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Article : Setting The Standard

Examine the business drivers behind outsourcing and you invariably arrive at improved bottom-line performance. For customer communications, the goal is usually slicker, more gainful interaction. Outsourcing this area of your business should give you access to specialists, flexible resource (human and technical) and a faster implementation. Usually, the overall cost will be lower than the in-house equivalent.

Seduced by this potential bottom-line gain – which is certainly attainable and has been by thousands of organisations – some companies fall foul of the process when seeking a partner. The consequences of the outsourcer failing to live up to its promises are disruptive, usually financially damaging to the client and its brand, a drain on management resource and, frankly, exasperating. Failure can be a result of sloppiness, poor cultural fit or simply lack of experience.

It is important from the outset to choose your partner carefully and agree a set of rules and standards by which each party plays. This is smoother if the two parties have a similar vision, company ethos and attitude to what has to be seen as a relationship rather than a contract.

BE ASSURED of the future-proofing of your outsource relationship. Even if the psyche is right, make sure that your chosen partner can grow with you.

BE REALISTIC: the level of service that your partner can give will depend on the level of resource you are willing to pay for. While outsourcers can often achieve 'a quart from a pint pot' compared with in-house operations, this will still not be enough if a gallon is needed!

BE AWARE of the consequences to your business of not providing excellent service – and the return on investment for providing it. The more sophisticated partner will be able to measure its effect on your business, and offer timely, rich insights into your customers' behaviour that allow you to react swiftly and appropriately.

Service level agreements (SLAs) are really the paper contracts detailing the operational objectives that result from the more strategic evaluation – but they are nevertheless vitally important.

There can be no blanket advice on setting and achieving SLAs because each service is different. One of the most common mistakes is to monitor the number of calls completed per agent hour. For many applications this is simply not appropriate, as quality is more important than speed.

What any company should look for is a meeting of minds on the important factors being monitored. While not all parties will necessarily agree on all points, it is important that the outsourcer relationship is based upon mutual respect and trust.

Ask the client's customers what is important to them – satisfaction monitoring about the communications process itself. You might be surprised! Ask whether, for example, they would prefer to be asked to hold or given the option of IVR for service or a callback. Using control groups, monitor this over time. It might put a different perspective on your SLAs.

Before you sign on the dotted line, make sure your service agreements address the following:

  • Detailed description of services to be performed: 'scope of work'

  • Detailed description of vendor resources that will be dedicated to your account

  • Transition team and process

  • Performance measurements

  • Performance standards and consequences/incentives for under/over-performing

  • Reporting requirements

  • Confidentiality, ownership of data

  • Clearly-defined escalation and dispute resolution processes

  • Emergency/contingency plans

Independent Help
If your company is considering outsourcing for the first time, or has been badly bitten before, you may consider professional guidance for the decision-making process, vendor selection and contract negotiation.

We have been party to this several times, most recently a multinational organisation whose previous call centre supplier had held the account for several years.

Although it was providing an adequate level of service, the price was spiralling. Historically, the agreement had neither detailed formal contracts nor clear statements on to the level of activity and appropriate charges. The relationship became strained and the supplier was making life difficult, attempting to hold the client to ransom over the long-established 0800 number, which it owned.

The company approached an outsourcing consultancy, CM Insight, and explored the choices they had and the potential ways forward. They were able to get an expert appraisal of the situation, run a 'sanity check' on their own views on what was or was not acceptable business practice in the marketplace and compare value for money.

The arrangement was based on risk and reward, included a discounted, fixed-price contract for selecting a supplier and a share in the expected cost savings of the new contract over the outgoing supplier.

By tying the consultancy into the long-term success of the appointment, there was no advantage in selecting the cheapest supplier, rather one that represented the best fit and the best value. Following a robust, competency-based scoring matrix, the new partner was selected.

Once a selection process is completed, the consultancy can be retained to assist both parties through the transition. This may include helping to set the client's expectations as to what is and what is not reasonable to expect.

Bow Tie
Whether via a consultancy or directly, and certainly if the programme is complex, it is wise to ensure that several individuals from your organisation, from different touch-point departments, meet with representatives from the outsourcer, again from different disciplines. This helps to eliminate any misunderstandings and offers a broader spectrum of experience.

People from your organisation might include marketing, customer service, communications centre managers and IT staff, and from the outsourcer might include account managers, IT staff, operational representatives, data professionals and the person with overall responsibility for the success of the programme.

Think of each party as an equilateral triangle and bring the touch-points together as a diamond rather than a bow-tie.


Today's Tip of the Day - Keep Cost In Perspective

Read today's tip or listen to it on podcast.

More Editorial From iSKY

Published: Wednesday, November 13, 2002

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