Holding outsourcers accountable for service delivery
/Over at LinkedIn.com there's a conversation about holding outsourcing service providers accountable for delivering in accordance with the criteria established in the Service Level Agreement (SLA). While there are differences, there are some similarities with captive service units in terms of maintaining accountability. Some things that can be done include:
- Clearly establish expectations up front. While outsourced service providers should be considered partners, it isn't at the same level as a captive service unit. Agreements are much more formal and should be treated as such during the negotiation period.
- The service provider should provide regular reports with metrics showing compliance with the service agreement. Depending on the report this could be daily or weekly. This information should be monitored regularly as part of the governance structure as the client company.
- Establish a formal reporting mechanism at least monthly. In addition to daily or weekly feedback, there should be a formal report at least monthly that shows all of the key metrics and how the service provider measured up to the SLA.
When the client company expects regular, written information from the service provider showing the actual performance against the Service Level Agreement, they let the provider know that their performance matters and that it's being monitored. From the client side, it's essential to obtaining the value from the outsourcing relationship that was identified in the business case. It doesn't have to be confrontational, it's about two partners living up to their responsibilities.
