Plan for the bumps so you won't be surprised

There are lots of articles, including on this blog, that talk about doing deals and managing deals. But, how often do these articles imply that if you do everything right there won't be any bumps in the road as you work with your outsourcer?

The reality is that whenever you run a business, or part of a business, there will be challenges that arise and have to be overcome.

So the question is not whether there will be bumps, but rather, what bumps can we expect and how do we plan for them.

We know that there will be risks associated with change in processes, change in who provides the services and change in roles for people in the client organisation. This can lead to delays and mistakes resulting in tempers flaring. And if not properly managed, that can lead to staff attrition, reduced transparency, a tendency toward micromanagement, contract renegotiation and even change of service providers.

Of course, many of those same risks and issues may have been present previously but as we had become used to them, they were seen as part of dealing with your job.

What we have to do is help people understand how to effectively deal with these issues as part of their "new job". That's where getting expert helps, even if for a short while, and can make a big difference.

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Michael Rehkopf

Michael has more than 20 years of experience in operations, strategy and sourcing covering all major parts of the globe. He has also worked for Australian, Canadian, German and Japanese companies in both business process outsourcing and IT outsourcing.
Michael's industry experience includes the financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications and travel sectors. He leverages this diverse industry experience and his university background in accounting, IT and his Master of Dispute Resolution, to assist clients in the development of business strategies and the implementation of sourcing strategies. These include the associated evaluation, negotiation and organizational change.
Michael is currently a partner at TPI, the world's oldest and largest sourcing advisory firm. Prior to joining TPI, Michael held leadership positions with Siemens Business Services, OpenPlus International, Mitsubishi Electric and Netron.