How to choose a provider to Outsource Form Data Entry

Though we live in a digital world, paper forms continue to be used widely across the world for various activities. In addition, as economic activity has increased, so has the volume of forms for each activity for which a form is being filled. Leading to a greater number of forms. What is the purpose of these forms? They are invariably meant to collect data from the respondent on some parameters based on which the collector can take a decision. In some cases, data collection through the form is only done manually; only through paper forms. In other cases, a part could be generated digitally while another part could be manual. In case of the completely manual process, the owner has a choice of retaining the information on paper. If the volume is low, it may be possible to extract information and reach conclusions based on a manual analysis or compilation. However, if the volume is large, which, as we know, it normally is, converting to a digital format is an essential investment in compiling and analysing the information collected and taking decisions based on it. In case of a partly manual process, rather than perform two different processes for the same information, it makes logical sense to convert the manual information to digital so that the data becomes uniform and hence can be processed in a uniform manner. The process of converting manually filled information on various types of forms is referred to as Form Data Entry Services and has become an important pillar through which benefits of digitisation can be realised.

Why Outsource Form Data Entry?

As discussed earlier, in today’s world, digitisation can be called an advantage in itself. It enables us to connect into the digital world and reap its benefits. Once we have data in a digital form, we can slice it and dice it and extract information out of it that helps us in taking decisions. Form Data Entry Services enable us in effective storage of data digitally, instead of storing paper that could be subject to spoilage and degradation and also occupies a lot more physical space. For an outsourcer, a form is a medium for obtaining inputs on some part of the business or work. It is not the reason for the existence of the business or organisation. An insurance company’s reason for existence is to collect premium and provide coverage. It is not to collect personal information on forms. The form data only provides an input to their main activities. A school exists for providing education to young minds. It asks parents seeking admission for their children, to fill up forms. The form helps them collect data in an organised way so that they can evaluate suitability of a child for admission. But the reason the school was set-up was not merely to collect data on children. Form Data Entry requires skills perhaps very different from the skills of the majority of the workforce in these organisations. It may also not be an area of interest for them. Relying on them to ignore their core deliverables and perform Form Data Entry Services would be both inefficient in terms of quality and likely to work out prohibitively expensive too. This is where oWorkers fits in; with our cutting edge, proven, widely accepted, Form Data Entry Solutions. We help you digitise all your manual data, reduce the cost of Form Data Entry, guarantee accuracy, deliver the output faster, and enable you to focus on your core work.

Types of Forms

Form Data Entry Solutions have to cater to a wide variety of forms. One could say that forms are limitless. Two schools will have different forms for admission of new students. The same school could change the form every year based on past experiences. A customer survey form could evolve with each iteration. Each form needs to be treated as unique and processed as such. The list below illustrates the wide usage of forms in business and other organisations:

• Market Research Forms
• Payroll Processing Forms
• Catalog Order Forms
• Insurance Application Forms
• Insurance Claim Form
• Purchase Orders Forms
• Medical Forms
• Coupon Redemption Forms
• Voice of Customer Feedback Forms
• Survey Forms
• School Admission Forms
• Lottery Purchase Forms
• Tax Exemption Forms
• Job Application Forms
• Customer Satisfaction Survey Forms
• Subscription Forms
• Progress Report Card Forms
• Immigration Forms
• Legal Forms
• Membership Application Forms
• Order, Discount and Rebate Forms
• Rental, Mortgage and License Forms
• Credit Card Application Forms
• Application, Enrolment and Registration Forms
• Census Forms Processing
• Shipping Forms Processing
• Questionnaire Forms

Remember, this list is only illustrative. There are many, many, more types of forms. And a new one can be created by anyone.

Selecting a Partner to Outsource Form Data Entry

As an outsourcer, how should you go about the process of selecting the right vendor?. Putting it simply, when you select a partner for any work, they should be value accretive to your business. But that is a very high-level statement. What does it mean to be value accretive? What parameters should you consider while selecting a partner?

Quality and Accuracy

For most business processes, quality and accuracy are non-negotiable. Speed and Pricing are important considerations, but not at the cost of accuracy. An incorrect could spike up the premium for an insurance applicant or deny school admission to a child. In BPO and quality parlance, that would constitute a ‘fatal’ error. A reliable team of Quality Analysts (QAs) who monitor transactions, coach agents who are making errors and provide feedback to senior management on performance, is an important ingredient of delivering Quality and Accuracy. With a track record of over eight years and an experienced management team, oWorkers has consistently met and exceeded client expectations in accuracy.

Turnaround Time/ Speed of Delivery

Form Data Entry Solutions can enable a business to stay current with the environment by providing a quick turnaround time. If today’s forms generated by my business can be digitised overnight, so that when my business begins work the next morning they are all available to me,  the business to stay competitive and current. With a 24×7 operation, oWorkers leverages every minute of the day to ensure your forms are turned around quickly. In many cases, depending on your location, if you submit a batch before the end of the day today, you will have it in your inbox by the time you begin work tomorrow.

