AVOID CHAOS & DISRUPTION BY HIRING AN OUTSOURCING TRANSITION MAESTRO

Why Project Management Makes or Breaks an Outsourcing Engagement

What is Expert Outsourcing Management?

Expert outsourcing management is the knowledge and experience of a top business process outsourcing (BPO) provider to design the ideal solution and implementation/transition plan for each client – with minimal disruption of client operations

The success of an outsourcing project often comes down to one role: the project manager overseeing the transition.

A strong PM determines whether your switch from in-house to outsourced is smooth or disruptive. Here’s what good outsourcing project management actually looks like.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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The Free* Outsourcing Evaluation Consultation

When you contact a BPO firm to inquire about services for your organization, you should expect to speak with an outsourcing management expert from the start.

Even if they are located offshore from your location, they should communicate with you in clear, fluent English.

Typically, they will ask you several questions to quickly learn about your business and the processes you want to (or should) outsource.

If they are a full-service BPO like LOGIN SERVICES™, they should be able to handle any business process you need to outsource.

If you are satisfied with their initial presentation, request a quote; they may create the quote based on the information you have given them, or you can require them to complete a formal request for proposal (RFP).

To learn about interviewing and selecting the right BPO for your company, click here.

The following eight steps give you a good overview of the outsourcing process – from first contact to implementing your outsourcing plan with ongoing service and support from your BPO.

*The evaluation consultation is provided at no charge by most BPO providers

STEP 1: Conduct a Business Case Analysis

To make an informed decision about your outsourcing needs, you should complete a Business Case Analysis (BCA).

This may be either an informal assessment or a full-blown BCA presentation – depending on your organizational practices.

Either way, it should include the components described in the sections below.

Describe Your Operational Challenges

Make a list of the issues that involve administrative functions and may be stifling your business growth, reducing organizational productivity, and/or interfere with customer service and retention.

Examples may include:

Need to control labor, workspace, and equipment costs
Chronic unplanned employee absences
Global pandemic
Worker shortage
New strategic initiative that will temporarily increase workloads
One-time special projects
Readily available workforce scalability to manage growth
Coverage for administrative staff scheduled for intensive training

When you have listed the most important concerns, summarize your issues and describe the urgency for making changes.

Outline How Outsourcing Can Reduce Your Challenges

Describe the ways that outsourcing can reduce or resolve the operational challenges you have listed.

This may include:

Workforce reduction
Reallocation of of in-house staff for work that requires institutional knowledge
Short-notice coverage for unplanned worker call-outs
Decrease amount of leased office space, furnishings, and utility costs
Reduction in office equipment repair and/or replacement contracts
Eliminate salary, benefits, and other labor costs by paying a low flat rate
Decrease managerial time, freeing your leadership team to innovate
Ability to focus in-house staff on training and implementation of new initiatives
Completion of special, one-time projects without impacting daily operations

Identify Administrative Processes Suitable for Outsourcing

How do you determine the processes to turn over to your BPO company? Here are some things to consider: 1. Where do you have the most staffing issues? 2. Are the tasks completed in the identified section(s) or department(s) repetitive and common to most organizations, in most industries? 3. Can these tasks be carried out by clerical workers rather than highly specialized/qualified personnel? 4. Is is critical to have the work done during normal business hours, or could an offshore BPO handle it during their daytime/your nighttime? 5. Can the work be done remotely by exchanging digital files through secure apps and platforms? 6. If you outsource the work, what benefits may be gained by reassigning the existing workers in your organization to more important activities? 7. Of the processes identified, do you need continuous, ongoing services from your BPO or will you require services as needed to cover for employee absences or to complete special projects?

Draft Your Project Goals, Objectives, & Timelines

Once you have looked at your challenges and possible solutions through outsourcing, it is time to put your requirements and expectations in writing. Here are some things to consider:

1. What do you expect from this outsourcing project?

2. If you want to accomplish your objectives in phases, what is each step?

3. Are there regulatory requirements that dictate the project outcome?

4. Do any laws or regulations establish rigid completion dates?

5. Are there any internal or local events – such as a regulatory inspection, retreat, or community fundraiser – that should be considered when establishing milestone deadlines?

When establishing timelines, break the project down into manageable steps. Experts from your BPO-candidate companies can help you with this as part of the outsourcing evaluation consultation.

Financial Analysis - Current vs. Outsourcing

Generate or request reporting of your internal data for at least the last full calendar year plus year-to-date for the current year.

Conduct a financial analysis that shows:

Cost comparisons with and without outsourcing
Return on investment (ROI) for outsourcing
Affordability in the proposed time frame
Risks and benefits of outsourcing – financial and operational
What-if scenarios for each department/function to be outsourced
Financial comparison of your shortlist of BPO providers, if more than one

Make your final recommendations based on the financial analysis. This should include processes to be outsourced, the proposed net change in in-house labor costs compared to outsourcing fees, risks and benefits, and the BPO provider recommended for sourcing the outsourcing labor.

