The focus of most research and articles dealing with outsourcing is on how the client can get the best out of the supplier, and by extension, how to avoid the pitfalls and traps that await the unwary buyer. But what about the other side of the coin? How do suppliers see the outsourcing relationship? What goes wrong for them, and what would they like their clients to change?
Q: What are the main issues that suppliers talk to you about, in terms of their needs from clients?
A: Some issues are basic, but nevertheless critical, such as a plea to be paid on time for services delivered. But the main themes and issues are in a sense less concrete, and more associated with values and behaviours than with hard issues. Not a surprise, really, in the outsourcing arena where the ongoing relationship and how it works is key.
Q: So what do suppliers tell you they want most from their relationships with clients?
A: That the client and supplier should have both mutual respect and mutual responsibility.
In terms of the mutual respect, clients should focus on what they get from the supplier, not how it is delivered.in other words they should trust the supplier to manage the things in their domain, and reserve their judgement for the service they receive.
And then in terms of mutual responsibility, both client and supplier should recognise that they have clear responsibilities, and make sure that they can carry them out. They should assign competent, trained service managers - a role requiring different skills from the pre-outsourcing role of 'hands-on service delivery. And they should ensure that they take end to end responsibility for the overall process where only part of it has been outsourced.
Q: What about general issues around communication and collaboration?
A: This is often a hot topic for both suppliers and clients. The common need amongst many suppliers is that clients should be able to communicate clearly and frequently, sharing strategy and changing requirements with their supplier - in short, treat them like a business partner. They should use the agreed governance process so that issues are clearly managed and the right people are accountable.
Q: But what is the likelihood of a 'business partnership' in real outsourcing relationships?
A: Many clients will look at "what suppliers want" above with a wry smile, thinking that in a perfect world this is what they would offer. But sometimes they aren't in that perfect world - sometimes they feel that they were over-sold in the deal phase, that they have been change-managed to death, that they only get what they absolutely specified in the contract - so what chance is there of "partnership" when they have real performance issues to solve and real battles to get the value they expected.
Q: Then what is the best way to getting relationships working even when there are problems or other issues that need to be dealt with?
A: When a relationship works, the substantive issues become much easier to address. In the words of Roger Fisher in "Getting To Yes", "Separate the people from the problem". The way to get the best out of any relationship - and in business, outsourcing is one of the longest-term and most demanding relationships there is - is to work on it all the time, not at the expense of working on the issues, but as well as working on the issues. In essence, this is what the suppliers are asking for, whether they realise it or not.
