Category: General Analytics

Outsourcing Tip > Make NASA Jealous! Ensure You Have A Smooth Launch Of Your Outsourcing Efforts

The final area that I have seen countless outsourcing efforts fall short is in having a smooth launch. You have put so much time into sizing the opportunity, negotiating the contract, finding the right people, acquiring the technology you need and building a technique playbook, but you aren’t done yet. You still need to roll it out.

When it comes to outsourcing, there is one thing I have never, ever seen. And that is a full delivery of services, exactly as required on target and without any glitches.

Here are a few keys to ensuring that you go live and avert as many potential disasters as possible.
• First of all, have a risk minded person involved. Someone who is great at looking at something and then coming up with a laundry list of things that can go wrong. And then most importantly, have them in charge of eliminating or mitigating the risks.
• Second, have your processes, the workflow, escalation procedures, and other important documents in writing for the team. No battle plan survives first contact unscathed, but the battle will go much better with one.
• Third, brief everyone. Have a pre-kick off meeting, do a walk through, run lots of tests. Do whatever you can to mimic production so that people get used to having to make decisions just like they will when things are live.
• And finally, hapollo11ave a plan to celebrate. Let everyone know what awaits them if they pull everything off. Give them an extra reason to go an extra step. Everyone wants to be part of a winning team enjoying the celebration of a new start.

That is just a few ideas of what you can do to ensure your launch go as smooth a NASA’s putting a man on the moon!

Analytics Outsourcing – DMAIPH has successful set up Filipino analytics teams for over a dozen U.S. based businesses. Offering both virtual and office based teams that specialize in problem solving using data, new technology and analytics techniques is our strength. Finding and empowering analytics talent is increasingly challenging, but we have it down to a science. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to learn more about how to set up an analytics-centric team in the Philippines.

 

Outsourcing Tip > BPO Contract Negotiations: Learn About Both “the Big Picture” and “the Fine Print”

This is the title of a seminar I put together awhile back for small and medium-sized BPO owners, executives and managers. The objective was to address the latest business challenges in the BPO Sector as related to contract negotiations.

We engaged several practitioners to come up with an approach to empower the audience with new and innovative ways to optimize their contract negotiation process.

Here are some of the highlights:
• The biggest challenge that comes with contract negotiations is generally around money. A well thought out and detailed business proposal is key in mitigating misunderstandings and conflict around the cost of outsourcing work.
• The smoothest transitions are generally ones managed by a seasoned project manager, but if you don’t have one, we outlined what needs to be done.
• We also talked about how process mapping can lead to process improvement and how to account for that in the contract.
• Using models to show base, best and worse case scenarios is key to making sure the contract will not become a negative business hindrance to either party.
• We will discuss the importance of clearly and consistently engaging and communicating with key players both internally and with overseas partners.
• Many time negotiations begin informally and just involve the principles as they have a handshake agreement.
• Service Level Agreements and Production Quotas should either be included in the contract or in an addendum that clearly outline expected results.
• If pricing is depending on meeting certain metrics, its imperative that both the goals and how the goals will be measured and reported are included in the contract.

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At the end of the workshop, attendees should have walked away with the following items of knowledge:
1. An appreciation for all the work that needs to happen before the actual contract is signed between the business and the overseas partner.
2. Several tips on how to make sure the contract is an ironclad as possible in terms of anticipating challenges.
3. Several tools and resources to help them in preparing the BPO contract.
4. A checklist of things to not forget to account for in the actual contract language itself.

So, when it comes to setting up an outsourcing partnership, don’t fall victim to charging ahead without a clear idea of what you need to happen in the contract negotiations process to ensure success!

Analytics Outsourcing – DMAIPH has successful set up Filipino analytics teams for over a dozen U.S. based businesses. Offering both virtual and office based teams that specialize in problem solving using data, new technology and analytics techniques is our strength. Finding and empowering analytics talent is increasingly challenging, but we have it down to a science. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to learn more about how to set up an analytics-centric team in the Philippines.

Being A Great Analyst > Attribute #2: Visualize Your Data

Most people learn by seeing something… that’s definitely true when it comes to using data. They not only learn more, but data visualization also a quicker sharing of information and also enhances communication.

Here’s an example. My management team was discussing how to enhance our coaching efforts with the team and since each of my direct reports has a different area of responsibility; production, quality and schedule adherence, they were having trouble agreeing on which analysts needed the most coaching. They each produced reports that were stand alone documents that would be shared via email or dropbox.

So I suggested we build a simple business dashboard. A business dashboard looks something like this:

It’s a simple collection of visuals built on top of a data file.

I created a simple Google docs spreadsheet and shared it. Each of the key performance indicators used to evaluate employee success was given a column and I put each employee a row. I then had each of my directs input the relevant data points and quickly we had a rudimentary business dashboard and I now I have a much more in synch management team.

