I recently read an interesting article on the Shared Services and Outsorcing Network, entitled Lady, that’s not in my workflow”… or how sourcing gets in the way of customer service. To give you an overview, the post is a commentary on an article written in the Washington Post by Steven Pearlstein on the drawbacks of outsourcing, mainly that outsourcers cannot react to situations outside of whatever is defined in a workflow. As the article points out:
“their [outsourced employees] only job is to follow rules, stick to the script and leverage the experience and expertise that are embedded in the system"
The reasoning in the Washington Post article is partially correct. For an activity to be outsourced it must be defined using workflows and rules, if the activity cannot be simplified down to a workflow then it is too complicated and not an ideal candidate for outsourcing.
In defense of the outsourcing industry, Deborah Kops writes that outsourcing necessarily implies rules, and workflows and that those rules apply to captive operations as well, not just outsourcing providers. In that case, situations that are not the norm, the outliers, cannot be handled because the rules and workflows were necessarily created to deal with the norm, and not the outlier.
As Deborah points out, when dealing with clients, it is precisely those outlier situations that have a tendency to find their way on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media channels. So even though the workflow took care of 98% of the issues, it is that 2% that can create a negative image for a company and impact its bottom line.
The question necessarily arises, how do you deal with the outliers? What can you do to take care of the clients in unusual situations that deviate from the norm?
Remember, just because the outsourcing provider lives in a country where the cost of living is lower, does not mean they are unable to make correct decisions and satisfy clients without a workflow!
My answer is simple: define a workflow for it. It is possible to implement a workflow precisely for outlier situations. That way you have the general workflow that deals with the norm, and a specialized workflow that deals with outliers. The workflow needs to be more general in nature so it can be used for a wider variation of situations. The very next step is to promote a culture of empowerment that gives the provider a bit of leeway in implementing the workflow (this might not work in industries with tight regulations), and gives the employees of the provider the power to make decisions to the benefit of the client. Naturally, this means that your provider needs to hire people with a capacity to make judgments, so they are not completely reliant on the workflow.
It is possible to take care of outliers, and the norm by outsourcing processes in your organization. However, you will need to define a workflow for those outlier situations. And you will need to make sure that you have a relationship with your provider that is based on responsibility, shared risk, and empowerment. At the end of the day, a workflow is a rigid set of rules, so it makes sense to hire people capable of following the rules. However, do provide training and support for making judgments when a situation does not fit into a workflow. Remember, just because the outsourcing provider lives in a country where the cost of living is lower, does not mean they are unable to make correct decisions and satisfy clients outside a workflow!