Managers need to look beyond cost factor in outsourcing

Published on Wednesday, Aug 19, 2009

Outsourcing seems to be the hottest buzzword - a popular shortcut to cost cutting.

Many organisations fancy it as an easy escape route to reduce expenses by getting the work done as cheaply as possible.

But, if you feel that way and simply concentrate on the cost-benefit, you may only end up saddled with poor results.

This is because outsourcing often does not work like we want it to. In fact, many horror stories are emerging thanks to managers focussing solely on the cost variable.

Well, you have to look beyond the larger picture and not make cost cutting or getting cheap labour the only motivation for outsourcing.

The real reason for outsourcing lies in the quest for finding people who can do the work better than you can! Operating with this mindset of tapping into a larger talent pool alone can open up a world of new opportunities for companies both large and small. Like:

• Outsourcing delivers rich gains from the expertise and experience of specialists leading to better quality results and lesser mistakes i.e., maximum efficiency. You can also leverage the access to new and expensive technologies.

• Hiring experts to do your work not only helps you to exploit their proficiency but also saves time as they can obviously do the work much faster than you ever could. For instance, you no longer need to spend hours over your accounting – simply outsource it to an expert who can do it in a jiffy!

• You can now concentrate your time and resources on the core priorities and strategic initiatives so as to manage the business efficiently. Sans the stress of peripheral problems, you are free to enhance what you do best or what needs your attention most, leading to higher profits.

• This is not to say that outsourcing will not reduce your operating costs. You stand to gain a lot from the lower service expenses and are saved the need to set up extra infrastructure.

This is also a flexible option as you can pay for the services only when you need them vis-À-vis maintaining large, full-time staff in-house.

But, the key is to look at cost saving as a desirable offshoot of outsourcing and not let it become the primary focal point.

In fact, according to Gartner, “Saving money isn’t the only reason to outsource. It’s not even the top one these days!”

Getting it right: It’s easy to want to outsource – the challenging part is how to do it.

The dilemma begins with what to outsource. While outsourcing can be used in a variety of ways in different industries and sectors ranging from IT, data entry, back office and customer support to recruitment, payroll, employee training and even manufacturing.

Yet, not every application can be outsourced. You have to select a viable one based on size, complexity, stability, resources, skills or technology required. And, needless to say, none of the core functions can ever be outsourced! Stick to routine, non-core jobs that are either temporary or cause a heavy drain on resources.

Now comes the prudent selection of a suitable service provider.

Do your homework to choose the right outsourcing partner from a list of choices. Try to find out everything about the provider and then handle the impending process carefully.

Sit down and determine the minute details together like scope of work, time frame, performance indicators, quality assurance and reporting relationship. These standards of performance should be clearly outlined in the contract at the outset itself. Also, it is always advisable to retain the decision-making authority.

In addition, as Sun Services vice president and CTO, Dan Berg elucidates “The way to do it is looking at the existing process and its related outcomes and then asking the outsourcing partner how they would achieve the same or better outcome by leveraging their own established processes and best practices. The combination of process definition and process execution is crucial.”

Once the outsourcing arrangement is underway, be patient and allow for initial hiccups as the provider tries to familiarise with the work. Also, maintain constant communication with regular meetings where you are both updated of the progress and can also discuss any issues.

All said and done, the success and effectiveness of the collaboration will depend on your individual relationship.

So, try to establish a working partnership that is compatible, satisfactory and based on a mutual understanding of needs. This will turn outsourcing into a strategic tool that enhances both productivity and profitability.

PAYAL CHANANIA

Too much talk during interview brings in negative results

Published on Wednesday, Aug 19, 2009

Many job candidates tend to run off at the mouth during a job interview. They babble endlessly with long monologues that show almost no sign of ending. Even the most simple and basic questions invite garrulous 15-minute answers littered with elaborate personal stories ranging from previous bosses to family trivia.

While some of these jobseekers may be naturally talkative, others are simply nervous, excited or anxious to please which makes them go overboard with superfluous and long-winded replies.

The catch is that this tendency to go on and on can cost you the job even when you would otherwise have seemed appropriately qualified!

Talking too much during an interview creates a poor impression – it is interpreted as a negative trait. The interviewer is bound to doubt your job approach when you just cannot get to the point. Or, by over-sharing you may accidentally let slip irrelevant details that are better left unsaid.

The excessive loquaciousness also cuts into interviewing time, as the interviewer obviously wants to pose further questions to learn more about you, but is unable to get in a word edgewise. What’s more, he may even reject your candidature just to avoid being saddled with your ramblings on a daily basis!

According to a survey, 36 percent of recruiters reiterate that talking too much is the most common interview mistake that job candidates make. So you might have just blown an otherwise promising chance of employment, that too without even realising it.

But, don’t despair as it’s not like you cannot do anything about it.

