Category Archives: Workforce Optimization

Squeezing outsourcing budgets

Both clients and outsourcing providers are at getting better at squeezing the outsourcing dollars to the best extent they can. This takes a variety of shapes and forms but both have their own agendas on how, why and where to get their economies in. while clients try to get more done with less which is the latest mantra world over, the providers try to get more out of fewer resources. This happens more so in fixed price contracts where providers constantly try to improvise, automate and improve efficiencies to gain pricing advantages.

These have its pitfalls on both sides, unlike construction projects, for example, it is not easy to estimate IT spend more so complex ones that have varying components and dependencies on several accounts and sometimes even third parties.  Many of them have developed comprehensive modelling techniques that tend to serve well but are not sure shot with the accuracy.  There is always a 5 to 10% cushion or even higher but that tends to quickly evaporate.

Factors like duration of the projects, talents of the resources, bench time,  just in time resourcing like inventory in manufacturing, the financial savviness of teams involved in knowing what budgets they are opening, reviews of spending vs. budget regularly are other avenues to track to avoid squeeze down the line.

Sometimes the squeeze is applied in wrong areas that prove to be counter-productive. Pushing the can down the road is another option that tends to backfire.

There is no silver bullet to optimal spend or cutting costs to get to a number.  Prioritization is the key to accomplishing desired outcomes at optimal costs.  Squeezing just to score some brownie points or without the need to do it is another pitfall.  I have also seen areas where IT squeezes budgets while marketing spends the same without tangible results.

Making Rational decisions is the key – the squeeze an or course be applied to areas that don’t provide the payback or considered wasteful spending.

 

Automation impacting outsourcing

Now that Outsourcing has reached a certain amount of volumes, almost all of the major companies that outsource have started thinking seriously about the need for automation of repeated processes.

Robotic Process Automation is still in its in fancy, there is a lot of work to be done here to  separate reality from hype  that the  marketing side of the IT-BPO industry  that loves to hype up any new bell or whistle, and it has done so with robotic process automation (RPA) for the past few years.

RPA involves the use of “software robots” capable of replacing humans for mundane, repetitive tasks commonly found in BPO. However, it will take some time for the real world to catch up with the marketing hype (if it ever will). Industry surveys show only a small percentage of companies have hands-on experience with RPA, and many executives still struggle with understanding the technology and its realistic capabilities.

The advent of new technologies like Big Data, Analytics, improvements in Machine Learning techniques and maturity curve of both software and hardware involved in these areas are scaling new heights and this area will see some traction for see.

Stay tuned.. more to come

Staying relevant in outsourced environment

Every outsourcing engagement goes thru the pulls and pressures of work.  The concept of do more with less has pushed both sides of the outsourcing engagements to the brink at times.  The combination of pressures arsing from people, process and technology impacts people (human beings) the most.

Sometimes finding the way forward takes some self-reflection. If you’re feeling stuck, frustrated or tired of dealing with the same problems again and again, there might be solutions right in front of you that you just can’t see.

Lack of mentoring and support structures on both sides at times leaves resources perplexed.

Here are the four questions can help clear away your mental blocks so that you can move forward.

1. What’s your mindset?
Start by looking at your attitude about your situation. What are you telling yourself? For example, it could be:

  • “I don’t have the energy to deal with this.”
  • “Why try harder? It won’t really make a difference.”
  • “Things will never get better.”
  • “Why do I care”
  • My loyalty is limited to myself”

Your mindset may be the very thing that’s holding you back, because it affects your choices and how you engage with others. If you find that your self-talk is negative, what messages do you want to replace the current ones with so that you can make more progress?

2. What are you tolerating that you need to let go of?
We all have things, large and small, that we tolerate in our lives. When you hold onto them for too long, they can significantly affect your progress. Take a look at the list below to see if any of these apply to you:

  • Being disorganized, resulting in unproductive time
  • Failing to plan ahead, allowing lower priority work to take over
  • Doing work that others should be doing because of a failure to hold others accountable or delegate

What one small change can you make to free up some energy, and create capacity to find a solution?

3. What choices are you making that are keeping you where you are?
Things typically don’t just happen to us. Outcomes are usually the result of a series or choices that we and others have made along the way. When we make some choices over and over again, they form patterns that may not serve us well.

So, if you’re frustrated by what’s going on around you, ask yourself how you are enabling that situation to continue. The following questions may provoke some ideas:

  • Do you keep trying the same approach, but expect a different result?
  • Are you putting off a difficult conversation?
  • Have your engaged others in solving the problem with you (e.g., escalated the issue that needs to be addressed)?

As you consider the questions above, what do you notice about your own behavior?

