O

ver the past few decades, there has been a rise in the popularity of outsourcing as a management strategy. Outsourcing remote engineers have become increasingly common due to globalization and digitalization, allowing American businesses to send work to other countries. In recent years, the nearshore outsourcing model has become one of the most well-liked types of outsourcing.

Nearshore outsourcing has many advantages which are used by many businesses. That has allowed them to cut back on overhead and streamline existing procedures, allowing them to devote more time and energy to their most essential tasks.

It entails sending specific tasks to a third-party provider in a country close to the home office. Companies in the United States often outsource work to other countries in Mexico and Latin America.

Nearshore outsourcing has several benefits, like being more convenient due to its proximity, sharing similar culture, sharing the same time zone, etc. In further depth, allow us to investigate these benefits of staff augmentation for remote engineers.

Advantages of Nearshore Outsourcing

Businesses can gain a lot by staff augmentation of software development work in countries with a developed information technology industry. The following are a few of the main advantages of this type of outsourcing:

Streamlined Operations

When a company does talent augmentation, it can focus its efforts on what it does best. That eliminates the need for businesses to spend resources on finding and training in-house software engineers. It is preferable to hire a consulting firm to handle the work. The result is streamlined processes and better financials.

Improved Collaboration

Nearshore outsourcing improves teamwork in which two companies are located in the same time zone. In this situation, the working hours of different parties often overlap significantly. It facilitates efficient communication without requiring people to work at inconvenient hours.

Optimized Operating Timelines

Businesses can save time and money by outsourcing to nearshore contractors. Outsourcing allows companies to save time by delegating specific tasks to outside contractors. Time to market for products and services is reduced, which is vital for the success of any organization.

Focus on Core Competencies

To recap, nearshore outsourcing allows businesses to devote more resources to what they do best. What this means for companies is that they concentrate their limited resources on the things that matter the most. Employees are not overworked, and so spared burnout. In a sense, outsourcing frees up time and resources for companies to focus on what matters.

Extended Talent Pool

When you nearshore your software development, you can locate a more qualified and committed crew for your projects. The region of Latin America has established itself as a technological powerhouse. It’s risen to prominence as a prime location for nearshore software development. Rather than relying on in-house teams, many American companies have turned to top developers in Latin America.

The Mexican labor force is also notable for its high education, expertise, and experience. Outsourcing software development to our southern neighbor has been synonymous with guaranteed excellence.

Using nearshore outsourcing, companies can use other countries’ infrastructure and technological prowess in addition to the right talent. In this way, American businesses may create high-quality, necessary IT services and products.

Lower Engagement Costs

When it comes to developing software, high-quality resources are in short supply. The price tag ends up being rather high. But the nearshore outsourcing strategy allows businesses to tap into the extensive worldwide pool of resources and hire at a lesser cost. As a result, companies can more effectively cut their engagement expenses, allowing them to reduce development costs and sell their products to clients at affordable prices.

Cultural and Geographical Closeness

Nearshore outsourcing centers close to the headquarters of the actual company. That translates to less of a gap between the teams’ schedules due to time zone differences. It allows for simple cooperation between team members and, if necessary, travel.

Nearshore outsourcing’s other major perk is fostering a sense of cultural familiarity between your business and the outsourcing firm. Because of this, communication and collaboration are facilitated by shared linguistic, behavioral, and cultural norms.

Improved Communication Channels

Since the time zones are so close together and the languages are so similar, the company and its suppliers can quickly and effectively communicate. The ability to communicate effectively is critical for fostering productive partnerships and increasing the rate of product development.

Businesses that use the offshore model to send work to another country frequently face linguistic and cultural difficulties. The nearshore outsourcing strategy eliminates these distractions and creates a more harmonious office setting.

Consistency in Law and Governmental Order

Canada and the United States have much, not just a common language and culture. Many similarities exist between regional and federal regulations. In this way, trade secrets are easier to safeguard. When politics are stable, businesses can rest easy knowing their investments are safer for the long haul. It will also aid in keeping projects on track and under budget.

Improved Productivity

The efficiency of your staff will increase thanks to nearshoring. You can, for instance, outsource the management of your back-end development to a team of experts so that you can focus solely on the most critical aspects of the project.

Constant midnight shifts can also lead to burnout for your staff. By using nearshoring, you can increase productivity and employee satisfaction by eliminating or reducing the number of night shifts.

Lower Costs

The outsourcing business model is conceived as a means to achieve that end. While it isn’t the driving force behind offshoring or new approaches any longer, it nonetheless carries considerable weight.

The exchange rate is particularly favorable for American enterprises that outsource project development to Latin American countries. The lower value of the local currency relative to the US dollar can translate into less expensive development costs. 

Wrapping Up

Talent augmentation for remote engineers allows businesses to realize better economies of scale and, most importantly, greater specialization. With this strategy, companies can focus on what they do best.

Nearshoring software development is a rapidly growing form of outsourcing due to its many benefits to the software development industry. Nearshoring can be a great option to traditional outsourcing due to its many benefits, including ease of access, greater process control, and fewer linguistic and cultural hurdles.

Every company has different needs and expectations, at Towa, we have been working with Small and Medium size companies providing expert software design and development services so you can create world-class products.

Our nearshore development teams deliver the benefits of tech expertise, bilingual collaboration, time zone alignment, and competitive costs.

Fuel your business with IT experts to speed innovation and increase ROI.

Contact us to talk about how Towa can help you. 

Grow or establish your IT teams knowing you’ll achieve your objectives and save money. Towa’s Tech Team helps businesses like yours find qualified bilingual engineers so you may expand your operations. You may not realize how close your software development team of engineers and designers is. Our Nearshore service puts you in touch with a tech team that is only a short flight away, shares your time zone, speaks your language, etc.

It takes a lot of effort and money to hire employees. But, with Towa’s Tech Team, you can streamline the process of talent augmentation. If you want to expand your business, you’ve come to the right place. We charge a blended rate and don’t require any long-term contracts.

About Towa

Towa is a leading firm across the United States and Mexico for software engineering and outsourcing, including QA and testing. We offer from Mexico our over +300 engineers capabilities as nearshore delivery model service offerings.

Towa Software has over 20 years of experience to guarantee the quality of every line of code, we are proud of our products and services delivered. We recommend starting small and building trust with your provider before scaling. 

As a leading software development outsourcing company in the USA and Mexico, we have extensive experience in many fields including fintech, banking, payments gateways, e-commerce, retail, marketplaces, health care, Omnichannel, and many more.

You can contact us at support@towasoftware.com or give us a call at +1 (210) 787-4525 for more information.

Mexico is the best country for nearshore software outsourcing for many reasons. For one, Mexico has a robust educational system, which means that they can produce the same quality of work as anyone would find in any other country – but at a lower overall cost. This blog explores why Mexico is the leading country for nearshore software outsourcing and staff augmentation.

Mexico is Nearshore Outsourcing’s Top Choice

Mexico has a well-educated workforce, competitive price points for software development, and time zones that work well with USA and Canada. It is also a country that has experienced amazing growth in recent years in the IT sector.