Business Data Analytics Consulting for Decision Support

Your decisions about outsourcing for your organization must be based on sound, reliable data. Otherwise, you may end up with the GIGO phenomenon – “Garbage In, Garbage Out”.

If it is not practical for you to produce accurate, reliable information in-house, ask your top-choice BPO to provide Business Data Analytics (BDA) consulting to guide you through this process. Paying a relatively low consulting fee can save you a lot of money down the road.

Not only will you get the data analysis you need, but you will also have the opportunity to see your top BPO firm at work on a consulting contract before signing an outsourcing agreement.

Make sure the firm you approach is experienced with BDA consulting and that it offers short, one-time consulting contracts independent of contracts for outsourcing services.

STEP 2: Size Up the Potential Impact on Your Organization

Create a list of the ways your outsourcing initiative may impact your organization and begin plans to address them.

Your top candidate for BPO provider should be able to assist you. After all, the impact on your organization will have the reverse effect on the BPO provider i.e. if you reduce your workforce, your BPO may need to increase theirs.

The BPO must scale their operation to meet your needs in terms of:

Workload size
Seasonal variations
Number of workers needed to handle your project
Workspace and equipment they must provide for their workers
Hiring additional workers, if needed, and onboarding/training
Assigning dedicated workers to your project
Orientation and specialized training so your BPO workers can learn your business and understand specific processes to be followed for your work

Service Volume Analysis

This is a simple step if you have reliable historical data available; if not, consider a BDA consultation – if you have not yet done so.

Break down the volume of work currently being completed by your in-house staff into daily, weekly, and monthly averages, as well as the average number of workers who complete the work.

Relevant Cyclical Trends

Whether you are a retailer or a real estate agent, manufacturer or healthcare provider, seasons of the year and global, national, and local holidays and special events can affect your workload.

Retailers and manufacturers generally see a sizable increase in sales around gift-giving holidays, while real estate agents see a marked decrease in activity.

Medical providers often see a shift away from scheduled appointments around holidays to an uptick in emergency room visits, but they may also experience a drastic increase in scheduled appointments toward the end of the calendar year.

Workforce Changes

How many of your in-house workers will be made redundant when outsourcing is implemented?

Write out a plan of how you will handle these employees – whether you will reduce staff or reassign workers to other parts of the organization.

Changes in Use of Automated Systems

Think of the computer systems currently used to complete the work you are going to outsource. Will you give the BPO company access to your systems to carry out tasks exactly the same way your in-house staff do now?

For reasons of data security, you may decide to exchange work requests and completed work through a secure portal rather than giving the BPO the keys to your digital kingdom.

Top BPOs are rigorous about internet and database security and risk reduction, but you may opt for the use of a third party file-sharing platform such as Google Drive or Dropbox, and have someone in-house do the actual data validation and database updates.

Implications for Other Resources

Think about all of the things you will not need if you reduce staff in-house. Consider such infrastructure items as parking, paid vacations and coverage for absences, office space, equipment, and furnishings, and risk reduction through decreasing the number of people you employ.

Make a list of these items and start planning any necessary action items, such as notifying your risk manager, ending office leases or repurposing the space, and streamlining HR services for your remaining employees.

STEP 3: Your Custom Outsourcing Solution Design

Sit back and relax – this step will be completed by the BPO(s) you are considering and described in their contract proposal(s).

Your involvement: Answering any questions that arise, so each BPO can give you the best solution for your organization’s unique needs.

Combine Business & IT Perspectives

BPOs will look at your project from the standpoint of seamlessly performing your work within the operational framework of your business, and theirs.

Great BPOs will also look at all of the current and potential automation needs to perform the work securely and accurately, and build the best IT-related services into the solution.

Itemize the Service Delivery Plan to Meet Your Requirements

You should expect each BPO proposal to contain a thorough listing of the services to be provided. Detailed notes should be included that describe the processes that are and are not included in the proposal.

They will also likely give you a quick list of additional services you may wish to consider now or in the future.

Assign Your Outsourcing Management Expert - Project Manager

Top BPO companies will assign your dedicated project manager at some point in the process.

This outsourcing management expert should be involved from the beginning, and fully knowledgeable about your firm’s unique characteristics and the components of your proposed outsourcing project.

You may be introduced to them right away when you first make contact with the BPO, but you should definitely meet them before the contract is signed.

For a discussion of the role of the project manager in the delivery of various BPO processes, browse our outsourcing services articles and look for the “project manager” section.

