Presented by:    Moving Ahead Communications  and the Ohio Help Group

 

4 Key Issues to Watch During Outsourcing Trial Periods



Outsourcing is great most of the time. But you can run into trouble if you are not careful, getting poor quality work, late assignments completed -- if at all, and other headaches to deal with and juggle into your already hectic schedule.

What to look for during a trial period with outsourcing varies with the project. Four key issues to watch for are:

Deadlines

Is your work completed on time? Early is great. Late, especially for a trial period, doesn’t reflect well. Excuses of any kind just don’t seem to make the cut. Best option is generally to try with that person at a later time and see if things improve with this first round.


Quality

Was your work completed? Was it up to par? No one is perfect, so if minor revision work is needed and part of the deal, that should be fine. However, if major portions of the work come across with poor quality and simply don’t meet expectations at all, tally up a good payment for work completed, and close out your trial period, unless you have more time to invest for training and another trial period.



Communications

Does the math add up with your communications versus project time? Leave emotions out, like Mr. Spoke on “Star Trek.” I.E. let’s say you hired out an hour task. Did it take 2 hours to explain? That math doesn’t add up, so it would be best to either do it yourself, or find someone who’s experienced and needs much less explanation time.

Another option is to make teaching tutorials in any variety of formats for your workers: PowerPoint slide shows, Word docs, videos, etc. An investment one time could then cover multiple teaching for this task, if it’s something that’s needed many times. If the task is a one-time thing, though, don’t waste your time unless the math is there, or there is a reason you need to take a loss at this time.


Availability

Once you find good matches with people and companies for outsourcing, find the availability and get organized. Find out things like:

a) their turn-around times for project tasks
b) their cap on ordering (for example how many articles can they write in a week? How long will it take for a mini-site)
c) their preferred payment schedule and type
d) their complete contact info, especially if you are working through a freelance site like Elance. Get email address, phone, Skype, etc.
e) any other pertinent info

…and keep copies of this info in a special folder for the service provider for handy reference. And backup this folder.



This ends the short series on, “Tips For Hiring A Personal Assistant / Virtual Assistant With A Team.” For more help in this area, bookmark this blog and stop back for more articles. There are some others here with even more tips, and more are coming up.

If there are certain issues or topics you'd like addressed, just give a shout! Send me a PM, email or other type of message, and I'll do my best to cover it.

Thanks for visiting and checking out our blog! Have a great day

 

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Advance with Affordable Business Support Services & Products
Moving Ahead with the Ohio Help Group

        

 

Overview

With the advent of modern information technology and communication tools, national boundaries have become irrelevant. Services from almost any part of the globe can be attained quickly. The concepts of outsourcing and virtual assistants have emerged as a boon for modern entrepreneurs. Now even small businesses can access a much broader pool of talent, even at competitive pricing.

Tips to Get Help

The notion of outsourcing may sound alluring to many; however, it helps to note that the process requires careful planning to help avoid various hassles. To help with your planning and growth through outsourcing, here are some useful tips for working with outsourcing companies and virtual assistants (VAs):

1. Selecting the Company – The foremost step in the process of outsourcing services is the selection of the company. Be specific and inquisitive about the company, you are going to delegate your work. Carefully go through the company profile and check out its history. If possible, always go for the companies referred to you by your friends or colleagues.

2. Snatch the Best Deal, Not Necessarily the Cheapest – With the booming outsourcing phenomenon, make sure that you are not overpaying for your work. Thoroughly search for the cost effective and quality service providers across the net. However, be careful of companies who offer to work at throwaway prices as their reliability at times may be doubtful.

3. Setting Your Priorities – Make a priority list of the tasks needed to be performed by the outsourcing company or VA. This will minimize any sort of ambiguity during later stages of work. Prioritization also ensures smooth functioning of the process and thereby helps in successful completion of the project.

4. Defining the Task– After setting priorities for your tasks, be specific while defining the task to the outsourcing company or VA. Discuss your perception of the project and always be open to any form of queries from the other side.

5. Convey the Quality and Deadlines of the Task – Clearly communicate the quality you are looking for in your task with examples when possible, and express any timelines for your project to your VA or outsourcing company. This will also help the outsourcing company to deploy optimal workforce planning for your project.

