Getting Started: the basic outsourcing strategy is to analyze your business operations, in order to find out the areas that would be most beneficial when outsourced. Also, see if outsourcing would be best for your business strategic plan. No doubts, outsourcing has been immensely beneficial to both small and large organizations over the years. However, the benefits are guaranteed when proper analysis and decision are undertaken.
Introduction
Interestingly, a lot of businesses today outsource on a daily basis without seeing the act as outsourcing. Perhaps, the reason is simply because of the media’s presentation or opinion about outsourcing. The present day media see outsourcing as job shipment to overseas locations where low wages are prevalent. However, outsourcing is a powerful tool that any organization can use to achieve cost benefits among other advantages.
Outsourcing Strategy
As mentioned earlier, the first strategy in outsourcing is proper analysis, to find out the business areas that would be most beneficial when outsourced. First, weigh the cost of outsourcing the intended business function against the cost of running it in-house. Also, consider if the potential benefits have long term effects on your business. Your analysis should be thorough and spelt out in numerical values (if possible) for clarity.
Also, in hiring a vendor, outsourcing strategy is highly required. You would not want to end up with shallow and shabby result. So, your vendor hiring technique should be profound and well-structured. Refer to our previous post on “Guide to selecting outsourcing vendor”.
Outsourcing Success Tips
Successful outsourcing is guaranteed if the best practices are employed in managing the process. Thus, well-articulated outsourcing strategy is necessary before and after sealing off the contract. Hiring the lowest bidder does not mean successful outsourcing. Obviously, the lowest possible cost is beneficial. But, you may end up spending more due to low standard result. Of course, you will certainly re-outsource a shabbily completed business function at extra cost. Therefore, profound vendor selection process is necessary, it is the beginning of successful outsourcing.
Vendor selection process should not be done hastily. A company should set up an in-house or in-country committee that would act on behalf of the organization to supervise the entire contract. The supervision starts from the point of hiring a vendor down through the lifespan of the contract.
A company may also consult an expert to get direction on outsourcing best practices. So, achieving the best possible benefits with outsourcing requires a lot of strategizing and effort. Outsourcing has evolved to become a strong pillar for organizational growth. Consequently, the entire contract should not be handled with levity, from scratch to finish. The necessary internal structures should be put in place to achieve the best result.
Daven Michaels is an award-winning outsourcer and author of the book, ‘Outsource This!’ Daven has been honored more than any other individual or outsourcing organization. You can get more information on outsourcing by visiting www.123Employee.com
Effective outsourcing comes with loads of benefits such as cost-saving, improved performance, improved risk management, access to large pool of talents, reduced time to market, tax benefits, competitive advantage and more. Therefore, a company needs outsourcing strategy to achieve the best result with outsourcing.
Here are valuable tips for effective outsourcing;
Tip One: There should be a Justifiable Reason for Outsourcing
The importance of outsourcing for the right reasons cannot be overemphasized. If you outsource just because it is a trendy thing among businesses, you may not reap the reward of outsourcing. In fact, outsourcing for the wrong reason may result in loss instead of profit.
If your company’s customer support department is not operating at optimum capacity, yet incurring huge cost, it may be justifiable to outsource your company’s call center. However, you must analyze the cost benefit between re-equipping your call center and opting for offshore call center services. If the cost saving will be significant compared to in-house call center restructuring, then you have a strong point for outsourcing. Thus, proper analysis of cost advantage among other benefits is a great outsourcing strategy for achieving effectiveness.
Tip Two: You May Need an Expert’s Assistant
You may have to consult an expert before embarking on outsourcing. There are outsourcing consultants whose major task is to provide the right direction or guide regarding a company’s decision to outsource. Therefore, a company that does not know how to make the right moves for outsourcing should consult an expert. Surprisingly, it may cost very little to get an expert’s advice on this matter. An expert’s advice may cover how to determine the outsource-able business functions, including proper vendor selection process.
Tip Three: Profound Vendor Selection Process
This is a critical outsourcing strategy that guarantees success or otherwise. First, consider the expertise of the vendor in line with your business function outsourcing need. A general vendor may not be an expert in a specific area, except the provider works with a team of experts in various business areas. It is not enough for a vendor to claim expertise in a particular business area. Ask technical questions related to the specific business function you wish to outsource. The response of the vendor will provide some clues about his expertise or inexperience in such area.
Strong Legal Support
Business function outsourcing should be contracted on a strong legal platform. This way, each party to the contract can lay claims on damages or breach of agreement. As a service seeker, you would certainly love to be compensated for any laxity on the part of the vendor. This is only possible with strong contractual agreement.
In all, a company or business wishing to outsource some of its business functions must employ profound outsourcing strategy in order to achieve enhanced effectiveness.
