Want to know more about us? Visit http://www.globalstrategic.com/

Hire a Virtual Assistant now!

As a business grows, there comes a time in every start-up company where you have to grow your team in order to meet your operational needs. Technology has now progressed to a level where business owners face a decision: to hire an employee for the company or to outsource the role.  As a business owner, time management is probably one of the most difficult parts of running a small business. A business owner has to handle a wide variety of different roles including data processing, accounting, marketing and other time-consuming tasks. At some point, it no longer is efficient, practical or even feasible for you to do this and your time and effort should be spent doing the more important tasks that require your valuable time. More and more businesses are turning to the outsource industry and some of the first things that start-up companies outsource are administrative and technical duties, which a virtual assistant can do.

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Virtual Assistants are skilled specialists who take over all of the tasks you wish to outsource and accomplish these tasks in their entirety, while being remotely located from another location.  The best thing about virtual assistants is that they provide professional administrative, technical, or even creative assistance to their clients without having to hire them the same way you would do so with in-office employees. This is an attractive alternative solution to small business owners who are just starting out than hiring a full time assistant or employee directly for their company.

Virtual assistant’s potential task list is limitless! Your virtual assistant can handle several different tasks, including:  Administrative Support, Customer Service, Sales & Marketing, Website Maintenance & Services, Accounting & Bookkeeping and Graphic Design.

What are the benefits of hiring a Virtual Assistant?

  • VAs have their own office space.  No need to provide office equipment or workstation.
  • You will be able to focus on the core functions of your business.
  • VAs work around your schedule to provide you services whenever you need it.
  • You can save money on employee training.
  • VAs can help you use your time wisely and efficiently.
  • Less risk to your business by not directly hiring staff.
  • VAs are usually less expensive than a full time employee.
  • You can hire a fully managed Virtual Assistant and lessen management burden.

Does hiring a Virtual Assistant sound appealing to you?  Having doubts or worries in finding the perfect VA for your business?

Do not hesitate to talk to us at Global Strategic Business Process Solutions!

We provide smart, flexible and hardworking virtual assistants to help your business complete these time consuming tasks so you can devote your time and resources to what you do best – growing your business.

Visit http://www.globalstrategic.com/virtual-assistants/ for more details.

Factors in Sealing the Best Seat Leasing Deal

Want to put up a business but do not have the capital for your own office? Only have the need for a few workstations? Looking for an additional site location without the hassle and cost of entering a lease and purchasing equipment?

Great news, seat leasing may be the best solution for you and your business!

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Putting up a business is not an easy task and office space is a major headache for many business owners. There are a lot of things to consider- including finding the right office location, and more importantly, ensuring that this space fits your budget and meets your business needs. In addition to the monthly lease costs, you need to have adequate resources for deposit and advance rental as well as all your legal documents, furniture, technology, IT support, and even your monthly utilities.  This is the reason why most of small and start-up companies prefer the option of leasing seats within an existing outsourcing or call center facility.  The key advantage here is that companies can start operating right away with no major investment, limited resources and less manpower.

Seat leasing or seat rental is a service offered by outsourcing providers that enable start-up companies who do not have enough time and budget for putting up their building or office.  It also allows businesses to rent seats or office space for their employees in an established and fully-equipped outsourcing center.  It frees up your working capital, allowing you to put more resources into your core processes. It is also suitable for companies who are looking for a disaster recovery site or alternate location due to their own lack of space or business needs.

Below are the factors you need to think through before getting a seat leasing deal.

Number of seats or size of space
How many seats do you wish to occupy?  How many people do you want to work for you? With seat leasing, the provider will give you the complete rental rates and complete package deals according to your preferred number and size.

Flexibility
Some seat leasing providers have fixed contracts while others offer affordable and flexible deals.  Remember, not all providers offer flexibility when it comes to the deals.

Duration of lease
Start-up companies should think about their future possibilities.  They can start by securing a short term lease since they cannot be certain how long their business will run before getting big package deals or moving into a bigger space.

Location
This is one of the most important factors in having a successful operations and overall growth.  Make sure that your provider is in good location as this will affect costs and revenues. This includes company needs, customers, employees and equipment to complete the services.

Equipment and facilities
Make sure that if you go for this kind of service, you have the complete list of the following equipment:

  • Air conditioning
  • Computers
  • Cubicles
  • Chairs
  • Internet Connection
  • Power Supply
  • Training rooms

Now you have the essentials and need-to-know facts about seat leasing. Do you want to know more about how seat leasing can help you grow your business?

Contact Global Strategic today or visit http://www.globalstrategic.com/seat-rental.

Finding the Right Data Entry Service Provider

One of the most important tools in managing business information is data entry. It may seem like a simple task, but it requires accuracy, attention to detail, and dedication to the job.

