Top Software for Outsourced Teams

‍Outsourcing is a hot topic for businesses and choosing the top software for outsourced teams can have a significant impact on how successful they are.  

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The use of outsourcing and the accompanying need for software for outsourcing, is on the rise across many industries. Outsourcing can be a strategic move for businesses, offering several advantages, including:

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• Flexibility: Companies often experience fluctuations in staffing needs. Outsourcing allows you to scale up during busy seasons without committing to full-time hires. Afterward, you can easily switch back to an entirely in-house team.

• Benefit from Top Talent: Outsourcing agencies can provide access to skilled professionals, ensuring customer satisfaction and better results.

• Maintain Company Focus: By outsourcing non-core functions, your team can concentrate on core competencies, driving growth and innovation.

• Increase Brand Loyalty: Outsourcing can enhance customer experience, leading to improved brand loyalty and retention.

• Fulfil Compliance Requirements: Outsourcing agencies can help meet regulatory and compliance standards, reducing risks for your business.  

• Increased Efficiency: Specialised outsourcing companies often provide more productive, efficient services of higher quality.  

• Controlled Costs: Cost savings from outsourcing can be redirected to other areas of your business.  

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However, there are also some downsides to outsourcing, and choosing software which helps to manage and mitigate these issues can be vital for success. Some areas which need increased management through software can include:

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• Control and standards: Concerns with service delivery, quality and deadlines all need to be managed effectively to maintain service levels.  

• Confidentiality and Security Risks: Sensitive data may be at risk when outsourcing.  

• Management Difficulties: Strong communication is crucial to ensure work streams, deadlines, briefs and any changes or updates are well managed.  

• Offshore Challenges: Offshore outsourcing may involve other costs, language barriers, and time zone differences.  

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Therefore, for companies to really make the most of all the fantastic benefits outsourcing can bring, it is important to also implement the right software for outsourcing and virtual team management tools.

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Top Software Picks for Outsourced Teams

Managing outsourced teams efficiently requires specialised software and choosing the right software for your outsourced team will depend very much on the specific needs of your organisation. Here is our pick of top software according to the needs they best service:

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Communication Platforms:

• Slack: Use Slack for real-time communication, file sharing, and team collaboration. You can also create channels for different projects or teams. This is great for fast, efficient internal communication.  

• Microsoft Teams: Ideal for video calls, document collaboration, and integrating with other Microsoft tools.

• ClientWindow: A unique solution to communicate with external clients whilst also seamlessly linking to outsourced teams through email or the central platform.  

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Project Management Tools:

• Trello: Organise tasks on boards, assign responsibilities, and track progress.  

• Asana: Manage projects, set deadlines, and visualise workflows, whilst also having a notes function where you can include briefs, updates and tag relevant people.  

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Time Tracking and Productivity:

• Harvest: Track billable hours, monitor productivity, and manage timesheets.  

• RescueTime: Analyse time spent on tasks and identify productivity bottlenecks.  

• ClientWindow: As ClientWindow captures off-channel communications, it is a useful platform for ensuring time spent in conversations on apps, like WhatsApp, are accounted for when looking at billing time.  

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Task Distribution and Tracking:  

• Jira: Ideal for software development teams. Create and track tasks, assign priorities, and manage sprints.  

• Monday.com: Visualise workloads, allocate tasks, and monitor progress.  

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Security and Compliance Tools:

• LastPass: Securely manage passwords and access credentials.  

• DLP (Data Loss Prevention) Solutions: Protect sensitive data during communication and file sharing.  

• ClientWindow: Storing sensitive data and communications is very important, especially for regulated industries. ClientWindow provides a platform for both privacy and data retention to help meet compliance requirements.  

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Collaboration Suites:

• Google Workspace (formerly G Suite): Includes Gmail, Google Drive, and collaborative document editing.  

• Microsoft 365: Integrates email, cloud storage, and productivity apps.  

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How to Choose the Right Software for Your Outsourced Team

From this list of top software for outsourced teams, you can see there are a lot of software products available, each with their own strengths and niche areas. This means that when it comes to choosing what software is right for you, it is best to assess what the individual software needs of your organisation are first.

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Questions to ask include:

• What is the project scope and duration?

• What skills are required?

• What type of work is being done?

• Who are you communicating with and what communications channels do the users prefer?

• What is the budget, and does it need to be scalable?

• Are there any security, legal or compliance concerns that need to be considered?

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Finally, it is then time to research your software for outsourcing options.

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Integrating ClientWindow into Your Outsourcing Strategy  

The right software for outsourcing can really bring your relationship with your outsourced team to the next level. Top outsourcing software creates streamlined, defined and collaborative work streams which help teams work efficiently, so your company can truly benefit from outsourced expertise.  

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However, this is almost entirely focused on virtual team management, internal management and internal communications. This means there is a missing piece of the puzzle, and that is external communication with clients and customers – by both in–house and outsourced teams as required.  

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What is more, both your in-house and outsourced professionals, and the clients or customers they are engaging with, are most likely choosing to communicate over WhatsApp or similar messaging apps.  

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This is where integrating ClientWindow into your outsourcing strategy can be a game-changer. ClientWindow works by seamlessly integrating WhatsApp with email. This means that when an outsourced team member or a client wants to message you over WhatsApp, by implementing ClientWindow, you can receive these messages in your business email, and when you hit reply, they will be received in WhatsApp. This allows for excellent communications management with the right levels of oversight and team-wide visibility. This means all parties can use the communications channel they prefer unhindered without affecting service levels.

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Furthermore, ClientWindow also offers built-in security and data retention features, helping firms stay compliant with data security and privacy requirements, whilst also meeting data retention obligations, especially important for companies operating in regulated industries.  

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