Part II. How to Evaluate Outsourcing Solutions Providers
You want quality, compatibility and to be valued as a customer by your outsourcing solutions provider. Below are the 10 Factors to consider in evaluating your potential outsourcing partner.
1. Customer References
Research their past clients. How long have these clients been working with these companies? Single out clients that are reputable and are related to your industry and make a call to ask whether they will recommend this outsourcing company and the quality of its service delivery.
SMB outsourcing solutions platforms like e-lance and guru make customer feedback information publicly available. However, for a more balanced view, review the feedback on the buyer as well. Also check the authenticity of the names and addresses provided in feedbacks on internet forums (for both positive and negative comments).
2. Financial Stability
For bigger and longer-term projects, it is critical to request for financial reports. You cannot afford to risk service interruptions and failures due to the inability of the company to pay the salaries of its employees and suppliers.
3. Work Standards and Cultural Compatibility
To reduce your risk of dissapointment with respect to communication and cultural compatibility, you can also narrow your search to outsourcing solutions companies with experience working for North American or European companies; or managed by individuals with reputable international experience.
Also request for a meeting; whether live, by teleconference, or video conference to get a more accurate reading on the provider. Ask industry related specific questions to gauge their technical expertise and whether you can work and communicate well together.
4. Experience level
First request for the profiles of the outsourcing companies’ top management since quality of management is crucial in any partnership and business success. Also ask for the resumes and certifications of the key people who will be working on your project (or the whole team if it’s only a small team).
5. Certifications
For large scale engineering and I.T. projects request ISO or CMMI certification levels if applicable, ratings, technical certifications and degrees. However if you are not a tech person but you need help with technology development, ask them whether they have experience and expertise working with clients with similar company background, structure and sizes.
6. Attrition Rate of Employees
This is a major concern for all types of outsourcing solutions whether for software development or customer service to ensure service quality and delivery and lower training costs. Request a copy of their attrition report for the past year and initiatives to retain high-value employees.
Of course some industries such as customer service, even I.T. outsourcing firms have high attrition rates. However, well-managed companies have lower attrition rates than industry standards for key people and staff because these people are confident of their company’s growth and longevity.
7. Workforce Scalability
And for any businesses with more aggressive plans for growth, you need to partner with outsourcing companies that have a strategy for meeting your additional workforce requirements. Are they located where there is a large talent supply? Are they strategically partnered with a leading university, company or organization? Are they a preferred employer of new graduates in their community?
8. Sufficient Communication Skills
It is important to have sufficient communication skills on the client’s language to effectively understand the client’s objectives, perform high-quality work, provide the necessary documentation, and communicate with the client’s project manager.
And of course, higher level of fluency is required from technical writers, and for outsourcing projects that involve sales and customer service. Good communication skills also means being respectful to the other party and their culture.
You can discern the outsourcing providers’ communication skills in all stages of your communication with them from your general inquiries, e-mails, office or video meetings, proposal, etc.
9. Your Value as a Customer to Them
You should not disregard smaller business outsourcing providers with proven capabilities because they will appreciate and value your business more than the bigger and more established outsourcing providers in the industry.
Personalized service, higher quality work at a lower cost can be delivered by these outsourcing companies. And one way to gauge your value to the business is how accessible is the outsourcing company’s top management to you during planning and crisis management.
10. Industry Reputation
If it comes down to two outsourcing companies that are equal in all the other above criteria, you can also check for news (not press releases), business recognition and outsourcing awards given by reputable organizations in your industry since success begets more success!
I will be posting several other outsourcing tips for small to mid-size businesses in the coming weeks. Please post a comment on any software development outsourcing topic which you feel needs to be discussed or questions about our company and business model.
Category: Globalization, Outsourcing Tips