Characteristics of an Ideal Offshore Outsourcing Solution

Are you looking for an ideal offshore outsource solution? If your answer is yes, then here are some pointers that will help you find a business partner you can hire. These pointers are basically the characteristics of an ideal offshore outsource solution:

No Minimum Commitments. Offshore agreements should not contain minimum or revenue commitments. Instead, business owners should negotiate for a tiered discount schedule that leverages volume discounts for improved utilization and speed. The offshore outsourcing firm should be responsible in earning its client’s business based on performance and not on pre-negotiated commitments.

Termination for Convenience (without material early termination fees). Ideal outsourcing deals should allow companies to terminate contracts even before the end of the term and should not require the business owner to pay a significant termination fee. This way, scuffles are avoided – regardless of the cause of the termination. There can be various reasons to terminate an outsourcing deal. Performance, cultural issues, distance, and other areas are only some of them. The outsourcing firm, of course, can almost always fire back and demand to be compensated for stranded costs like the cost of hiring dedicated outsource staffs to fill the positions, severance and others. But then again, entrepreneurs can be savvy enough to argue that stranded costs are generally not material. In this case, entrepreneurs who decide to terminate deals before the end of the term can only pay for actual stranded costs but not for expected profits and lost opportunities.

Length & Flexibility of Deal. A good BPO offshore outsourcing deal generally consists of an initial term of 2-3 years with two to four successive one year extension options. This way customers can actually choose whether to continue leveraging their expertise or not. The agreement should contain all terms of the deal, including the price.

Currency Options. Given the constantly changing value of dollars, business owners should decide on a currency payment structure that provides the best financial sense. More often than not, leveraging local currency is a beneficial option for offshore deals.

Key Personnel. Service providers should ensure that clients are provided with “key personnel” or reliable resources that an outsourcing company can turn to in case they need to conduct interviews for their projects. Key personnel offer companies more control over quality control of their dedicated outsource staff.

Intellectual Property Rights. Ideal offshore deals contain clear provisions on ownership of software or products being developed and should prevent the outsourcer from using the said software or whatever products for other purposes. These should not be provided to competitors. In all sense, appropriate disclaimers and provisions should be stipulated.

Meaningful SLAs. The agreement should contain service-level agreements (SLAs) that reflect expected performance levels from the hired offshore BPO staffs. It should be focused on areas that create positive business impact for the firm.

Outsourcing Management Tips

Let’s face it: Not all outsource projects work as expected. There are times when companies do not get the right service or product they require from their outsource SEO staff. Take for instance those entrepreneurs who outsource their software development tasks. Many of these firms end up getting software that does not really work. On worse cases, these companies sometimes even end up not getting what they have actually paid for. These and many nightmares of outsourcing are only some of the many things that entrepreneurs wish to avoid.

In all these, it appears that many clients are reluctant to leverage because of several reasons. There are those who shuns the thought of getting in touch with an outsource SEO consultant because of fears that they might just end up with a bad offshore vendor. Many others deviate from the idea of leveraging competencies because the vendor might not be able to manage the work effectively. Others have these lingering worries about getting less quality service and products.

Online marketing who had already tried to leverage their expertise shares the following outsourcing management tips:

* Track milestones. See to it that you have a well-prepared plan that includes estimates and schedules. Make sure your selected vendor and your entire outsource SEO staff is aware of they so they know what to accomplish within each time frame. Hired parties should commit to the dates of completion of each milestone. Modify milestones only when necessary and when you notice your hired staff has a hard time meeting it.
* Track requirements. Check quality of products or services you require from your provider. See to it that these contain features you require.
* Regularly monitor outsourcing progress. Communicate with your hired third movers on a regular basis. Get in touch with them on a regular basis. Exchange emails and/or conference calls on specific days to ensure that operations are doing well and issues are resolved immediately.
* Keep building. If you leverage software design, see to it that a system is put in place to compile and build such project every time you check into the source file. This will help you address problems the moment they occur and will eventually help you avoid delayed software release.
* Test-drive. Require unit tests from your outsourced SEO consultant and staff. Create tests before you eventually ask them to implement the features you desire. This will help your hired parties understand better what you really want from them. Tests will also serve as your basis when checking for system functionality.
* Demand high quality service. This will help set high levels of functionality and quality for your end-users. See to it that all features you demand are well within each product.
* Collaborate with your SEO consultation services provider. This will help you resolve potential issues. While it is true that it can be hard to regularly meet with your outsourced staff especially if they are located in another continent or country, don’t fret. Instead, learn to keep in touch with them using technologies like the internet. Send emails or instant messages to address issues. Use online telecommunication tools like Skype, Yahoo Messenger or Google Talk for free.

How Get the Best from your Outsource SEO Staff

One reason why you might have come across this page is that you are searching for a reliable outsource SEO staff. Or it could be because you are looking for ways on how to take full advantage of the services your chosen provider is currently providing you. In either case, here are four tips that are guaranteed to help you get the best from your third party mover:

Do not underestimate your hired SEO staff. Search engine optimization professionals from most outsourcing companies are skilled and well-trained to provide a myriad of non-core competencies. Bank on this thought and do not be wary to give them non-core tasks so you could focus on more important functions. Hired third party personnel can handle not only data entry jobs but other back-office tasks as well.

Go for offshore training. If this is your first time to hire an outsourcing SEO services provider and you believe your hired staff requires training, provide the necessary training right at the staff’s location. Don’t think about coming over to personally provide them training. Instead, take advantage of technological innovations. This will not only save you time and energy but a large amount of resources as well. In case you are not fully confident with online trainings, ask a representative of your chosen provider to come over to your location and learn the ropes of your work. This representative can later go back to his own company, share and train others.

As much as possible, reduce the risk of downsizing. Just because you already plan to outsource does not mean you can already axe a large chunk of your existing employees. Given that you would want to cut down overhead expenditures, it remains the company’s moral obligation to consider the welfare of all in-house and outsourced employees.

Be particular with the quality of service you get from your selected outsourcing SEO services provider. Never overlook feedbacks from other clients or your offshore vendor. Also, do not be contented with testimonials posted on the sites of service provider. Instead, make it a point to demand for high quality output and impressive results.

Do not allow your hard-earned resources to go to waste. Get the most and the best that you can possibly derive from your SEO consultation services provider.

 

In case you can’t have an outsource SEO staff…

Let’s face it: A good number of start-up and small-scale companies cannot really afford to get the services of top-notch outsource SEO staff. For one thing, some of these professionals charge exorbitant professional fees. More often than not, high cost of services from expert consultants usually mean reducing employee hours. In worse cases, laying people off becomes an option for many entrepreneurs in order to be able to accommodate new employees who could render the much needed expertise.

An outsource SEO staff may mean investing in yet another expertise. For the entrepreneur, it could mean allocating an even greater amount as payment for the service because hired consultants tend to be pricier as compared to the usually hired labor force. But then again, a professional from one of the countless SEO consultation services providers are experts in the field and can be relied on to give you the best quality of work.

In case you cannot possibly hire individuals from targeted SEO consultation services providers, here’s another option for you: work-sharing. Work-sharing is an approach that will help you save jobs of your existing workforce and will also help you figure out your corporate goals. Under this solution, employees agree to a small cut on their wages so that none of the employees are fired. This system encourages business owners to retain employees that they would be forced to let go. Certainly, work-sharing is a lot better than layoffs that are common to economically-challenged enterprises.