Benefits of Mexico for Nearshore Outsourcing

When it comes to nearshore software outsourcing, Mexico is the chosen destination. The country’s proximity to the U.S., its knowledgeable workforce, and favorable government policies make it an ideal locale. It has a growing English-speaking population with good core values, strong work ethic, top talent, and eagerness to learn more technical skills, making it one of the most reliable outsourcing and team augmentation.

Technology Hubs in Mexico

Mexico is a perfect place for nearshore software outsourcing. They have a ton of technology centers that are ready to take on any project. Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey are top destinations for landing a remote team. These delivery centers have a high level of expertise and can do anything from ideas to design to programming. 

They also have excellent infrastructure that includes reliable power, internet, transportation, and other essentials needed for a great office workspace. Most of the population speaks at least some level of English.

Top Talent Pool for Software Engineers

Mexico has a very talented pool of software engineers and is a highly competitive market. They have a lot of technical schools that graduate high-quality engineers and programmers to work for nearshore software development firms.

Nowadays, you can find top software engineers in any major city and other towns all around Mexico. With the right partner, you can land, build and scale a tech team in weeks, having 20 years in the market Towa is great sourcing of top software engineers.

More Facts About Mexico Tech Talent

There are many reasons why Mexico is the top country for nearshore software outsourcing. One of those reasons is the high level of talent and technical skills in the country. 

Another reason is that operations and IT expenses will be significantly lower than if outsourced to another region. Companies can also benefit from a broad array of tax incentives and an extremely favorable currency exchange rate.

Conclusion

Mexico is a great place to invest in nearshore software development. Find a tech partner that knows the market, and with extensive experience in building tech teams in your industry. Ask for use cases and don’t be afraid to ask for a blended rate for team augmentation. 

There are many opportunities and benefits that companies gain from nearshore outsourcing and staff augmentation for top software engineers. Compare rates and skills to validate your competitive advantage to deliver more products. 

About Towa

Towa is a leading firm across the United States and Mexico for software engineering and outsourcing, including QA and testing. We offer from Mexico our over +300 engineers capabilities as nearshore delivery model service offerings.

Towa Software has over 20 years of experience to guarantee the quality of every line of code, we are proud of our products and services delivered. We recommend starting small and building trust with your provider before scaling. 

As a leading software development outsourcing company in the USA and Mexico, we have extensive experience in many fields including fintech, banking, payments gateways, e-commerce, retail, marketplaces, health care, Omnichannel, and many more.

You can contact us at support@towasoftware.com or give us a call via (+1) 210-787-4525 for more information.

Starting small and build trust with your provider before scaling. 

You can Book a 15-min call call with one of our Customer Success Managers for a conversation.

How is an omnichannel contact center?

well, all communication channels (such as phone, SMS, online chat, and email) are connected and integrated to provide a seamless and integrated customer experience. Omnichannel contact centers let agents switch between channels, without losing context from customer interactions across all other channels.

The Difference Between Omnichannel and Multichannel

The terms multichannel and omnichannel are often confused. Many companies say they offer omnichannel communications when what they really have is a multichannel approach. In fact, delivering an omnichannel communication experience was ranked as the second biggest challenge businesses face in their contact centers in a recent consumer communications report.

Companies that connect with customers in their contact center via multiple channels – such as email, social media, web chat, and telephone – have a multichannel contact center. However, just because customers connect with your contact center via multiple channels does not mean that their experience is seamless.

An agent who connects with a customer in a multichannel contact center by phone may not have any information about that customer’s previous interactions on another channel. Often in a multichannel contact center channels are siloed — agents can’t see the context from interactions customers had on other channels on their contact center dashboard, which limits the level of service they can provide.

Giving your customers the ability to seamlessly switch between channels is what takes your customer journey to a whole new level. The omnichannel experience lets agents follow a customer conversation wherever it goes, without being boxed into one channel or spread across dozens of tabs. For example, when your customer can begin with a chat session on your website and then roll that chat into a video co-browse session or voice call with your agent, that customer is receiving personalized, quality service. This kind of seamless interaction across technologies is the key to great omnichannel experiences.

The Omnichannel Customer Journey

The literal translation of omni is all. An omnichannel contact center isn’t necessarily operating on every possible channel of communication (and in today’s technology landscape, these are constantly changing anyway), but all of the channels it does operate on are connected to provide continuity and personalized customer service. In an omnichannel contact center, agents see the entire customer journey through real-time dashboards. They can look at trends over time and by channel while tracking the metrics that matter to the business.

Omnichannel dashboards are customized to the specific needs of each business and integrated with the organization’s CRM and other relevant data. The visibility businesses gain from an omnichannel dashboard, along with extensive reporting and analytics, takes the mystery out of the customer journey. According to research from Aberdeen, companies that provide an omnichannel customer experience achieve a 91% higher year-over-year increase in customer retention compared to organizations that don’t.

Choosing an Omnichannel Platform

Integrating omnichannel communications and seamless context throughout the customer journey—especially in a complex environment like a contact center—requires the right infrastructure. Omnichannel is very difficult to achieve with “out-of-the-box” contact centers. Any system requiring a lengthy installation process, limited features, and restricted integration with other platforms will not provide the agility needed to deliver an excellent customer experience in an omnichannel world.

When choosing an omnichannel contact center solution, look for a single interface for multiple channels — SMS, phone calls, in-app chat, email, messaging apps, and more — to save you the effort of maintaining separate integrations. You want to add new channels to your contact center as they become popular and create custom channels easily. Make sure the solution gives you complete ownership of your customer interaction data across all channels while providing a single omnichannel desktop to set your agents up for success.

Twilio APIs, such as Programmable Voice, Programmable SMS, Programmable Video, Programmable Chat, and the Twilio API for WhatsApp, are architected at every layer for handling an omnichannel system. They can deliver an excellent omnichannel customer experience, step by step.

We at Towa are Twilio’s expert implementation and consulting partner in USA and Mexico, we can build a PoC in 2-4 weeks and have that ROI and business case ready to roll out the solution. 

There are plenty of use cases for customer services, both external customers as well, as internal users of the company. The customer experience will thrive and user satisfaction will sky rocket when you have a consistent experience in all your channels.

Reach out to start building an amazing customer experience.

As a leading software development in United States and Mexico, we have huge experiences in many fields including e-commerce, marketplace platform, fintech, payments, banking, retail and many more.

You can contact us at support@towasoftware.com or via +1 (210) 787 4525 for more information.

Don’t hesitate to book a 15-min zoom call

Augment Reality for eCommerce 3.0

(4 min read)

Every new technology has it’s “A-Ha!” moment. Think of Edison’s light bulb, the Wright brothers’ biplane and 3-D glasses for moviegoers in the 60’s.

The watershed moment for augmented reality was the Pokémon Go phenomenon in 2016. In case you don’t recall, it was a video game played outside using smartphones to find little creatures. People were running around like crazy in public areas staring into their phones searching for animated creatures that they could only see with their phones.

AR continues to make headlines, and heads turn, watching products magically appear in smartphone apps. However, does it make sense for eCommerce to adopt this newcomer to the marketing arena?

