Managing and Controlling Outsourcing Risks: Things You Need To Know To Avoid Disasters and Failures
Managing and Controlling Outsourcing Risks: Things You Need To Know To Avoid Disasters and Failures - Part One
Internet marketing forums, like our very own Warrior Forum, are not only a great medium for business owners to build their network but are also the easiest way to humble the word "outsourcing." Yes, a simple post of "looking for web designers" or "need writers" is a microscopic view of what outsourcing is. The classifieds posted by a number of Warriors only show that outsourcing and offshoring is now a small biz trend, which deletes the sign "for the big boys only." So, if outsourcing is as simple as posting a "Wanted" sign, it couldn't harm your business, right?
Outsourcing does provide a wonderful array of life-balancing benefits to a lot of small biz owners - which, by the way includes most of us. But business owners must be aware of the risks whenever they decide to let a third party take on some of the business' functions. So before you put your digital sig on the contract and push that shopping cart to the counter, here's some quick tips to reduce some of the most common outsourcing risks in the digital transactions.
Play an active role. One of the most common misconceptions that business owners need to break is the idea of "letting the experts do their thing." Sure they specialize in that area; after all it is their business, right? But when you commissioned, say, a writer to do an article, whose business will be marketed and sold by the words? Is it not your business? When you decide to put up a web, whose business will be represented by it? Yours.
Taking an active role in formulating and executing the plan is the right of an outsourcing business owner. It is your business, your money, your reputation; setting what you want, giving feedback, and even demanding for a progress report can save you a lot of effort and resources. Save yourself from headaches and hey, this is not what we agreed on-moments by playing an active role from the negotiations down to the execution.
Plan and set milestones. Giving progress report to the project owner is a task expected from qualified and experienced service providers. Setting milestones or a number of project highlight is, therefore, an essential part to clear what should have been done within the time frame and, of course, what should appear in the reports.
A project schedule should outline doable and attainable goals within a realistic time frame. Breaking the project into distinct phases clears what should be delivered in any given time. You can also tie the deliverables with a payment schedule, a setting that is clearly beneficial to most business owners since they pay only for the tangible results and what is right at hand.
Define the terms. You only invest on quality work. You only expect the best from service providers. But what does "quality" and "best" mean to you? And how does it translate to your project?
Documentation plays an important role in getting things done - and getting it right every time. Make sure that both you and the service provider have a copy of the deliverables and, of course, the project timetable. Agree on the quality of the work - translate it on doable terms and goals. Quality Guidelines and Service Level Agreements are important monitoring and controlling documents that can define the boundaries of a beneficial relationship from a one-time commitment.
Internet marketing forums, like our very own Warrior Forum, are not only a great medium for business owners to build their network but are also the easiest way to humble the word "outsourcing." Yes, a simple post of "looking for web designers" or "need writers" is a microscopic view of what outsourcing is. The classifieds posted by a number of Warriors only show that outsourcing and offshoring is now a small biz trend, which deletes the sign "for the big boys only." So, if outsourcing is as simple as posting a "Wanted" sign, it couldn't harm your business, right?
Outsourcing does provide a wonderful array of life-balancing benefits to a lot of small biz owners - which, by the way includes most of us. But business owners must be aware of the risks whenever they decide to let a third party take on some of the business' functions. So before you put your digital sig on the contract and push that shopping cart to the counter, here's some quick tips to reduce some of the most common outsourcing risks in the digital transactions.
Play an active role. One of the most common misconceptions that business owners need to break is the idea of "letting the experts do their thing." Sure they specialize in that area; after all it is their business, right? But when you commissioned, say, a writer to do an article, whose business will be marketed and sold by the words? Is it not your business? When you decide to put up a web, whose business will be represented by it? Yours.
Taking an active role in formulating and executing the plan is the right of an outsourcing business owner. It is your business, your money, your reputation; setting what you want, giving feedback, and even demanding for a progress report can save you a lot of effort and resources. Save yourself from headaches and hey, this is not what we agreed on-moments by playing an active role from the negotiations down to the execution.
Plan and set milestones. Giving progress report to the project owner is a task expected from qualified and experienced service providers. Setting milestones or a number of project highlight is, therefore, an essential part to clear what should have been done within the time frame and, of course, what should appear in the reports.
A project schedule should outline doable and attainable goals within a realistic time frame. Breaking the project into distinct phases clears what should be delivered in any given time. You can also tie the deliverables with a payment schedule, a setting that is clearly beneficial to most business owners since they pay only for the tangible results and what is right at hand.
Define the terms. You only invest on quality work. You only expect the best from service providers. But what does "quality" and "best" mean to you? And how does it translate to your project?
Documentation plays an important role in getting things done - and getting it right every time. Make sure that both you and the service provider have a copy of the deliverables and, of course, the project timetable. Agree on the quality of the work - translate it on doable terms and goals. Quality Guidelines and Service Level Agreements are important monitoring and controlling documents that can define the boundaries of a beneficial relationship from a one-time commitment.
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