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Simple analytics solutions like this are at the fingertips of any business. You just need to know when, where, and how best to implement them. Something so simple as a place to share data is so often overlooked by even the most successful businesses.

Analytics Culture – The key to using analytics in a business is like a secret sauce. It is a unique combination of analytics talent, technology and technique that are brought together to enrich and empower an organization. A successful analytics culture is not easy to create, but DMAIPH can show you how. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly so we can build a strategic plan to turn your company into analytics driven success story.

Being A Great Analyst > Key Attribute #1 > Know A Lot

Often you here people in business talk about how it’s more important to be either a master at one thing or a jack of all trades. When it comes to being a great analyst, you see many who are great because they have mastered their subject or a certain analytics tool. On the flip side you see many great analysts who seem to know a lot about a lot and are proficient across multiple subjects and/or can use many analytics tools. So which is better?

From both my experience and my personal perspective, analysts who know a lot about a lot are rarer and more valuable to a business. Based on both an accumulation of knowledge and the ability to work in various environments, analysts who are considered to jack of all trades kinds are in general great analysts.

IMG_6912 However, I have also found that most business actually find more value in master of certain type of analysis work or someone who is great at using a certain tool. Specialization is something that is on the surface very impressive as it shows discipline and competency in a certain subject. They know a lot about their area of expertise and are recognized as such.

Occasionally you can even come across analyst who are both knowledgeable about a lot and even more knowledgeable about a specific subject matter. Now that is a rare breed.

So, no matter what type of analyst you are or want to be, the bottom line is you need to constantly read and connect and expand your knowledge… you need to know a lot if you want to be great!

Analytics Culture – The key to using analytics in a business is like a secret sauce. It is a unique combination of analytics talent, technology and technique that are brought together to enrich and empower an organization. A successful analytics culture is not easy to create, but DMAIPH can show you how. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly so we can build a strategic plan to turn your company into analytics driven success story.

20 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do (Part 2)

Continuing the previous post about 20 habits mentally strong people have learned to eliminate from the way the approach life…

11. Trying To Please People
A job well done is a job well done, no matter who is judging the final product. You can’t please everybody, but you can always manage to do your very best. This is another maturity thing where you just have to learn it through hard knocks. I guess it wasn’t until my 30’s when this one really sunk in.

12. Blaming Themselves For Things Outside Their Control
The mentally strong know the things they can control, understand the things they cannot control, and avoid even thinking about that which is completely out of their hands. Like the one above, the sooner you learn it the better, but I think it takes seeing a lot of things crash and burn to understand it’s rarely avoidable.

13. Being Impatient
Patience isn’t just a virtue; it is the virtue. Most people don’t fail because they aren’t good enough, or aren’t capable of winning or succeeding. Most people fail because they are impatient and give up before their time has come. So true. I’m impatient with people. I’m impatient with inefficient processes, but when it comes to dreams… I stick to them and in the end they always work out.

14. Being Misunderstood
Communication is key in any properly functioning system. When it comes to people, things get a bit more complicated. Simply stating information is never enough; if the receiving party misunderstands you, your message is not being properly relayed. The mentally strong do their best to be understood and have the patience to clear up misunderstandings. I keep telling my team communication is not a process it’s an evolution. This is what I mean.

15. Feeling Like You’re Owed
You aren’t owed anything in life. You were born; the rest is up to you. Life doesn’t owe you anything. Others don’t owe you anything. If you want something in life, you only owe it to yourself to go out and get it. In life, there are no handouts. Such an important lesson and so few people get it. I wasn’t born rich or privileged.. I worked my ass off to get here.

16. Repeating Mistakes
Make a mistake once, okay. Make a mistake twice… not so okay. Make the same mistake a third time, you may need to consider that you are doing something significantly wrong. Some things just can’t be fixed or learned. Some people just aren’t cut out for certain things. Recognize this and move on.

17. Giving Into Their Fears
The world can be a scary place. Some things frighten us with good cause, but most of our fears are illogical. If you know that you want to try something, try it. I’ve known fear, but have never really been afraid… Am I blessed or just so open to the prospect of failing before I succeed that nothing really scares me? Both I guess.

18. Acting Without Calculating
The mentally strong know better than to act before completely understanding the situation at hand. If you have time to ponder over something and cover all your bases, then do so. Not doing so is pure laziness. You need the data, both sides of the story, etc… Another Star Trek lesson. Thanks Kirk and Picard!

19. Refusing Help From Others
You’re not Superman; you can’t do it all. Even if you can, why should you? If others are offering to help, let them help. Be social. Listen to their ideas and watch how they do things. You may learn something. If not, then you can teach them something and do what humans are meant to do: socialize. Ok this one I fail at a lot, I like wearing the cape. But I do listen, it’s the trust part I find challenging.