Letting Customers Try Before They Buy Reduces Returns

According to a poll taken by Adobe, 54% of retailers said the customer experience is their most important area of focus. Of those retailers, 33% said “targeting and personalization” were in the top three marketing priorities. As a personalization tactic, AR has become the tool of choice.

Augmented reality has become a new and potent marketing strategy for personalizing products, both in-store and online. Customers can visualize furniture or wall colors while standing in their homes. It lets customers try on, experience or interact with products that they can’t physically touch. It is an interactive shopping experience topped only by physically handling the merchandise.

The National Retail Federation states that eCommerce retailers are stuck with 8% returns of all sales (2016). Clothing returns are as high as 40%. By offering AR apps that allow customers to visualize themselves wearing any item in the catalog, it eliminates the customer’s doubts and should reduce the number of returns.

Memorable and Unique Experiences Lead To Sales

BigCommerce says that 96% of Americans have made at least one purchase online in their life and 51% prefer online shopping to brick and mortar stores.

To keep customers glued to the site and coming back, retailers need to provide unique and personal experiences. It doesn’t get more unique than trying products through augmented reality. Retailers who have integrated AR to enhance their web development and design are automatically ahead of their competition. It provides an innovative way to interact with customers that will soon become the norm, like mobile-friendly pages.

Advantages of Leveraging Augmented Reality

Retailers who offer AR apps provide a better customer experience which leads to more sales. Here are four more reasons why customers are taking to AR like ducks to water:

Better Visualization of the Product
The online retail environment is mostly a two-dimensional world. That’s not good if you’re selling physical products. AR lets customers visualize the product from all angles. They can virtually try before they buy. Dresses, furniture and cars are a few ways customers can see how a product fits without having to visit a store.

Instantly Show Options
Merchants can include product details and specifications that the customer can absorb while simultaneously viewing the product. Customers can immediately change options such as colors, allowing for a faster buying decision. Better visualization creates ownership, moving the buyer closer to a sale.

Broaden Your Reach Globally

IKEA proved that AR works with their furniture catalog. Customers from around the world use the app to visualize IKEA’s products right in their homes. By merely moving their phone, customers can imagine what a bed or sofa will look like in a room.

Any retailer can have the same global potential and reach by adding AR to their marketing strategy.

Keep Them In Your Store Long

The AR experience keeps customers in the store longer, and The Wall Street Journal reports that engaged shoppers can spend up to 40% more.

A UK research company showed that new visitors to a retail site spend an average of 2 minutes and 31 seconds browsing, but sites with AR increased the browsing time by five times longer. Longer shopping times mean increased sales.

Is Augmented Reality Suitable For Every Business?

Online merchants, both B2C and B2B, who sell physical products will benefit by offering their customers an augmented reality experience. However, if your business sells digital products or is service oriented, AR may not be the best choice of marketing tactic since it is more about visualizing a 3-D product.

It lets shoppers interact with products online, at home or in the store. Wowing shoppers with a personalized experience is vital for the future of any retailer. AR does that while removing uncertainty from the shopper’s mind.

BigCommerce also reports that 67% of Millennial shoppers and 56% of Gen Xers would prefer to make purchases online than in a store. AR provides them with the interactive, gamified experience with which most of them grew up. U.S. 2018 sales revenue from AR was $1.26 billion. It’s estimated to grow to over $15.5 billion by 2020 (Statista).

You should seek a full-service eCommerce development outsourcing company to partner to help plan and implement AR, to stay ahead of your competition; contact us and we can help!

Conclusion 

Towa Software has over 20 years of experience as a leading software development outsourcing company in the USA and Mexico, we have extensive experience in many fields including fintech, banking, payments gateways, e-commerce, retail, marketplaces, health care, omnichannel, and many more.

We have eCommerce Specialists and Innovation Consultants along with top talented teams who have delivered awesome products to customers in U.S.A, Canada, Mexico, London, and Australia.

You can contact us at support@towasoftware.com or give us a call via (+1) 210-787-4525 for more information.

You can Book a 15-min call with one of our Customer Success Managers for a conversation.

Quality Assurance & Software Testing

Today digital transformation of businesses and lifestyle have an increased need for software products and services of outstanding quality. In combination with the current fast-paced world, companies expect faster time-to-market and continuous delivery of software solutions.

Which can be provided with effective quality and software testing service, the Nearshore offering of software testing services is a response to the increased demands of the local market. Nearshore software testing services can reduce operating expenses while increasing productivity and ensuring the quality of delivered services in the development lifecycle.

Agile Software Testing Services

What is Nearshore Agile Software Testing Services?

Software testing services refer to the process of verifying a system to identify any errors or gaps in a software application or program so that it functions according to the client and end-user requirements. 

Every product deserves to be delivered to the full specifications required by the client, which means quality assurance needs to be thorough, deliberate, and efficient. The traditional means of software development is known as the Waterfall method, which splits the build process into a series of steps. This linear design provides a clear course of action, but sacrifices versatility and seamless delivery.

Agile Software Testing can be implemented at the start of the project with continuous integration between development and testing, something the Waterfall method cannot deliver. Rather than being sequential, Agile software development is continuous.

And, nearshore refers to the geographical location used for outsourcing projects and services to partnered companies. Most business-minded people are already familiar with offshore and onshore outsourcing, which leverage overseas partners and in-country third-party companies respectively to supplement your software development teams.

Nearshore, by comparison, is used for outsourcing companies that are situated within the same time zones used by your company but reside within the borders of a separate country. This allows you to have your quality assurance and software testing extended teams be in a location that is close to the country of your headquarters. A great nearshore location for companies in the U.S. would be Mexico.

What is Nearshore Agile Software Testing Services?

Nearshore is a form of outsourcing that refers to services delivered from an adjacent or nearby location.
Any outsourcing location “near” to its primary market (i.e. Eastern European countries to Western European Countries). Some analysts describe it as services delivered from an adjacent or nearby country.

Manual and Automated Testing

Testing can be done both manually and automated. Manual testing utilizes the input, inspection, and attention of human software testers. Automated testing, uses several tools and scripts to do the work.

Manual testing is done by a tester to make sure all use cases are working as expected and requires time to validate each case scenario. The software tester works with the application or software, clicking through it to find errors. Manual testing takes some time, but it provides the unique insight of a hands-on experience to help validate the product quality checks.

Automated testing is performed by a software tool that executes a test script written in advance. Since each test is pre-programmed, the quality of the tests depends on how well the scripts are written. It’s more reliable and robust than manual, but poor programming may lead to missed bugs in the product.

Benefits of Nearshore Agile Software Testing

Creating software products is a complex task, any project or product in the first iterations is difficult to make bug-free. Quality assurance and testing are crucial in solving these errors, preventing potential system failures that result in higher costs. Having the right nearshore software testing services will guarantee that a dedicated team will work from the beginning of the project on identifying and removing errors on time. This will increase software quality and reduce maintenance costs.

The initial development stage is critical for identifying errors, and issues before they become bigger problems. Quality should be one of the main concerns for all software projects from the early stages, ensuring that potential mistakes are minimized.

Principles of Agile Software Testing

Here is a list of some fundamentals of agile software testing. These principles should drive every team’s software development process, reporting, and determining the most effective team strategies.

