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Your Outsourcing Checklist

Written by Nicholas Hastings, CEO and Founder, hammerjack

If you apply the following checklist to the search for your outsourcing solutions, then you might find that it’s a simpler process than you may have first believed, delivering tangible results to help drive your business forward.

  1. Make a Phone Call

    If you seek to pick the best cost and quality solution, you need to be fully across the options. And the best way to be across your outsourcing options is to call the experts. Specialist outsourcing teams, such as ours at hammerjack, can explain in simple terms what some of the most appropriate remote resources are, tailoring their advice according to your business needs. At this point you’re collecting information – pricing, location, communication and so on. This is also a great time to ask questions, as the more you know the more confident you’ll be! Ideally, the suppliers who advise you will become your outsourcing solutions partner throughout this exercise, as a positive outcome is mutually beneficial for all parties.

  2. Assess the Information

    Once you have all of the information in front of you it will be easier to distinguish the more, or less, appropriate investment for your needs. Before narrowing your shortlist down too quickly, consider a few points. The absolute lowest cost option might not always be the best, as the drop in price may potentially result in a drop in quality. If your outsourcing consultant can provide assurances and examples with regards to the standard of work required, then this may alleviate some of those concerns.

  3. Consult the Team

    Bringing your current team with you when considering implementing outsourced capital is crucial for maintaining morale and cohesion. Initial consultation with your business partners and team members provides stability for all parties and also might provide insight from angles you hadn’t considered. Communicate clearly and honestly, especially with those on a management or ownership level. If the team is on board, that offers you greater confidence in the direction you’re all taking together.

  4. Focus In On the Best Solution

    Now that you’ve communicated clearly with both your outsourcing specialist and internal executive team, there should be a much firmer idea in terms of what the best possible remote capital option is for your business. You’ve assessed both cost and quality, and have done your due diligence in ensuring that you’re in an appropriate financial position to act. This is the moment when you, as the executive, collectively come to a decision in terms of what your engagement will look like. The legwork has been done and you’re ready to take advantage of the potential savings, and efficiency benefits outsourcing can provide.

  5. Establish an Implementation Framework

    Once you’ve decided you wish to engage the best cost and quality solution for your needs, allow your outsourcing specialist partner to advise on the best potential implementation strategy. We have seen various different businesses successfully implement their remote solution, and can help you establish best practice from the outset. Following the pathway that has already delivered consistent success for other businesses reduces your potential risk.

  6. Lay the Groundwork

    The implementation framework will clearly lay out some necessary components to success. Our hammerjack strategy often includes the nomination of an internal champion within the business to liaise with the remote solution, as well as the establishment ahead of time of clear channels for communication. There may additionally be some legal requirements, or other paperwork, that need to be attended to in advance of your program commencing. You want to get these pathways and team members in place from the outset, so as to establish best practice from the very beginning.

  7. Set Your Goals

    Before your new remote team gets to work for you, establish your standards for performance and output. As ever, this is made much easier through consultation with your outsourcing solutions partner, such as our hammerjack team, who will help you set realistic performance targets that service the needs of your business. With these targets in place you’ll be able to know quantifiably moving forward that your team are working to the level that’s appropriately expected of them.

Once broken down into a step-by-step process, you can see that engaging with a remote program for your business isn’t as unnerving as you might have expected. A crucial component throughout the exercise is taking advantage of the expertise of specialist outsourcing supplier teams, such as ours at hammerjack. We’ve implemented outsourcing solutions across a wide variety of businesses, and have the know-how and experience to guide you through. Armed with the best information, and the confidence that it provides, perhaps now is the time to unlock new potential within your business.