Outsourcing bugbears

As the UK’s dependence on outsourcing specialists deepens with the government looking to reduce its fiscal deficit with the help of the industry, it seems that the focus on outsourcing best practice has been sharpened and now more than ever professionals are having to be especially mindful of what customers want.

On the Consultancy UK website an article detailing the top reasons cited by consumers for feeling dissatisfied with an outsourcing experience has been published – and with only 50% of clients recommending their current outsourcing provider, it seems that businesses in the industry need to take note and begin improving their offerings if they aren’t to miss out on this increase in outsourcing demand.

Here are some of the top bugbears cited by clients:

Taking advantage of inexperienced clients.

An outsourcing provider may have to deal with clients from time to time who are new to the process and are unaware of what happens. When this occurs, an outsourcing provider needs to coach the client, and not patronise them. Abusing the naiveté of clients will result in widespread dissatisfaction within the sector.

Too much SLA not enough XLA.

Too much of a focus on the service level agreement (SLA) set out at the beginning of a contract, and not enough focus on the client’s experience during the process of working together can lead to a negative perception of the industry. Client satisfaction needs to be given as much recognition as SLAs.

Playing the blame game.

Not only is this unprofessional but it is also guaranteed to foster ill-relations between provider and client. If something goes wrong it is tempting to look over a contract and lay the blame wherever possible for a short term fix – but this will lead to long term problems.

Outsourcing specialists should heed these warnings and try to nurture a positive culture within their business to improve existing and attract new relationships.

How do you plan on bettering the future of the outsourcing industry in this lucrative business environment?