**UK:** Industry experts highlight how managing outsourcing with regular presence, open dialogue and cultural inclusion enhances operational efficiency and customer satisfaction, while avoiding common pitfalls of stress and inefficiency.
Effective management of outsourcing partnerships is crucial for organisations aiming to meet customer demand while maintaining operational efficiency. A detailed exploration of best practices reveals how these relationships can be nurtured to avoid common pitfalls such as stress, compromised efficiency, and dissatisfaction on both sides.
Central to successful outsourcing partnerships is the principle of engagement, especially during the initial phase. Vinay Parmar, a keynote speaker and expert on customer loyalty, emphasises the importance of presence in these early days. Speaking to Call Centre Helper Magazine, he recalled, “When I was managing outsourcing partnerships, I found that showing up regularly had a big impact – especially in the early days of the relationship. For example, I spent three to four days a week on site in the beginning and I spent a lot of this time just talking to the teams and learning more about them.” Parmar highlighted the value of being physically present on the floor rather than confined to an office, which fosters stronger connections.
In addition to formal meetings, informal interactions play a significant role. Parmar noted, “I really loved those corridor conversations and getting a feel for what was really going on behind the scenes. In fact, it was often those informal conversations that gave me the most insight, catching people when they were most relaxed over lunch.”
Transparency and open communication are equally essential. Adrian Hawes, an award-winning resource planning and contact centre professional, stressed that outsourcing should be viewed as a genuine partnership rather than a problem to be offloaded. He shared with Call Centre Helper, “One of the things that I’ve been frustrated by in the past is working with an organisation that just wants to outsource as a way to fix a problem for them. They just want to ‘chuck it over the fence’ and say, ‘Right, solve the problem for me’ and then manage it almost entirely through the contract.” Hawes added, “If you are resorting to managing a third-party relationship purely on the basis of a contract, I personally think it just doesn’t work. It sets you at odds with each other and it loses that relationship feel.”
Another effective approach is integrating outsourced agents into the broader team culture. Parmar mentioned that including these agents in team events and incentive schemes makes them feel like a genuine part of the organisation. “We also included them in our incentive schemes,” he said, “This approach really helped to make them feel part of who we were, as though they were just another team in our central contact centre.”
Efforts to familiarise outsourcing teams with the client company can extend beyond incentives. For example, providing agents with product samples or ‘meet the client’ noticeboards that display company information, photos, and fun facts can enhance understanding and engagement. Such initiatives were observed during site visits covered by Call Centre Helper, where these strategies helped agents visualise products, improving their ability to assist customers.
Building positive perceptions of the outsourcing partner within the client’s own organisation is also important. Parmar recounted, “When I talked at Head Office about our outsourcing teams, I always talked about them in a positive way – as a partner, as an extension of us, being sure to share visuals and pictures too.”
Investment in training the outsourcing partner’s team leaders is another critical factor. Parmar shared, “We once put our outsourcer’s team leaders through our development programme and invested in them as part of our longer-term goals, as this helped them to replicate the right behaviours in their own agents.” This strategy helps align the outsourcing team’s culture with that of the client organisation, reinforcing a shared commitment to quality.
Consistent, frequent communication is necessary to maintain alignment, particularly in complex or high-stakes projects. Hawes illustrated this point with an example from his experience during the COVID-19 vaccine rollout: “We used outsourcing contact centres and we were literally talking to them every single day – doing everything we could to help.”
Finally, the responsibility for nurturing outsourcing relationships extends beyond contract managers. Hawes emphasised, “Other people need to get involved in supporting outsourcing relationships too. For example, in my planning team, even though we didn’t manage the contract, we were still helping with planning for the contact centres in India. Members of my team were out there all the time – because it mattered! It mattered to us, and it mattered to them.”
These insights from industry professionals provide a compendium of best practices for organisations aiming to establish and maintain productive outsourcing partnerships. The focus on presence, communication, cultural inclusion, and mutual investment in success outlines a comprehensive approach to achieving operational harmony and customer satisfaction through outsourced services.
Source: Noah Wire Services
Subscribe to Industry Updates
