Research & Insight

Articles

Ten Pitfalls in Outsourcing Transitions

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

There’s no shortage of methodologies and advisories on best practices and risk mitigation strategies for the transition phase of outsourcing relationships. Even so, many buyers encounter situations they didn’t foresee when structuring their arrangement, which cause costs to rise and delay time to value. Outsourcing Center studied these types of situations by surveying companies nominated …

Assessing Cultural Fit during the RFP Process – "No-Divorce" Outsourcing

Linda Tuck Chapman, President, ONTALA Performance Solutions Ltd.

A good cultural fit is one of the most important hallmarks between a successful and unsuccessful outsourcing relationship. Cultural fit assessment during the RFP process is far less structured than defined processes that help you quantitatively evaluate the service provider’s solution, capabilities and pricing. To decide whether your company and the service provider will have …

Level of Trust Impacts Effectiveness of Outsourcing Communication

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

Ask 10 buyers of outsourcing services for their keys to success in communicating with their service providers, and you’ll hear 10 different answers because, of course, the effectiveness of outsourcing communication depends on the individuals involved. Some will also say it depends on whether they’re communicating about day-to-day operations, conflicts or opportunities. Others will comment …

Seven Examples of Resolving Financial Conflicts between Buyers and Providers of Outsourced Services

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

At the point where outsourcing service providers or their customers have financial conflicts that will result in a monetary loss to either party, they’re walking a fine line. If they manage to resolve the issue with a mutually beneficial solution, their relationship will be even stronger than before the conflict. If not, the party that …

Outsourcing Service Providers Craft FAO Offerings for the Midmarket Keen on Cost Savings

Outsourcing Center, Bruce McCracken, Business Writer

Improving Processes, Going Offshore Best Ways to Reduce G&A Costs Outsourcing service providers servicing midmarket companies (defined here as companies with $1billion to $3 billion in annual revenues) face challenges that differ from working with large corporate buyers. How do they provide the same type of services as they do for enterprises and stay profitable, …

Action Plans for Managing Attrition in an Outsourcing Service Provider’s Resources

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

Change sometimes brings unintended consequences. When outsourcing relationships several years ago took on the characteristic of delivering services from one or more offshore locations, an unintended consequence was “talent wars” and attrition. Not managing attrition among a provider’s ranks leads to unsatisfactory service delivery and higher costs. How can the parties manage this dilemma? Should …

What Happens When the Outsourcing Business Case Stops Working?

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

Organizations that turn to outsourcing to achieve their business objectives first develop a business case that includes such components as cost savings and avoidance objectives, business value benefits, and risk assessment of potential negative impacts. But what happens when the initial business case stops working because of unanticipated impacts? Both a Deloitte Consulting study and …

Lawyer Lists Five Ways RPO Can Minimize Risk and Liability

Michael Marino, HR Consultant

For most companies, the desire to reduce costs or improve efficiencies (or more likely, both) drives the decision to explore Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) options. However, cost and efficacy issues aside, risk management is one of the most important (and perhaps least understood) value-adds of the RPO arrangement, especially when the definition of risk includes …

Procurement Outsourcing Is Hot — Even for Hybrid Strategies

Linda Tuck Chapman, President, ONTALA Performance Solutions Ltd.

Procurement outsourcing is the least understood but fastest-growing outsourcing story. The market is heating up and there is a lot to learn. What should you outsource? What should you retain — and why? If you decide to outsource, what should you do internally before outsourcing? How can you implement a hybrid strategy in your procurement …

Leveraging Agile’s Skills to Create Successful ADM Outsourcing

Brandi Moore, Business Writer

Jim Chiang, CEO of NeoContext, an Agile consultancy, says, “One of the biggest hurdles in outsourcing is getting over the collaboration hump. It’s too easy to put together a project plan and send it over the fence for implementation. We all know this is a preferred strategy, but it doesn’t work.” So how do applications …

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