STEP 4: Finalize & Sign the Contract

When you have reviewed the proposals you have received and chosen the best BPO for your organization, it is time to sign and execute the contract.

Once this is complete, the real work begins for your BPO provider.

STEP 5: Detailed Outsourcing Management Transition Plan

Soon after the contract is signed, your BPO should send you an implementation plan. Your project manager/outsourcing management expert will go over the plan with you and – with your input – finalize the transition plan.

Map Processes to be Outsourced

A top BPO will document the expected outcomes for each of your deliverables in detail.

Typical process maps include frequency of the work, turnaround times, daily deadlines and other unique characteristics of the project, and procedures for handling workload fluctuations.

The process map should also include appropriate metrics to be monitored and analytics reporting the BPO will use to optimize your project.

Identify & Order Critical Steps to be Taken - Milestones

Your implementation plan will include a list of important events during the transition process. These activities should be broken into small milestones.

For example, instead of having a due date for “Milestone 4: Assign, orient, and train BPO workers for your project”, the milestones for staffing may look like this:

Milestone 4: Introduce each proposed worker for client approval
Milestone 5: Assign the dedicated BPO workers to the project
Milestone 6: Hire and train additional BPO staff if needed
Milestone 7: Orient BPO workers to client organization and expectations
Milestone 8: Train BPO workers in all aspects of service delivery as required by client

Many of the implementation steps will be driven and/or completed by the BPO, but you – as the client – should expect regular updates and close contact throughout the process.

Determine Target Date for Go-Live

Scheduling the final implementation and go-live for your project is critical.

The day your BPO takes over your processes completely and your outsourcing project goes live should be chosen with care and scheduled.

Schedule Milestones to Avoid Conflict with Other Initiatives

For most companies, there are a lot of key projects and initiatives going on at any given time. The trick is to schedule interim milestone due dates to coincide with your company’s major events.

Your project manager will work with you to be sure an important step in the outsourcing management process does not happen on the same day your senior leadership goes on a management retreat, or the same week you have open house events for customers and suppliers.

STEP 6: Your Outsourcing Project Rollout

This is the tricky bit – pulling together all of the components of your project to make one coordinated system.

Select & Train Dedicated BPO Workers

If needed, your BPO will staff up be sure they can provide workers without interruption.

Top BPOs allow you to conduct remote interviews with the BPO workers assigned to your project, and approve/reject each team member.

Your BPO will need the following information to thoroughly train your project team:

NDAs to be signed, if you require them
Specific policies and procedures to be followed as they complete your work
Any unique aspects of software you require them to use to complete your tasks
Any other information that your dedicated BPO workers need to perform the tasks

Once the BPO has this information, they will orient and train their workers by the deadline.

Access, Set Up, & Test Required Software & Systems

Your BPO will conduct all IT activities necessary to have the systems in place to receive information from you and to return completed deliverables.

If they will log into your existing system, they will get the necessary login credentials and do all of the set up and testing to be sure they are ready for the go-live date.

Ramp Up Services Using Parallel Processing

Top BPOs will encourage you to run parallel systems: Your in-house staff complete the tasks as usual, while the BPO staff complete the same tasks.

Complete Testing & Final Optimization of Services

By beginning to provide services ahead of the go-live date, the BPO can test all of the systems and personnel training to be sure your project can hit the ground running – with reliable, accurate processing.

During the testing period, the BPO may suggest slight changes in the way your outsourced functions are handled to optimize the success of your project.

Go-Live: End Parallel Processing

When you and your BPO are satisfied that all systems are in place and tested, your project is ready to go live.

Your BPO will take over the outsourced processes completely on go-live day, and provide all of the contracted services.

Sign-Off Meeting to Complete Implementation Phase

A few days after go-live, a meeting will be scheduled with you by your project manager to sign off on the implementation and begin full service delivery.

STEP 7: Begin Ongoing Service & Project Optimization

When the implementation is complete, your BPO will conduct ongoing quality control testing, performance monitoring, and process improvement activities.

Your project manager will give you periodic status reports, and recommend tweaks to the process where appropriate.

These activities help the BPO ensure that they provide the best possible service, with the best possible quality outcomes.

Hire the Best Outsourcing Management Expert for Your Organization

Every organization and its needs are different, and every BPO is different. The secret to success is the quality of the BPO you select.

Before you choose a BPO, find out who they serve and what their customers say.

For a step-by-step guide to choosing the right BPO, download our white paper.

With over 15 years of full-service outsourcing experience, our founders are happy to answer any questions you have.

Murthy and Suresh can show you the value and opportunity that come with expert outsourcing management and support you can expect from LOGIN SERVICES™, and they would be happy to brainstorm with you about your current needs and future plans.