Outsourcing Business - Consider Service Level Agreements - SLAs
Which path are you planning to take? Some firms catch the progressive path by taking the help of outsourced stalwarts, who have a hold on things, and later, switch to their own path of outsourcing.
It is better to check all the pros and cons and then come to a decision.
Your first step should be to catch someone who serves as your mentor.
If you do not wish to collaborate with consultancies, then take the help of interim management service.
In short, you should have someone, who is well versed with the entire scenario of outsourcing, is familiar with the risks and market trends, and knows how to handle them.
Once you have picked your "God Father", you should provide them with clear-cut references.
After that, work towards building a diligent outsourcing team.
Do not ignore building a team, as this is inevitable.
Sit and discuss all the issues with your team, including optimizing the process, the costs involved, handling disasters, and setting targets.
You have to be clear as to what you want to achieve and how.
Chart out a performance chart and what you expect from your employees.
Important aspects of outsourcing are: service level agreements (SLA).
What Is Service Level Agreement (SLA)? The SLA is a legal bond between your company and the outsourcing vendor.
It is a document that elaborates your services and its levels in a precise manner, along with the details of the agreement, and its terms and conditions.
SLA is divided into two parts: The regulating part and the process part.
The latter includes the processes that the outsourcing vendor is going to utilize as a support for the agreement.
However, you should thoroughly discuss all the processes that the vendor is going to use before finalizing the agreement.
The vendor has the privilege to pick the processes.
It is essential that you and the vendor should come to an agreement on all the processes.
The Significance of SLA: SLA represents a major chunk of the entire solution.
Your vendor and you have to decide the perfect people for the job, the ones who have the "substance" to manage the processes as well as the technologies.
They should be accountable enough to report and evaluate the whole process.
Why Is SLA Prepared? The concept of SLA was invented with an aim to accurately determine the support requirements for a firm regarding the outsourcing infrastructure.
SLA cannot be formulated by the outsourcing company alone.
The outsourcing vendors have to intervene with their experience and management expertise to provide valuable guidance and information.
At the end, it all depends on the judgment of both the parties with regards to collecting the information from proper sources and selecting the best of the ideas.