4. Are you burnt out?
Finally, your physical health could be a surprising factor that’s keeping you from making progress. Are you getting enough sleep? What does your diet look like? Feeling physically drained can lead you to make more emotional rather than rational decisions. Even getting 15 minutes more of sleep, making sure you don’t skip a meal, or taking five-minute breaks throughout the day can make a big difference

Handling underperformers on your engagement

Managing performance across boundaries in a outsourced environment is always a challenge.  More so not having direct control over your outsourced partner’s resources whose performance is the key to your success.

On the larger teams it is often not unusual to be frustrated with a team member who isn’t performing as you need — and who’s showing no signs of changing?

As frustrated as leaders are in this situation, sometimes they aren’t giving employees the honest advice and specific feedback they need to change. They might be worried about damaging the relationship, or they think that an employee should “just know” what to do.

You can take an approach, though, that helps the employee (and keeps your relationship healthy) while getting you better results. Here’s the process that could help you in dealing with a “stuck” employee.

Look at Your Mindset

Think about how you’ve been engaging with this employee. What role are you playing in the current situation? How are you enabling it to continue as it is? For example, I’ve noticed that when a leader starts showing frustration or micromanaging, it can put his team member in a place of fear and self-doubt. That can make it much more difficult for the employee to make change happen. What would help you get centered so you can address the situation in a more constructive way?

Set Clear Expectations

Sometimes leaders assume an employee should know, without being told, how to handle an assignment. Then they’re disappointed when the employee doesn’t read their mind and meet all of those unvoiced expectations. You’ll do more to boost the employee’s performance when you delegate with clear expectations. Spell out the deliverables, define their decision-making authority, and specify how often the employee should check in and any other key parameters of the project.

One of my clients has a boss who’s discouraged by her performance but doesn’t communicate expectations. He gives her assignments to test her capabilities – but doesn’t tell her this upfront, or let her know what skills he’s looking to assess or build. That approach hasn’t served either one of them well. He would improve his effectiveness if he communicated at the outset, “I’m giving you this assignment to see how you’ll do and where I need to coach you, to help you be successful.”

Give Specific Feedback

Think about whether you’re offering the employee tangible, specific feedback. Are you communicating regularly about what’s working and what’s not? If you want her to make a shift in a certain area — say, being more strategic instead of tactical — are you letting her know this and explaining why this would help her succeed?

There is a  two-part formula for giving feedback. This approach gives the employee useful information she can take action on and keeps the emphasis on performance and results instead of personal criticism.

  1. As objectively as possible, tell the employee what you observed her doing. Share facts without interpreting them.
  1. Describe the impact of those actions. Your goal is to help the employee understand what she did and how it affected others. For example, did the actions she took (or didn’t take) lead to a missed deadline? Misalignment of goals? Wasted time?

Attrition Problems ….How not to lose your best resources

Attrition is one word that every manager dislikes. The Expense of losing someone, recruitment all over again, training, knowledge transfer and all that is associated with replacing a good resource is a painful process. It impacts more than your bottom line, if you are in a large organization with outsourced component this can get more complex with lot of hidden costs associated with it.

Though a level of attrition is expected and is sometime encouraged to draw in fresh blood, it is imperative to keep your best resources at all costs and by all means.

It is easy to lose our best resources both knowingly and unknowingly, if only we know some of the tips and techniques and used it to our advantage we would be in much better shape. Here are some tricks.

1. Be dishonest.

Yes, #1 on the list is dishonesty. Integrity matters. Most good employees – and all great ones – have integrity. So, lying to them, to their coworkers, or to customers / suppliers is sure to turn them off. Over-billing a client, ripping off a supplier, bending the rules, cooking the books, and even just “little white lies” are all sure to catch the private ire of those employees who can best help you and your organization succeed. Don’t think they don’t notice; they DO.

2. Don’t say “Thank you.”

It’s a small thing, but it really does make a difference. Even small gestures of appreciation, complements on good work, acknowledging that someone stayed late / came in early / went the extra mile help keep talented people motivated and engaged. A small gift card, permission to leave early for the day or work from home the day before a holiday (if work is getting completed), a kind word, an email, all of these things cost very little but go a long way. I suggest making a point of doing them. People care if someone notices when they are doing a good job.

3. Forget the values that made your organization a success.

I’ve been part of organizations that truly lived their core values (and even years later can recite them by heart, because they were so prominent). We all knew what they were.We all agreed they were important, or at least accepted them as such. The leadership talked about them, and everything we did as a company HAD to align to them. When you build a team, you have to be very explicit about expectations and the team culture, and then review the key elements of that together from time to time.

