It’s not a new idea, but the needs have changed

THE concept of outsourcing is not a child of the 21st Century.  Adam Smith, in The Wealth of Nations (1776), wrote: “If a foreign country can supply us with a commodity cheaper than we ourselves can make it, it is better to buy it of them.” 

In the first wave of outsourcing the cry was to “save costs” and executives looked no further and expected nothing less.  Now, as the industry has evolved and matured, the expectation is beyond cost saving.  Here are three important considerations:

Culture Economists advocate that communication in the same language and by people who understand cultural nuances leads to better productivity and results.  For example, Eastern Europe has emerged as a large outsourcing destination for European companies, primarily because of the available multilingual talent including German, French, Spanish and Italian.

Process Look for outsourcers with robust processes and industry body certifications.  The significant value-add in the call centre business is the ability to deliver quantifiable results using time tested and rigorous processes and practices.  Providers must have the ability to resolve first-call level problems and the ability to re-engineer the process flow to improve customer satisfaction.  Outsourcers must provide metrics to prove the point.

People At the end of the day it’s all about human-to-human contact and having the skills required to do the job well.  Attitude, orientation and domain knowledge of the workforce are key.

Finally, make sure all the expectations are hammered down in the contract.  Veteran outsourcers say that a loosely worded contract and poorly defined service level agreements spell disaster. Don’t look at the outsourcing process as a process in some destination on the other side of the globe but rather as a logical extension of your in-house department.

Ambreesh Mahajan, CEO - travel and leisure services, WNS Global Services