Top 5 Things to Keep IT Outsourcing on Track

Most if not all businesses nowadays, in one way or another have engaged in outsourcing because they have realized its big contribution in reducing expenses and improving profitability of the company. From maintenance personnel, customer service representatives, virtual administrative assistant, to IT professionals—majority of them are now being outsourced for the very purpose of maximizing the business’ income while lowering its costs simultaneously. However, no matter how advantageous outsourcing—as a business strategy—may seem; it also has its flaws and weaknesses. Since it’s technically a business partnership between relative and/or complete strangers, there’s a high possibility of unmet expectations, deception, and misunderstandings between both parties which can cause the business’ ultimate failure. Thus, to avoid this from happening and to ensure the success of IT outsourcing, whether you are the client or the provider, below are the 5 things you need to consider when pursuing this kind of business venture:

5. Setting up of Goals 

In everything that one does, to figure out if you’re successful or not, goals should be established prior to the beginning of the undertaking. This thinking also holds truth when engaging in an IT outsourcing arrangement. If both parties laid out their goals before the commencement of the project at hand, expectations would come in the surface and both parties would be able to determine whether these are feasible or not. If this happens, then the project would proceed strongly and solidly because these expectations would now serve as their platform, framework and end-goal in doing the project. Simply put, establishment of goals are needed for the project to have a stable direction as to where both parties wanted it to be. If they have set the goals which are agreed upon and shouldered by both parties then it can prevent future disappointments and misunderstanding between each other.

4. Constant Professional Communication

Communication is an integral part in actualizing the success of an IT outsourcing job. Through it, both parties would be able to gauge each other’s commitment to the progress and the outcome of the business venture. Furthermore, having a regular and professional discussion regarding the project can avoid possible erroneous assumptions which are very detrimental to the success of the project. Aside from that, having a healthy communication between parties involved can make work less stressful and more pleasurable because each party can just freely discuss their issues and concerns pertaining to the development of the business.

3. Disclosure of the Project’s Budget

Everybody knows that businesses are actually about spending money so you could earn more. Thus, if one plans on pursuing a business deal by outsourcing IT services, it’s just but proper that one discloses the real budget for the said deal without worrying of the possible degradation of the quality of the work. A lot of service providers that delivers quality service are very flexible when it comes to the financial capacity of the project. Awareness of the real budget of the project can help the service providers as well as the client of an IT outsourcing engagement to forecast the expenses and maximize the profitability of the said project by executing it in accordance to the limits of its monetary power.

2. Provide Initial Pragmatic Trust

In reality, the world consists of so many different types of people that it would be very difficult to just trust anybody, especially when it comes to your money. Thus, the safest way to engage in an IT outsourcing partnership, where you basically don’t know your partner, is to develop pragmatic trust. Trust in the sense that you are willing to invest and take the risk of experiencing an undesirable outcome; but Pragmatic in the sense that you will still hold something back for yourself so as to protect you if ever everything don’t go according to plan. In business, it’s a mortal sin for someone to blindly trust somebody with everything; you should always be practical at all times—even in trusting your partner. That fact is no different when doing an IT outsourcing venture. Always, keep in mind, to have a test-out first before entrusting a bigger project to a potential partner. In this way, you can avoid a greater loss, in case things don’t work out well.  It would be wisest, if you start to engage in an outsourcing partnership with a smaller project at first but with a vision of turning it into something bigger if you already have proven that your partner is trustworthy and is capable of delivering the results you wanted.
 
1. Be Professional At All Times

Professionalism does not pertain to one having a bachelor’s, masters, or doctorate’s degree. It refers to one’s ability to conduct him/herself in a respectful manner when dealing with others. In an IT outsourcing project where communication and business discussions are often times impersonal or virtual, it’s a little tougher to present yourself professionally especially if inevitable disagreements occur. However, both parties should always strive hard to be as such at all times, regardless if you’re in an argument or not, because professionalism is your baseline to having a smooth-sailing partnership which would eventually lead to a successful completion of the project at hand. If both parties display professionalism with each other then excellent communication, setting up of goals, disclosure of budget, and pragmatic trust would just naturally follow.