“Forewarned is forearmed” is a golden rule of life. Outsourcing is no exception. If your outsourcing initiatives are successful or fail depends mostly on the way you perceive outsourcing and communicate with your outsourcing partner, In other words: set firm goals and keep your eyes wide open.
InfoWorld talked to industry experts to summarize their best advice, based on their own and their clients' experience. The interviewees were Larry Harding, founder and president of High Street Partners, a global consultancy that advises company on how to expand overseas; Steve Martin, a consultant and partner at Pace Harmon, half of whose business is focused on helping companies repair the damage from an outsourcing deal gone bad; Peter Geisheker, CEO of the Geisheker Group marketing firm; and Patrick Dolan, CEO of BPO Management Services.
Here are some of the pieces of advice shared by the experts:
1. Clear objectives. It's not that the best-laid plans often go astray; it's that they often aren't the best-laid plans in the first place.
There is a lack of experience in what outsourcing entails. Going global with a sales and marketing initiative, for example, has implications in finance as well as most of the company's other departments.
2. Compatibility. As the provider is going to become a part of your team be sure it’s compatible with your company’s culture, communication skills and working style.
3. Communication. Be very precise and detailed when explaining the project specifications. And as you are distributing IT functions outside the organization, be ready to coordinate and communicate with the customer all the time. You may even need to have an “ambassador” onsite just to see what is happening.
4. Expect to get what you pay for. If you put the outsourcer under too much cost pressure, it will cut corners too, such as using junior resources. Furthermore, never think of IT as a cost center; instead, consider it a value center. This will clarify what can be a candidate for outsourcing in the first place.
And never consider outsourcing as a means of saving corporate money and getting quality just for nothing - good execution flies out the window.
Source: InfoWorld
InfoWorld talked to industry experts to summarize their best advice, based on their own and their clients' experience. The interviewees were Larry Harding, founder and president of High Street Partners, a global consultancy that advises company on how to expand overseas; Steve Martin, a consultant and partner at Pace Harmon, half of whose business is focused on helping companies repair the damage from an outsourcing deal gone bad; Peter Geisheker, CEO of the Geisheker Group marketing firm; and Patrick Dolan, CEO of BPO Management Services.
Here are some of the pieces of advice shared by the experts:
1. Clear objectives. It's not that the best-laid plans often go astray; it's that they often aren't the best-laid plans in the first place.
There is a lack of experience in what outsourcing entails. Going global with a sales and marketing initiative, for example, has implications in finance as well as most of the company's other departments.
2. Compatibility. As the provider is going to become a part of your team be sure it’s compatible with your company’s culture, communication skills and working style.
3. Communication. Be very precise and detailed when explaining the project specifications. And as you are distributing IT functions outside the organization, be ready to coordinate and communicate with the customer all the time. You may even need to have an “ambassador” onsite just to see what is happening.
4. Expect to get what you pay for. If you put the outsourcer under too much cost pressure, it will cut corners too, such as using junior resources. Furthermore, never think of IT as a cost center; instead, consider it a value center. This will clarify what can be a candidate for outsourcing in the first place.
And never consider outsourcing as a means of saving corporate money and getting quality just for nothing - good execution flies out the window.
Source: InfoWorld
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