Business agility in outsourcing is important for businesses that want to stay sustainable and thrive in the long term. When vendors are left out of the loop, businesses lose value in the form of growth, customer satisfaction, and cost reduction. It’s not only essential that companies outsource for growth, but it’s imperative that they do it correctly.
Enterprise business agility assists businesses in adopting a customer-first approach, which has become a staple of businesses in the 21st century. When timed right, agility provides better communication and services that are easily scaled. It allows you to increase the size of your team, increase workload, and keep up with the expected demands of the market.
Let us take a look at why business agility in outsourcing is important and what you can do to benefit from it.
4 Things to Do to Benefit from an Agile Outsourcing Partner
#1: Create a Strategy for Agile Outsourcing
The key to successful agile outsourcing is to decide on tasks that you’ll outsource and the ones you will do in-house. There are two important considerations here – resources and skills. Does your company have the technology to tackle the job as efficiently and affordably as an outsourcing partner? Do your teams possess the right skill set to competently perform the task?
Layout all of the tasks that need to be performed and then answer the above questions for each of them. Prioritize tasks that are related to growth. These should usually be performed by in-house teams.
When done right, outsourcing will improve the efficiency of your business without sacrificing growth. The benefit is that you are able to focus your internal resources on core business tasks and leave the other tasks like research and data analysis into the hands of an expert service provider.
#2: Selecting the Vendor
Not all outsourcing partners incorporate agile processes in their working so be sure to weigh your choices carefully. An outsourcing partner should have the right business knowledge and tools to carry out the tasks outlined in the previous step.
Before deciding on an outsourcing partner, make sure that they understand your needs and have a clear approach to meeting them. Communication is key. If they are unable to properly communicate their approach now, then chances are that things will only get worse once the project starts.
This includes developing a culture where your team is willing to emphasize communication with the outsourcing partner. They must be kept in the loop about everything.
#3: Negotiating and Contracting
Keep in mind when negotiating with outsourcing partners that they should take accountability for outcomes related to tasks being performed by them. Therefore, you must have a system in place to measure performance.
Here are some important points to negotiate with contracts.
- Price: Top outsourcing partners will offer more flexible pricing strategies so they are likely to align with the company’s unique needs.
- Services: Outsourcing providers should have a detailed process for handling tasks that they are willing to openly share.
- Acceptance: Some providers are willing to accept a trial period to showcase their approach. This ensures that both sides are on the same page before a long-term contract is agreed upon.
- Disentanglement: Not everything is perfect so it’s important that there is a detailed process in the contract to show what happens if there is a disagreement or termination of the contract is necessary.
#4: Set up the Working Arrangement
Business agility in outsourcing requires a cultural alignment between the outsourcing organization and the outsourced vendor. When working with a partner, ensure that your business requirements are clearly stated so that the provider understands how to do their job.
Final Thoughts
Business agility in outsourcing has become an extraordinarily beneficial asset for businesses looking to breakthrough in their industry. It’s essential that you follow the tips outlined here if you want to experience the best results.
Internal employees, customers, and providers all benefit from business agility. Everyone must be on the same page in order to get top results. Never leave them in the dark. If you’re worried about confidentiality, then non-disclosure agreements are always encouraged. This is especially useful if you are engaging an offshore partner for data management services.
BackOffice Pro (BOP) is an agile outsourcing partner that works with top companies from around the world to provide services like business analytics, data management services, and business intelligence support. Contact BOP today for a free quote!