20. Throwing In The Towel
The biggest weakness in all of humanity is giving up — calling it quits, throwing in the towel. The mentally strong go about things in such a way. Only do things if they are important to you; forget the things that aren’t important to you. If they’re important to you, then pursue them until you succeed. No exceptions, ever. Yes! I’m gonna die trying before I give up.

I hope this helps inspire or empower or embolden some one. That’s my reason for existing… To share a little of what drives me with as many people as I can!

Cool Post To Share: 20 Things That Mentally Strong People Don’t Do (Part 1)

http://elitedaily.com/life/motivation/20-things-that-mentally-strong-people-dont-do/

When I read this article it made me think a lot about how I have matured over the years from the brash and idealistic youth to the more seasoned, methodically middle aged person I am now. Thanks to Jen, my amazing assistant, for bringing this to my attention.

1. Dwelling On The Past
Mentally strong individuals focus on the present moment and on the near future. This is something I seem to have been born with, an innate sense of progressing forward.. I’m never satisfied long and always dream the future is brighter.

2. Remaining In Their Comfort Zone
The comfort zone is a dangerous place, a dark abyss where anyone who remains there for too long loses his or herself entirely. This goes hand in hand with #1, seeing life as a journey means sitting still is not healthy. This drives me… A sense of constant discovery.

3. Not Listening To The Opinions Of Others
Only the foolish believe themselves to be sufficient in all regards. When it comes to brainstorming, ideas can’t so much be forced as they can be caught. A very important lesson I learned from watching Star Trek! The captain always surrounds himself with smart people who help him shape his decisions.

4. Avoiding Change
What the mentally strong understand that the mentally weak do not is that change is unavoidable. Trying to avoid the inevitable is pointless. Therefore, trying to avoid change is pointless; it’s a mere waste of time and energy. I’m starting to see how interconnected these habits are… Captains of industry are bold risk takers.

5. Keeping A Closed Mind
You don’t know everything. Even the things you believe yourself to know are likely to not be entirely true. I’ve learned that a big ego is necessary if you want to lead, but it has to be tempered with humility to gather followers. Open minds breed one minds.

6. Letting Others Make Decisions For Them
Only you should be making your own decisions; you can’t allow others to make them for you. If you don’t have the courage to fail, then you don’t have the courage to succeed. This is so hard to teach, but if you can see the development of this in a person, it’s so amazing. It’s the core belief behind how I train.

7. Getting Jealous Over The Successes Of Others
When others succeed, you should be happy. If they can do it, so can you. If anything, it should motivate you to keep pushing forward. This is really hard for competitive people like me, but I have found this easier as I get older.

8. Thinking About The High Possibility Of Failure
Our thoughts control our perspective; our perspective controls our results. The mentally strong understand this and use this to their advantage. There’s always the chance you may fail, but as long as there is the chance you may succeed, it’s worth trying. Of all my flaws, the one that is also a great strength is this one… I basically think I can do anything I put my mind too.

9. Feeling Sorry For Themselves
Sh*t happens. Life can be hard. People get hurt; others die. Life isn’t all roses and butterflies. You will fall off that horse again and again and again. The question is, are you strong enough to keep getting back on it? Yeah, cowboy up.. It’s the best lesson I ever learned from both my Dad and John Wayne, who in my psyche are kind of the same person.

10. Focusing On Their Weaknesses
Although working on our weaknesses does have its benefits, it’s more important to focus on banking on our strengths. I really got this one when I took the Strengthfinders assessment. It was eye opening to focus more on optimizing what I’m great at and not worrying so much at what I suck at.

To be continued… 11-20 in the next blog post!

One of my favorite blog posts from the past year! Know the Difference Between Your Data and Your Metrics

http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/03/know-the-difference-between-yo/

Know the Difference Between Your Data and Your Metrics

How many views make a YouTube video a success? How about 1.5 million? That’s how many views a video our organization, DoSomething.org, posted in 2011 got. It featured some well-known YouTube celebrities, who asked young people to donate their used sports equipment to youth in need. It was twice as popular as any video Dosomething.org had posted to date. Success! Then came the data report: only eight viewers had signed up to donate equipment, and zero actually donated.

Zero donations. From 1.5 million views. Suddenly, it was clear that for DoSomething.org, views did not equal success. In terms of donations, the video was a complete failure.

What happened? We were concerned with the wrong metric. A metric contains a single type of data, e.g., video views or equipment donations. A successful organization can only measure so many things well and what it measures ties to its definition of success. For DoSomething.org, that’s social change. In the case above, success meant donations, not video views. As we learned, there is a difference between numbers and numbers that matter. This is what separates data from metrics.