Daven Michaels is an award-winning outsourcer and author of the book, ‘Outsource This!’ Daven has been honored more than any other individual or outsourcing organization. You can get more information on outsourcing by visiting www.123Employee.com
Outsourcing has become a popular trend in the United States, Europe and other first world countries. Outsourcing Philippines as well as Indian vendors tend to be on the lead. Outsourcing popularity is largely attributed to strategic goals achievements which organizations and businesses achieve through outsourcing. Also, companies achieve cost reduction, customer satisfaction enhancement and other top benefits through outsourcing. However, outsourcing requires effective management just like any other organizational decision. So, from the evaluation phase through the entire duration of the contractual relationship, adequate monitoring and management is required.
In this post, we will examine top 4 critical factors for achieving success with outsourcing;
1. Objective Definition
A company must understand what it wants to achieve with outsourcing before venturing into it. This can be determined through objective or goal definition. One of the goals of an organization considering outsourcing should be cost reduction. For instance, a department that incurs high costs should be considered for outsourcing. This is essentially necessary if such costs cannot be reduced. Also, lack of competency in specific areas could be handled through outsourcing.
Therefore, when considering outsourcing Philippines vendor, a company must ensure there are justifiable reasons for its decision to outsource. This is the only way to benefit from such strategy. In summary, a company should outsource for the right reasons.
2. Analyze Your Reasons for Outsourcing in the Light of these Factors;
Is there a significant cost-difference between handling the function in-house and delegating it to an external provider? This still refers to efficient or significant cost saving as the most justifiable reason for outsourcing a business function.
Will your company gain a competitive advantage by choosing to outsource a particular business function? For instance, quick product delivery into the market (faster than the competitors) is one of the top benefits of outsourcing. Also, competitive advantage in the area of pricing is one of the advantages of outsourcing rightly. Ultimately, an organization that leverages outsourcing for the right reasons will become first among the best.
Can the job be transmitted over the internet?
Can the task be teleworked? This is a critical factor when considering offshore outsourcing Philippines services.
3. Well-Structured Vendor Selection Process
Vendor selection is one of the critical factors to successful outsourcing. Vendor selection should not be approached shallowly and shabbily. A company should develop a profound vendor selection structure in order to hire the best skill for the required task. The standard of selection should not be solely focused on cost. Instead, it should be a thorough process that would also consider the expertise of the vendor in the required business area.
Successful outsourcing begins when a company plays its own roles by defining its objectives, analyzing the reasons for outsourcing, and employing a well-structured vendor selection process. This quick guide will help you hire the best outsourcing Philippines vendor.
Daven Michaels is an award-winning outsourcer and author of the book, ‘Outsource This!’ Daven has been honored more than any other individual or outsourcing organization. You can get more information on outsourcing by visiting www.123Employee.com
One of the largest areas of outsourcing today is IT. Information technology is the engine room of any organization. Virtually all business aspects are controlled by information technology platform. Therefore, the IT needs of organizations are growing by the day. Sometimes, it gets so overwhelming that a company cannot manage its IT requirements alone. Outsourcing of IT is a common solution when information technology requirements of a company become overwhelming.
However, a company may decide to handle some aspects of IT in-house, while outsourcing the complex and cost-intensive areas. Generally, the most outsourced IT areas include;
Hardware support
Help desk operations
Network management
Telecommunications
Desk top support
Software development
Among other numerous benefits, outsourcing of IT helps commercial businesses and organizations worldwide to concentrate on their core competencies, while allowing IT experts offshore to manage their IT infrastructure affordably and effectively. A professional IT vendor would design, develop and deliver customized information technology solutions that would streamline a company’s IT functions and improve its competitive stance.
Effective Vendor IT solutions are based on these summarized techniques;
Information collation regarding an organization’s specific business needs
Employing the most suitable technological expertise to process and analyze the information collated.
Alignment of a company’s business goals and objectives with 24/7 support
General quality IT services.
Key Players in IT Outsourcing
When it comes to outsourcing of IT, especially at the offshore level, some countries are known as major market players. The reason is directly associated with the exceptional expertise of IT personnel in those countries. Today, Philippines and India are known as the key players in information technology.
Here’s a summarized list of the world’s experts (countries) in IT outsourcing and their different areas of specialization;
The Philippines are renowned for Programming, Data Entry, R&D, Customer Support and Animation
India – Programming, Software Development and General IT solutions
Ukraine – Programming and R&D
Brazil – Web and Software Programming, Network solutions
Bolivia – Network Solutions, Web & Software Programming
China – Data Entry, Programming, customers support
Russia – Programming and R&D
Other key players for outsourcing of IT include Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Romania, Malaysia, Mauritius, Republic of Macedonia (known for mobile software solutions, web software and network solutions), and many others.
Indeed, it pays off well to use external expertise in managing an organization’s IT platform. This is particularly necessary when a company is lacking strong IT expertise. Besides, it is cost-effective to hire an IT vendor. Delegating such complex business function to an expert would help an organization to refocus on its core competencies – this is one of the top benefits of IT outsourcing.
