There are a lot of reasons to outsource services for your business. You might be trying to save some money by downsizing your team, you might be looking to make your business more flexible and agile, you might even use it as a growth tool, freeing up resources you can use to expand. Regardless of what you’re outsourcing and why you’re doing it, however, choosing the right outsourcing partner is always going to be key. As such, here, we’re going to look at some ways you can narrow your options down to the partners that are most likely to suit your needs.
Make sure that they can be trusted
First of all, you should take the time to narrow down your options to a few potential partners. This is because you’re going to want to take the time to look at them a little more closely, what they offer, and how much their services suit your needs. However, you’re also going to want to look closer to take a look at their credentials and track record. Look at online review sites to make sure that their customers have good things to say about them, see if they have any industry recognition to speak off, and look for things like trust badges on their site.
Be specific in your needs
If you want to make sure that you get off the right foot with any outsourced service provider, then you’re going to need a clear idea of what you want from them and what goals they should help you meet. One of the best ways to do this is to write a scope of work document that breaks down, in detail, what your specific needs are, as well as which solutions they offer that might be the best fit for that. Your provider might want to talk to you about options they can use beyond what you might consider and it’s a good idea to listen to them, as they may have more experience in this field than you, but you should make sure that whatever you select, it sticks to your goals, avoiding unnecessary budget growth.
Ensure that they are investing in customer service
There is no outsourcing provider that isn’t going to promise you that they deliver excellent customer service. However, the reality is that some are going to fall way below the average in terms of customer satisfaction. However, there are metrics by which you actually find out how effectively they do what they say. Their net promoter score, which you can find out more about online, is an objective metric used to calculate how effective they can provide customer service. If they are unable or unwilling to provide their NPS, then it might be a sign you should look elsewhere, instead.
Consider going with industry-specific outsourcing partners
Aside from making sure that the company you choose is reliable and trustworthy, you also need to consider how well-suited they are to the specific needs of your business. How effectively can you communicate your goals and what you want to outsource? How well do they understand your market, customers, and general processes? If you are outsourcing any processes that have specific circumstances that your partners have to cater to, then you should learn more about industry-specific outsourcing, such as hiring an insurance process outsourcing service if you’re running an insurance company. Otherwise, it can take more work, as well as some trial and error, to help a more general provider deliver the services suited to your needs, which can undermine some of the benefits that they’re supposed to provide.
Ask about their stability
There are few business owners who want to admit that their company isn’t stable, but you shouldn’t stand on occasion. You want to make sure that you’re able to rely on them to stay open and operational enough to keep providing the services that you need, to make sure that you’re not left scrambling to cover if they close their doors overnight. You shouldn’t be embarrassed about asking for the proof that they’re able to commit in the long-term and any professional outsourcing service provider will understand that. You should also ask about their supply chain and downtime. You can tolerate some downtime, but you want to make sure that you get warned ahead of time when services might be interrupted.
Mind how you protect your data and processes
You want to make sure that any data you share, or any information on the working processes of your business is protected and that your new outsourcing partner doesn’t leak anything they shouldn’t. This isn’t just a matter of whether or not they’re trustworthy, but also whether or not you both put in place the practices that are designed to protect. You can learn more about confidentiality clauses in contracts, for instance, to have them sign them. If they’re accessing any valuable data, you can also make sure that they access it directly from your own server, rather than sending it wholesale to them, so you have controls over who accesses what, how they do it, and when they can do it.
Consider whether they’re a cultural fit
It might sound a little less important than whether or not they’re able to meet the practical needs of your business, but the cultural fit of any partner should be well considered. You want to make sure that any business you work with, especially in the long term, is aligned to the core values of your business, understands and respects your priorities, and is willing to work to meet them. If they don’t share any of your company cultures, then they may not be the right fit for a strategic partnership as they might have their own priorities that can clash with yours when push comes to shove.
What you outsource and how you do it is largely going to be dependent on the specifics of your business. However, you should always keep the above points in mind when you’re looking at the service providers out there.