ARTICLE
STATE OF FLUX
2014 GLOBAL SRM RESEARCH REPORT
194
BPO VALUE
_1_ BUSINESS DRIVERS & VALUE
_2_ STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT & SUPPORT
_3_ GOVERNANCE & PROCESS
_4_ PEOPLE & SKILLS
_5_ INFORMATION & TECHNOLOGY
_6_ RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT & CULTURE
As BPO solutions gain traction in the middle and front office, achieving key business objectives will increasingly be influenced by BPO services. Key BPO service providers will have the potential to deliver value beyond the contract.
Key stakeholders will need to be engaged and supportive of treating key BPO service providers as strategic partners. Stakeholder ‘history’ with BPO service providers needs to be reconciled.
Focus on risk management and control needs to be retained. Top-to-top engagement will open up the business outcomes and strategic agenda.
Behavioural change can be enabled by
Technology will be a key enabler for more collaborative management. Information will be controlled and managed across a global span.
Information sharing and strategic alignment are a must.
improved ‘so’ skills training.
For the provider, a broader skill set and deep industry, client and functional knowledge will be required.
A ‘partnership’ view of the relationship
needs to be developed.
© 2014 State of Flux
The development of a true partnership takes time and will start to manifest itself first, when resolving conflicts is seen to be done fairly and protects the commercial interests of both parties. The foundation for collaborative conflict management is built by the way partners manage and resolve issues. In high performing relationships, partners aim to solve problems collaboratively and view any issue as a shared problem. The focus is on solving the problem first and reconciling any commercial implications second. A collaborative approach to resolving issues or conflict requires a high level of trust, honesty and transparency. So finally, in looking to the future of BPO in the 21 st century we need to take some lessons from the past. We believe that the somewhat troubled history of BPO can, to some extent, be put down to the definition of requirements. While the business processes, required outcomes and service levels could be quantified, it was much more difficult to define the experience and capabilities of the people needed to deliver them. What was actually needed was a service provider with employees who possessed the same experience in the relevant functions and technologies, and had the same deep and extensive knowledge of the function and the client business processes. When
the roles relating to the business processes were exported, much of this invaluable human capital was lost. When we look ahead at the way BPO is developing, it is clear that both companies and service providers will need to step up to new challenges. For service providers, the future is about improving customer service and creating new value for the clients. And that is something that will be highly dependent on people. The industry must focus on people and their skills and competencies – treating them as their most valuable asset rather than a commodity to be arbitraged. For companies, it means behaviour change. As BPO moves into the middle and front office, it’s no longer just about cheaper transactions, i.e. chasing the latest low cost territory. A lot of processing is being automated, freeing up well qualified resource for more valuable roles. Therefore, people will need broader skill sets, and deep industry and functional knowledge. Adopting a structured SRM approach to these increasingly important relationships will make the huge investment in outsourcing pay real long-term dividends.
Powered by FlippingBook