How do you prepare for offshoring?Hoe bereidt u zich voor op offshoring?How do you prepare for offshoring?How do you prepare for offshoring?

If you have recently wondered if offshoring could work for you or if you have even already started offshoring some of your works, you may have asked yourself ‘what should I do to prepare’? Or you might have acted like most people do: you just started (or you plan to do so)?

From my experience, I believe the most crucial thing you can do to make offshoring work is: prepare well. To first think before acting (with acting I mean start a project or start doing the actual work offshore). It lies in the human nature and especially the entrepreneurs or managers nature to just ‘get going’, because you want to see results. I believe in a lot of business areas this may be the proper thing to do, but with a complex organizational form (which offshoring is), it is a road with a lot of hurdles.

In my company, Bridge Outsourcing, we have summarized 5 key success factors in offshoring:

Als u zich recentelijk heeft afgevraagd of offshoring voor u kan werken of als u zelfs al bent begonnen met het offshore van werk, heeft u zich waarschijnlijk afgevraagd hoe u zich het beste kunt voorbereiden. Of misschien bent u, zoals de meeste mensen, gewoon begonnen (of heeft u het plan om dit te doen)?

Mijn ervaring leert dat het allerbelangrijkste dat u kunt doen om offshoring een success te laten worden is: goed voorbereiden. Eerst denken en dan doen (met ‘doen’ bedoel ik het beginnen van een project of de start van het offshore werk). Het is begrijpelijk dat mensen, en zeker ondernemers of managers, gewoon ‘beginnen’ omdat ze resultaten willen zien. Ik denk dat dit in veel soorten handel de juiste manier van aanpak is, maar met een complexe vorm van organisatie (en dat is offshoring) is dit de weg van de meeste weerstand.

If you have recently wondered if offshoring could work for you or if you have even already started offshoring some of your works, you may have asked yourself ‘what should I do to prepare’? Or you might have acted like most people do: you just started (or you plan to do so)?

From my experience, I believe the most crucial thing you can do to make offshoring work is: prepare well. To first think before acting (with acting I mean start a project or start doing the actual work offshore). It lies in the human nature and especially the entrepreneurs or managers nature to just ‘get going’, because you want to see results. I believe in a lot of business areas this may be the proper thing to do, but with a complex organizational form (which offshoring is), it is a road with a lot of hurdles.

In my company, Bridge Outsourcing, we have summarized 5 key success factors in offshoring:

If you have recently wondered if offshoring could work for you or if you have even already started offshoring some of your works, you may have asked yourself ‘what should I do to prepare’? Or you might have acted like most people do: you just started (or you plan to do so)?

From my experience, I believe the most crucial thing you can do to make offshoring work is: prepare well. To first think before acting (with acting I mean start a project or start doing the actual work offshore). It lies in the human nature and especially the entrepreneurs or managers nature to just ‘get going’, because you want to see results. I believe in a lot of business areas this may be the proper thing to do, but with a complex organizational form (which offshoring is), it is a road with a lot of hurdles.

In my company, Bridge Outsourcing, we have summarized 5 key success factors in offshoring:

1. People; 2. Process; 3. Preparation; 4. Profit; 5. Performance

Without previous experience in offshoring, it might be a troublesome job to understand what you have to do to prepare, so I will try to highlight the most important areas in this article.

It all starts with the big question ‘will I set up my own office or will I engage a supplier‘? To decide on this, I believe you need to do 3 things: A. Build a business case and compare which option is most profitable (I have a spreadsheet which I can share with you, just drop me an email: h.messer@bridge-outsourcing.nl); B. Question yourself: Am I ready to learn the hard way, make a lot of errors and spend more money than my most positive business case has accounted for?; C. If you choose a supplier: ensure that you have a good ‘feeling’ (visit their office, talk to them and don’t look at pricing and facts only)

Once you’ve decided on the model, there are 2 key areas to focus on during the ‘real’ preparation: People and Process.

People

In the people area, some points of attention:

– Invest time in meeting the key people on your vendor’s side (in the build it yourself version, you’d have to find those key people first, your first expensive hurdle)

– Set up a clear selection process together with your partner to ensure you get the right people for the right job (You have a selection procedure in your own company, right?). If the steps here are clear, there can be no misunderstanding from both sides and you are sure to get that top team.

– Prepare your existing team. In general, people don’t embrace offshoring untill they see what it can bring them. Your existing people have to get used to the change and they need to get the big picture.

– Once you have your team selected, start bonding. You could visit the offshore office or you could invite them to your office (the  more expensive option, but highly recommended for team motivation).

Process

In the process area, some points of attention:

– The most important and most forgotten: start developing a documented process description right before the start of the actual work. Before ‘doing the work’, a solid foundation has to be created by thinking about the ‘how we work’ .

