Missing a vital point:
There are many clients who use outsourcing, some use it quite widely yet
many of them are not happy with the relationship. How can everyone have made a muddle
of contracting for their services? It is not possible you say. Yes! They are
missing something else. In this article we would like to figure that
“something” out of a closet. In our
opinion they are missing this vital component and that is a proper management.
A client management:
Clients also need management so we better learn some proper management of
our outsourcers. You have seen them spending lot of time dealing with issues in
the relationship but have any one has shouldered the job of taking the relationship
where it needs to go? “At better stage” just to name it.
The main reason:
You bet! If any of them have spent enough time rethinking their IT processes
in order to deal with their outsourcers effectively, they are very few. Broken
processes now span the two organizations, and delays are frequent. At the same
time, too much is understood -- it\'s just expected that the outsourcer
\"knows\" the client -- and not enough time is spent giving
explanations, background and briefings on plans and expectations. Don’t you
think this; is the main reason behind discontinued business relationships?
The solution:
Effective sourcing relationships are possible. They require a serious
investment on the part of the buyer. It\'s not uncommon to see up to 7% of the
outsourcing bill each year going to support internal relationship managers,
service delivery managers, planners and the like. Sourcing relationships
require that the buyer\'s overall organization become more coordinated and
controlled so that a structured plan for services can be delivered and agreed
to On the outsourcer\'s side, a similar commitment must be insisted upon and
adhered to.
The rule of a game:
Better relationship is a two way process. Both buyer and outsourcer must
work together on certain items. If there is a shortage of skills or labor in
your region, this affects both of them. Though too much is given away by the
supplier during negotiations in order to win the deal and so value-added
services are required to grow the supplier\'s business. It is appropriate to buy
some of these, where they make sense. It is also appropriate to continually
reopen the list of services in the interest of migrating offerings that will be
used repeatedly into the core services list, and perhaps moving low-usage items
out into requirements of the moment or by helping the outsourcer recruit or
retain staffers. There have been cases where an outsourcer\'s cost structure has
been so compromised that deals have been terminated prematurely.