You know how dating relationships go? It is exciting, there is suspense. Will she like me you think? You are so relieved when she not only likes you but wants to see you — regularly. Then, you go out, you learn about each other and fall in love. Then issues creep up, the family doesn’t like certain things about you and you can’t stand them. Sound familiar? Unless you’ve had an arranged marriage, you are probably familiar with all of these issues. With an arranged marriage, the family basically chooses you, so it is less likely they will have issues about who you are as a person as far as the big things go.
Outsourcing relationships are similar. We start out being wowed by the salesperson. We are excited that someone will be able to do our work. We like something about the company and forget that doing business is not that simple and that most companies are just not that responsible and just not at all loyal to the little guy. You get involved, they start doing work and all is well. Then, you find that they don’t do the work with the care you want. Your prized worker Sylvia quit and was replaced by Samantha who never emails you and just doesn’t care. The boss is no longer getting back to you unless you bombard him with emails. What happened to the love?
You have to understand that outsourcing relationships go through phases. You will go through different call center reps, different programmers, and different medical transcriptionists all under the same roof at the outsourcing company you chose. The critical point is that the boss has good standards for who he hires not some of the time but all the time. The next critical point is that you got to know the workers and technical manager instead of getting to know the salesman who will be out of the picture the minute you sign the contract. It is also critical that the boss is on your side when you start having trouble with one of his workers.
In all honesty, it might be easier to hire a freelancer directly rather than an outsourcing company. You will not get good care from most companies unless you offer them a huge contract — and even then there are no guarantees. But, try your luck and remember my point. Six months later after you have gone through a few workers and seen the outsourcing company at their worst, do you still like them? Are you still impressed by the salesperson or do you think that he and all other salesmen are full of it? Just remember — it never ends the way it begins!