Monday, June 22, 2009

Tips On How To Choose Outsourcing Providers

By Kristin Waldman

Lots of business in the modern market use techniques such as outsourcing providers to attend to easy projects for them. Outsourcing work is not needed by all companies, but it is a viable system for many companies, big or small. As all shrewd businessmen and women know time, resources and money are crucial factors for running a business well; and using outsourcing providers can help a company with all three.

Finding a reliable, efficient and more importantly cheap, outsourced provider is vital. If you find a provider and they have none of the above traits, then this could seriously affect your business. And of course the last thing you want to do is put your organization in any jeopardy. For example, say you outsource a call center; the last thing you want is for the call center metrics to be incompetently managed and for your business to lose revenue.

To find the best outsourcing providers out there, you have to do your homework. Take the time and effort to research as many different outsource companies as you can. Once you have done some investigations, make a list of the most suitable candidates for the position, based on what you know your business needs and wants to continue its success.

Once you have a list of outsourcing providers, you can then begin to make contact with them to gain more insight into the company. Cost is obviously a big factor, but you should also be interested in how the companies propose to complete the work in question for you. You should request a plan from them detailing how they aim to fulfil the targets that you have set for them. If the information you receive from the company is insufficient to your needs, then you can disregard that company and remove them from your list.

It really is essential that prospective partners are investigated completely. Be sure to ask them for good references or to see examples of work they have undertaken previously, to prove that they have the expertise in the niche you want. They need to be financially secure too.

Bear in mind that not all outsourcing providers are large businesses. You will find that some are individual freelancers or several providers working together on smaller tasks. It is a viable option to approach this type of provider, particularly if the work involved is on a smaller scale. It is likely that the charge for doing a minor project will be cheaper using an independent freelancer instead of a larger company.

As the cost of outsourcing is usually higher in our own backyard, many businesses look for partners on the other side of the world who charge less; this means that you have to consider the difference in time. It is an ineffective exercise to employ a provider elsewhere if it is unlikely that you can communicate information, such as a list of call center metrics, at an hour that is convenient to both parties.

On the topic of communication, this is also a major factor to consider when choosing candidates. Make sure all agreements about whether contact will be on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis, are laid out before any contracts are signed. With insufficient communication arrangements in place, a breakdown with the provider is inevitable.

If at all possible a face-to-face meeting with your chosen outsourcing provider is a good idea. This can help both companies to understand each others goal and strategies better, as well as making sure that the provider truly does have the skills and experience that your business needs.

About the Author:

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Really awesome post keep it up

Salman
www.tips4blogging.co.cc