Pricing

When you outsource form data entry, like in any outsourcing contract, a partner’s revenue if your cost and, hence, in any business relationship, will always be an important consideration. The risk, however, is that many outsourcers tend to place undue weightage on this element which, in the long run, could be detrimental to the business. This should be treated as one more variable to be considered, and not the most important one. Similarly, at times, providers could cut into the bone with the pricing they offer, resulting in the business being unsustainable, leading to cutting corners. In that case too, the outsourcer’s business will suffer. While competitive pricing is a given, outsourcers should be wary of unduly low-priced quotations. oWorkers offers a transparent pricing mechanism, that includes a dollars per hour rate and a dollars per unit of output rate, along with committed service standards and SLAs. Clients can choose the one they believe will be beneficial for their business.

Data Security

While it is helpful if the vendor has prior experience of the same work, that can typically happen only when are do similar work for a competitor. This could create concerns about leakage of business secrets. The data security protocol of the vendor should ensure watertight separation of digital spaces for processing. In addition, physical spaces should also be segregated to which access is controlled. Being GDPR compliant, maintaining data securely is a requirement for oWorkers. Requisite checks and balances have been put in place for both digital as well as physical security.

Technology

The BPO business is also referred to as an ITES, or Information Technology Enables Services. This is because the business, in a way, has come into existence as a result of advances in digital technology. Leveraging appropriate technologies to advance one’s business interests, therefore, is a given. The vendor needs to be committed to leveraging technology for better delivery, like form readers and OCR/ ICR technologies, when you outsource Form Data Entry, and keeping pace with the rapid changes taking place in technology. With its ISO/IEC 27001 certification, oWorkers is committed to following best practices in technology. oWorkers is also well positioned to offer business continuity to clients in the event the primary delivery site is affected on account of local issues, from any of the three global delivery locations it operates from.

Process Capability

Prior experience of agents in delivering Form Data Entry Services is obviously useful as it can enable you to ‘hit the ground running’ and enable you to gain a few days typically spent in training staff members of the partner. Having said that, as forms are myriad, and keep changing, what would be more important to consider would be the enabling qualities of agents, like typing speed and accuracy, as that would translate into performance for your form, whichever form they might be working on. In addition, as each form is unique, and could also keep evolving and changing, we will need to be able to offer customised solutions; a different one for each form. While many of the underlying aspects will be the same, there will still be a unique process and SOP for each form. it will be important for the partner to possess a robust process through which it sets up the processing for each new form. With eight years of experience in this field, oWorkers prides itself on its ability to create a process for each form, including setting up the monitoring and control process.

Multi Lingual capability

As the world shrinks and businesses become global, the ability to understand and process in multiple languages becomes a critical component to keep the business running. If a business operates in geographical locations with ten different languages, going to ten different providers to outsource Form Data Entry will be a sub-optimal method. The business should seek providers that are equipped to handle processing in many languages and can take care of a major part of the requirement, if not all. When you outsource Form Data Entry for your business, with proficiency in over 22 languages across the three global delivery centers it operates from, oWorkers is well positioned to handle it for organisations that have a global footprint just as well as that of localised, single-language businesses.

Hiring and Training

The nature of the business requires continuous hiring followed by training that makes the new hires fit for handling work for the identified client work. It also requires the ability to adjust hiring volumes to match peaks and troughs in demand. The ability to hire requires presence in the local ecosystem and acceptance as a contributing member of the community. All the staff of oWorkers are employees, not freelancers, which provides much greater control and flexibility in operations. All global delivery centers are registered as local companies and are active members in local communities, and viewed as a company many people would like to work for. oWorkers pays local and social taxes for employees and has been rated 4.6/5 on Glassdoor. Our screening processes include IQ and EQ tests, and other tests that may be required for a specific type of job, like typing speed and skill. Gaps that exist at the time of hiring are filled during the initial training period.

Management Commitment

It goes without saying that the management should demonstrate their keenness and desire to take on the contract. There is no specific parameter or tool to look at for ascertaining this, but the ability to work together generally can be established during the pre-contract interactions. A business contract will only work if there is something in it for both parties. oWorkers has a transparent process of delivery and pricing. We commit what we can do and do what we commit. Our leadership team will engage with you from the time you initiate the discussion and continue to oversee delivery.

The oWorkers Advantage for Form Data Entry Solutions

oWorkers is a pure player, specialising in Data and Content services with multilingual capability. Our delivery centers are located in three global locations providing the benefit of business contingency in times of need. Our deep engagement with local communities enable us to ramp by a hundred people in just 48 hours. We are GDPR and ISO/IEC 27001 compliant. Our BPO services offer cost savings upto 80% as compared to Western Europe and USA without any compromise on the quality of output. As a result, we have been a trusted partner of several UNICORN marketplaces over the years. In brief, oWorkers should be your partner of your choice when you outsource Form Data Entry.