Tips for Making your Small Business Draw Attention...

If you are a person who is opening a small business and want to generate some big time attention then there quite a few steps that you can take. In fact a look at the business world will tell that it is the small companies that are getting the maximum attention. Now to get this attention these small companies are using various kinds of innovative methods.

Blogging is a very good and effective method. In the US this is a common trend. In that country company CEOs participate in blog writing activities. These days this same trend has gained popularity in India. Many CEOs who head start up businesses spend some time writing blogs.

According to these CEOs these blogs help them to keep in touch with their customers, get the attention of various venture capitalists. Many people have come to know about a new company through these blog write-ups.

The more you share your opinion and the vision of the company the more chance you will have to generate attention and possible clientele. Moreover, these blogs are accessible all the time.

You can also take the help of other media to get your small business big time attention. Using print and electronic media simultaneously will give you the opportunity to publicize about your business in a better way. Let everyone know why your company is unique and what its USPs are.

It is true that generally small companies do not have too much money to spend on lavish advertisements but you can compensate that by focusing and planning an ideal positioning of the advertisement.

Make sure that your message varies from media to media that is why it is important to seek the help of a person who has prior experience of working with a media house. He will suggest you how to go about the positioning and how to make best use of various media.

Many people also advertise about their small businesses in various social networking sites. This helps them in getting the attention of a large number of people. You can also write newspaper articles that will help you to project your idea and thought on various matters of the industry.

It is also a smart idea to publish your write-ups and your advertisements in small magazines and other small publications. There will be people who have access to these small publications and they will come across your words.

These few steps will help you to make your small business public.

MCPO-New Opportunity in Outsourcing Market...

As Alexander Graham Bell once said, “When one door closes, another opens” and that is what, it seems, recession has done. It is due to recession many IT companies have found a new way to make their balance sheet look good. The new opportunity that has now got their fancy is Multi-Country Payroll Outsourcing. It is true that this particular kind of outsourcing is there for a long time now but what is new is the popularity of this particular business.

There is so much growth in this market that it forced Everest Research Institute to conduct a study that showed a hopping 49 percent growth between 2006 and 2008. It is predicted that this trend will continue this year as well. There are many big Indian IT companies that are now investing their talents and energies in this outsourcing business. These companies include Infosys, Caliber Point, and TCS.

Multi-Country Payroll Outsourcing or MCPO as it is popularly known in the industry already has a market revenue of $ 202.9 million. Earlier it used to be only $ 90 million. It has also overtaken the popularity of the off shoring of HR related jobs. According to the study the practice of Multi-Country HR Outsourcing or Multi-Country HRO only has a growth rate of 12 percent.

The reason behind the popularity of MCPO is that it helps various multinational companies to cut down their cost, which is quite important during this time of economical crisis. It helps a company to control its costs immediately and also simplifies the whole process.

The study also shows that 58 out of 79 deals signed in 2008 include various outsourcing companies that work in the Asia-Pacific region. That is why outsourcing companies should take a cue from this and try to gain some profit by starting MCPO.

CEO’s Blog New Trend in India...

It always helps to share your ideas and thoughts with the world. That is exactly what CEOs of some of the Indian companies are doing. These top management officials are writing blogs to talk their minds on various issues that can range from a particular topic to some important information about their companies. Generally new startup companies are indulging in this practice and trying to share ideas.

The list of the companies indulging in this practice also includes some IT companies. These companies bring into the table their unique ideas. This is a practice that is quite common in the US. It is seen that this trend has already helped a few companies in improving their strategies.

Some CEOs are finding this tool to be quite useful in order to communicate with their prospective clients or to get immediate feedback. In fact some find it a way to get the attention of Venture Capitalists.

Cogzidel is an outsourcing company that deals in providing various HR solutions to its clients. It is through its CEO blogs that this company gets in touch with its customers and tries to know any specific feedbacks.

However, there is a rule of thumb that one has to follow before they can continue blogging. There should not be any proxy writing. People who regularly log in this section advise that this is a kind of writing that a CEO is himself supposed to write. It should reflect his perception about a particular matter.

Not adhering to this rule would mean complete waste of the platform. Thanks to this new and immerging culture many CEOs to reach out not only to his customers but also to his or her staff. He or she can also talk about his or her philosophies, work ethics, and values. The practice definitely gives the CEO an approachable personality.

These blogs also help in building a solid customer base. It is also a great tool to keep all your customers in loop about the recent developments in company. It would be really nice if every CEO can spare some time in updating the blog. It is later that he will see that he has spent some time really well and in the best interest of his company.

Hope that like these CEOs many more would join the wave and share their vision and point of view with all the Internet users who could be their potential customers.

Google Base Updating...

Below is the short version of the email i have got today morning!

From: Google Base Team <googlebase-noreply@google.com>
To: @gmail.com
Sent: Wednesday, 27 May, 2009 12:28:15 AM
Subject: Important update about your Google Base account

Hello,

Thank you for participating in Google Base. We’d like to inform you that in an effort to improve Google Base for both our content providers and users, we’ll be making some important changes to the product. These changes include updating our Terms of Service and the ability for you to add more pertinent information about your business.