Daven Michaels is an award-winning outsourcer and author of the book, ‘Outsource This!’ Daven has been honored more than any other individual or outsourcing organization. You can get more information on outsourcing by visiting www.123Employee.com
Outsourcing is a popular practice in today’s business world. Small and large organizations are increasingly outsourcing some or most of their business functions. In previous years, cost-saving was the driving force behind outsourcing. However, outsourcing benefits have gone beyond cost saving. Several aspects of a company’s activities can be outsourced. One of the most outsourced business functions is customer support. This is popularly known as call center. Outsourcing call center brings a lot of benefits in addition to cost saving.
What Type of Business Requires Call Center Outsourcing?
Customer support issue is common with a company that manufactures or distributes technical products. A typical example is companies that manufacture or distribute electronic gadgets. Installation or usage issues would usually arise among customers. Therefore, a lot of customer support tasks are required. Consequently, the company’s budget could be over-stretched. The in-house employees may also be over-tasked. The core activities of the organization would be neglected eventually.
Therefore, outsourcing call center is a worthy decision for the type of company mentioned above, as well as other companies that handle bulk customer support services. An offshore call center can take over routine customer support calls on behalf of a company. Luckily, there are lots of oversea vendors undertaking call center services affordably and effectively. You can find both local vendors and large call centers spread across the ocean.
Tips for Successful Call Center Outsourcing
Generally, the success of any business function outsourcing is hinged largely on vendor selection process. Customers are the life-wire of any business – no customer, no business. Therefore, any business function that involves customer management should be handled delicately. Outsourcing call center shouldn’t be a hurried task, especially the vendor selection process.
Strategic plan is required in hiring a call center vendor. Analyze your company’s customer support needs extensively and choose a vendor based on the outlined needs. No doubts, low cost is highly essential when considering outsourcing. However, it should not be the major driving force when trying to select a vendor for your call center support. Consider other criteria such as the expertise required for the task, and the technology and facilities required for optimum result. You certainly would not want to lose your customers due to poor quality customer support.
So, take heed that you do not end up getting what you paid. On the other hand, if you will end up achieving the best customer support services at the lowest cost possible, you should definitely embrace the offer. However, you must be sure of the service quality beyond any doubt.
Also, success in outsourcing call center requires intensive supervision and monitoring throughout the contract’s life. There should be a well-structured performance measurement to gauge the progress of the contract, as well as the final outcome.
Daven Michaels is an award-winning outsourcer and author of the book, ‘Outsource This!’ Daven has been honored more than any other individual or outsourcing organization. You can get more information on outsourcing by visiting www.123Employee.com
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Virtually all organizational functions can be outsourced. An organization can achieve juicy benefits by hiring outsource services vendor. However, a company needs to analyze the office functions that would be most beneficial when outsourced. As you consider the office functions that can be outsourced, consider the benefits that follow as well. The benefits are the general reasons why organizations embark on outsourcing.
For a small office, it could be helpful to outsource secretarial functions such as confirming appointments, scheduling as well as making travel arrangements. These functions can be outsourced to someone in a different location or on-site. The present dispensation’s technology makes it people for people to work from any part of the world. Interestingly, a small office can share an outsourced secretary across two or more offices, especially when the distance between the offices is close.
Each business comes with its unique functions, and virtually all the functions can be outsourced.
The following office functions can be delegated to outsource services vendor;
Accounting/Financial Functions
There is outsourcing competition in this area. A lot of vendors provide accounting and financial functions, both offshore and in-country. The tasks performed by these outsourcing accountants include preparation of financial statements, payroll processing, general billing functions, and specialized services such as legal and medical billing.
Typing and Transcription
Typing/transcription is also handled by outsource services vendors. It is possible to dictate and send through e-mail, clerical work that requires conversion to written words in a stipulated format. Such clerical tasks can also be sent via regular mail. For instance, a legal organization can leverage the service of a specialized vendor for its legal notes that require conversion.
Customer Support
For a manufacturing or distribution company, support is one of the major issues, especially when the product is technical in nature. One of the effective solutions for support issues is to outsource routine customer support calls. This is usually known as call center outsourcing. By outsourcing a company’s call center, the in-house employees re-focus their attention to the pressing needs of the company. Call center vendors are available in different sizes that would fit the needs of every business. Offshore call center services is common and also effective.
Human Resource (HR)
Human resource functions require a lot of paper work. Therefore, a small company can benefit from outsourcing HR function since it usually has low hire rate. HR outsourcing also include general employees’ administration. Both small and large companies can outsource their human resource functions, especially when it is highly beneficial to do so.
Sales and Marketing
If you are not well knowledgeable in marketing, it is best to delegate this function to professionals. Sales is a sensitive business function, it is the core of a business that yields income. So, the best possible option should be employed in handling a company’s sale functions which include Ads and Campaigns, Public Relations as well as Telemarketing.
All these business functions and more can be handled by outsource services vendor, with lots of benefits to enjoy.
Daven Michaels is an award-winning outsourcer and author of the book, ‘Outsource This!’ Daven has been honored more than any other individual or outsourcing organization. You can get more information on outsourcing by visiting www.123Employee.com