• By quade
• 15 August 2023

Consider These 6 Factors When Selecting An Outsourcing Partner

With business becoming increasingly complex and interconnected, it also becomes necessary to delegate tasks to partners you can trust. There is no better way to do that than with outsourcing. The problem is with thousands of outsourcing companies in dozens of countries, it can be difficult to find a company you can trust. That is why we at geniusOS want to help you. Not only do we provide you with excellent services, we will explain to you the things you should always look for.

1. Check If Your Outsourcing Company Can Communicate Effectively

When choosing an outsourcing partner, it is not enough that they can perform the tasks you want them to do, you also must make sure that your business is compatible with them. At the most basic level, this means that you can effectively communicate tasks to them and they can deliver their work when you need it.

Communication is key to a successful partnership and, ideally, you choose an outsourcing company that can speak the same language as you. It doesn’t matter how good an outsourcing company is if they only speak Spanish while you speak English. Even if they do understand what you want, you will have to spend more time clarifying and explaining what you want which defeats the purpose of giving the task to them.

2. Ensure That Your Outsourcing Companies Can Work at Your Time

If you both understand each other, great but that is not where this ends. The next step is to make sure they can deliver their work when you need it. With outsourcing being an international business, this can be difficult as you could be in New York while your outsourcing business could be in Manila. This means you two are operating in drastically different time zones.

This is not necessarily a problem, but you must make sure that this will not affect their ability to meet deadlines. If they have to, an outsourcing company should adjust their schedule to accomplish their tasks whether it be starting work earlier or working the graveyard shift to finish everything. Remember, you are hiring these companies which makes you the boss. They must be able to accomplish your tasks when you need them.

3. Outsourcing Companies Must Be Flexible To Accomplish Tasks

When it comes to outsourcing, no two clients are the same and a good outsourcing company understands that. This means being able to adjust their services to fulfill your requirements. You don’t want a company that’s just providing the same solution to all their clients because those ideas are not fully optimized to meet your needs.

For outsourcing to be successful, you should expect personalized service. That means taking the time to understand your issues and requirements and building their solutions around them. The best outsourcing companies will try to use different ideas, analysis, and software to meet your requirements

This flexibility does not only apply to your business specifically. Outsourcing companies must be flexible regarding changes in the industry as a whole. When creating solutions, these must have the ability to adapt to sudden shifts like changes in the customer’s habits or changes in operating prices. After all, the business world is ever-changing so you both must be willing to change with it.

4. Quality Outsourcings Companies Should Have A Good History Behind Them

Past behavior can give clues to how an outsourcing company might behave now which is why you should see what their previous history is like. A reputable history is a cornerstone of trust, reliability, and quality. When seeking an outsourcing partner, businesses should prioritize companies with a positive track record.

At the most basic level, their history will tell you how successful their outsourcing services are. Anyone can claim they are a master of something, but not everyone has evidence to back it up. Their previous clients can give evidence of what they experienced working for them.

Viewing an outsourcing service’s history also provides you the benefit of hindsight with their previous works. You will be able to see how some of their previous ideas and campaigns have panned out and whether or not they delivered on their promises.

Beyond just how they worked with their clients, this also lets you observe patterns of behavior in the company. You can see whether they repeat or learn from previous mistakes, if they have red flags, or if there are positive trends.

5. They Deliver Consistent Quality Outsourcing Service

A quality outsourcing service doesn’t just deliver a good product one time. Since you are working with them for an extended period, you should expect that they can hit the mark each time. Quality and consistency are the two most important things you should expect from a business like this.

Quality is very important for any outsourcing business. They must deliver a service that improves your business, plain and simple. The service must meet certain levels of quality and should be adopted to fit what you need. This includes meeting your deadlines, creating services based on your specifications, and ensuring that they can be adapted to your business.

If they manage to deliver the service you want, the next step is for you to receive it consistently. An outsourcing service that provides you with an excellent solution on time during one week but a late and mediocre one the next is not a business you should work with. You will never know what product you are getting. That is why you should expect all their services to meet certain standards.

Admittedly, this is something that cannot always happen right away. There always will be mistakes and issues, even to the best of us. That doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be improvements though. Over time these mistakes must happen less frequently and the general quality of their service must improve as they get used to working with you.

6. Outsourcing Companies Should Think in the Long Term

Long-term strategic planning is a critical aspect of selecting an outsourcing partner, as it allows them to create solutions that last not just for weeks, but for months or even years. When you are outsourcing a business, long-term planning allows you to consistently rely on them for years to come. This involves aligning the outsourcing relationship with your organization’s broader goals and vision.

For your business, you would want it to grow and develop over time so you should expect your outsourcing service to grow and develop with you. They should be able to keep up with increased work and adjust to your plans.

At the same time, they must be able to help manage the risks from changes in the business. Since you expect them to handle certain tasks, they must be able to warn you of risks in that field and help you address them.

Lastly, they should have the willingness to stay by your side throughout this time regardless if things go well or not.