To aid the most talented professionals in the country to accomplish their tasks and enhance their abilities, Offshoring Inc. provides its employees with world-class tools and equipment. Today, Offshoring’s IT Department is implementing a number of strategies to upgrade the company's hardware to enable it to continue competing with the best of the best in the world.

Replacing Old Computer Set
According to the Philippine government, from a mere 4,000 in 2001, the number of BPO workers in the country skyrocketed to 350,000 in 2007; and in February 2009, the number has already climbed to 400,000. The Philippine government estimates that this year, there will be a million BPO jobs available to Filipinos. The Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry stated that the BPO sector in the country could generate $11 billion to $13 billion USD in revenues this year. Most of this stunning growth is expected to come from the communications and IT industries.

In terms of offshore business processing, the Philippines is the third top performing country in the Asia Pacific, just behind China and India. While India still maintains its lead, the Philippines is now planning to grab a larger slice of the pie by aiming for a 10% market share this 2010. The Philippine BPO industry is aiming to achieve this by offering its key advantages to companies from the United States and Europe, such as workers' more advanced level of English, and the higher literacy rate in the country.

Excellent Hardware: Key to Absolute Security
The latest software is incompatible with old hardware, so it is imperative that Offshoring Inc. upgrade its hardware for its clients’ absolute security. Aside from new computer sets, Offshoring maintains security and facilitates workflow through a 45 Mbps burstable Internet connection or DS3. To guarantee maximum productivity to its clients, Offshoring has a back-up line that automatically operates if primary connection fails. Furthermore, the IT Department maintains a fileserver that only clients and authorized personnel can access. The company also has an active directory that implements policies in every workstation.

A growing number of policies on software and hardware use maintains Offshoring Inc.’s competitive edge over other BPO companies. A strict policy is in place for weekly back-up, virus scanning of workstations and file servers. Each account has 80 gigs of disk space in the file server and the IT Department is ready to allot more upon the client’s request. Plus, if a client requests for a dedicated file server, IT can set it up as soon as possible.

It is the goal of Mr. Angelito A. Cruz, Chief Operating Officer of Offshoring Inc., to empower the company to “ride the waves when the economy gets better.” With the hardware upgrade currently being implemented by the IT Department, Offshoring Inc. is one crucial step closer to this goal.

Filipinos are always up-to-date with the recent trends in the modern world, whether it's technology, fashion, entertainment, business or anything else. But despite their savvy and modern lifestyles, Filipinos still hold on to many of their religious beliefs and practices as a sort of guide on how to live life correctly and with honor. This unique characteristic is more prominent during the Lenten season, when many Filipino Christians try to repent for their wrongdoings and reflect to become better people. Some Offshoring Inc. employees shared their plans for the Lenten season with us.

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust
It was Ash Wednesday last February 17, 2010, and droves of Filipinos went to church to have ash placed on their foreheads as a sign of repentance. Among the people who participated in Ash Wednesday's rite were Offshoring employees Kent Blanche and John Basil Caballes. “I went to St. Francis of Assisi Parish and had ash placed on my forehead,” said John, Project Manager for one of Offshoring's accounts. While many Filipinos practice this religious custom year after year, some also can't find the time. Miguel Rodriguez, an Intermediate Graphic Designer, is one of them. “I didn’t go to church this Ash Wednesday. What I did was sleep the whole day to be ready for work the next evening, but before sleeping, I prayed to God,” he said.

Fasting is also a widely-practiced custom in the Philippines, although most Filipinos just avoid meat and stick with vegetables and fish. “My family always eats fish during Lent,” said Kent. Miguel also does the same. “I usually eat food that consist of pork, beef and chicken but will try avoid any of it on Wednesdays and Fridays.” Food is not the only thing that a person can deny himself with on Lent, however. All mundane or worldly things can be avoided. Joker Cabanting, for example, a Data Entry Specialist, said that in addition to meat, he'll avoid cursing.

The Importance of Lent and the Holy Week
Despite the age of Lenten traditions, to John, customs of fasting and self-denilal still completely make sense. “They are important because they imply a resolve to change and become a better person,” he said. Miguel echoes this view, saying that he fasts for his own spiritual experience.

On March 28, the Holy Week will begin and most of the country will be enveloped in an atmosphere of spiritual tranquility as people try to act with more restraint in anything they do. Local TV channels will also change their programming to religious and serious shows. Meanwhile, families will take advantage of the non-working holidays of Holy Thursday and Good Friday to go on vacations. “We have plans to go out of town, but no details yet on the place,” said Kent. According to Miguel and John, they'll be content with just spending time with their family and friends.

Asked why celebrating Lent is important, Miguel answered, “Lent gives us a chance to reflect on our lives in general, so we can change and become better persons.” While Joker agrees with Miguel on its importance, he also attributes its significance to custom. “It's important because it's sacred and people have been doing it for a long time.”

