Outsourcing: how to measure the performance of a service provider?

By choosing outsourcing, the company wishes to obtain clear and determined objectives thanks to the building of a business case, a build-up of its economic model. It must therefore measure the work done in order to adjust, if necessary, the collaboration with its outsourcing provider. Forbes gives 12 tips proposed by professionals to consider and apply if you have opted to outsource one or more of your businesses.

Compare the quality of the promised service to the one provided

For Sunrun’s Stephanie Roberts, there may be discrepancies between claims and actions, but to what extent? A good outsourcing provider must meet demands and deliver what was promised. The Objectives and Key Results (OKR) method is generally applied. This is a management approach used to define and track objectives and results. Any shortcomings on the provider’s side will have repercussions on the results expected by the client!

Speed related to execution of tasks

Monitoring the speed at which tasks are executed should be a reflex for the company, whether it is with regards to its internal or external teams. For Ryan Chan, UpKeep Maintenance Management, this monitoring can quickly become ineffective due to a lack of communication. This audit is therefore also an opportunity to bridge the communication gap and empower the entire team.

Applying consistent measures

Tarek Alaruri of Fairmarkit explains that in the context of outsourcing, when an external team is added to the internal one, both parties need to grow and be evaluated consistently. Are the results delivered on time and of the expected quality? Are all planned unit tests and quality assurance processes being carried out satisfactorily? Does each team communicate effectively with stakeholders involved?

The right steps at the right time

It takes time to find the right outsourcing provider. It is up to the requesting company to execute and manage this project. For a consistent and realistic implementation, it is important to set appropriate milestones and deadlines to measure the progress of the partnership. Alexandro Pando of Xyrupt Technologies advises starting the first step of the outsourcing project on a small scale and then evaluating the collaboration.

Smooth collaboration from the start

Kunai’s Kishan Patel says that when a company is looking for external talent, they naturally need time to immerse themselves in the company context. They also need time to put the right strategy in place to serve their client. The client should take advantage of this period of adaptation to judge the quality of an external partner’s work, its ability to grasp the context and to become productive quickly. Underestimating the time needed to get up to speed is a mistake that should not be made!

The importance of daily meetings

Nacho De Marco of BairesDev discusses the importance of daily meetings in outsourcing. Through these meetings, teams can prioritise and allocate tasks, in line with established delivery schedules. During each work period, the workload is adjusted accordingly; it is reviewed and corrected based on client feedback. This methodology allows teams and clients to better manage the ongoing project, ensuring efficient and fully optimised results.

Risk calculation

Outsourcing may be a quick and easy solution, but let’s face it: it adds a layer of complexity to any project, as Christopher Yang of Corporate Travel Management reminds us. When aspects of a project are out of control or likely to be out of control, risk management becomes extremely important. Risk analysis is therefore a tool to be leveraged and reviewed periodically so that companies can proactively measure the rate of decline in risk exposure over time and apply appropriate mitigation strategies where necessary.

Clear and transparent communication

Marc Fischer of Dogtown Media LLC advises that a good relationship is built by setting clear expectations for success and having a point of contact from the company’s side that communicates frequently with the outsourced team. Progress of tasks, adherence to deadlines, budget, specifications… many critical points depend on clear and transparent communication in an outsourced project.

A detailed definition of the expected quality

What quality will my brand have if I outsource one or more tasks? Sujeeth Kanuganti of Aira Tech Corp explains that this is a legitimate question. Indeed, when it is in-house, the work is tightly managed. This results in better quality, with fewer defects and production problems. Outsourcing means that the company loses visibility on certain aspects of its product. Metrics should be analysed and compared between the internal and external team to measure results and define a solid and reliable specification sheet.

Contact us for more information!

Want to know more? Outsourcing is our business! At ProContact, we work closely with you to include this solution in your business strategy. We offer an unprecedented adaptation of your way of working thanks to the arrival of resources located elsewhere, without losing time, money or quality.

ProContact is more than a contact centre. Thanks to trained, qualified, handpicked and multilingual agents, we enable companies that choose us to gain credibility and above all to satisfy their customers, regardless of the situation, and in complete transparency.

Outsourcing has become a tangible and concrete business strategy for the development of the company. To find out more about our services or for a quality partnership, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 77 75 04 50.

Source of this article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2019/06/21/12-tips-for-measuring-the-performance-of-your-outsourced-tech-developers/?sh=2272f087709b