Outsource Magazine Issue 26 - (Page 86)

Kill or Cure? Diagnosing and remedying stakeholder misalignment can mean the difference between outsourcing success and failure. David Borowski, Pace Harmon David Borowski is a senior associate at Pace Harmon, specialising in business process optimisation and outsourcing, strategic sourcing, and complex project execution. Marc Tanowitz, Pace Harmon Marc Tanowitz, Principal at Pace Harmon, advises Fortune 500 and high-growth middle market organisations on complex IT and business process outsourcing. O utsourcing is a transformational change that is neither simple nor easy. Fundamentally changing a company’s delivery model is challenging enough when the business process or IT services are mature and the organisation supportive, but it becomes nearly impossible if organisational alignment is not addressed early in the initiative and measured throughout. Without proactive organisational alignment, programme management tends to rely more on “feel” than facts, and it becomes difficult to understand why certain elements of the project are working or failing. As with a medical check-up, organisations contemplating outsourcing must identify the symptoms of misalignment early in the process, diagnose the underlying cause, and prescribe the right course of action for improvement. While there is no silver bullet to guarantee organisational alignment, the most effective weapons are awareness, active communication, and a willingness to address instances of misalignment swiftly and decisively. Alignment CritiCAlity The risks associated with non-alignment are varied and significant, ranging from poor execution to downright sabotage. Premature communication of the outsourcing plan, whether unintentional or otherwise, often results in rumours and can lead to attrition, loss of institutional knowledge, and deterioration of company goodwill. Additionally, lack of participation in planning and execution can cause an incomplete or incorrect understanding of the outsourcing scope, elongated stabilisation timelines, and budget overruns. Non-invested stakeholders may even work to undermine the initiative’s success, “Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals, and values are in balance.” – Brian Tracy 86 ● ● ● ● www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk http://www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Outsource Magazine Issue 26

News & Comment
2012 in outsourcing
Fine – but what does it all mean?
Steering Steria
Separate Ways?
Getting Smart
Northern Lights
Heads in the Cloud
Connecting Service
Bigger and Better
NOA Round-Up
Breaking Through
You Cannot be Serious!
Back to the Future
Accounts Payable
The Power of Two
Public-Private Partnerships
Kill or Cure
Public Problems
Head-to-Head
Top Ten
The Legal View
HfS Research
Online Round-Up
Inside Source
The Last Word

Outsource Magazine Issue 26