What are the key benefits of outsourcing?
Andrew Muras: The keys to an effective outsourcing practice are: management and cost-control. Management, in that there may be some reasons for internal perspective: you cannot do things the way you would like. Therefore, you may most likely hire a contractor over whom you would have better control —regarding how he/she does business — than your own internal staff, department or division. Also, from a cost perspective, you would hopefully get some better ideas and better control from a contractor. SSON: What are the key elements of effective performance management for an outsourcer? AM: Clear communication in terms of service levels and metrics. If you don’t have criteria associated with metrics, then you don’t have a good contract or service-level agreement. You need to set some type of punishment for failure to meet goals. SSON: What are the basic tools for process improvement? AM: The basic tools for process improvement are: Activity-Based Management, Lean and Six Sigma from a cost,
