How far do your fingers travel each day? Every 10000 words typed by you make your fingers walk 1 mile. Your palms may be experienced travellers when big databases need to be processed. Your company collects mountains of information which need to be organized and analyzed. Entrust this task to data entry clerks. Twist of the wrist is not the only thing you need for your business!
Necessary skills to deal with data entry projects
Information is power. The more successful your company is the more information you need to enter, process and archive. Skilled data entry workers will help you reducing administrative burdens, rein in the growing data flow, save your time and let you focus on more important business issues. You build the data management system.
Requirements for the professional data entry clerks:
- Fast typing speed without loss in quality as an employee deals with a huge amount of information. Average speed is 50 words per minute. The super typist reaches 120 words and more. If you want to beat the Guinness Book record of Stella Pajunas in 1946, be ready to achieve at least 217 words per minute.
- Accuracy, high concentration, memorization, emotional patience is as important as speed. Big but incorrect reports are useless.
- Software knowledge is needed to work easily with spreadsheets, forms, databases, word processors, record management software, internet resources.
- Advanced communication skills and team-player features are always an advantage. Big databases can be divided between a group of data entry freelancers. Many questions may appear during the work. The easier a discussion is the better for your busines
Main responsibilities of data entry clerk:
- Searching and verifying the accuracy of information, making corrections;
- Databases and spreadsheets processing;
- Data entry from Excel, images and PDF files;
- Editing, sorting, copying, pasting of numeric, alphabetic and symbolic data;
- Working with emailing lists;
- Capturing content from online resources;
- Form-filling.
Curious facts about data entry work for your business
Nowadays computerization lay down the rules on how to behave and communicate. At the time of messengers, social media and email correspondence formal contacting is gradually being dislodged. Even so, typo-ridden data is perceived as unprofessional and may ruin your reputation. You still have all the chances to clear your name even in case you are a habitual writing offender. But are you ready to compensate millions of dollars for the misplaced comma?
- In 1962 NASA tried to send the interplanetary probe Mariner 1 to Venus. The hyphen responsible for the trajectory and speed was missing in the code. In few minutes after the takeoff Mariner 1 exploded. That typographical mistake cost $80 million.
- Dreaming about the first class flight from Toronto to Cyprus? In 2006 Alitalia Airlines made 2000 travellers extremely happy by proposing them to buy $3.900 tickets just for $39. It was a typo on the website. The company lost $7.2 million.
- A 150-year old bottle of Allsopp’s Arctic Ale was bought on the auction website for $300. The inattentive seller missed one letter in the name so collectors did not notice that unique item. The buyer resold the bottle for $503 300. It was a lucky day for him!
Hiring data entry clerks worth the money to deal with your business to avoid all unpleasant consequences.
Typing and data entry – it is all about keyboard
Data entry implies contact with the keyboard in most cases. The QWERTY keyboard appeared in 1873. The letters arranged in this order to reduce its jamming. When you hit a spacebar 6 million people around the world just do the same thing at the moment. Quite popular button, isn’t it?
Movie, music and design studios usually have advanced keyboards where each button has many more functions than those we get used to.
Some programmers, typists and geeks prefer a Dvorak keyboard layout.
If to speak about hand anatomy, we have an ergonomic keyboard.
Where is the biggest typing gadget in the world? You can find the monument for QWERTY keyboard in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The weight of each stone button is nearly 80 kg. Make a wish by jumping from one letter to another making words typed, press «Enter». Your wish will come true. Good luck!
PS.
Being a good speller is a must-have skill in the times of messengers and emails. It does not matter whether you are a business owner or data entry worker, student, freelancer – accuracy in typing may influence your reputation and wallet. It may turn you into a bankrupt or a tycoon. What will you choose? We wish you not to make typos which may cost you $1 million. Probably it is more profitable to hire data professionals to deal with your business to avoid mistakes.
Businesses benefit significantly from organizing and cleaning data for accuracy and usability, managing databases efficiently, transferring data between systems seamlessly, categorizing market research data, and maintaining precise inventory records.
When hiring a data entry specialist, prioritize skills like attention to detail, fast and accurate typing ability, proficiency with data management software, strong organizational skills to manage tasks effectively, problem-solving capabilities, and a commitment to maintaining data confidentiality.
Businesses commonly encounter challenges such as ensuring data accuracy amidst high volumes and tight deadlines, safeguarding data security against breaches, seamlessly integrating data across diverse platforms, maintaining consistent data quality, addressing turnover in data entry roles, and more.
Businesses ensure data security and confidentiality by implementing strict access controls to limit data access based on roles and employing encryption techniques for data protection during storage/transmission. They establish comprehensive privacy policies and procedures and conduct regular audits.