START CONTRACTING POTENTIAL OUTSOURCING PARTNERS

Before you start reaching out to potential outsourcing partners write a clear scope of work document. It’s your responsibility to decide business goals, what is it that your business needs and what could be the best possible solution to achieve your desired outcomes.

If writing a scope of work document is too technical for you at the beginning, then you can also start by answering some simple questions like

• What is your exact need?
• What could be the best potential solution for that?
• Answering these two simple questions will help you identify the problem you’re solving, prepare a clear roadmap for solving that particular problem and identify your overall business goals.

It’s important for you to understand that outsourcing isn’t a plug-and-play proposition but an approach used for a specific effect. Nobody knows your business better than you. Expecting an outsider to promptly have the same level of familiarity as you isn’t really fair to the outsourcing partner either.

In simple words, you cannot share vague requirements with your outsourcing partner like “create a mobile app that our customers will love” or “introduce something new in our web app” and then expect the best outcomes. The key takeaway is, if you want to yield the best results possible, you need to be extra specific in terms of what you want to build.

After writing the scope of work document, you can start reaching out to prospective outsourcing partners. Once you shortlist three to five vendors, you need to evaluate them based on the following factors:

• Technical expertise
• Skillsets
• Access to the latest technology
• Experience in solving complex challenges
• Passion for your project
• Remember, technical expertise, even though is often overlooked, is crucial for the success of any outsourcing deal. Therefore, you should never choose an outsourcing partner who has expertise in limited technologies, even if they’re best in those few technologies.

The general rule of thumb is, the more software technologies an outsourcing partner has expertise in, the better the quality of your project will be.

In today’s digital era, privacy and data security are two of the biggest concerns, especially for businesses. When you outsource a project, you will often find yourself sharing sensitive business information with the outsourcing partner.

If such sensitive information is not managed properly, then your data can be mishandled. It is highly recommended that you sign a nondisclosure agreement with the selected partner before sharing any sensitive information. Apart from this, you must also consider hiring a vendor who regularly conducts network and security audits in their workplace. They must be using specific tools that will help in protecting all your sensitive data and prevent any data leaks from happening.

Conclusion

When building a business solution, you always have two options: Hire an in-house team, or outsource the project. While many businesses find it difficult to outsource their requirements, outsourcing can boost business growth and efficiency. The only question is are you ready to follow their lead?

If your answer is yes, then these are the main points you should lead with when choosing an outsourcing partner for your next business idea or project.

Daven Michaels is a New York Times Best Selling Author and CEO of premiere global outsourcing company, 123Employee. The company employs hundreds of young bright individuals on three continents. His International event, Beyond Marketing Live! inspires entrepreneurs to build & grow their business with revolutionary ew theories and systems allowing them to design the business and personal lifestyle of their dreams.