Starting today, when you sign in to your Google Base account, you’ll be asked to select your location. After you click “Continue,” you’ll be presented with our new Terms of Service. Please take a moment to read through these terms carefully. Once you’ve accepted the new terms, we invite you to provide additional information about your business, such as your business address and phone number. To begin this process, please sign in to your Google Base account at http://base.google.com

Please know that you have 30 days to sign in to your account and accept the new Terms of Service. After that time and until you accept the new terms, your account may be suspended and your items will no longer appear in our search results.

We appreciate your cooperation.

Sincerely,

The Google Base Team

Email preferences: You have received this mandatory email service announcement to update you about important changes to your Google Base product or account. Please do not reply to this email directly. If you have any questions, please contact us from our Help Center at http://base.google.com/support

Copyright 2009. Google Inc, 1600 Ampitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA  94043.

Indian BPO Industry—Some Positive Signs...

Though the recession period is yet to say goodbye Indian outsourcing market is really having some positive developments. On one hand there is an increase in recruitment and on the other it is seen that it still has a great fan following in the US. It is still seen to be the best place to offshore various back office and Business Process Outsourcing jobs. The good news does not end here, however, various outsourcing companies in India have also found a much-decreased rate of attrition due to the recession.

According to the figures of January-March companies involved in Business Process Outsourcing and other Information Technology related jobs have recruited 0.82 percent more people. This news comes as a boon at a time when people are very much afraid of losing their jobs. Right now with a stable government reelected at the helm of power people involved in this business are hoping that the situation will only turn for betterment.

Moreover, it is known that Wipro is slated to hire about 8,000 more employees this financial year. All the new recruitments will be done for its outsourcing business. Moreover, the company will find out talented workers from various Indian states that include Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

While employees are happy about getting an increasing opportunity to work with the best employers are also quite happy that the attrition rate are coming down. Big multinational companies like Genpact, Wipro, EXL, and WNS have all seen a good number of their employees saying ‘no’ to the lure of joining another company.

In Genpact and Wipro the rate of attrition has come down by 5 percent. So, now the revised attrition rate in both the companies is 21 percent and 13 percent respectively. But it is EXL that has recorded the best figures in this regard. The rate is lesser by 12.8 percent. In the case of WNS the rate has come down by 7 percent.

In fact most of the Indian IT firms have stopped merely depending on layoffs to handle the economical crises. They are trying to get innovative and that is why many of them have focused on controlling their operational costs.

The above-mentioned good news are basically complemented the fact that India still is the front-runner whenever a company decides to outsource its business and services. In this regard it leads the table placing other Asian countries like China, and Malaysia in the second and third places respectively.

This particular information will definitely allay the fear that might have been generated due to the hard stance taken by American President Barack Obama regarding outsourcing. Two things have basically worked behind this choice. One is the less expensive workforce and the other is the quality of the work.

These incidents show that the Indian BPO is still the most happening place and right now it has created lots of hope for a brighter future.

Back Office Support Helps in Better Use of Manpowe...

Apart from taking Back Office Support (BOS) as a cost cutting tool you can also look at it as a provider of creativity. Yes, it is because the day-to-day works are getting shifted to the different parts of the world that you can relieve your best workers from boring jobs and help them getting involved in developing new ideas that would help your business. In short BOS helps you in both ways. On the one hand your routine works get done and on the other you can concentrate your work force on developing something new.

All you need to do is to choose a service provider that guarantees you on time completion of the office work. There is also a trend that gives service providers more responsibilities and they are readily taking more risks. This gives you the opportunity to make the service provider more accountable for his performance.

Nowadays companies are looking to send their BOS to those countries that can understand the culture of the client nation and can also communicate effectively. This creates more understanding between clients and the service providers. The vast sphere of the BOS market makes it possible for you to look beyond Asian countries.

To get the best out of this service make sure that you have analyzed the process taken by our competitors in this regard.

BPO in Philippines: Reaching beyond Manila...

The Philippines has been one of the major Asian hot spots as far as Business Process Outsourcing is concerned. Presently BPO jobs here are not concentrated in Manila alone but other provinces have also become important players. That is why President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is so enthusiastic about including these provinces in her “Cyber Corridor”. The new cities that have seen a great surge of BPO industries include Cebu, Mataki, Leyte, Davao City, Iloila City, Bacolod City, and Pampanga, among others.

Though Manila still commands a large share of the BPO jobs, there are other cities like Cebu that are currently in huge demand. International firms like Live2Care, and Wipro Technologies have already opened their offices here and other companies are preparing to do the same by the end of 2010. The business is so prosperous here that industrialists involved in BPO can contribute up to 20 percent of the total revenue earned by the Government from BPO.

The importance of Davao City, on the other hand, can be clearly seen from the fact that last year it saw almost 56 percent growth in the BPO jobs. There are various schools in this city that provide training that would ultimately help one to get settled in the BPO sector.