Everyone Should Tests

There are no individuals within your software development teams that are exempt from testing the product. This means that all developers are tasked with interacting with the application and systems, putting more hands on deck to potentially pick out any vulnerabilities and weaknesses within the design of the program.

Continuous Testing

Agile development requires the team to test the software regularly, any product increment should demand running testing use cases again, and again. New issues could arise at any moment, so that is why testing help to reduce bugs quickly and effectively. Both manual and automated testing techniques are very useful for delivering continuous releases of the software product. 

Testing Improves the Team and Project

The feedback generated through the continuous testing process repeatedly informs how you can meet the requirements of a software product. Each time you test, you learn more about what needs to be done to improve the project. The more testing is done, the better the team becomes in all the specifications of a given project.

Faster Feedback Response

Continuous feedback translates to more immediate response times. With every project iteration that comes across, testing reveals more feedback about what needs to be improved. Constant attention to product incremental during each sprint will increase the team’s capability to address any issues, creating a faster cycle of development with greater quality.

Good Coding Practices

Each time the project moves through on a continuous testing cycle, your team of developers fixes any new defects. Every iteration delivers a better, improved version, effectively improving, and optimizing the final code. Adding up new features and having a continuous testing practice will help the end product and end-user have a better user experience.

Minimmum Documentation

Creating documentation for every phase, iteration, or testing cycle is extremely time-consuming. The agile manifesto states that people, interactions, and working software over comprehensive documentation, there is no real need to document every single step. Agile software development and testing promote the use of checklists rather than filling documentation templates per cycle. These checklists focus on the essence of the test and results.

Test-Driven

The agile process for software development is executed with the corresponding testing before releasing functionality. Agile in comparison with waterfall does not wait for the whole project to be finished in order to do testing cycles to see if it functions properly. Every product incremental during the agile building process is done through testing, ensuring continuous participation in the quality of the product.

Nearshore IT solution provider

At Towa, we are certain that these elements serve as a great foundation to build a powerful value proposition for users of IT services.

The Nearshore model is much more efficient in achieving higher percentages of work performed at a lower-cost location than offshore.

Value propositions

• Leverage proximity 
  • Proximity and time zone
  • Cultural affinity and ease of doing business
  • Cost savings
• The total cost of engagement

Although nearshore rates tend to be higher, the overall cost of nearshore engagements is equivalent to or less than offshore, because of the efficiency gains that working in close proximity to the US and in the same time zones can bring.

Productivity gains

• Global nearshore 
  • World-class cost-efficient services
  • Fill the gap left by India centric global sourcing
  • Outstanding customer services
  • Reduce the complexity of IT services management
  • Globalize IT operations
  • Optimize costs
  • Support the evolution of the business

Nearshore software testing 

Increase software quality, reduce costs

Today’s software applications are increasingly intricate, often operating within multi-layer, multi-platform environments, and shaped in rapid and agile conditions, with increasingly ambitious requirements.
In this complex scenario, software testing becomes even more critical as a means to assure quality and minimize risk, while meeting the market and organization’s needs.

Towa provides a robust and comprehensive testing practice that identifies the correctness, completeness, and quality level of software products. Towa enhances productivity and increases communication with the development teams while helping clients achieve significant cost savings.

Services 

• Quality assurance
• Software testing
• Test automation
• Performance testing
• Mobile testing
• Security and penetration testing

IT Services Nearshoring 

Towa´s goal is to improve the efficiency of all processes throughout the application lifecycle from vision and development to implementation and continuous maintenance.

Services 

• Application development services 
  • Application modernization
  • Business intelligence
  • Custom application development
  • System integration
  • Ecommerce services
  • Open source
  • Mobile

• Application value management 
  • SLA Management and monitoring
  • Requirements management
  • Configuration management
  • Transition management
  • Communication management
  • QA management
  • Risk management
  • Change management

• IT infrastructure services 
  • End-user support services
  • Server and datacom support
  • IT business process support

Nearshore cloud solutions

Cloud technology maximized

Leading organization are controlling their futures by using the cloud to drive change and innovation, build new business models, and follow new opportunities. 

Towa takes a holistic approach to leveraging the cloud with our architecture and advisory Services, Cloud Migration and Application Development Services, Managed Services for Cloud Hosting, and Cloud Application Support Services. We combine all these services into one package and deliver a solution that allows you to phase your implementation of the cloud relative to the business requirements you have. Our approach to the cloud combines both business and technology, ensuring a positive result.

Services

• Cloud architecture and advisory services
• Inventory application portfolio
• Cloud roadmap and strategy
• Build business case
• Architect solution
• Cloud migration and application development
• Cloud application migration
• Cloud application development
• Managed services for cloud hosting
• Cloud hosting
• Software as a service
• Managed storage and database services

Conclusion

Agile development is a proactive strategy for delivering the highest quality assurance for every project. Constant assessment maintains a system that continuously improves the product, polishing its design until the code, functionality, and interface are performing as expected. Combining agile quality assurance with the convenience of a nearshore outsourcing team delivers premium digital products at an affordable cost with accessible collaboration.

Towa is a leading firm across the United States and Mexico for software engineering and outsourcing, including QA and testing. We offer from Mexico our over +300 engineers capabilities as nearshore delivery model service offerings. If you want to learn more about what we can do for your company, contact us here.

Towa Software has over 20 years of experience to guarantee the quality of every line of code, we are proud of our products and services delivered. We recommend starting small and build trust with your provider before scaling. 

We have expert Project Managers and Innovation Consultants along with top talented teams who have delivered awesome products to customers in U.S.A, Canada, Mexico, London, and Australia.

As a leading software development outsourcing company in the USA and Mexico, we have extensive experience in many fields including fintech, banking, payments gateways, e-commerce, retail, marketplaces, health care, Omnichannel, and many more.

You can contact us at support@towasoftware.com or give us a call via (+1) 210-787-4525 for more information.

(10 min reading)

So, you are thinking about building your own business, or maybe you and your partner are having a great idea and would like to find how to build a business from it?

How to launch your online business?

Data shows that, by 2023, e-commerce revenue is expected to reach $800 billion in the U.S. alone. Now is the best time to start your e-commerce business and build your own tribe.

There are many things to consider like the business plan, what is the product or service you like to sell, how would you deliver it, what technologies are there, what is the brand differentiator, when would you like to start selling? 

Read all 10 bullets to find many answers.

1. Choose your Tribe

To start a successful online business, you have to find the right tribe. What’s your area of expertise? What marketable knowledge or skill do you have? Where do those skills or products fit in the market? What type of products or services do you want to sell?

You must have an idea of what kind of business you want to build, start by researching the market. Look at other businesses in your area and see them as joint opportunities. When looking at an example of a successful e-commerce business in an industry, ask yourself:

• How are they reaching customers?
• What appeals to you about their website?
• What’s their business model?

Some logistical questions you’ll need to answer when finding your tribe includes:

• Is your product or service? 
• Is physical or digital? 
• Do you deliver local or international?

Will you base your business around one-time orders, bundles, or a subscription model?