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Data entry or back office work is simply transcribing some form of information into another medium, usually through input into a computer program.  In other words, it is the process of digitizing data manually. Nowadays, it is widely essential across most businesses because it improves access to data and enhances operational efficiency.

When businesses are in need of back office services, one popular option is outsourcing as it helps to save labor, infrastructure, operational and technological costs. Connecting with the right outsourcing company also allows you to have an effective and sustainable relationship with your clients.

In choosing your data entry service provider, you have to be strategic and careful because you are not only assigning outsiders to finish the work, but trusting your entity with tons of sensitive information. Here are some important factors to consider before choosing where to outsource your back office work.

1. Technology

Before choosing, you must check whether your provider has the advanced software to deliver 100% accurate, consistent outputs well in time. They should make use of the most relevant technology to enter data in an efficient manner.

2. Data Security

When you send data entry work to your outsourced team online, a concern arises as to whether your data is secure or not. Always check if they have a relevant security management system for governing its data and whether a secure connection is used for file transfers.

3. Experience

A good amount of experience is important for an outsourcing company to deliver the best quality services. An experienced data entry service provider would use the right procedures, methodologies and documentation to perform the work.

4. Cost-Effectiveness

Look for the data entry service provider that gives you the best benefits of data processing and error free results at an affordable cost. They must utilize the benefit of experienced and skilled manpower at the right price.

5. Accuracy and Reliability

Select the right data entry service provider that has a good track record for providing outputs that are 100% accurate and reliable.

Now, when you have made up your mind to outsource back office related work, the next step is to find the best and right data entry service provider for you. Global Strategic is a one stop solution for all your business needs. We offer a comprehensive list of services that are aimed in providing effective and quality outsourcing solutions to different business industries like Call Center, Accounting, Real Estate, Information Technology, and many more.

Pokémon Go as a Digital Marketing Tool

In case you have not been outside lately, there is a new game app taking over the world right now, called Pokémon Go.

How To Use Pokemon Go As A Social Media Marketing Tool

Released in early July, Pokémon Go is a free, location-based augmented reality game that you can play on your mobile phone. It uses your phone’s camera and GPS to help you track down little creatures called Pokémon, which appear on your screen as if they were part of the real world. Game players need to create avatars which explore this world to catch the Pokémon wherever they happen to be, to collect rewards from pokéstops, and to battle other users at gyms.

With more than a million downloads, Pokémon Go has become an instant phenomenon and has captured the world by virtual storm. Because of this, many businesses are starting to wonder how they can capitalize on Pokémon Go’s popularity and how it can help their business’ marketing efforts.

Below are some ways to use Pokémon Go as a digital marketing tool and grow your business:

1. Take advantage of your location
You are lucky if your premises have been designated as a pokéstop or a gym. It means that you are likely to have more visitors. Make this an opportunity to boost your business by creating strategies and welcoming Pokémon hunters with special offers like discounts, freebies, giveaways, etc. You can also host gym battles between rivaling teams which attracts local Pokémon trainers.

2. Use social media
Utilize Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms in creating marketing campaigns. You can post about pokéstops near you, or Pokémon found in your premises, and most importantly, any events and contests you are offering to players. You can also use these social media platforms to collect screenshots and share tagged photos or videos from the players to create hype and noise all over their social media feeds.

3. Create Pokémon marketing materials and collaterals
Your small business can take advantage of Pokémon Go by designing posters, banners, and videos related to the game. Show your business’ brand image through creativity to attract Pokémon hunters and trainers. This is the perfect way to produce visual aids for your upcoming Pokémon events and parties and to communicate your ideas to your clients.

4. Generate Pokémon Go to your SEO
In order to do this, you must know first and research the pokéstops near your business. Once you have researched these pokéstops, you can put this information in a blog post on your website and create keywords targeting your business location. By building this content, it will help generate higher domain authority and additional search traffic, which is great for SEO.

No doubt, capitalizing on these trends will surely have a positive effect on your business. Marketers need to respond quickly and take advantage of these unexpected phenomenon.

Need some help? Contact Global Strategic to help you with all your modern digital marketing needs. Global Strategic offers a complete suite of Digital Marketing solutions for businesses worldwide. We specialize in Web Design, SEO, Graphic Design and Social Media Marketing.

To learn more, click here Digital Marketing – Global Strategic

Outsourcing: A Strategic Way of Building, Growing, and Maximizing Your Business

Have you been asking yourself if you should outsource? Are you unsure about how outsourcing works or wondering if your business has any tasks that can be outsourced?

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Outsourcing continues to be one of the top business trends in the modern world. It is the business practice of hiring individuals outside of your own company to handle tasks and workload for you. In other words, a company seeks help from a third-party service provider to perform some of its business activities- allowing the company to stay focused on its core business goals and in most cases, to save on cost. Once the task is outsourced, the service provider works in partnership with the company and takes the responsibility of carrying out the tasks.

