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A couple of years back, Deloitte’s outsourcing survey showed that 59 percent of businesses outsourced processes to improve cost efficiencies. A very close runner up at 57 percent was that it freed enterprises to focus on their core business. It also comes with a high level of improved quality, when niche experts act as vendor partners. This quality is only because businesses, small and large, have added monitoring and communication into their Service Level Agreements. Outsourcing to a third party can be a horror story if you expect an out of sight, forget about its approach.
Two-way communication lines require both parties to be clear of their expectations. This makes sure that no nasty surprises will suddenly crop up with snowballing repercussions. Check what iTech, as automated data entry outsourcing partner, has to say about the vendor and organization responsibilities.
Vendor Responsibilities
A significant vendor relationship starts right at the evaluation stage. Your vendor would have already established their credentials, and your organization should have already defined their compliance standards. Documentation of compliance standards in the SLA is a must. The data entry outsourcing vendor’s proposal should be clear and transparent at every step of the way, ensuring that both of you are in sync with the expected outcomes.
The reporting structure must also include the different communication types used since this is essential to monitor progress from the hiring organization’s side. Clients and vendors often have built-in chat systems in their dashboards so that communication is faster and always traceable.
The SLA must have a problem-reporting process in place as often data entry service providers try to fix problems on their side rather than keeping the client in the loop. These, along with work milestones, will ensure both you, as client and vendor, know the expectations at all times. Often clients outsource and slip into a quarterly-review mode, which can be hazardous. Regular proactive reporting from the vendor ensures compliance adherence. Successful client-vendor engagements rely on defining the relationship clearly at the start and actively managing it once the process is underway.
Organizational Responsibilities
Outsourcing repetitive processes do free up an organization to focus on core business needs. However, the reputational risk of an error still comes home to the customer. This makes it essential to monitor your data entry outsourcing partner to ensure a healthy relationship. The organization must have a well-defined vendor risk management and audit process in place.
Organizations that have long-running BPO engagements generally have a dedicated business manager to overview offshore processes. The truth is that businesses tend to focus on what is in front of them, and this reliable point person becomes a must to keep a laser focus. The business manager’s responsibility is not just to deal with escalations but also to monitor and track processes. This helps to identify any deviations and rectify them at the start rather than put out fires later. This could mean multi-level building communications as the person in the trench might have more information on day to day processes than top management.
Data entry outsourcing is a long-term agreement and must provide complete process reviews at regular intervals to improve functions. On-site vendor audits should be a clause included in the SLA, mainly focusing on reviewing controls and security process upgrades to comply with changing requirements. Handing over sensitive information for data capture is always a security concern. Ensure that your vendor and their team are compliant and trained in international security standards.
Subject matter experts from the company need to be available at the location during the transition to provide all data and knowledge to smoothen the process. Often organizations forget to keep their partners up-to-date with internal process changes, and this gap will affect overall productivity. Knowledge transfer must be an ongoing activity.
If your organization plans to increase your data processing efficiency and build a leaner, more efficient process, contact iTech. Reach out to our specialists to discuss your data entry outsourcing needs.