10 Guidelines for Investing in BPO (Business Process Outsourcing)

For those looking to reap the benefits of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), the ISO 9000 series of quality management is internationally renowned for setting the bar. They verify the quality of an international business investment in areas like; training, servicing, and purchasing, and that quality is backed by certification received only after an external audit. There are potential difficulties for those looking to outsource ISO certified organizations though. These include change orders on long-term locked in contracts, a lack in available resources, and the most harmful for a joint venture, the lack of visibility known as the execution gap. The following is a list of tips useful for avoiding these pitfalls:

• Research the ISO certifications standards by visiting www.iso.org, American Society for Quality www.asq.org, or the American National Standards Institute www.ansi.org, to fully understand what these quality management standards will mean for your company.
• Design a layout of your service structure, so all operations can be documented for review and you can structurally assign outsourced responsibilities to specific domains.
• Conduct your own audit prior to partnering with a BPO vendor. This could include visiting the offshore premises, and asking for references.
• Create a contract that specifically outlines the service need, expansion guidelines, and quality requirements.
• Avoid long terms contracts, in case the company does not meet investment requirements.
• Monitor industry trends to prevent service impediments in the future.
• Verify that the corporation will have all resources available to you at all times.
• Make certain they are flexible to your needs, and have a point of contact on shore.
• Reduce the execution gap by maintaining lines of communication with video & audio conferencing. Cost efficient communication tools like Skype, make it easy for businesses to communicate with their offshore vendor.
• Conduct your quality assessment in-house using a detailed matrix, and hold BPO vendor accountable for quality standards.

By Kevin Haggerty

As Obama & Singh converse on Global Outsourcing, ISO Certifications become a necessity for BPO vendors

The efforts for bolstering outsourcing & global business transactions have been supported by the governments from both the United States, a leading client, and India, the leading vendor. President Barack Obama in his meeting with India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh “agreed to strengthen economic recovery and expand trade and investment,” because, “Indian investment in America is creating and sustaining jobs across the United States, and the United States is India’s largest trading and investment partner.” India’s Singh has traditionally encouraged international business in his early sentiments, “India has to be integrated into the evolving world economy. We have to share in the benefits of an increasingly interdependent economy. Trade offers opportunities; it creates an environment in which our industry can grow at a rate faster than domestic demand.”
Outsourcing has seen a recent boom as businesses struggle to survive in today’s economy. However, if international businesses merely employed workers as they needed them, without some standard in the services provided by their investment, there presents the possibilities of both mishandled operations and poor quality work within inescapable contracts. This is why the International Standards Organization (ISO) has been so critical in the evolution of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry.
ISO has created more than 17,500 standards since its inception in 1987 and each one is influential in some form of international business. In the case of the BPO industry, the ISO 9000 standards are the dominant preference to ensure quality management for new and existing organizations outsourcing. According to the ISO website, the “ISO 9001:2000 specifies requirements for a quality management system-aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system” provides, “the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable regulatory requirements.“
In an interview with BPO specialist, Rohit Barman President of DPS America, exclusive outsourcing vendor for 30 year old BPO provider, DPS Technologies”, he said, “US companies looking to outsource to BPO vendors are well educated on the ISO certifications, and run a great risk by signing with companies that have not been certified. At the same time, they don’t have a small pool to choose from as most reputable BPO vendors are aware of this, and make sure to get certified.
The significance of these regulations is that certification can only be awarded by an external audit. Furthermore, the means by which an organization meets those standards is not specific, so long as they are met.