4. Don’t take time to listen (to their concerns).

Good people almost always actually want what is best for the organization. They may have differing opinions on what that is, but they can be passionate, even fiery about it.If you’re dismissive of their concerns, when raised, you’re headed down the road to losing top performing people. Even if you can’t change a policy or a decision, you may be able to adjust how it is implemented to optimize the situation based on the concerns that your talented people raise. Just what kind of weak, arrogant, incompetent, narcissistic leader doesn’t want to hear this, anyhow?

5. Ignore their personal and professional development.

Note that there are two dimensions to this – professional development (technical skills, industry knowledge, expertise, professional certifications, formal training, etc.) and personal development. I would include leadership skills, street-smarts, maturity, self-awareness, EQ, general health and well being all as part of this.Leaders only follow stronger leaders, so if you want to keep current or future leaders, be sure you are mentoring them. Let them learn from your own life experience; telling good stories from your experience can be a great way to do this. Help them become better professionals – and better people.

6. Don’t be selective who you hire in the first place.

We all know that hiring people who really fit and are highly talented is tough. We know that the repercussions of a bad hire are awful for everyone. Make sure people really will fit into your organization. I have found that the recruiting process is often commensurate with the organization and role. The better (and more prestigious) the entity and higher profile the role, the tougher the recruiting process often seems – and it should be. Talented people often don’t mind a tough (within reason) selection process because they are usually competitive people who thrive on challenge. Invest the time needed to really explore what makes a person tick before you hire them.

7. Micromanage.

Do I really need to go here? Yes, unfortunately. Though we all know better than this, don’t we? Sadly, I’ve seen way too much of it. It’s not just classical micromanagement either. I’ve seen truly exceptional people who excelled in their role end up with their jobs “dumbed-down” to cater to the lowest common denominator, and to the point they were no longer challenged or motivated. Needless to say, it wasn’t long before they were looking for an opportunity somewhere else.

8. Set the bar low.

Great people will get discouraged and either leave or adapt to mediocrity if that is what they perceive is deemed acceptable. I’ve seen mediocrity accepted, rewarded, applauded, and even promoted! The impact of this on team morale (and on the highest performing team members) was palpable. Set the bar high and then become a cheerleader – even if people don’t make it over the high bar, point out how high the bar was set and how high people did get, and celebrate the success they did have at the right level. They may just make it over that high bar the next time.

9. Be cold and uncaring (to them and to their coworkers).

People are human. Why do we seem to forget this so often? They have personal struggles, ambitions, families, crises, etc. One of my favorite bosses from the past was a gentleman, he knew most about me and my family. He didn’t go beyond appropriate boundaries, but I really knew he cared about me as an employee and as a person (note #5, above).He was personable and when I needed a friend, a true mentor, someone I could go to with a problem. I knew I could talk to him and he’d help me out however he could. He got a lot of loyalty from me in return. I should also point out that talented people watch how you treat other people, not just themselves, and they take note of it.

10. The “usual” things (under-pay them, intrude into their personal lives, harassment, etc.)

Yes, the “usual” things will usually get a good person out of your organization as fast as they can possibly find an opportunity elsewhere. Incredibly, I’ve seen organizations under-pay very good people. One executive even said to me, in private, “Well, just what are they going to do? Leave? They have no place to go. The (job) market is poor.” This was his way of rationalizing, those many years ago, reduced bonuses for a group of people who really had earned them – and who were contractually entitled.This was disappointing to say the least, and I lost a lot of sleep over it at the time, even though my own bonus was good that year. Plus, it wasn’t long before people actually did have someplace else to go, and go they did.

Bringing the best from your offshore teams

As a manager you know that to deliver great results consistently you need to get the best from those that you manage. So what steps can you take to bring out the best from your team? In a typical offshore arrangement this assumes more important given the challenges with distance, culture and other elements that differ from a traditional working arrangement.

You can mitigate this to a large extent and achieve predictable results. Here are some quick tips and techniques.

1.Set crystal clear objectives

The start point of getting the best from people that you manage is to make it clear to them what they are expected to deliver. Often managers become stuck in the long list of activities that are contained in a job description. While this provides some important content, make a point of spelling out the 5 key results that you expect individuals in the team you manage to deliver.

2.Help them solve their own problems

As a busy manager it is sometimes highly tempting to solve problems for people so that you get them away from your desk as quickly as possible. The trouble is that if you always do this, people will stop thinking for themselves and just come to you for the answers. Use questions to coach people to find their own solutions to problems and challenges.

3.Take the time to praise

Few people (if any) turn up for work with the intention of doing a bad job. Yet managers often forget this and fail to recognize the efforts and achievements of their people. Make a point of praising achievement and acknowledging efforts as it will motivate.

