Choosing the right supplier to outsource successfully

Outsourcing is the most accessible and the most concrete way to stimulate the growth of your business. In order to achieve this result, it is essential to choose the right provider, because this will allow the company to position itself favourably in a merciless and competitive economy that is open to the whole world.

If you are thinking about outsourcing one or more services, here are the essential factors to consider before making a final decision.

The importance of the roadmap

The first step is to write a roadmap that is clear and comprehensive enough to set out your business needs, expectations and goals. Just start by asking yourself two questions to which you can easily find the answers. These are:

• What are your exact needs?
• What is the most likely answer to those?

By answering these two questions, you will begin a journey towards an increasingly comprehensive document that will become a solid roadmap. The goal is to meet your needs in order to achieve your company’s business objectives.

Outsourcing is a process that takes time and human resources and most importantly, it is a solution used to achieve a specific goal. Since you know your business at your fingertips, it is important to write down everything you know, so that your provider can be on the same page as you are and this should be done in a timely manner.

More simply, it is not a question of delegating your services with vague explanations, chosen at random between two files, but of an elaborate and thoughtful process which is above all participatory. To sum up: in order to achieve the best possible results, you need to be accurate about your goal.

Choosing an expert service provider

Once the roadmap is established, it is time to choose your provider. To do this, start by selecting the ones that seem best suited to meet your needs and then assess each one of them based on the following factors:

• Expertise,
• The whole set of skills,
• Its use of the latest technologies,
• Experience in resolving complex cases and
• Interest in your outsourcing project.

The crucial importance of the provider’s expertise

The provider’s expertise may seem like a trifle matter, but it is the key to successful outsourcing. It is therefore highly advisable to turn to an outsourcing company capable of juggling several areas of expertise (human resources, satisfaction survey to assess the quality of your services, remote secretary services, teleprospection, telemarketing and others) rather than a company specialising in a single field. To summarise this part: the more your provider can multitask, the more likely your company will be able to achieve the expected results!

The reputation of the outsourcing provider

Quality. This is probably the “factor” which any company relies on nowadays and it also concerns, even more so, the outsourcing provider! When it comes to quality, no compromise is acceptable. So among the essential missions during the recruitment phase of an outsourcing company, one of the priorities should be the verification of its reputation with regards to respect of deadlines, training programs, crisis management and others.

To do this, you will find information on the net, but also from old customers and even from current customers. The idea is to be fully convinced by the selected supplier about his good reputation in the market, his ability to align himself with your business objectives and to respect deadlines.

A budget that is clear and written in black and white

For an effective, transparent, productive and cordial partnership, it is important to consider the cost of your outsourcing project, a factor that is too often neglected. In the event of a breach of this precept, the consequences can range from a bad relationship with the provider to a complete breakdown of your outsourcing project.

Before approaching any provider, you must set up the budget that your company is able to invest in this project and to communicate clearly about it with the outsourcing company that interests you.

Data and intellectual property protection

As we live in an extraordinary digital age, data privacy and security are the two most important concerns of businesses. As part of an outsourcing project, it is only natural to share sensitive business information with your provider. However, the latter must be perfectly capable of protecting this data and this must be stipulated in writing, for example, through the signing of a confidentiality agreement. If data protection is a crucial element for the viability of your company, why not turn to another provider specialised in network and security auditing?

An outsourcing provider that is able to adapt to your customers!

The current market being what it is, it is important for your company to respond quickly and effectively to your customers’ needs which are constantly changing. To do this, choose a provider who can work closely with your company.

A flexible outsourcing provider

Flexibility is another determining factor in the choice of an outsourcing provider, so that he already knows how to respond to any urgent requirement or problem. Flexibility is a critical element in offshore outsourcing!

To conclude

Outsourcing is the perfect solution to boost the growth and efficiency of your business. As such, by carefully choosing your provider, you will manage to stay on course while developing your company. Offshore outsourcing is the answer to many problems, be it in terms of skills, schedules, training management, to name but a few success factors.