Several commonly outsourced business industries include:

  • Data Entry / Encoding
  • Customer Service
  • Virtual Assistants
  • Technical Support
  • Recruitment & HR Functions
  • Legal Outsourcing
  • Lead Generation & Sales
  • Information Technology
  • Web Design
  • Social Media
  • Graphic Design and Marketing

Modern business practices and technological advancement have made globalization possible- allowing for companies to utilize skilled staff from around the world. This has made outsourcing more common for several industries, and organizations (whether small, medium or large) are seeing a number of short and long-term benefits. Some of these benefits include:

  • Cost savings
  • Flexibility
  • Focus on core activities
  • Increased risk management and staffing backup
  • Faster and more efficient internal and external services
  • Increased work – life balance
  • Access to more skilled resources
  • Increased turn-around time and efficiency in completion of tasks
  • 24 hour coverage

Cutting costs is the primary reason many businesses explore outsourcing initially, but once they further research and experience how an outsourcing model can work within their business, they see many other rewards. Modern companies are strategically planning their staffing and workflow with outsourced staff as a key part of the equation- allowing their onshore staff to focus on their core competencies and abilities and the business to thrive.

Choose Global Strategic as your outsourcing partner

Almost every business in the world has tasks or roles that can be outsourced. Not sure where to begin or how outsourcing applies to your company? Get in touch with Global Strategic today and we’ll be happy to do a free assessment of your business and determine how you too can experience the benefits of outsourcing.

3 Simple, Yet Powerful Digital Marketing Strategies for a Business

Due to the rapid pace of changes in technology and user preferences, Digital Marketing is no easy task for any business to tackle whether you’re a small startup or an established organization. While you may get discouraged due to the amount of time, effort, and resources required, it is important to remember that digital marketing plays a vital role in the promotion of your products or services, building your brand through electronic media, and connecting to your customers.  All of these are crucial for businesses, especially as people consume more and more digital content on a daily basis on their mobile phones, computers, and tablets – and companies that have not yet recognized this must adapt quickly or be left behind by their competition.

So how do you invest the time needed to implement digital marketing strategies effectively? Here are 3 simple digital marketing strategies that will help all businesses be successful in the digital world by establishing and building your brand online.

1.Build your audience using social media

Social media is no longer the “next big thing”- It already is “THE big thing”. Social media sites are the best place for any company to begin, and every business should at least create their social media accounts and be active online. This is a very powerful tool that helps a company get to know their audience in a faster and easier format and will serve as your channels for your brand’s voice and content.

Using social media will also allow the company to be more creative by creating visual content. Always create eye-catching images, infographics, and videos on your business’ social media pages. Content is king and providing topical, relevant and regular updates will help build your online presence.

2.Create a user-friendly website

Your website must always be customer-oriented. The site should act as a tool to assist your customers in answering questions, solving problems and addressing their needs. Make your customers love your website and make it as easy to use as possible. In turn, your customers will feel at ease on the site, stay longer, and potentially reward you with their business. Functionality, along with ease of readability and navigation are imperative in designing a site for your business.

In addition, ensure that your website is designed for mobile compatibility. With the shift away from desktop browsing to mobile, it has become increasingly important to have a well-designed, functional and helpful mobile site or application. Make sure it is easy to use, quickly loads and addresses your customers and potential customer’s needs.

3.Use SEO Strategically

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is an online marketing strategy that aims to deliver online traffic to your website. It is focused on increasing your visibility in organic (non-paid) search engine results.

A company must figure out the target keywords that they want to focus on, and then effectively use them within their website, posts, blogs, infographics, and other online content. Be careful with simply trying to stuff keywords as SEO has become highly sophisticated. Your content must be relevant and original and be presented in an effective manner that meets search engine criteria. In addition to targeted SEO, creating a call to action on each page will also give your readers and easy way to quickly reach you and potentially convert views and clicks to sales.

By utilizing these three simple, yet powerful Digital Marketing strategies, you too can grow your brand and business online. Need some help? Contact Global Strategic and discuss how we can take the burden from you, allowing you to focus on your core business without sacrificing the benefits provided by an effective online marketing strategy.

Why is information security important?

No matter how big or small a company may be, there is vital importance in ensuring information security for both your own and your client’s data.  The careful planning, implementation, monitoring and maintenance of strict controls is necessary to protect all assets, especially information- which is extremely valuable to any organization.

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Global Strategic Business Process Solutions, Inc. is an ISO 27001:2013 certified company. This certification provides enhanced data security and integrity both internally and to all of our clients. It also plays an important role in sending a valuable and important message to customers and business partners alike, both present and future, that our company does things the right way. Additionally, the numerous benefits provide a competitive advantage, especially in the Outsourcing industry where trusting your partner is the most crucial part of a client/provider relationship.

