Recently I came across the question "Recommendations for BPO
providers?". The question itself needed to be clarified a bit, since at
first sight it seemed like a BPO provider needs advice regarding their
operations.
However, the question referred to the users' point of view: How to
manage BPO providers, follow up the outsourced processes, measure their results,
etc. The following post is about these questions.
When shall you turn to a BPO provider?
First of all, let's make it clear: you only need to manage - or use - a
BPO provider if you have a large amount of tasks which are not parts of your
core business. NEVER outsource processes that are parts of your core business!
Doing so might seem cheaper in the short term, but on the long run it can ruin
your business (imagine a great amount of core know how becoming lost if you
want to change the BPO provider or for any reason...it's just bad).
So, in case you decide to outsource your processes to a BPO provider,
you shall have a number of resource and working time consuming tasks you want
to spare on. That's great, but be sure to manage the BPO provider of choice
appropriately. Of course, a number of details can be included in the service
agreement or other contracts, but there are many operative questions, problems
or routines that cannot.
We do assume in the following parts that your business processes are
clearly defined and perfected to create the best organizational and business
environment that keeps your business sustainable and well - operating.
In order to avoid a chaotic transfer period related to the BPO
provider's job, it is great to follow the next steps:
1. Have your carefully engineered processes in writing.
Also make it available to the BPO provider, so that they will be
familiar with your expectations. However, point is that you have a clear
understanding, of what needs to be done in certain processes and you will know
exactly what and how can you expect from them.
2. Model your processes
Have your processes in a written form? Great! But how will everyone know
what exactly you want them to do in a process? The written processes shall
be...well, modeled in standard BPMN notation. (which we have covered already in
the blog) Make sure that your process is defined in line with the standards, so
there can be no questions or misunderstandings related to the contents of your
process.
3. Implement your model in a workflow system you own
Ok, you might say " Nah, the BPO provider shall have an appropriate
software system to cover this!" And while this is right from a certain
point of view, there's also a great danger related to this approach: what if -
for any reason - the BPO provider ceases to exist, you want to change your BPO
provider, you need processes to be performed differently, etc. ? If the BPO
provider has the software AND your process data (entered into the system they
use) then their power over you is almost endless. In this case your BPO
provider could stop your company as it is by shutting down the software or
deleting data from it. This is why it is a must to have your own workflow system
before you decide to work together with a BPO provider company.
So, if you followed the previous three steps and found an appropriate
BPO provider, it will be really easy for you and them to start the work in an
organized way. Most everything will be really clear to both sides, and in case
of any questions or doubt, the answers can be found quickly and easily.
But the best part is still to come.
What is the single most painful problem of working together with a BPO
provider?
You need to be able to see through and control - in some ways - the
process completion. Now if there are only a few simple processes, it can be
easily using almost any software. But what if you have 50-100 processes
outsourced, which consist of 10 steps each? What if more instances of given
processes are running (eg. many customers have the same invoice problem at your
customer service)
You cannot keep 1000 deadlines, tasks, persons, statuses and other
process - relevant information in your head! So, you do need a system that
supports the management of your outsourced processes.
4. Manage and automate your outsourced processes
In case your modeled business processes are implemented in a proper -
ideally cloud based - workflow system, the system will take care of your
process flows and will keep your business running. Also, you will only have to
focus on problems that arise during operations and resolve these in a focused
way, instead of looking for the problematic parts and then try doing something
about them. Also, this way you can make
sure that your processes are implemented exactly as needed or if needed, you
can adjust your processes even together with your BPO of choice. Also do not
forget that a really great workflow system will provide you with a graphic
process editor interface. A good example for that is xFLOWer, a Cloud based
workflow system that includes a process editor tool that implements all
processes after they are created in a visual editor, without the need of
programming or serious IT skills.
Also it is worth to mention automation. Consider if you can automate
certain process steps - eg. certain
decisions or events that always trigger the same action, and so on - and choose
a workflow system that is able to automate the most tasks. This will save you
massive amounts of working time, and therefore tons of money.