Get as many business ideas as you can, the online business is super competitive. You’ll want to do some serious thinking about what sets you and your business apart before starting your own e-commerce business.

If you have expertise that’s in high demand, capitalize on that. If you have years of experience in music or baking, for example, start a blog to write about that skill and establish yourself as a knowledgeable person in the market. You can use your e-commerce store to offer your products or services, on-demand online courses, or local deliveries of experiences in your area.

2. Do your research

Find the top competitors in your space and do some research on their history and business model, and get products ideas by researching trending products. Ask yourself what they’re doing that you can follow. Find out what people are looking for in your business and figure out how you can provide it in your unique way.

You’ll also need to identify the barriers to entry in your field and how you can overcome them. Will you need to invest in paid ads?  What is the cost of an e-commerce platform? Need for expensive equipment? Where do you manufacture your products? What other challenges will you face when going to market? How much do you need to invest? Can you start small and then scale your e-commerce business?

Identify any opportunities in the market your product or service can fill. Even if it is something not new, try to deliver it in a way that is unique so you can add value.

Once you’ve identified your opportunity in the market and know what value you’ll bring to the customer, consider doing a SWOT analysis — which stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, 

Opportunities, and Threats. This modeling technique can help to identify potential challenges so you can plan ahead your strategy for your e-commerce business.

Strengths and weaknesses are typically things you can control, like:

• Company culture
• Your reputation
• Your customer base
• Geography
• Partnerships
• Intellectual property
• Assets

Opportunities and threats, are things not in your control, but you can plan ahead, like:

• Regulation
• What suppliers are in your market
• Your competitors
• The economy
• Market size
• Market trends
• Gaps in financing

3. Choose your product and target market

There are several ways you can use to choose your e-commerce product or service. You can provide a solution for a problem in any marketplace, local or worldwide. Lean on your passion. Try these options for finding a product or service you can sell online.

Think about your personal experience. Have you worked in a certain industry that gives you insight others don’t have?

Is there an opening in the market for something that people will need soon based on trends in your industry? Recognizing a relevant trend can make you a leader in the market. Something that fulfills an existing need in a new way. 

You can spot trends in many ways:

• Social listening. Hang out on social media where others in your industry post or where your target customers spend time and see what they say. Browsing trending hashtags or using social listening tools to gather data over time can also provide valuable insights.
• Following search trends. Google Trends is a great place to see what trending products people are searching for. It can also tell you the keywords used most commonly in search, and what problems people are commonly trying to solve.
• Browsing e-commerce websites and aggregator sites. Pages like Trend Hunter or assorted subreddits for your niche can help you sight into developing trends before they get big.

Customer reviews also provide a wealth of data on what your prospective buyers expect from a product. Browse reviews of products similar to the one you have in mind and see what people say. They are a great resource to get new products ideas. Addressing an unsolved need is one way to differentiate your product in a market.

When researching keywords, make sure you look outside of Google. While Google is the search engine most people use, online marketplaces like Amazon, Wish, eBay, or Alibaba have their search functions.

If you’re thinking about selling a product, type in the product name on these sites and see what keywords come up. Say you’re selling guitars. Typing that into Amazon’s search bar turns up suggested search terms like “guitar lessons” and “guitar experiences”. Those results can give you more ideas of what you can do to differentiate.

Finding a market

As you’re gathering product information, study your target market. Who is your ideal customer? What characteristics do they have? This is where creating customer personas is useful.

Personas are fictionalized versions of your ideal customers that allow you to try and predict how they’ll behave. You can create a picture of the person you consider would be best served by your product or service, and figure out how to attract that person.

Answer questions like:

• How old is this person?
• Where do they live?
• What is his/her job? 
• What do they care for?
• What problems do they face?
• What is most important for them?

With all of this, you can find ways to reach them online and what messages they’re more likely to respond to. The information will help you market your product or services more effectively.

4. Validate your product

Now you have an idea for your product or service, and you know who you might sell it to, now you need to validate whether you are right and how to execute the business idea. You need to see whether your business idea is viable in real life. 

You can use several criteria to evaluate your product’s viability. Evaluation criteria can be split into two main categories: market-based and product-based criteria.

Market-based criteria

These are market factors that will influence your product and business model. You’ll want to look at:

• Market size and demand for your product/service
• Who your competitors are and where are they
• Is this a trend, fad, growing market, or flat market
• Whether customers will be able to get this product/service from other sources
• Who your target customers are

Product-based criteria

Once you have an idea of where the market is going and who you’re marketing to, you can move on to the next set of criteria:

• Your selling price
• The potential markup for your product or service
• How many products you’ll stock
• Will you offer a subscription
• The size, weight, and durability of your product, if you’re selling something physical
• Whether you’re likely to experience seasonal buying variations
• Whether your product or service solves a pain point or is more of a passion
• Whether your product is consumable, disposable, or perishable
• Whether your services are re-purchasable or 1 time only
• Regulations or restrictions around your business

Looking at the market and product-based criteria can give you an idea of how much it’ll cost you, how you can sell it, to whom and how many times. 

These criteria can give you a good idea of your product or service’s potential, and help you avoid common mistakes. If you’ve determined that there’s enough market for your product and services, you can move on to other aspects of your business model.

5. How you will source your product or service

If you’re selling a physical product, you’ll need to figure out a model for obtaining it and shipping orders to your customers. There are a few models you can explore here:

Make it

You make the product yourself, by hand, and get it to the customer. This is a highly favorable option if your product is something you can get the ingredients for and make cheaply, like home-baked foods or hand-crafted gifts. You’d need to purchase ingredients in smaller batches to start, you can control the cost and the risk, then scale up when you have more sales.

Manufacture it

If your product is something you cannot make yourself, you could partner with a manufacturer. This alternative makes sense if you have a product you plan to sell in large numbers, as manufacturers normally require you to order in large batches. You’ll need to be able to cover the cost of those initial purchase orders.

Wholesale and resell

Buying your desired product and selling them through your store with a markup. You don’t have complete control over pricing, as the manufacturer sets the price of purchase. Margins for selling wholesale products are around 35%.

Dropship it

A good option if you don’t want to deal with inventory, dropshipping involves partnering with another company that would ship the product for you after purchase. There are no startup costs to make the product on your end, your margin is only about 15%. 

Digital

Guides, eBooks, Blog posts, templates, online video classes, selling your expertise. Anything people can download has the potential to be a product. Digital products can also be a service like consulting, coding, writing, therapy, social media management, or graphic design.

Digital downloads or services are suitable for customers and, depending on what you’re selling, they usually have a low overhead cost too. Experiment with different things until you hit on the product or service that’s right for your business and passion.

6. Do your business plan

You’ll need a road map to follow to keep your business on the right track. Once you’ve defined all the basics, writing a business plan will help you establish goals and get into the details of what you’ll need to run your business and sell to your customers.

If you’re going to get a business loan, lenders and investors will require you to have a business plan. Make sure you make your plan as detailed and professional as possible.

Your business plan should include:

• What your business is
• What you’re selling
• What is the market
• How your business model works
• SWOT analysis
• Company structure and roles
• Financing and capital
• Other resources

Keep your target market and buyer persona in mind as you develop your plan. 