A Really Big Data Creation Project

About a week ago I got a random e-mail from a strategic research company based in India asking me if I could help them find some information on the domestic remittance market in the Philippines. They specialize ins preparing research for various financial and banking segments and are looking to put together a paper on this topic. From my experience with Wells Fargo and having set up a business in the Philippines, I’ve managed to make a lot of connections that would undoubtedly help find them some of the data they need.

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First off though, I told them up front… there is no where you are just going to find the data they are looking for in one or two places. Most of the data on this topics is going to be unstructured… and what is available is going to be with a narrow focus and incomplete.

And this is something I am very good at… creating data. Taking a diverse collection of sources and using them to create a landscape of information. Data creation definitely falls more into the art side of analytics, because it’s all about networking and connecting the dots and taking educated guesses… not a lot of hard science!

This kind of analytics is very hard because most analysts are only comfortable working with data that’s been validated, is housed with a structured architecture and can be easily queried. They like playing with big data when it’s in a defined sandbox. The data needed for this project is scattered all over the place and in many cases hasn’t even been sourced yet.

So looking at some of the requirements; (1) domestic remittance transaction counts and peso volumes, (2) top remittance corridors, (3) major players in the market, and (4) channel used for transfers… its pretty clear we’ll need to lean on the Central Bank, and several other financial services providers to get data. We also need some demographics on the people doing the transfers and look at recent trends… and in addition, the client wants to include bill payments. It’s an extremely ambitious project.

Stay tuned to see how it ends up.

Marketing to Your Competition… Face Palm!

I get e-mails like this all the time…

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Dan,
I was doing some research on BPO Elite, and based on your previous interest, I was inspired to reach out to you for your guidance.
How much of the information within your data is locked away, hidden, and inaccessible in the moments you need visibility to it the most? Are you facing any challenges surrounding accurate forecasting? What would it mean to you to have everyone at every level of the organization, working from a single version of the truth?
We are helping organizations reduce the time to access relevant data by 95%. Is “good enough” really good enough moving forward to a new year in 2014?
With end of year promotions beginning now, the purpose of my note is to determine if this is an area of interest for your team and also the best person to speak with about achieving powerful business analytics and beautiful dashboard reporting.
Thank you for your time and feedback Dan.
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Insert Face Palm image > facepalm

So if you spend 10 seconds on any of my social media sites, its pretty clear that I am all about analytics! So in effect they are asking me to outsource what we do for a living to them?

I find this quite comical.

I imagine the person who sent this email is either going off a list or just spamming and hoping to get lucky. Because when you market to you competition you want to at least come off as you know you are marketing to your competition.

Recruitment Analytics… where both demand and need is greatest

Who’s left? > Reblog from one of my blogging heroes, Seth Godin.
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2013/11/whos-left.html

This is EXACTLY why I have been able to run several successful recruitment analytics seminars in the past year. So many HR and Recruitment teams still approach sourcing talent like this…

“The classified section of the Sunday New York Times used to be more than twenty or thirty pages long. Now it’s down to one.

Part of this is due to the lack of new jobs in the post-industrial economy, but mostly it’s due to job listings moving online. I was fascinated to see some of the jobs in last week’s paper, and confess befuddlement at the thinking of those that ran them.

Here’s one, from Amazon, for a level II programmer in their New York office. Just a mailing address, no online method for contacting or applying. They’re using the newspaper to search for programmers unable to apply online, perhaps the best place to find this sort of programmer, but really, do they want them?

Or the ad from Paul, Weiss, a prestigious big law firm in New York. It’s the biggest ad on the page, and goes into a long, long list of requirements for the job–Magna Cum Laude from a famous law school, more than three years with one of their competitors, etc. Which high-powered New York lawyers are reading the last single page of newspaper classifieds?

And my favorite, an equally long ad for Deloitte that instructs the applicant to go to a website and enter a 15-digit code, including several “1”s, some “I”s and a bunch of letters and numbers. Almost unreadable in the paper, and hard to transcribe. More than a billion combinations… why not just enter NYT1124?

Lots of time and money being spent chasing the wrong people with the wrong ads.

My point, and I do have one, is that if your HR department is run by policies that were established a decade ago, worth a new look. And if you are serious, truly serious, that talent is your competitive advantage, please understand that the way you look for and sort that talent is the highest-leverage way you’ve got to increase what you end up with.”

HR & Recruitment Analytics – The recruitment and retention of top talent is the biggest challenge facing just about every organization. You really have to Think Through The Box to come up with winning solutions to effectively attract, retain and manage talent in the Philippines today.

DMAIPH is a leading expert in empowering HR & Recruitment teams with analytics techniques to optimize their talent acquisition and management processes. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to learn how to get more analytics in your HR & Recruitment process so you can rise to the top in the ever quickening demand for top talent.