Roughly 95% of U.S. companies outsource something.
Some of the most common examples include Payroll, IT backup, housekeeping, building services and grounds maintenance.
But that doesn’t mean everyone’s getting their money’s worth!
An ESI International survey found many firms make three major mistakes when outsourcing that results in poor quality and money going down the drain.
Make sure your company doesn’t fall into the same trap:
1. Unclear requirements
Almost 75% of companies that outsource don’t make clear requirements of their contractors.
When a contractor doesn’t have clear, written expectations, you can count on uneven results.
2. What’s the financial goal?
The major goal for outsourcing in the first place is reducing costs. Yet only a third of organizations that outsource spell out their cost-savings goals to their contractors.
Cost-savings initiatives should be clear on both sides. Vendors should know you’ll look elsewhere if they can’t offer a price that’s attractive along with good results.
3. Re-evaluate periodically
About a third of companies don’t evaluate how an outsourced project/job is matching up with the original goals.
Even if you set out your goals from the start, it pays to check back throughout the process.
Some companies get used to minor problems and accept them as the norm. That lets contractors off the hook and costs you money.