The outline for your business plan will look something like this, from beginning to end:

1. Executive summary
2. Company overview
3. Market analysis
4. Products and services
5. Marketing plan
6. Logistics and operations plan
7. Financial plan

If you’d like something more detailed to start with, it’s easy to find free business plan templates online.

The most important thing is to know what your goal is when you write your business plan. It’ll look different if you’re writing one to obtain startup funds than if you’re outlining the business plan for yourself.

Make sure you keep your tone consistent throughout the document. The best way to ensure this is to have one person write and edit the whole document, completely edit the document before presenting it to anyone.

Finally, keep your business plan short and to the point. It should be 15 to 20 pages max. Make sure it’s long enough to communicate the relevant information.

7. Business name and legal structure

Naming your store is one of the creative aspects of starting an e-commerce business. You’ll need to come up with something that catches the eye, describes your brand, and hasn’t already been taken by somebody else.

You can typically search for domain name availability on Godaddy or CheapDomains. It’s also good to run a search with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to avoid future problems. 

A good business name will set the tone for your online store. The name plays into the company’s branding, and the product itself.

When it comes to making your business name, remember to:

• Keep it simple
• Differentiate yourself
• Get creative
• Be original

You’ll also use your business name when you register your business. How you choose to register will affect you legally and financially down the road, so it’s worth doing a little homework to determine which type of legal structure is right for you.

You’ll register your business as one of the following:

• Sole proprietorship
• General partnership
• Limited Liability Corp
• Corporation

Each one will have benefits and drawbacks. You should consult an attorney or other legal expert to determine which one you should choose.

8. Permits and licenses

Some business types need an employee identification number (EIN), it can help keep personal and business finances separate. It’s free to apply through the IRS, and the number is usually assigned right away. You can also apply for an EIN by mail or fax.

You’ll also want to apply for any permits or licenses your business will need to operate in your state. If you’re operating your e-commerce business entirely from home, you won’t need the same kind of permits as a traditional store.

You’ll want to make sure you’ve got it covered. Check your local government’s website or get professional advice for permits or licenses you might need to operate in your state.

Types of permits or licenses you might need for your business include:

• Sales tax permits 
• Professional and trade licenses for certain industries
• Health, safety, and environmental permits
• Signage permits

If you need permits or licenses, be aware you’ll have to pay a fee for them. Add those expenses into your business budget upfront so you don’t have to deal with any financial surprises.

9. Create your eCommerce

Now that you’re finally ready to launch, it’s time to choose technologies and build your online store. There are many e-commerce platforms out there to choose from like Arcadier, BigCommerce, VTex, Shopify, Wix, and many more, so you’ll want to research which fits your needs better.

Depending on your need for a custom unique experience, a headless API eCommerce SAAS is best suited for entrepreneurs and large companies who want to have full control over their online business and but also have everything to effectively market and sell products online.

Remember once your customer makes a purchase, keep them engaged with post-purchase follow-up. You can configure a campaign to users who visit your site, send them offers, specials, best deals, or recommend other products your customers might be interested in.

10. Marketing your new business

Now that your shop is planned out and set up, it’s time to tell your potential customers about the new business and start selling. The research of your target audience will suggest where you’ll run your ads and what content you’ll create to bring in customers.

Don’t be afraid to use multiple channels to market to your customers. If you’ve got a blog, promote it on multiple social media outlets. Put out content relevant to your niche on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Try out different tactics in your marketing strategy, like Facebook ads or partner up with affiliate marketers. Use landing pages that make it easy for customers to buy your products.

Be careful about your page copy, product description, and make sure it adheres to current SEO best practices. Make sure your site is simplistic and easy to navigate.

You should consider investing in CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tools for following up with customers, building email campaigns, and keeping them up-to-date with your business offerings, keep your tribe alive is a continuous delivery process.

Get started with Towa e-Business Services

Many things will happen when starting an online business. With the right team, proven process, agile practices, best technology you can make it a success! 

Towa integrates as part of your team to build awesome eCommerce Experiences.

We can build great ecommerce plataforms together

Towa Software has over 20 years of experience to guarantee the quality of every line of code, we are proud of our products and services delivered.

We have expert Project Managers and Innovation Consultants along with top talented teams who have delivered awesome products to customers in U.S.A, Canada, Mexico, London, and Australia.

As a leading software development outsourcing company in the USA and Mexico, we have extensive experience in many fields including fintech, banking, payments gateways, e-commerce, retail, marketplaces, health care, omnichannel, and many more.

You can contact us at support@towasoftware.com or give us a call via (+1) 210-787-4525 for more information.

You can Book a 15-min call call with one of our Customer Success Managers for a conversation.

C

ommunicating better can help you achieve your goals and deepen your relationships.

When I was 15 years old, I enrolled in a program to study English in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, also known as Iowa.

Having grown up in France and Switzerland, I spoke zero English. In Iowa, I couldn’t understand what people were telling me, and I couldn’t express myself. I couldn’t connect with people, I couldn’t create interactions, I couldn’t build friendships. I faced some of the most difficult months of my life because I was in some ways mute, and in some ways deaf.

But that experience taught me the most beautiful aspect of human communication. As I learned to speak, as I learned to listen, as I learned to connect, I was able to create a social network around me. It was human communication that set me free.

Fast forward to today, and I have spent my whole career researching and sharing what I know about effective ethical communication. Some questions that have animated my work include: What communication behaviors exemplify our best potential as humans? What are some small actions that will help us interact more effectively? What communication behaviors have a butterfly effect?

Based on my research, I’ll share six concrete behaviors that you can enact in your life today to improve your communication. At work or at home, these tips can help you start to inspire and influence the people around you. They can help you grow and change yourself, allowing you to deepen your relationships and create a better social world around you.

1. Greet to create human contact

In most people’s minds, communication is a mode of transmission: You have an idea to send out, and once the message is sent, you have accomplished the goal of communication.

But communication is more than transmission; it’s also creation. It creates experiences and builds relationships. If we take away communication, we take away relationship. In fact, I would propose that when you communicate, you are doing the work of relationship. You are relating.

The work of communication often starts with greeting, which is a simple but significant behavior: the moment when you initiate the process of making contact. One of the most disrespectful things a doctor can do when they meet with a patient is not greet them. When educators greet their students, it actually affects learning. And the best managers and leaders create opportunities for connection: They check on their employees and ask how they’re doing. They’re constantly in the process of building relationships.

As part of the New Zealand Language at Work project, researchers studied over 500 emails from two organizations: one company that was experiencing a lot of conflict, low morale, and turnover, and another with a very positive culture. After looking closely, the researchers noticed something striking: In the organization where people did not get along, the emails sounded like this:

The meeting is at 3:00 p.m.

That’s it. But in the company where people were getting along, the emails sounded more like this:

Hi everybody, hope you are doing well. Looking forward to seeing you at our meeting on Friday at 3:00 p.m. Have a great week.

Warmly,
John

The content is the same, but the little details that we add help us manage our connections with other people. Communication oils the social wheels; it is not just a mode of transmission.

