Research & Insight

Research & Insight

relationship management

Outsourcing Experts Discuss New Flexible Pricing Models

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

Outsourcing Center assembled a panel of industry experts to discuss the changes in outsourcing contracts and pricing models over the next two to five years. Their insights reveal buyers and providers will approach outsourcing initiatives differently than in the past. Q. Outsourcing pricing models and contract vehicles have evolved over the past few years. How …

100 Lessons Learned – Mistakes and Successes of Outsourcing Buyers

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

As GE’s Jack Welch states, mistakes can often be as good a teacher as success. In studying outsourcing relationships through Outsourcing Center’s annual Outsourcing Excellence Awards program since 1996, Outsourcing Center has aggregated and analyzed the lessons learned – mistakes and successes – by hundreds of buyers and providers of outsourcing services. These lessons learned …

Seven Action Areas to Strengthen an Outsourcing Relationship

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

An outsourcing provider’s quality of services and the achievement of the agreed-upon mutually beneficial objectives are essential to success. But there are additional actions that service providers and buyers can take to boost the return on investment and increase the life expectancy of their relationships, that is, strengthen outsourcing relationships. To identify these relationship-strengthening actions, …

What do Buyers of Outsourcing Services Need to Understand about Diversity Management?

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

Organizations are recognizing that diversity management in outsourcing makes a measurable difference in the potential return on investment (ROI). The diversity issue extends beyond a differing culture where offshore resources are involved. And it goes beyond ensuring that an organization employs a workforce of multiple races and ethnicities. In outsourcing, managing diversity focuses on getting …

Advice for Outsourcing Buyers in Setting Expectations Around Future Service

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

“What was horrible about our outsourcing relationship in the beginning is that our expectations were unclear. That’s a horrible formula for success.” The person stating this assessment described a troubled – but remediated and turned-around – relationship that Outsourcing Center studied in its annual Outsourcing Excellence and Sourcing Awards program. It led to this post …

Four Tips for Effective Management of the Outsourcing Transition

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

The possible perils that can impact the success of an outsourcing relationship‘s transition phase are well known. These days, most buyers are as aware as service providers of the need for a robust governance framework that facilitates the parties’ identification of challenges and working collaboratively to address them quickly. Most have also read tales of …

When is an SLA Not Necessary in an Outsourcing Relationship?

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

A service level agreement (SLA) plays two important roles in an outsourcing arrangement. It sets the stage for the service provider’s accountability, and it is the major factor in determining the price of the service. The buyer of outsourced services can achieve a comfort level that it’s getting what it pays for if it regularly …

Combating the “Hidden” Costs of Managing Outsourcing

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

Industry media, especially over the past two years, often points out that a significantly high number of outsourcing arrangements do not deliver the promised cost savings due to “hidden” costs associated with managing the relationship. This is especially true, the reports state, in outsourcing relationships with an offshore delivery component, where administrative costs increase due …

Good Governance, By Design

Linda Tuck Chapman, President, ONTALA Performance Solutions Ltd.

The biggest challenge with service provider governance is designing a good program that minimizes the increased workload of already-stretched resources. Linda Tuck Chapman shares how to design and deploy a governance program that focuses on service provider performance and risk management.

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