The present Government has done its best to provide the right kind of necessary infrastructure in most of its major cities rather than focusing solely on a single one. This is the reason why the Philippines have seen a steady growth in the BPO sector even though there are reports of job losses in other sectors. It is also projected that its BPO sector will keep on growing and will reach 20 to 30 percent before the end of 2009. This will translate into adding around 100,000 new employees.

According to a research conducted by the Global Services magazine, Makati, another Philippine city, is currently one of the major BPO hubs. Right now this country is creating some buzz in the Business Process Outsourcing industry!

India Finds Unique Ways to Counter Attrition...

Right now there are quite a few challenges that are faced by the IT     enabled services industry and attrition is one of them. However, the attrition rate in India is only 18 percent whereas the USA faces an attrition rate of 42 percent. India’s attrition rate is also lesser than the global attrition rate that is 24 percent. But a continuation of this trend of attrition means a loss of 20 percent of the annual revenue for a company.There are various reasons behind attrition. These reasons include, odd working hours, better opportunities, and untimely demise of an employee. In the year 2005 this attrition rate was about 30 to 40 percent in India and in 2007 it leaped to 50 to 55 percent. But Last year it has seen a considerable drop of 30 percent in this rate of attrition. The credit could be given to some positive and unique steps taken by companies like Infosys and Wipro to hold back good workers.

The IT enabled services companies have taken some positive steps to stop poaching, meaning the hiring of employees by rival mainly small companies. That is the reason that most big companies have an attrition rate of 45 percent. Now these international companies are showing their appreciation towards the best workers by hiking their pay package and giving them promotions so they don’t leave that quickly.

But the most unique step that these India based companies has taken to stop this attrition is helping their employees to voluntarily participate in various social works. Companies like Infosys, and Wipro are giving one year to six months break to its employees so they can help various NGOs in philanthropic work.

This is a trend that is the brainchild of NR Narayana Murthy, the chairman of Infosys. This company first introduced it at the end of the year 2008. Taking the cue from this Nasscom too is trying to encourage IT enabled services workers to do some philanthropic works. Apart from checking the attrition rate this step is also supposed to give these companies boost their image by looking more humanitarian.

Any worker who has been with Infosys for two years can avail this voluntary offer. During this period their pay package will be 50 percent of their current salary.

IT service enabled companies are now hoping that this kind of social work will help its workers find extra enthusiasm in their regular work because it will refresh their whole mental constitution.

Even some of the workers of UST Global, a company that also provides BPO services among others, are helping in the rebuilding process of a village. This village is located in Namma Chennai and is called Azhinjivakkam. These workers are now trying to give the villagers healthcare, and education. They are also trying to improve the environment there.
Now, the world can take a cue from these steps taken by the Indian companies and try to at least reduce the attrition rate.

Indian IT Sector Hopes a Better Financial Year 200...

Despite Barack Obama’s explicit threats about not letting American off shoring companies enjoy tax benefits any more Indian IT sector is looking hopeful and jubilant. The reason behind this is the successful deals that some of the Indian IT majors have clenched this year. These companies include Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, and HCL Technologies.

The success story of these reputed IT companies make the Indian businessmen hope that time are going to change finally and the dwindling economy will soon see a steady recovery. These assumptions also get stronger when one sees that other companies dealing in Pharma, retail, and energy and utility have also earned some profits.

Many experts think that the quarter of April to June may see some more positive developments. The finalizing of deals by then IT companies is definitely a better result compared to that of last financial year 2008. It was during that period that Wipro has seen a severe drop in its client’s tally.

Right now the IT industry is expecting a growth of about 5 to 8 percent. This would be definitely better than the last quarter of the previous financial year. That is why people like Girish Paranjpe are hopeful of “a phase of stabilization” that is probably not far away.

However, there are other reputed companies that still want to wait and watch and Infosys Technologies is one of them. But still many are hoping that by the end of the third quarter of the current Financial Year the industry will witness a recovery.

Anyway encouraged by this trend many IT companies are now providing various incentives to their clients so they continue to give them steady business. That is why most of the deals include cost cutting options, offer of doing some of the research work like feasibility studies for free, and making contracts that have fixed price.

Companies like Infosys believe during these tough times nothing will work better than flexibility. These companies are also making an attempt to use its bench strength as well. That is why right now the total utilization percentage has gone up to 70 from the previous 65 percent.

We hope that the assumptions ad expectations will become true and Indian IT sector will again rule the world.

Protectionism Threatens Prosperity of Global Outso...

Protectionism can destroy a business without benefiting anyone. That is what, it seems, is happening to the Business Process Outsourcing sector. This is the very industry that generated revenue of about US$ 234 billion in 2005. The countries that are involved in this business include various European and Asian nations like the UK, Spain, Russia, India, Philippines, China, Japan, and Pakistan. Even the US has a large interest in this market as many of its companies are involved in this outsourcing process. That is why the protectionist laws primarily coming up in the UK and the USA would harm all these players and would not help the global market in any way.

Even at the beginning of the Financial Year 2006 the BPO industry made a profit of $ 22.7 billion. According to a survey conducted by National Outsourcing Association it was estimated that the global BPO industry would generate $ 323, 600 million by the end of the year 2011.