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Outsourcing Resources - How To Make Sure They Are Responsive
Recently I was asked a question about outsourcing partners. The person who asked me said that he couldn't find outsourcing partners, who provide the level of responsiveness he needs. He thought that maybe his expectations were too high and asked me about the reasonable level of responsiveness one can expect. Read my answer below:
When you oursource, always give a deadline of at least a week before your actual deadline. And of course - don't tell them about the one-week reserve. Most of the people whom you outsource to work on several projects simultaneously and one of the most difficult things for them is to fit everybody in their schedule. Because of that, urgent projects or projects that must be finished by a particular date become of higher priority for your outsourcing partner and he or she concentrates mainly on this project.
You should always tell your expectations before you start the project. Always ask your potential outsourcing partners if they are able to take new clients and if they have the time to devote to you.
If they can take new clients and they have the time to devote to your project, your next question is about the turnaround time on the project. They will tell you when you can expect them to start and finish the project.
Just confirm the start and end dates. You can ask something like that, "If I get it right, if we start the project on Monday, you will be ready by XYZ date." This confirmation is necessary - just to be absolutely certain that they have made a commitment to finish the project by that particular date.
After that I usually give as a first project a non-time sensitive one. This way I am testing the waters and get the feeling what it is like to work with them.
The next question we need to clarify is about the time and ways to communicate. There are many ways to communicate - phone, email, instant messagers (such as Yahoo, Skype, MSN, etc.) Clarify how they prefer to communicate and also when. It is important to know at what time of the day you can reach them.
Different webmasters work through different times. Some, I know, work in the wee hours of the morning because that is when they are most productive. Others work during normal business hours.
Work hours are really important and you need to clarify this in advance. If you have a vital question to ask them and they work mainly at night, you will be trying in vain to reach them during normal business hours.
Another important tip for successful partnership is to give them as much information as possible, thus reducing the guesswork to zero. Maybe not everybody else does it but since this approach delivers the best results for me, I usually stick to this rule.
For example, when I am working with outsourcing partners on the creation of a website, I give them a list of sites I like, so that the webmaster can get an idea of what I want.
So I will find, say, five to ten different websites and I will say, "Okay, this is what I like about this site. I like the colors in this one. I like the font that they have used here. I like how they boxed this in," and I will find all kinds of different examples.
As you guess, the process of picking sites takes a lot of time. However, in fact it does save a lot of time and effort because when your outsourcing partner has clear guidelines, less communication is necessary and their task is easier. As a result, this is a very effective approach and that's why I use it with my outsourcing partners.
Like I said, number one is managing expectations upfront and getting the commitment of the outsource partner himself or herself to tell you their timeline and to share with you what you can expect and it comes from them. The other thing is to find out the best way to communicate with them and the best time to reach them.
Then also, your first project with any Outsource partner definitely make it a project that for you is not time sensitive but you are basically using that project to test the waters. If you are not comfortable with them, do not give them any other work because there is something that is telling you that it is not right so move on to the next.
Just take for granted that trial and error situations are part of life and that you might have to try many partners till you find somebody whom you are happy with. But when you find such a partner, you can work with him or her on any project for the years to come.
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