To put this into practice, try initiating contact with three people that you do not know very well, but who are stakeholders in your organization; they can be anybody in the organizational hierarchy. Greet them. Ask them how they’re doing; set up a Zoom call or a lunch; take a little bit of time to connect with them. If you practice this, then you’d be able to create deeper connections with people around you and expand your network of influence.

2. Ask to discover the unknown

When we ask questions, we are going on a quest. We are putting ourselves in a position to discover more, to learn from a position of humility and curiosity.

On a basic level, we can distinguish between closed-ended questions and open-ended questions. Closed-ended questions—“Do you like blue or yellow?”—tend to narrow and control human interaction. Open-ended questions, on the other hand, tend to expand and give people freedom to decide what to share and what not to share—like “Tell me about some of your favorite experiences in your life” or “What conversations have impacted you?”

One way of improving your communication is to learn to flip your questions from closed-ended to open-ended.

On annual reviews, for example, it’s very tempting to say, “Did you have a good year?” But what if we flip the script and ask, “What can we do to help you reach your potential? What can we do this year to serve you and help you grow?” I learned this from an organization called Performance Group Management in Little Rock, Arkansas. With those questions, not only was the organization able to retain their employees, but they were able to find ways of helping them grow internally and build what has been widely celebrated as a very positive culture.

As another example, I do some research with Heifer International, which is trying to help create personal transformation in individuals around the world and help them end poverty in their own communities. Instead of asking, “Do you need help?,” they begin the process of change by asking people, “What are your dreams? What are your hopes?”

3. Compliment to affect people’s sense of self

The single most important truth in the field of human communication is that what we say, what we do, affects people. It affects who they are, in the moment, and it affects who they become. I think a lot about this as the father of three young children.

Complimenting is just one behavior among many that illustrates our capacity for affecting people in a positive way.

Sometimes, when I do trainings, leaders ask me how many compliments they should give to get their staff to do what they want. But compliments should not be used in a robotic way. Instead, I am advocating for a way of being. Complimenting is the choice to affect who people are and who they become, their sense of self. In fact, research suggests that we underestimate how good compliments make people feel.

“What we say, what we do, affects people. It affects who they are, in the moment, and it affects who they become”

―Julien C. Mirivel, Ph.D.

What is the best compliment that you have ever received? What has someone said to you that has positively impacted you? In my research, we have found that often those moments come from leaders, managers, supervisors, or teachers. When people we look up to say something about us that resonates, we take it in; we integrate it.

To put this into practice and make your own mark, you can think of three people that you really value around you, and deliver a meaningful compliment to them about their strengths. Or you can send an email to your team and say, “I want to celebrate the work that you’ve done, the strength that you’ve shown, especially as we respond to a global pandemic.” Communicating positively is about being intentional. As a leader, a parent, a partner, or a friend, we can all choose to use our words to do a little good.

4. Disclose to deepen relationships

The second important truth about communication is that the connection and closeness we feel with others is not a state that we can hold on to; it’s something we do. And the way we go about enacting this sense of love and collegiality is by the act of disclosure: revealing how we think, how we feel, and who we are in an authentic way.

Not all disclosure has the same function, but it does have some common elements. First, the disclosure needs to be authentic. It has to reflect this congruency between what you feel on the inside, and what’s happening on the outside. It has to be communication that’s truthful, honest, and personal, that reflects what you think and what you value.

It has to have integrity, and, more importantly, it has to be human. The more your experience can reflect our common humanity, the more it’s likely to resonate with other people when it’s spoken.

Research by Robert Ulmer, who is an expert in crisis communication at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, suggests that when leaders practice open and honest disclosure, they’re able to respond much more effectively to crises. In one case he studied, Malden Mills CEO Aaron Feuerstein immediately responded to a fire affecting several manufacturing buildings by communicating openly and publicly with his stakeholders: “We’re going to continue to operate in Lawrence. . . . We had the opportunity to run to the south many years ago. We didn’t do it then and we’re not going to do it now.” Being open and honest shows that we care about our stakeholders and want to learn from the crisis.

To put this into practice, think of somebody that you can text right now to share that you’re grateful for them. Be open and be honest with them. You can just say, “I’m thinking of you, and I just wanted you to know that I’m grateful to have you in my life.” Pay attention to the feelings and thoughts going on inside of you—should I do it, should I not do it, how are they going to respond? Despite all that, in this moment you can choose to express your gratitude. That’s disclosure.

5. Encourage to give support

Human communication, I would argue, is just as tangible a way of giving as giving money. We use communication to give love. We use communication to give affection. And when we choose to encourage others, we are using communication to give people the social support they need to develop and succeed.

I believe that we can transform any ordinary moment into an extraordinary one by what we say and share with other people, no matter what our role is.

Here’s an example from my own career. For many years, whenever my students struggled, I would always say, “Hey, why don’t you just ride the wave a little?” Then, during one incredibly hard year of work, I got to my office and found an email from my wife. Inside was the message, “Ride the wave, baby,” with a Photoshopped picture of me on a real surfer. I remember that moment to this day.

That is the power of encouragement. What we say and do can make an impact not only in that moment, but as a source of support for years to come.

6. Listen to transcend differences

Learning how to become a better listener is not a small feat, but experts agree that it’s a common trait of good leaders. If you can choose to listen deeply, you can transcend the perceived differences that exist between you and other people.

You can learn to listen more deeply by maintaining a high degree of openness to other people’s perspectives and viewpoints. It also requires withholding judgment of people and their actions. Psychologist Carl Rogers called this “unconditional positive regard”: a way of looking at people with warmth, without any conditions. In order to listen deeply, you have to cultivate deep empathy, the ability to look at other people’s perspectives not to see whether they’re right or wrong, but to understand their vantage point.

Finally, you have to learn how to give somebody your full attention. Physically leaning in with your body will start the process of deeper listening. If you get really frustrated, take your hand, put it underneath the table, and open it slightly—a physical gesture of openness. Listening can be uncomfortable, but there is a lot to learn if we quiet everything going on inside of us and turn our attention to other people.

I believe that if you practice positive communication, it’s going to help you grow as a professional and as a person, create high-quality relationships at work and at home, and lead more effectively. When you take these small actions, you’re beginning a butterfly effect. You’re starting to change the script on your interactions, which affects the relationships that you care about, the groups you work in, and the communities you belong to. And if we do this together, we will co-create a better society for ourselves and our children.

This essay is based on a talk that is part of the Positive Links Speaker Series by the University of Michigan’s Center for Positive Organizations. The Center is dedicated to building a better world by pioneering the science of thriving organizations.

Source: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_six_keys_to_positive_communication

Q

ué es el flow: otros niveles de productividad

• Una persona entra en estado de flujo (flow) cuando se enfoca totalmente en la tarea…
• …que básicamente no existe nada más
• ¿Cómo podemos estar en ese nivel?

Dos días y medio. Ese fue el tiempo que le llevó al novelista irlandés John Boyne (Dublín, 1971) escribir del tirón el primer borrador del que hasta la fecha es su mayor éxito editorial, El niño con el pijama de rayas (Salamandra, 2007). Dos días y medio de escritura frenética, sin apenas comer ni dormir. El autor declaró más tarde que había tenido la sensación de que el niño protagonista le susurraba al oído las palabras que debía escribir, empujándolo a llegar hasta el final de la historia. Con apuntador imaginario o no, probablemente lo que Boyne experimentó durante esas sesenta horas de éxtasis productivo es lo que los expertos organizacionales llaman “estado de flujo”.

