outsource issue 31 - (Page 67)

feature BUSINESS VALUE Losing The Race Before You Put Your Trainers On Is business value “more a wish than a reality”? And, if so, what can you do about it? Jerry Durant, IIOM Jerry Durant is Chairman Emeritus of the International Institute for Outsource Management, Partner at Matryzel and MD of Certellus Corporation, as well as an internationally acclaimed speaker, trainer and author. He is a columnist for Outsource online. B usiness value is a lot of rubbish, not because it isn’t important but because the means of achieving value is grossly abused. Without this keystone to a successful service relationship we abdicate to it being a matter of servitude. Before we even start the cycle involving requests for proposals, negotiation and contract execution we are already adrift with issues. In the case of non-voice BPO we are performing tasks that have been repeatedly changed with the sole intent of fulfilling processing obligations. IT legacy applications have followed similar suit and added to this we are utilising methods that have repeatedly failed. Some examples would include the inability to accurately estimate effort, properly staff delivery, an inability to sufficiently articulate need and ❛At best our business value then becomes a matter of “we have to do these things”, but it remains questionable that “these things” are being carried out in a highly effective manner ❜ to create solutions that are high on flexibility and durability. Finally, KPO remains an elusive pursuit that is rife with reaction but feeble in the ability to be proactive and strategic in focus. So with these known conditions the pursuit of business value because more of a wish than a reality. At best our business value then becomes a matter of “we have to do these things”, but it remains questionable that “these things” are being carried out in a highly effective manner (even when it is the implementation of something total new, or what might be referred to as greenfield). It’s A Numbers Game While most are already in the throes of a service relationship it doesn’t hurt to go back and re-examine whether the numbers, monetary and operational, are accurate. You will probably not be the first organisation to have numbers that were formed to justify a desired outcome. In fact, since many sourced relationships start with a wish it is quite common to have justification efforts focussed on achieving this end. "Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss." – Ralph Waldo Emerson www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk 67 Jerry durabt.indd 67 ● ●● 67 25/3/13 12:02:17 http://www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of outsource issue 31

Upwardly Mobile
Keys to Driving Supply Chain Outsourcing Success
Biography of a Carve-Out
Culture and Values
Redefining the Law Firm Delivery Model
Sharing the Glory
Norn Ironman
Breaking the Outsourcing Conundrum
NOA Round-Up
Back from the Summit
Losing the Race Before You Put On Your Trainers
Innovate to Accelerate
Comparing Clouds
People Power
Making an Impact
Home or Away?
Dead and Buried?
So What Now?
The Legal View
Top Ten
NelsonHall Round-Up
Sourcing Sage
Online Round-Up
The Deal Doctor
Inside Source
The Last Word

outsource issue 31