The article aims to discuss how Connext Global Solutions can help solve outsourcing mistakes.
No matter what any salesperson may say, outsourced cannot equal out of mind. It starts with incentives. Since it is impossible to have perfectly aligned incentives, there has to be a system or structure for managing outcomes. There are many ways to accomplish this, but the single biggest mistake is no system.
Most people will think about what it takes to get a remote team started. Key considerations will include creating process designs, determining technology solutions and creating a training plan. After those things, is when we start to see inconsistent implementation and separation of leaders and laggards. The ramp-up of a remote team will necessarily be more difficult than a local team. In most cases there is no one on the team that has experience with the client’s processes, systems, geography and customers. These contextual factors are frequently taken for granted. If there are problems, blame is assigned to the people, the trainers, the partner organization or anything other than recognizing there should have been a structured ramp-up plan with increased quality assurance testing.
When ramping up a new team, is important to create a ramp-up plan that specifies the rate at which new tasks will be layered on. This phased approach to increasing task complexity should be coupled with high levels of QA and clear expectations for the team. Many successful clients create a certification in which team members achieve certification in certain processes or functional areas after reaching established quality and productivity goals for a sustained period of time.
Then, once the team has successfully ramped up and is meeting expectations, the “normal” ongoing management work still exists. The management program should include these types of considerations:
- Benchmarking against established standards
- Developing a continuous improvement program
- Developing a roadmap for increasing task complexity and team member development
- Establish and ongoing communication strategy
- Enforce accountability performance standards
- Motivate and retain employees
- Find and develop leaders and leadership structure
- Developing reporting and business intelligence tools
Regardless of strategy, location, operating model, and financial considerations, day-to-day operational requirements do not go away. Some of these will be retained in house and some may be transferred to a business outsourcing partner. There is no “right” answer, but not having a well thought out approach in clarifying responsibilities will lead to failed implementations or at a minimum, lackluster performance.
Connext Global Solutions helps companies build custom, dedicated support teams in the Philippines. Learn more about Connext Global Solutions.
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