When outsourcing your business solution, the hardest part often happens during transition

Many outsourcing companies are focused on “doing the deal”, finding service providers, defining service levels and developing contracts. But often, most of the challenges arise after the deal is done, during transition phase and throughout the ongoing management and governance of your outsourcing solution.

Transition is one of the most important parts of outsourcing because it sets the stage for a successful engagement between you and your provider. First impressions count, so standards need to be set high from the outset. One of the greatest challenges is making sure impact to existing business operations is minimised, while at the same time transition happens quickly so that revenue generation can kick in.

A POORLY PLANNED TRANSITION LEADS TO LONG TERM PROBLEMS

Transition management is a critical activity in outsourcing any business process. When transition fails, it creates longer-term issues. Some of the common causes for failure include:

Transition management hasn’t been identified as a key activity within the business processing plan It’s not fully developed and documented in the contract It doesn’t have ‘buy-in’ by all the relevant parties involved It doesn’t cover all aspects of the outsourcing engagement The transition management team wasn’t involved in developing the original solution that was sold to the client Management of changes (such as changes in environment) isn’t considered a vital part of the transition process

A poorly planned transition causes disruptions to service, deterioration in staff confidence levels and, more than often, a blowout in costs.

A DETAILED TRANSITION PLAN FOR SMOOTH SAILING

At Global Outsourcing, we plan for the transition phase early in the outsourcing evaluation process. This way, procedures are already in place to regularly monitor and manage performance levels and issues are identified and resolved before they become long-term problems. We follow a transition checklist to ensure everything is considered, which includes:

The signing of contracts by both parties

A list of all leaders and their teams

All transition documentation

A pilot test plan

Transition training

Transition schedule and timetable

A communication plan

Contingency and risk mitigation plan

A schedule for transition preparation meetings

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF TRAINING

Another common reason many outsourcing transitions fail is because businesses don’t allocate the time and resources to train staff about the new order of things. Every employee on both the client and the provider side needs to understand their new role and what’s expected of them.

WHAT TO DO ‘POST CUTOVER’?

Once a process has been transferred to the offshore provider, 4 things need to happen:

Documentation and databases need to be updated to verify that any problems and discrepancies are resolved Deliverables and process outcomes need to be closely monitored Pre and post impact of implementation needs to be mapped out and described Your relationship with the service provider needs to be closely monitored to ensure your goals are aligned

DON’T FORGET TO CONSIDER YOUR EXITING TRANSITION

When a contract comes to conclusion or, for whatever reason, is terminated, it’s critical the information shared between you and your service provider isn’t lost. The complexity of an exiting transition depends on your relationship. The more strategic your relationship, the higher the level of integration required. And the more risks and rewards you have shared, the more complex the exiting transition will be.

If you want to find out more about the process of outsourcing and how to ensure a smooth transition of your services, why not chat live with one of The Global Outsourcing experts?