– The ideal situation is to start from your own internal processes. If you don’t have them written down (and for offshoring you need them written down!), start writing down your internal processes first. By doing that, you stimulate thinking about ‘how we work’ and the thinking itself will make the transition offshore easier.

– Write down everything that needs ‘alignment’. Examples. If you use an online project management tool (and you have to!), make a guide on how to use that system. If you use Scrum, document what time exactly the daily meetings will be held, who will be attending, how you’ll do it, what questions will be asked. Write down how specifications are to be made, who’s repsonsible for what part.

At Bridge, we have developed a workshop in which all the aspects that need to be prepared are discussed (there are many more, these were just a few examples). If you have any questions or suggestions on the preparation to offshoring, I would love to hear your comments. If you want to know more about our workshop, feel free to contact me.

In mijn bedrijf, Bridge Outsourcing, hebben we 5 belangrijke success factoren in offshoringsamengevat:

1. People; 2. Proces; 3. Preparation (voorbereiding); 4. Profit (winst); 5. Performance (prestatie)

Zonder enige ervaring met offshoring is het misschien moeilijk te begrijpen wat u allemaal moet voorbereiden, dus ik zal proberen de belangrijkste gebieden uit te lichten in dit artikel.

Het begint allemaal met de grote vraag ‘ga ik mijn eigen kantoor opzetten of maak ik gebruik van een leverancier’? Om hier een keus te maken denk ik dat u 3 dingen moet doen: A. Weeg de voor en nadelen tegen elkaar af zodat u kunt zien welke optie het meest winstgevend is (ik heb een spreadsheet die ik met u kan delen, stuur me gewoon een email:  h.messer@bridge-outsourcing.nl); B. Stel uzelf de vraag: Ben ik bereid te leren door fouten te maken, veel meer geld uit te geven dan ik begroot heb?; C. Als u kiest voor een leverancier: zorg voor een ‘goed gevoel’ bij deze persoon (bezoek hun kantoor, praat met hen, kijk niet alleen naar de prijs en de feiten)

Als u besloten heeft welk model u wilt gebruiken zijn er 2 belangrijke gebieden waar aandacht aan besteed moet worden tijdens de ‘echte’ voorbereiding: People en Proces.

People

In het people gebied; een aantal belangrijke punten:

– Investeer tijd in het ontmoeten van de juiste mensen aan de kant van uw verkoper (in de doe-het-zelf-versie moet u deze mensen eerst zelf vinden, uw eerste dure obstakel)
– Maak een duidelijk selectie proces samen met uw partner om ervoor te zorgen dat u de juiste mensen voor de juiste baan vindt (U heeft ook een selectieprocedure in uw eigen bedrijf, toch?) Als de stappen duidelijk zijn kunnen er geen mistverstanden ontstaan en bent u zeker dat u het beste team krijgt.
– Bereid uw bestaande team voor. Vaak gaan mensen niet voor offshoring totdat ze zien wat het heb op kan leveren. Uw eigen mensen moeten wennen aan de veranderingen en ze moeten de grote voordelen inzien.
– Als u uw team heeft geselecteerd kunt u een band creëren met deze mensen. U bezoekt het offshore kantoor of u nodigt hen op uw kantoor uit (dit is de duurdere optie, maar het is aan te raden voor de motivatie van het team).

Proces

In the proces gebied; een aantal belangrijke punten:

– Het belangrijkste en meest vergeten: begin het ontwikkelen van een gedocumenteerde omschrijving van het proces voordat u met het echte werk begint. Voordat ‘het werk begint’ moet er een duidelijk uitgangspunt zijn over ‘hoe wij werken’.

– De ideale situatie is om te beginnen vanuit uw eigen interne processen. Als u deze niet op papier heeft (en voor offshoring is het essentieel dat deze processen op papier staan!), begin hier dan eerst mee. Door dit te doen stimuleert u het denken over ‘hoe wij werken’ en die manier van denken maakt de overgang naar offshoring makkelijker.

– Schrijf alles op dat ‘op één lijn’ moet komen. Voorbeelden: Als u een online project management tool gebruikt (en dat moet u doen!), maak dan een document waar in staat hoe dit systeem werkt. Als u Scrum gebruikt, schrijf dan op hoe laat de dagelijkse meetings zijn, wie er bij is, hoe u het gaat doen, welke vragen gesteld worden. Schrijf de specificaties op, wie waar verantwoordelijk voor is.

Bij Bridge hebben wij een workshop ontwikkeld waarin alle aspecten die u moet voorbereiden besproken worden (er zijn er nog veel meer, dit zijn alleen een paar voorbeelden). Als u vragen of suggesties heeft over de voorbereiding van offshoring, hoor ik graag uw reactie. Als u meer wilt weten over de workshop, neem dan contact met mij op.

1. People; 2. Process; 3. Preparation; 4. Profit; 5. Performance

Without previous experience in offshoring, it might be a troublesome job to understand what you have to do to prepare, so I will try to highlight the most important areas in this article.

