By Debamalya Chowdhury
Offshore business process outsourcing (BPO) can help small businesses in reducing their cost and allows them to expand their core business. By outsourcing their business processes, the company is free to concentrate on its area of expertise and leave processes such as accounting, book keeping and auditing to the professionals. However the success of any offshore business process depends on the management of the project as good project management ensures that there are clearly defined goals, processes and final expected outcomes from the project. It is about managing time and human resources in an effective manner and this can be achieved only when the small business owner is clear about what to expect from the outsourced service provider and also understands the resources that the outsourced team has. It is important to take into account factors such as difference in time zone, cultural differences and various working styles of the offshore teams.
Offshore Outsourcing - Management Guidelines
The best way to manage offshore outsourcing for small businesses is to start right, by discussing exactly what you expect from the service provider, the manner in which the information will be handled, who will handle it and how it will be protected. Don't hesitate to ask for credentials and backgrounds of projects done in the past. You may even speak to some of the offshore provider's other clients. This would be your first step in the right direction to managing offshore outsourcing solutions well. Here are some more management ideas that would help in ensuring a successful offshore outsourcing experience
Good Eye to look into the detail
It is crucial to ensure that the outsourcing contract covers all the relevant details that relate to security issues, quality control, and time schedule for delivery of duly completed work. Do check for all contingency situations that you can think of and include them in the contract. At this point you would also need to research the legal standing of such a contract in the country of the service provider.
Adequate Resources
You need to clearly understand how much workload the offshore service provider can handle and the qualification of the people working on your project. For example in accounting it is necessary to have certified public accountants work on your project and also they must understand the accounting requirements in your country and deliver accordingly.
Effective Communication
You should ideally be looking for a long-term business processing outsourcing relationship and need to make the outsourcing team feel like a partner and motivate them accordingly. It is important that you keep the communication channels open with the outsourcing service provider at all times and take into consideration their views and proposals.
A Core Management Team
A small management team needs to be selected within the small business and this team will constantly evaluate the performance of the outsourced team and the quality of their work. It is important that both the domestic team and the offshore outsourced team work in sync.
Face to Face Contact
There are some small business owners who feel that according to the need of the project an employee of the business may be sent to offshore outsourced company to address communication issues and oversee the critical stage of the project. This they report has a dramatic impact on the performance of the outsourced team. Also it would be a good idea for business owners to meet face to face with the service providers and discuss key issues that may arise in the outsourced project.
Standardized Processes
Create a process for any changes that may be made in the outsourced projects and designate a person or persons who will be in charge of this process. This would ensure clarity in any changes in the projects and avoid confusion.
Costs and Expenditure
While it is important to discuss costs and ensure that transparency exists in this aspect of the business process outsourcing, you would also need to anticipate some increase in costs from unexpected factors and situation such as travel expenses and training & you need to budget the cost accordingly.
Manage cultural issues
It is important that you mange the cultural issues that may arise between your own onshore team with the offshore team. This ensures both teams can work well for one common goal of completing the project.
Milestones
Setting proper milestones and timelines are important parts in any project management; in case of offshore project management it becomes even more important as the offshore team is in remote location. Milestones and timelines for your project gives proper accountability from the offshore team and any issues can be resolved in the early stage of the project itself.
Managing a business process is a challenging task in itself. In case of business process outsourcing projects it is even more challenging, you need to consider issues like timing, cultural, communication differences, etc that exist between your team and the offshore team. By following above guidelines small businesses can achieve greater success in their outsourced projects.
The author is cofounder of Cybelink, a company specializes in small business financial and accounting outsourcing like Bookkeeping, Tax, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, etc.
For more info visit www.cybelink.com
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