The 8 most common challenges in an outsourcing project and how to overcome them

It is now very easy to outsource one or more tasks, nevertheless, it may happen that the company faces certain challenges. Here are easy solutions to implement so that the experience turns into a long-term partnership.

Why do modern companies choose outsourcing?

Once associated with offshoring, outsourcing has gained momentum. Now an integral part of the company’s business strategy, it allows it to increase its profitability, access a larger pool of workers, but also to gain efficiency, since the firm can finally focus on its core business and its main objectives.

Outsourcing is now a tool that can be used by all companies, from SMEs to large international firms. According to Statista, in 2019, the global outsourced services market was worth $92.5 billion.

Even so, the implementation of outsourcing can be messed up with some challenges that are perfectly avoidable. Here’s how:

The company’s lack of experience in outsourcing

Not all companies are naturally familiar with best practices, common concepts, workflow, etc involved in the outsourcing process. The company that has never had to pass on its vision to a third-party company that it is not acquainted with can complicate the task.

Always choose an experienced provider

An experienced service provider is always ready to support his clients throughout its outsourcing process. He accompanies them in defining their needs, calmly going through the discovery phase and building the best teams to achieve the expected results.

At ProContact, we have the experience you need, with several years of presence on the market and in the region. ProContact is an established name in the outsourcing sector! Our approach:

• A highly qualified and positive team able to ensure a customised follow-up of each operation;
• A demanding recruitment process;
• A dense and continuous training on incoming calls, outgoing calls, marketing, webmarketing;
• A motivating and human managerial management, supervisors who listen to employees and listen to you;
• An independent quality department with a single goal: customer satisfaction

The lack of expertise on the outsourced task

Companies often outsource tasks with low added value, but there is not enough talk about those who turn to outsourcing due to a lack of expertise on a particular task. By entrusting this task to outsourcing, the company is also not able to correctly assess the results of the work done.

Train your resources to fill the knowledge gap

If the company intends to outsource a task due to a lack of in-house skills, it can fill this gap by setting clear performance standards. This task can be entrusted to an in-house person, who can also take care of monitoring the work performed by the provider. If here too, the lack of human resources does not allow you to allocate a person to supervise the operation, at ProContact, our experience guarantees a constant workflow and concrete results.

An incorrect cost estimate

It is true that outsourcing makes it possible to streamline costs, nevertheless, the condition is that the company take the time to organise its outsourcing project. The calculation of a fairly accurate estimate of costs is carried out by establishing precise requirements, deadlines, resources, etc.

Establish clear requirements for the project

It may be difficult for the company to set exact requirements, nevertheless, it is quite relevant to take up the services of a specialised company to perform this task. Bilateral communication is essential so that each party understands the limits of the budget.

The choice of a credible and effective service provider

It is difficult to find a service provider that is large enough to adapt to the needs of its customers or that is small enough to offer a personalised approach at competitive prices.

Finding the right balance between the two types of providers

Take stock of the size of your company: its payroll, its growth potential, its revenues, its brand awareness, etc. If you are in your early stages, you should preferably turn to a service provider with a human dimension, able to adapt to your budget. Paradoxical as it may seem, do not opt for the cheapest provider, which risks having to deal with hidden costs and other unpleasant surprises.

The lack of cultural openness

Not all companies have the geographical reach to collaborate with other cultures. With diversity, innovation and long-term financial results involved, the beginnings can be destabilizing, or even, create errors and misunderstandings.

Find a service provider equipped to answer this problem

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

Contractual and legal processes

While the standardisation of processes is making its way in the outsourcing sector, we are not yet fully there. From one country to another, the formalities can be different and it can sometimes generate serious legal misunderstandings.

Show the utmost clarity and alertness

Your service provider will have to sign a confidentiality agreement with your company. Exchange as many times as necessary about the stages of the process, risks and safety. The contract must contain clauses relating to remuneration, working conditions, the responsibilities of the provider, information about the property and other relevant elements.

Knowledge transfer

Any wrong transfer of knowledge can lead to a malfunction in the partnership. Successful outsourcing requires clear documentation and transparent knowledge transfer procedures.

Create and always have at hand a clear and complete documentation

The knowledge transfer plan should be as detailed as possible, with the functionality, technology and logic of the code. This document should allow the provider to get into action quickly. Let’s add to this face-to-face or remote meetings and your human resources involved in the outsourcing project.

Communication problems

Communication is the key to successful outsourcing. Due to cultural differences, it is quite possible that communication is practically, or completely, non-existent.

Continuous communication

Calls, teams, video, meetings… today there are a plethora of methods for exchanging information 7/7 and 24/24.