No matter what you do, stress will find you in the office. Stress is the consequence of your need to accomplish so many things with the limited resources that you have. The only thing you can do is to keep stress at safe levels, so that it encourages you to do you work correctly, not ruin your career or your life. The best way to avoid stress is to delegate some of your work to your colleagues or outsource the bulk offshore. In addition to this, there are many other ways to hold the stress meter back in the office. Here are 15 stress-reducing techniques you may have never done before:

1) Put an empty bottle and a golf ball on your desk – These are not mere decorations but your primary weapons against stress. Simply put the golf ball or bottle under your foot and start rolling it on the floor. Foot massage is a great way to relieve physical and mental stress, tension, even headache and fatigue.

2) Get into the blues – Not the musical genre, but the color. Research indicates that exposure to the color blue can lower blood pressure, reduce pain and even improve sleep. Avoid red though because exposure to this color induces adrenalin release, pumping your blood pressure and increasing stress.

3) Start talking – Talking is not the easiest thing to do all the time, especially if you're the type who's too careful to be rude or upfront. You'll feel a lot better though if you get that thing off your chest and just open up some of your feelings and thoughts to people. Your boss may be cold but he's also human, and he should appreciate the fact that you have the guts to speak up.

4) Feast on fish – Always try to eat fish on your break. Researchers from Australia found out that eating oily fish like sardines and salmon can help reduce stress. Oily fish are filled with omegra-3 fatty acids that improve your nervous system, reducing your tendency to be aggressive or hostile. Most types of fish also contain vitamin B-12 which helps trigger the release of serotonin, a natural antidepressant.

5) Sleep like a baby – Work all you want in the office but make it a point to sleep early or get more sleep. Getting enough sleep have tremendous benefits in all aspects of life. The brighter mood, increased energy level and sharpness of mind that a complete sleep brings will be useful both at home and in the office.

6) Ditch the coffee – This one's going to be hard for a lot of people, but a study sponsored by the British Economic and Social Research Council indicates that men who drink coffee while working with others in a group tended to be less effective. In fact, just the belief that a cup of anything contains caffeine – whether or not it actually does – increases stress and heart rate.

7) Put your back against the wall – Go to the bathroom in your office, stand against the wall then slowly slide down like you're sitting on a chair. Feel your spine against the wall as you breathe deeply. Try to imagine a tranquil scene, such as a walk through the woods, sipping wine by the fireplace, or lying on white-sand beaches. Stand up, shake your arms and legs and get back to work refreshed.

8) Bring out the Shakespeare in you – Find a room in the office where you can read a poem out loud twice a day. Read it passionately, paying attention to the words and cadence, and imagining the poem's subject. Doing this will make you feel more relaxed and ready to take on the day's challenges.

9) Sketch the pandemonium – Sometimes, chaos reigns the office and everyone is pushed to their wits' end. While everyone is banging their fists on their desks or shouting at each other's faces, get a pen and a paper and go Picasso in the middle of the chaos. Try to draw a caricature of the pandemonium to lighten up your mood.

10) Go mellow – Pack a bunch of CDs with old ballads and put on your headphones. Researchers from Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania found out that listening to any type of mellow music significantly reduces stress hormone levels.

11) Sniff lavender – Put a dash of lavender on your inner wrist then smell the aroma. Lavender oil relaxes the mind and the senses. Close your eyes while sniffing the fragrance and imagine you are walking in a beautiful lavender field.

12) Leave for lunch – If you're one of those employees who are either too workaholic or lazy to leave the office for lunch, you need to start changing your habit. Escaping away to a totally new environment clears away the cobwebs of your mind and helps you come up with new ideas to solve problems in the office.

13) Chomp on chocolate peppermint – Chocolate and peppermint are the dynamic duo that destroys stress. Chocolate triggers the release of endorphins while peppermint refreshes your mouth and senses, cutting down stress and boosting your energy. Always have a pack of peppermint patties to keep yourself relaxed at work.

14) Do some simple yoga moves – There are numerous sources online for simple yoga moves that can reduce stress. This one can't get any simpler, though: just hold one of your nostrils by closing it with a finger then blow strongly out through the other. It may sound ridiculous, but yoga practicioners say it works!

15) Outsource – This is perhaps the most logical and effective means to reduce stress out of all that are listed here. Outsourcing the bulk of your work offshore to other countries like the Philippines not only enhances your efficiency – it also saves you a lot of money since you can hire highly skilled professionals for a drastically lower cost. Offshoring or outsourcing gives you the opportunity to transfer the tiring, repetitive parts of your business to more driven individuals, so you can focus on the essentials.

Don't let yourself be crippled by stress. It's not only you that will suffer the negative consequences, but also the people around you, and your job or business. Try applying these stress-reducing tips now to have a more fun and productive career.