Stage IV – Development of contract

At this stage you need to define and develop the terms of the contract. Until this point you have to deliver in an extremely precise manner the goals and objectives of the project and, of course, to determine the timing of the transition period. You shouldn’t be afraid to ask clarifying questions, over and over again, to make sure that between you – the customer and the service provider has been developed a common understanding of the current situation and its development, in the future. Often, communication errors can lead to project errors. You need to keep in mind that the wording of your request is  the most difficult stage of transition to outsourcing.

Your outsourcing provider may advise you and suggest to you the best solution for your concerns since, due to their experience in implementing other similar projects they may come with the most practical and efficient implementation proposal.

During the development of the agreement  you should include in your working group a lawyer. If your organisation does not have a lawyer, you are advised to consult a third party. The contract must contain all the fundamental elements that define the structure of cooperation with the outsourcing provider. (We will further explain this in more detail in a dedicated article on Service Level Agreement, its purpose and how it should be built properly).

Stage V – Transition to the new format

During the transition phase to outsourcing you should also take into consideration some psychological factors and the state of mind, of your team. It is recommended to carry out explanatory work within the team, to coach your team members and provide them with all the necessary information. Your employees should understand clearly how the new format works, what does it imply and what is expected from their side along this process.

You should pay special attention to all of your employees, coach and ensure security to those who will further be part of the team and if there will be employees whose services will be no further required, assure yourself that you explain the situation politely to make the dismissal understandable and acceptable for all parties.

Also, at this stage, it is time for you to develop all the necessary documents and regulations like: the implementation work-flow and the new staffing scheme. If necessary, you will need to develop or update the existing job descriptions.

Phase VI – Project roll-out and reporting on the development of the project

Now, the working group is no longer needed and the project manager will provide to the management of the organization all the necessary reports on a regular basis.

Summing up the results of the implementation for the reporting period may include: an analysis of the outsourcing system based on feed-back provided by employees, managers and partners; a comparison of the outcome of the outsourcing activities with planned performance indicators; a collective discussion on the overall outsourcing project.

The outsourced functions must be constantly monitored, as well as any other functions within the company. You will define your own scheme for monitoring the outsourcing processes, depending on the importance of the transferred processes. If you discover problems within the development of the project you need to identify clearly the causes of the problem and start working to correct them right away, together with your outsourcing partner.

This steps presented above are equally and generally valid to most organizations undertaking this transition process. Of course, there are always some adjustments, some specific aspects or intermediary steps, given by the characteristics of each business.