Some of the benefits include:

  • Demonstrates a clear commitment to data security- including confidentiality and strict accessibility rules;
  • provides procedures to manage risk;
  • keeps confidential information secure;
  • provides a significant competitive advantage;
  • ensures a secure exchange of information;
  • creates consistency in the delivery our services;
  • allows for inter-operability between organizations or groups within an organization;
  • builds a culture of security;
  • protects the company, assets, shareholders, employees and clients;
  • gives assurance that a third party provider takes your data security (and your business) as seriously as you do

By adhering to the ISO 27001:2013 Standard, this means that Global Strategic must impose proper controls and actions in storing, monitoring and maintenance of data. The presence of this internationally recognized certification allows our company to demonstrate that we have policies, guidelines and procedures in place for continuous monitoring and protection of third party information. It also provides assurance that Global Strategic and our staff are committed to being leaders in an industry where third party data access across multiple countries and locations are at the core of the service provider business model.

Cutting corners and taking shortcuts is never the right way to operate a business. It is even more significant and crucial when sensitive, confidential, and valuable information is at stake. Global Strategic believes in running a business the right way- providing our clients and staff the information security and protection that they deserve.

Why Do You Need A Responsive Website?

The biggest change Google has rolled out this is year was to highlight mobile search.  This means Google puts more weight on websites that are mobile-friendly.

Now, try accessing your company’s website using your smart phone or the iPad.  Does the screen look awkward? Is the screen cut? If your website looks distorted or incomplete on a mobile device, then you’re losing out. Big time.

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Trend reports have estimated that more than 50% of web traffic will come from mobile devices. And the numbers are steadily increasing as more and more consumers are spending more of their time on a mobile device.  With this increasing amount of website coming from mobile sources, it is crucial that your website is accessible and optimized for usage on varying screen sizes.

Here are the top reasons why you need a responsive web design:

  1. Increased mobile usage which means increased potential audience or market.
  2. Improved customer experience when using different mobile devices.
  3. Increased Search Engine Optimization opportunities.

What is Responsive Web Design?

A responsive website design is one which has been built without a specific device or screen size in mind. Try typing in Change.org in your mobile web browser. The mobile version of the website automatically adjusts to the size and resolution of the screen. Here’s a list of other websites that are responsive: http://insights.mobify.com/70-stunning-responsive-sites-for-your-inspiration/.

A more technical definition of responsive design is this:
Responsive Design, a mix of fluid grids and layouts, flexible images and an intelligent use of CSS media queries (awwwards.com).

Previously, websites had two versions: the Desktop and the Mobile version. With responsive design, they only require one coded website instead of previous mobile templates that required mobile-only sub-domains and mobile specific content. You no longer have to worry about whether your website will look good or not when viewed from a specific device.

Responsive website also helps a lot in terms of Search Engine Optimization. Since April 21, 2016, Google has included responsiveness as one of its ranking criteria. The most recent Google algorithm update reinforces the search engine giant’s dedication to mobile-friendly pages. So if your website is not mobile-friendly, you could suffer negative SEO and decreased search rankings. To check if you have a responsive design, go to: http://mobiletest.me/

Global Strategic also delivers responsive and search engine optimized websites for businesses from varying industries. Contact us here to get a free quote.

5 Time Management Hacks in the Office To Boost Productivity

Do you find yourself distracted from work most of the time? Are you having a hard time finishing your tasks? Is your productivity lagging?

Poor performance can lead to a backlog, not just in your department but in other departments as well. Once this snowballs, it can affect the whole company as well. Here are some tips to boost your productivity at work and improve your time management skills:

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1. Ask yourself. It’s easy to get caught up in mundane “busy” work that distracts you from more important projects. Always ask, “Is this the best possible use of my time at this exact minute?” If not, drop what you’re doing and work on more productive tasks.

2. Shut Your Door. If you find it hard to get your work done because of drop-in visitors, don’t be shy about shutting your door to discourage interruptions. This is a particularly useful technique when you really need to concentrate for just an hour or two.

3. Tame Your Technology. Do you find your entire day eaten up by phone calls and emails? You may think that you’re being efficient but it’s actually the opposite. Schedule a time for checking your messages and dealing with calls. This way, you are still able to respond to important issues and still have time to get some actual work done.

4. Clear your desk. Some people have a hard time staying focused because the piles and stacks distract them from the task at hand. Clear the clutter off of your desk so you can focus on what you are currently working on.

5. Make a list. If your mind can’t seem to settle down, and you keep thinking of the million OTHER things that you have to do, keep a pad of paper on your desk and write down each of these to-do items as they occur to you.

Remember, you don’t have to do everything at once. The secret to time management is knowing which tasks to prioritize and which tasks could wait. It’s not always the best use of your time for you to tackle a to-do right when it comes in.