I want to share with you a brief excerpt from a report I wrote a few months again on Outsourcing Best Practices. From my own experience, I have learned that finding the right Outsourcing Partner ALWAYS begins with asking the right questions……

• Has the Professional / Firm been specifically working with your industry type and providing services you are seeking to outsource?

• What is their track record or experience in working with companies within your market segment? (Important question as one company might be great in one segment, but a fish out of water in the next!)

• How many business clients have they had had in the last 12-18 months? How do current and past clients rate them?

• What is the quality (not quantity) of the Professional’s clients?

• Does the Professional/Firm appear to exhibit a good handle on the latest and greatest trends in the respective industry? (i.e. SE Marketing)

• Do they present themselves in a professional manner? Do they ask questions of you to get a clear understanding of your project expectations?

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Well, I have done my share of outsourcing in the past couple years and I would have to say that the "Make-it or Break-it" factor for Outsourcing comes down to Great Project Management. Once a company awards a project to an outsourced partner, there is a tendency for the "Out of Sight - Out of mind" phonemenon to happen. You outsource the project and then get busy with other priority tasks and the project managment starts going down the tubes along with the project! That is why I can’t emphasize the immense value of being a pro-active "hands-on" project manager that is keenly in-tune with the ongoing progress of your outsourced project!

So, now that you have made pro-active "Project Managment" a priority, how do you now facilitate a "Win-Win" Outsourcing Relationship?

In my own outsourcing endeavors, one of the best tips I ever received was "Treat Your Outsourced Firm as a Partner!" This little piece of wisdom has enabled me to build some very positive and collaborative outsourcing partnerships. I never treat them as an employee or less than myself, but rather as a valuable partner. This approach will more times than not lead to a "Win-Win" Outsourcing Partnership. So, here are a few quick and dirty tips for faciliating healthy and successful outsourcing partnerships:

1. Treat the Outsourcing Professional/Firm as a Valuable Partner (As mentioned above)

      2.    Clearly define expectations and peformance measures for the project from Day 1

      3.    Be a Pro-active Project Manager - Be in-tune with the ongoing progress of the project, so that you can be well-prepared for any pitfalls that may  surface (And believe me, they will surface!)

     4.    Strike the balance between Loose Managment and Micro Management -  It is important not to "suffocate" your outsourced partner, but clearly outline project goals, timelines and follow-up and performance reviews and then let them go to it! If you provide the right managment framework, then it should not  be necessary to be constantly hound them as the timelines will be already defined.

     5.     Practice Open, Honest and Respectful Communication - This goes a LONG way to building great long-term partnerships!

     6.    Ensure that you have a working knowledge of the project - This point is KEY! If you are managing a project of which you have absolutely no knowledge or experience, then will make it that much more difficult to effectively evaluate the progress of the project. If you don’t have the knowledge, then it is important to find someone "in-house" that can "speak the language" of the partner and has a good understanding of the project requirements and process.

So there are a few points to chew on….Again, from my own experiences, Effective Project Management is the cornerstone for building successful outsourcing initiatives!

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