Outsourcing part of a company’s non-core business means making a pact with the devil for some managers, as the potential loss of operational control seems to represent an existential crisis.
It’s interesting to note that these same company leaders can have certain parts or parts of installations or products produced on the other side of the world, but are incapable of trusting their neighbours…
Let’s be clear from the outset: outsourcing services doesn’t solve all problems, but it often enables us to better anticipate, manage and channel them. And if you haven’t done the initial optimization work yourself, it won’t be the external service providers who do it for you.
Outsourcing requires a subtle approach and a medium-term vision. It also calls for a relationship of trust, with partnership as the motto: when signing an outsourcing contract, both parties need to be winners, otherwise recurring problems will arise over time.
Outsourcing services requires intense, structured preparatory work, at least when drawing up the first generation of contracts. You must “think the unthinkable”, and know where you want to put the cursor in terms of volumes, quality, schedules, organization, delegation of skills, etc. In other words, outsourcing a service requires a great deal of preparation. Said differently, outsourcing services is not something you can improvise, even for services that may seem extremely simple to carry out…
When it comes to outsourcing services, some bosses are at a loss, and rightly so: you need to be able to draw on the knowledge of people - internal or external - who have sufficient expertise, but who are not parties to the contract! So, with the best will in the world, the future service providers cannot be the advisors: it’s unnatural, ethically speaking.
Before taking any action, company managers should ask themselves (at the very least) the following questions:
• What are the objectives of outsourcing: skills and training, financial aspects, risk delegation, critical mass, etc.?
• How much outsourcing is desirable, and do we want to work step-by-step? one or more departments.
• If not, what are we doing about it? financial tools, IT, organization.
• Do we have the right knowledge and tools to prepare for outsourcing? expert opinions, key figures, etc.
• Will we be able to trust external service providers who will operate on our “territory”?
• What kind of service provider do we want: a global service provider or several, working with “locals”?
As you can see, the company needs to ask itself the right questions before even contacting a service provider. It’s important to stress that there are no right or wrong answers, but you need to be perfectly clear about what you want to achieve and what steps you need to take.
Finally, outsourcing provides a new dynamic, and communication on this subject is essential to ensure that everyone is aware of the ins and outs of such an approach.
Happy reading and see you soon.