It all starts with the big question ‘will I set up my own office or will I engage a supplier‘? To decide on this, I believe you need to do 3 things: A. Build a business case and compare which option is most profitable (I have a spreadsheet which I can share with you, just drop me an email: h.messer@bridge-outsourcing.nl); B. Question yourself: Am I ready to learn the hard way, make a lot of errors and spend more money than my most positive business case has accounted for?; C. If you choose a supplier: ensure that you have a good ‘feeling’ (visit their office, talk to them and don’t look at pricing and facts only)

Once you’ve decided on the model, there are 2 key areas to focus on during the ‘real’ preparation: People and Process.

People

In the people area, some points of attention:

– Invest time in meeting the key people on your vendor’s side (in the build it yourself version, you’d have to find those key people first, your first expensive hurdle)

– Set up a clear selection process together with your partner to ensure you get the right people for the right job (You have a selection procedure in your own company, right?). If the steps here are clear, there can be no misunderstanding from both sides and you are sure to get that top team.

– Prepare your existing team. In general, people don’t embrace offshoring untill they see what it can bring them. Your existing people have to get used to the change and they need to get the big picture.

– Once you have your team selected, start bonding. You could visit the offshore office or you could invite them to your office (the  more expensive option, but highly recommended for team motivation).

Process

In the process area, some points of attention:

– The most important and most forgotten: start developing a documented process description right before the start of the actual work. Before ‘doing the work’, a solid foundation has to be created by thinking about the ‘how we work’ .

– The ideal situation is to start from your own internal processes. If you don’t have them written down (and for offshoring you need them written down!), start writing down your internal processes first. By doing that, you stimulate thinking about ‘how we work’ and the thinking itself will make the transition offshore easier.

– Write down everything that needs ‘alignment’. Examples. If you use an online project management tool (and you have to!), make a guide on how to use that system. If you use Scrum, document what time exactly the daily meetings will be held, who will be attending, how you’ll do it, what questions will be asked. Write down how specifications are to be made, who’s repsonsible for what part.

At Bridge, we have developed a workshop in which all the aspects that need to be prepared are discussed (there are many more, these were just a few examples). If you have any questions or suggestions on the preparation to offshoring, I would love to hear your comments. If you want to know more about our workshop, feel free to contact me.

1. People; 2. Process; 3. Preparation; 4. Profit; 5. Performance

Without previous experience in offshoring, it might be a troublesome job to understand what you have to do to prepare, so I will try to highlight the most important areas in this article.

It all starts with the big question ‘will I set up my own office or will I engage a supplier‘? To decide on this, I believe you need to do 3 things: A. Build a business case and compare which option is most profitable (I have a spreadsheet which I can share with you, just drop me an email: h.messer@bridge-outsourcing.nl); B. Question yourself: Am I ready to learn the hard way, make a lot of errors and spend more money than my most positive business case has accounted for?; C. If you choose a supplier: ensure that you have a good ‘feeling’ (visit their office, talk to them and don’t look at pricing and facts only)

Once you’ve decided on the model, there are 2 key areas to focus on during the ‘real’ preparation: People and Process.

People

In the people area, some points of attention:

– Invest time in meeting the key people on your vendor’s side (in the build it yourself version, you’d have to find those key people first, your first expensive hurdle)

– Set up a clear selection process together with your partner to ensure you get the right people for the right job (You have a selection procedure in your own company, right?). If the steps here are clear, there can be no misunderstanding from both sides and you are sure to get that top team.

– Prepare your existing team. In general, people don’t embrace offshoring untill they see what it can bring them. Your existing people have to get used to the change and they need to get the big picture.

– Once you have your team selected, start bonding. You could visit the offshore office or you could invite them to your office (the  more expensive option, but highly recommended for team motivation).

Process

In the process area, some points of attention:

– The most important and most forgotten: start developing a documented process description right before the start of the actual work. Before ‘doing the work’, a solid foundation has to be created by thinking about the ‘how we work’ .

– The ideal situation is to start from your own internal processes. If you don’t have them written down (and for offshoring you need them written down!), start writing down your internal processes first. By doing that, you stimulate thinking about ‘how we work’ and the thinking itself will make the transition offshore easier.

– Write down everything that needs ‘alignment’. Examples. If you use an online project management tool (and you have to!), make a guide on how to use that system. If you use Scrum, document what time exactly the daily meetings will be held, who will be attending, how you’ll do it, what questions will be asked. Write down how specifications are to be made, who’s repsonsible for what part.

At Bridge, we have developed a workshop in which all the aspects that need to be prepared are discussed (there are many more, these were just a few examples). If you have any questions or suggestions on the preparation to offshoring, I would love to hear your comments. If you want to know more about our workshop, feel free to contact me.