6. Stay Connected – Keep in touch with your company or VA as your tasks get accomplished. Check progress reports of your project work. Confirm and share positive and helpful feedback along the way, as this will also help the outsourcing company in clearing any possible doubts at any stage of the project.

7. Stay tuned for more outsourcing tips. These can help you in maximizing your gains from outsourcing and keeping a VA and team of helpers for a diverse range of tasks all year long – and longer!





Presented by:


Moving Ahead Communications  and the Ohio Help Group

        

Video Clip: Reach FT Status: 7 Steps to Reaching FT Status Working from Home with Internet Marketing Help

Presented by:


Moving Ahead Communications  and the Ohio Help Group



7 Steps to Reaching FT 'Work from Home' Status


Interested in being self-employed FT, maybe with some Internet Marketing help? Do this:

1) Set up a profile at freelance job boards like Elance.com and lots of other boards out there and start bidding, using templates you make to be more efficient with bids. Some, like Elance at the time of this writing, allow a few free bids (three, I believe) and offer inexpensive tiered payment plans to grow your business along the way.

2) Update your resume, hiring professional help to do this, if you need to, and post it online with a nice Freelance website to showcase your work samples, resume, client testimonials, etc. Update this resume frequently with news, like a new Board position you may have in groups you are active in, new certifications, awards, etc. you may have, new workshops you’ve attended. Here’s mine as an example, doesn’t have to be fancy: Diana Barnum Resume

3) Submit your resume through ResumeRabbit; they are excellent. Seek part time and contract work. The submission they put out on the web will send folks your way for years.

4) Head to the USA government's Small Business Administration (SBA.gov) site. You’re in business now. They have free help linked all over their website, even free consulting via email: http://sba.gov (seek retired marketers for help, they have TONS of ideas and experienced success stories to help with your projects). Sign up for their free ezine & you’ll get timely tips, too, like ones I posted here form their latest issue:

http://www.warriorforum.com/blogs/db...referrals.html

5) Keep networking here and other online forums in your niches & offline, locally, through groups and volunteer work, business meetings announced in your newspaper, etc. to keep current with news, find workshops, competitions, etc. in your area and niches.

6) Seek part time and contract work from employment agencies in your area, and popular online classified ad sites that are cheap or free like Craigslist.com.

7) Market yourself and your services and add products into the mix, even if only affiliate products:

100+ Marketing Ideas (from the SBA)

Here's to your success!

Sincerely,


Warrior (& team) For Hire!



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Advance with Affordable Business Support Services & Products
Moving Ahead with the Ohio Help Group

        

Learn how to make money online or off with a ghostwriter & private label rights reports, articles, ebooks, videos and more!


Presented by:


Moving Ahead Communications  and the Ohio Help Group

        

Get creative with your Twitter background using these helpful tips and suggestions. Presented by OhioHelpGroup.com

Presented by:

Moving Ahead Communications  and the Ohio Help Group


For the entire series, visit & bookmark this page:

http://movingaheadblog.com/categories/Twitter.aspx 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        

Start and Grow Your Business by Outsourcing with Personal Virtual Assistants . 


Presented by:

Moving Ahead Communications  and the Ohio Help Group

 

        

Learn the basics of setting up a new account in Twitter in a couple minutes. Then Tweet away throughout the day! Presented by OhioHelpGroup.com

Presented by:

Moving Ahead Communications  and the Ohio Help Group


For the entire  series, visit & bookmark this page:

http://movingaheadblog.com/categories/Twitter.aspx 




 

        

What is Twitter & how are people using it?

Learn about Twitter and the many ways individuals and businesses are using it every day for all types of things from personal reminders to communicating in national disasters. Presented by OhioHelpGroup.com


Check out video #2 below (it comes right after our Intro to Twitter Series in the previous post):







Presented by:

Moving Ahead Communications  and the Ohio Help Group


For the entire 18-part series, visit & bookmark this page:

http://movingaheadblog.com/categories/Twitter.aspx 


 

        

Learn what Twitter is all about and how to make money with it!

This video introduces our Twitter series that will take you through Twitter set up basics through advanced Twitter tools and making money with Twitter, presented by the OhioHelpGroup.com

 

Presented by:

Moving Ahead Communications  and the Ohio Help Group


For the entire series, visit & bookmark this page:

http://movingaheadblog.com/categories/Twitter.aspx 

        

            

 

        

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