The growth of employer services over the past few years has created a developmental need for greater outsourcing capabilities, functions that require higher standards of global sourcing and vendor relationship management on all fronts. The push for higher standards benefits corporations around the globe – when they are accurately matched. RoseMarie LaCoursiere explores the importance of matchmaking and vendor management.

Sourcing and matchmaking are vital to the success of new industry giants, which by their very nature and organizational structure are resistant or unable to alter their methods of delivering superior employer services in the face of competition with similar firms. Practice has shown that world-class sourcing leads to world-class supplier-client matchmaking.

Seek, select and secure

The motivation of sourcing and matchmaking is to seek, select, and secure the finest in all areas of program support and delivery. The results of successful sourcing and matchmaking bring together elements that are vital to lasting relationships with clients.

Exceeding expectations at every turn creates mutual growth and generates the development of cutting-edge technologies, processes, and communication. Pushing the limits and raising the bar a little higher define success at this level for leaders, and keeps them ahead of the game.

A study of corporate executives

Pascale Michaud, McKinsey & Company consultant in Canada and author of the French business management publication, La Course, (The Race) interviewed more than 100 North American and European executives in an attempt to identify the makings of top executive performers. Among the topics studied were the pressures faced by executives concerning governance and organizational design when global firms focus on competitive advantage.

Michaud points out that the common link among the largest of global firms is that they are 'Darwinian': an entity that must adapt to its environments through testing in a Darwinian sense, and, “the rest will have to find a way to create and implement change.”

Ken Treschitta, CRP, director for RSI, (U.S.), has noticed a heightened state of confusion among mid- to large multinational firms struggling with the ongoing debate of whether to place specialized services into fully outsourced programs, or to select outsourcing firms to manage their current suppliers and uphold their sourcing initiatives.

Corporate executives who sign outsource contracts, or who may have been stung by failing outsourcing initiatives, often realize their selection of an outsourcing provider goes well beyond trust in a name. As the saying goes, “When you marry, you marry the family - not just the person.”

Corporations preparing to sign partnership or contractual outsourcing agreements often undergo months of qualifying participants, meetings, presentations, proposals, RFP grading, and other measures of accountable selection processes.

However, they soon find themselves at the table, ready to place their greatest assets (their people) into the hands of a partner that could soon become a complete stranger. These are realities that corporations and outsourcing firms face daily, knowingly and unknowingly.

Outsourcing firms place high value on the consulting and management strengths of the sourcing and matchmaking powers that enhance their ability to grow their multi-client capabilities.

Whether the outsourcing firm specializes in a vast menu of human resources, benefits, accounting, finance, IT services—or specializes in a single service arena—the parameters remain the same.

The flip side

On the flip side, when this reality collides with the unknowing, alarms will be set off in the halls of our global markets. The first signs are visible when decision-makers walk away from the final presentation with a sense of awe from the potential suitor.

When transactions of any service to be outsourced run high in volume, regardless of levels of difficulties or specialization, the chances are that the grunt work will be handled by a blend of contracted vendors that the outsourcing firms use, and the outsourcing firm's in-house talent.

Exercising talent strategically through creative, aggressive, and progressive management leaders who have their finger on the pulse of business tends to create positive change.

Marrying the family

According to Walter Vermeeren, managing director of the PRS Europe Group, UK, “It is important that global providers allow the local manager to have direct contact with the local service provider, whatever the size of the outsourced deal.”

“Communication is the key to the success of all service delivery. It is neither the size, nor the complexity of a deal, that leads to failure, but either the lack of clear communication, or the complicated and very long communication line between the employee-customer and provider—if the full control of the project is kept completely with the global provider,” Vermeeren concludes.

The analogy of marrying family applies to the concept of choosing an outsourcing firm. Sooner or later, hot-tempered talks behind closed doors end with the partner (outsourcing firm) upset with the family (outsourcing firm suppliers) because sourcing and matchmaking are absent, overlooked, or simply not structured into the blueprints.

Only through “knowing” can the outsourcing firm selectively find the right match of talent across the board to fully deliver services sold, promised, and launched. This holds true whether the process begins with selecting the right consultants, policy writers, managers, counsellors, service brokers, or technology sources.

Outsourcing firms feel that they must flawlessly execute the development, implementation, and delivery of services. Attaining success in delivering unparalleled consulting, program creation, service delivery, and customer service often is attributed to how well an outsourcing firm can play the role of “matchmaker.”

Matchmakers of this calibre enhance the depth of their sourcing partners, and create the type of cooperation that makes the difference that corporations seek when they entertain the idea of outsourcing a business function.

It takes world-class sourcing to provide the right elements for matchmaking. A matchmaker must have vision - a sixth-sense for pin-pointing the greatness and the weakness of systems, structures, and processes - and know how to maintain growth and constantly enhance the system, which will hopefully result in progress far beyond anyone’s imagination.

Five top tips for seeking outsourcing solutions:

• Determine the level of internal control desired. If any level of internal control is important to your firm and operations, request that selected outsourcing firms provide the flexibility needed. Given the choice of retaining in-house expertise or having embedded vendor talent, retaining in-house talent will impact overall outsource success.

• Before outsourcing, determine the role of an internal employee to be kept on company payroll, whether it will be to monitor program implementation, manage internal and external communication with outsourcing firm(s), internal operations on the receiving end, or to analyse data produced by outsourcing firm(s), and customers.

• Seek more than sales presentations or on-site visits of outsource firms under consideration - ask about the outsourcing firm’s support suppliers and how “supplier/client” matches are made. Know the 'who, what, where, and why' before signing contracts.

• It is perfectly acceptable to implement vendor contracts into outsourcing management services - it can reduce costs while increasing levels of customer service by way of the outsourcing firm’s structure, service delivery methodologies, and progressive technologies. Think SUN: Study, Understand, and Negotiate.

• Avoid the costly assumption that outsourcing firms hand-select suppliers to match client needs. To meet or exceed service delivery and to ensure cultural acclimation both here and abroad, the customer care terminology of “bundling” and “parcelling” should never be used to describe distribution of transactions.

September 2003

RoseMarie LaCoursiere  is the president of corporate concierge company Ask Rosemarie (www.askrosemarie.com) and co-author of Quiet Revolution©.