Here are tips to getover the habit:

Know what you will speak about – Practise answering questions in a succinct, direct and focussed manner. You can even prepare short statements for expected questions that are powerful, engaging and yet to the point. A rule of thumb is that an answer should last no longer than two minutes with basic ones drawing 30 seconds or even less.

The key is to define yourself with brevity, using every minute to its best advantage to promote your strengths and show that your background matches the position.

Know when to stop - Remember that when an interviewer asks, ‘Tell me about yourself?’ he does not want or for that matter, need to know your whole life story! So, stick to the relevant points and refrain from digressing into extraneous issues.

A simple trick is to collect your thoughts before you start speaking, talk and remain silent later on to give the interviewer a chance to respond with further questions. You can always confirm what the interviewer wants to know with a ‘Should I focus on….’ before you commence answering and also check back on the adequacy of your answer with ‘Does that give you what you are looking for?’ or ‘Do you want more examples?’.

Watch out for the warning signs – You can always take your cues from the interviewer to grasp when he is bored or you have gone on too long.

Non-verbal body language like glancing away, looking at the watch, rolling eyes, tapping a pen, wincing or stopping taking notes are obvious hints that the interviewer is exasperated with your endless discourse.

Other factors –Listen actively to what the interviewer is saying so that you understand the question and then answer in an appropriate and direct manner to show that you value his time. This give-and-take will build a positive, respectful relationship as well as reflect on your communication skills.

To sum up, less is more as talking too much can render irreparable damage to your career. On the other hand, going to the other extreme and speaking too little, with the interviewer having to pull information from you will not do you any favours either.

So be an active and responsive interview participant who fully answers questions but does not go on giving irrelevant information either!

PAYAL CHANANIA

Twitter can help in your job search

Published on Wednesday, Aug 12, 2009

Social media is all over the place. And the latest one that the world is going euphoric over Twitter.

This is primarily a social networking site, which people use to update others about where they are and what they are doing. But the good news is that this multi-faceted website can even facilitate your job search. Yes, most of us may not even think of using it for job hunting, but Twitter works as a high-powered job search tool providing much more opportunities than the other networking sites.

For example, Charulata Mehta found her current dream job as Public Relations Officer simply by tweeting to around 250 ‘followers’, ‘Anyone looking for a marketing or public relations person?’ She explains, “Within hours I had several emails, IMs, phone calls and tweets about open jobs and one actually resulted in a perfect position!”

How to

www.twitter.com works as a microblog where users can post short updates of upto 140 characters via a variety of technologies like instant messaging, sms or the usual web interface. These messages or ‘tweets’ as they are better known, are displayed on your profile page as well as automatically broadcasted to the whole world (i.e. those who have signed up to receive them). The best part is that you can easily connect to people you don’t even know. You can freely choose whom to ‘listen’ to simply by clicking on the ‘follow’ button.

Twitter offers an open forum for connecting with people you would otherwise have no chance of reaching. This incredibly broadens the field for networking, thus amplifying your job search prospects too.

Networking on Twitter may seem like the perfect way to find your next job, but how does it really work?

Shouting out to the world – Your tweets do not have to be limited to your personal activities. You can proactively write about your job search like what you are looking for, the people you have met and also the interviews you have attended. This will keep your job search on people’s radar and someone or the other is bound to know/have such a vacancy.

Making valuable connections – Twitter offers a simple and informal way to reach out to people you would like to network with - like those involved in your interest areas - without appearing intrusive.

This can range from recruiters and hiring managers to even industry experts, top executives and CEOs.

Not only do you gain the opportunity to listen and learn about what they are working on and what they are interested in, but can also attract their precious attention.

Information on open positions – Many companies and job boards have a presence on Twitter and use it to tweet about their job openings.

Also, Twitter offers a range of search tools like Twitter Search, Twellow, etc. where you can search the site by company name or other keywords.

Tweeting to a job

This online job-hunting tool is simple, but it delivers amazing results only when used correctly. Here’s how to make the best use of it:

• Sign up with a professional handle, preferably your real name and an optional job description.

• Lots of people will check out who you are and what you do. So, provide a short professional profile with links to your online resume, blog, personal website or even Facebook/LinkedIn profile.

• It is important to take the time to target, research and follow the right people instead of following people blindly and ending up with a Tweet overload. Build a strong, quality network by checking out the bio and links of a person before ‘following’ him.

• Update your tweets regularly with a prime focus on what you write. Provide productive tweets talking about your work, ideas, insights and expertise so as to portray yourself as knowledgeable in your field. You can even spread information, clear doubts and share links of professional interest to establish your credibility and also impress the right people enough to follow you.

• Twitter is not only about self-promotion. You also have to be willing to help others to gain better results for yourself.

• Also, be careful as Twitter can be quite addictive, eating up too much of your time.

To sum up in the words of an expert, “Statistics show that job search networking is much more effective when you make ‘loose’ connections - touching base with people beyond your immediate circle whose networks and contacts are much different from your own. With over three million users, Twitter offers an unparalleled opportunity to create an extended network!”

PAYAL CHANANIA