Blog

How to Succeed with Business
Process Outsourcing Companies

Alex Mortman, Ann Piccirillo, Jeff Givens
July 19, 2022

Business process outsourcing companies can be exceptionally effective. Outsourcing solutions are being used to manage the effects of the Great Resignation. They can also free your resources to concentrate on the projects only those on the inside can do well. They can help your business take advantage of new opportunities and respond to increasing customer demands that could reduce your revenue if left unaddressed. They can help you to streamline your existing business processes to support your business in reaching new heights.

However, succeeding at working with business process outsourcing companies requires that your organization is prepared to take on the new partnership in a way that will support success. Here are the questions you need to ask yourself to determine if you are ready for this type of outsourcing.

Do You Have a Clear Understanding of the Problem You Want Solved?

After you have worked with an outsourcing partner for some time, you may be able to describe the outcome you are looking for and the partner will figure out how to make it happen. But when you first talk to business process outsourcing companies, you will need to be specific about the problem you need to solve. Ask yourself if the reason is one of the situations described above, or if there is a unique reason why you think an outsourcing partner can help.

Identify the tasks that are critical to get started immediately, and those that can be addressed with a lower priority. Be clear about the metrics you need to meet to consider the project a success. But at the same time, be flexible. Business process outsourcing companies may identify issues that you have yet to consider or come up with a different set of metrics that will get you to the same place but make managing the process more effective.

Are You Comfortable Giving Access to a Business Process Outsourcing Partner to Solve the Problem?

Your business process outsourcing partner will need to know everything there is to know about your issues, your operations, and your goals. Doing this type of deep dive into your challenges and opportunities will let the partner develop a solution that will bring you success. Make these deep dives a conversation where you share your perspectives of the issues and consider your partner’s perspectives.

Every organization, even those in the same industry, is different. Their problems may be similar, but the solution to them will always be unique because every organization has a different culture, a different way to get things done, different management personalities, and the list goes on. If you are clear about your problem, you will get the best results.

Sometimes a company will hesitate to let business process outsourcing companies see things the company is not proud of, and some members of management can grow suspicious about all the topics the partner wants to discuss with them. But that is why you are working with a partner in the first place. Your management team needs to be comfortable answering questions and letting the partner’s representatives drive those in-depth conversations.

Can your organization let go?

There is no doubt that business processing outsourcing companies will not do things the way they have always been done in your organization, and that can be stressful for some of your management and staff. That stress usually dissipates shortly after some impressive results are seen. But if you try to force your partner into your image, you have closed the window to a third-party perspective.

As you establish a healthy outsourcing culture, you must avoid the tendency to micromanage. Your partner’s staff may be working in your office, but they will be following their own processes and procedures. You can hold business process outsourcing companies accountable for results, but you can’t hold them to the same level of accountability as your own employees; you must give them the flexibility to achieve those results in their own way.

Good business process outsourcing companies will handle their own onboarding, and it will probably be much different than the experience you have in place for your own employees. Your job is to make sure that your partner has all the information they need to onboard their staff. This might include contact information for key employees, systems information, access to team communication tools, and more. But, after that, you will need to trust your partner to provide the onboarding experience that will make the project a success.

Will You Use Outsourcing as a Strategy for Managing the Great Resignation?

You may choose to work with business process outsourcing companies for a number of reasons. If you’ll use it as a way to manage the negative effects of the Great Resignation, the more information you have about that phenomenon, the better you’ll be prepared to take whatever steps are necessary to either stop the effects or avoid them altogether.

JDA TSG has created a guide to help you learn more, “Is It a Great Resignation or an Ongoing Transformation?” Download the free guide today to get the information you need to help your business avoid being hit by the Great Resignation.



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