The internet has a way of bringing the world together, connecting people located on opposite sides of the world. This has been the case with personal pursuits and professional endeavors, especially in the area of outsourcing projects.
With crowdsourcing, BPOs have access to large groups of people that can help with projects. Using the power of online crowdsourcing sites like CrowdSpring and 99Designs, businesses can get graphic design services, ideas for product names, and more.
Photo credit: Juan Freire on Flickr
Controlled Chaos
In a research paper titled Reactive Crowdsourcing, researchers discussed the challenges faced in crowdsourcing.
Businesses have their own set of goals, which aren’t always met by the crowd responding to any request for ideas. The looser the requirements at the outset, the less controlled the responses.
The key to getting the desired end result for any crowdsourced project is to know what that result is from the beginning. With those goals specifically outlined, businesses can then ask the crowd for specifics, which significantly increases the odds of getting a streamlined response.
Step By Step
For larger projects, many businesses find rather than crowdsourcing a project all at once, taking small, tentative steps can be more beneficial. The business can then reevaluate the project at each step, looking at how micro-tasks are being performed before moving forward to the next step. In this sense, the business owner of the project retains a certain level of control.
In addition to project control, businesses are also realizing the importance of performer control. By carefully selecting the right people to participate in any crowdsourcing project, BPOs will enjoy better results. This goes beyond simply selecting from a list of ideas or designs to choosing the right platform from the start. For many BPOs, this often means learning through experience.
Crowdsourcing can be a useful way to utilize the talents of professionals around the world, but remaining in control of the process at all times is still vital. By working hard to perfect the process of managing projects with a variety of new workers, businesses can get the most out of crowdsourcing.