El estado de flujo (flow, en inglés) es uno de los conceptos estrella de la llamada psicología positiva, esa rama de la ciencia que ahonda en el bienestar psicológico de las personas y que tanta aceptación tiene en el management actual. Según uno de sus máximos exponentes, el norteamericano Mihály Csikszentmihalyi, el flow sería “un estado subjetivo que las personas experimentan cuando están completamente involucradas en algo, hasta el extremo de olvidarse del tiempo, la fatiga y de todo lo demás excepto la actividad en sí misma”. En otras palabras, el flujo es una especie de trance durante el cual una persona logra una inmersión total en su trabajo, obteniendo los más altos niveles de rendimiento y calidad de ejecución.

Como en el caso del Boyne, el estado de flujo suele asociarse a labores creativas. Sin embargo, pintores, escritores o músicos no son ni mucho menos los únicos capaces de amarrarse a la mesa de trabajo para rentabilizar la vista de las musas. En realidad, cualquier profesional, del ámbito que sea, puede experimentar en algún momento esa mágica sensación de “estoy que me salgo”. “Conocí a un directivo del área comercial que solía levantarse a las seis de la mañana los sábados para trabajar en su casa hasta las nueve. Me confesó que esos momentos, en los que había completo silencio y conexión consigo mismo, era cuando más placer obtenía de su trabajo”, cuenta Pilar Jericó, presidenta de Be-Up.

“Un empleado feliz es más productivo, comprometido, creativo e innovador”

Y es que el flujo tiene mucho que ver con el placer. Para Manu Romero, fundador de la startup Departamento de Felicidad, un trabajador que fluye es un trabajador feliz, con el impacto que para cualquier organización supone contar con un profesional así en sus filas. “Diversos estudios y experiencias profesionales confirman que un empleado feliz es más productivo, comprometido, creativo e innovador, lo que da lugar a mejores resultados de negocio, mayores ventas y mejores calificaciones de los clientes”, asegura.

Quizá feliz, sí, pero también sacrificado. Porque la satisfacción que proporciona ese ‘fluir’ va frecuentemente acompañada de atracones de trabajo. De hecho, que a un trabajador se le pasen las horas en un suspiro, sin apenas darse cuenta de que el cansancio empieza a hacer mella en él, es un claro síntoma de que está empezando a fluir.

Claro que sarna con gusto no pica. Y es que, advierte Pilar Jericó, el esfuerzo es un requisito innegociable para llegar hasta ese punto de excelencia. “Las cosas que valen la pena siempre requieren esfuerzo, especialmente al principio. En esas fases iniciales el trabajo duro es lo más importante. Pones mucho empeño porque llegar al objetivo es tu máxima motivación, tu sueño o porque te pagan por ello. Pero después, llega un momento en el que de tanto aplicarte en la tarea desarrollas cierta maestría en ella, y ahí es cuando comienzas a fluir”.

Naturalmente, que te guste lo que haces es un plus. “Tener la oportunidad de desarrollar aquellas actividades en las cuales nos sentimos más realizados nos ayuda a disfrutar de nuestro puesto de trabajo”, dice Manu Romero. ¿Quiere decir esto que quedamos exentos de hacer aquellas otras partes del trabajo que nos resultan menos apetecibles? Desde luego que no, puntualiza este experto. “Pero el prisma es totalmente distinto cuando sabes que esas otras cosas forman parte de unas responsabilidades que, en términos globales, te satisfacen”.

Honorio Jorge, experto en Recursos Humanos y Organización, cree, en cambio, que no es imprescindible que una actividad te enamore para realizarla muy bien o incluso con brillantez. “Lo que nunca debe faltar es que la persona disponga de las habilidades necesarias para ejecutar esa función con un resultado exitoso. Y para esto es clave tener a la persona correcta en el puesto correcto“, explica. Otras condiciones necesarias para llegar a ese estado deseable son que “las tareas sean moderadamente desafiantes y requieran de concentración y enfoque, tener objetivos claramente establecidos y ofrecer datos que permitan al trabajador autoevaluarse”, resume este especialista.

Empresas con flow

En las cosas del fluir no todo depende exclusivamente del protagonista. El entorno puede tener una influencia notable. Positiva o negativa. “La empresa ha de saber que no desmotivar a sus empleados es rentable, que sus empleados (algunos) saben hacer bien las cosas y que para que, además, quieran hacerlas tienen que poder utilizar sus habilidades y su talento”, comenta Luis Colmenero, creador de la marca Coachingümer. Según este coach, “cuando te complican las cosas en el trabajo y tu única emoción es la de no querer volver el día siguiente, es imposible que se de el estado de flujo”.

“Cuando te complican las cosas en el trabajo y tu única emoción es la de no querer volver el día siguiente, es imposible que se de el estado de flujo”

El problema, comenta Honorio Jorge, está en que en muchos casos las propias dinámicas laborales dificultan esa manera de funcionar. “Imaginemos a un trabajador que en pleno estado de flujo es interrumpido por la asignación de un nuevo encargo… Esto tiene un impacto negativo en la productividad, y está relacionado con una mala planificación y con el hecho de que en muchas organizaciones lo urgente se come a lo importante de forma recurrente”.

También el espacio físico juega su papel. Los ‘fluyentes’ necesitan cierto aislamiento y alejarse de las distracciones para entrar en modo flow. Unas condiciones que parecen chocar con las últimas tendencias en diseño de oficinas. “Los espacios operativos diáfanos, por ejemplo, aportan muchos beneficios a las empresas en cuanto a la cohesión del equipo, pero no son los más adecuados para la realización de determinadas labores para las que se necesita mucha concentración”, reconoce Jorge.

¿Qué pueden hacer las empresas para ayudar a sus trabajadores a alcanzar ese Nirvana productivo? “Facilitarles que hagan aquello en lo que son realmente buenos y que disfrutan haciendo; definir objetivos claros y alcanzables a los que se pueda dar seguimiento; trabajar por dichos objetivos, impulsando la autogestión del tiempo, y reconocer los logros“, sintetiza Manu Romero.

La empresa puede allanar el camino poniendo las condiciones adecuadas. Pero al final es el profesional quien debe cruzar ese umbral por propia iniciativa. Luis Colmenero: “Si somos buenos en lo que hacemos, si a la vez estamos motivados y podemos emplear nuestros recursos, el desempeño en nuestro trabajo será el óptimo y rentable para nuestra empresa. Porque cuando estamos sumergidos en una tarea por la pura satisfacción de hacerla bien, es cuando nos suele salir mejor”.

Las opiniones expresadas son sólo responsabilidad de sus autores.

Fuente: https://www.eleconomista.es/empresas-finanzas/noticias/10331995/01/20/Los-buenos-trabajadores-tienen-flow-el-estado-de-flujo-dispara-los-niveles-de-productividad.html