Top 3 Common Outsource Planning Problems Answered

What are the common outsource planning problems that businesses encounter and how to solve them?

Strategy is crucial for efficient outsourcing. One of the most important outsourcing issues is to have a clear-cut understanding of how an outsourced project fits into a company’s overall strategic goals. What is the best way to use outsourcing to your benefit and avoid the pitfalls and challenges that go along with having a plan?

Let’s dig deep and have a closer look.

Find answers to the common questions – Why am I outsourcing? Is it worth it? Think about the bigger picture.

Will outsourcing be aligned with your overall business goals? Substantial benefits such as cost savings, increased efficiency and improved focus on core business activities are only some of the many reasons why companies and business owners dive into outsourcing engagements.

An in-depth discussion with your key stakeholders and the team that will be managing your outsourcing operations will surely be beneficial. Weigh in on both the pros and cons and see to it that the benefits outweigh the risks.

Also define the functions you want to outsource and set specific goals as simple as ‘to reduce business cost by three percent’. These will go a long way over time.

What is covered by whom? Who is working on what?

There will be times of confusion between teams about what their roles are or what to expect in certain business arrangements.

As with every employee-employer or customer-client relationships, setting expectations and defining roles and boundaries have been proven to be very effective. It is always best to outline requirements, guidelines, terms and services through proper documentation.

These definitions will change over time so it’s important to periodically revisit goals and expectations across the board. Look back and revisit the reasons why you are outsourcing in the first place – be it for short-term, mid or long term.

Short-term vs long-term – what is your end-game

An outsourcing arrangement can either be “tactical” or “strategic”. It is tactical when used by companies to solve a specific problem with obvious objectives like cost savings, cost reductions or a net gain in operational efficiency. On the other hand, strategic outsourcing is used by companies who seek partnerships with long-term business strategies in mind.

Either way, it’s important that business owners make a firm stand on the kind of relationship they would like to have with their BPO service providers as well as to where they would like to take their businesses. That all depends on their business or project requirements, be it needing a tactical and dedicated outsourced team or an added value in the form of a strategic business partner.