4.Delegate whenever you can

There are few managers who could be accused of over delegating. In fact it is generally the complete opposite. Delegating does not just provide benefits to you in terms of freeing up time but also provides scope for those that you manage to take on new challenges.

5.Treat people fairly

Treat people well and chances are that the majority will go to exceptional lengths to deliver for you. A good rule of thumb to check this out is to ask whether you are treating others the way you would like to be treated in the given situation.

Millennial women changing Outsourcing workspace

Women in Outsourcing industry constitute a big number. More than 85% of them are Millennials. (Millennials – loosely defined as those born between 1980 and 1995) Lets focus on India first which has been a remarkable success story.

According to official data, India’s IT and BPO services industry employs some three million workers. Today about a quarter or more of these are women, says India’s industry trade body Nasscom. That is up from a fifth of the workforce in 2007. A recent study, Diversity in Action by Nasscom and PricewaterhouseCoopers, suggests the number of women workers is steadily growing. That change represents a generational shift.

The IT industry has extremely high diversity in terms of gender, geography, language and socio-economic factors, that is because meritocracy reigns in the industry. It all boils down to talent. The competition for talent in the IT industry has smoothed out many of the inequalities, making it more diverse and inclusive than any other in India.

Foremost is the gender balance. Thanks to women-friendly policies, including escorts to the doorstep on nightshifts, generous maternity benefits and 24/7 childcare, the gender imbalance in the industry is slowly being evened out. More middle-class Indian parents, who wield enormous power over their children’s career choices, are becoming comfortable with their daughters working late and being away on business.

But diversity in the industry still has its challenges. While there are plenty of women entering the workforce, there is a pronounced lack of women in leadership or boardroom roles. She believes change is round the corner. There are a lot more women at the entry level in the industry. Secondly, many women are rising in functional roles today. In five or six years, more women will reach the top in business roles and in a few years, the IT industry will start looking like India’s banking industry which has seen domination of women leading banks by sari-clad women CEOs.

Indian companies have imported and formulated some of the best practices in HR. Their flat structures and informal work culture is quite a departure from the ambiance at India’s family-run or old- economy companies. But inclusivity in the full sense of word, encompassing generational diversity and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers, is still not visible in workplaces.

Close to six percent of India’s population has some form of disability but fewer than three in 100 are employed by the organised sector. There is more acceptance of diversity in the workplace than even a decade ago and people have a more nuanced understanding of labels attached to sexual orientation. But diversity as a corporate agenda is largely focused on bringing women into the workplace.

However, one remarkable aspect of India’s young industry has gone largely unsung. India’s infamous caste and class systems have been upended by the IT industry. With the migration from small towns to larger cities, many Indians no longer feel categorized by the caste system or shackled to it in an industry where merit rules.

The industry is dominated by a young workforce – in many large companies workers are aged on average in the early thirties. “Talent issues have diminished all biases, equal opportunity is the reality

Globally Millennials think and work differently. To be competitive, now and particularly in the future, organizations will need to create a culture and work environment that attracts and retains a new generation of workers. This is especially true as organizations work to attract, retain and promote women, who should one day occupy a higher number of senior positions.

The millennial woman is more highly educated and more likely to be employed than previous generations, and she is more confident than generations of women before her. Fifty-one percent of millennial women – compared to 61% of millennial men – say they feel they will be able to rise to the top of their respective organizations. Our study found that the Gen Y woman considers opportunities for career progression to be the most attractive employer trait. She also has more global acumen and is more technologically savvy than previous generations. Finally, the Gen Y woman has a strong sense of egalitarianism and is likely to seek an employer with a strong record on equality and diversity.

Why is this significant? Millennial women will comprise about 25% of the global workforce by 2020. In an era of talent scarcity, attracting and retaining skilled millennial women will be crucial. Organizations will have to adapt in significant ways, including how they manage, coach and provide feedback to these employees.

Many large corporations and employers have slowly begun to retool and transform their talent management processes. They are using important findings to design a system for coaching staff – particularly millennials – that would be more impactful and would have greater personal resonance with this new generation.

An important component of our revamped approach is frequent. Despite their digital aptitude, 96% of millennials prefer to talk face-to-face about career plans and progress, just as 95% of non-millennials do.

In addition to addressing millennial preferences regarding frequent, face-to-face feedback, more frequent conversations foster more effective mentor and sponsor relationships. There is a dire need to create an environment where informal discussion about career development and progression are systemic and will go a long way towards correcting that imbalance for aspiring women. Reorienting organizational processes to reflect the need for and acceptability of these conversations is an important step in changing mindsets that can be particularly destructive to a woman’s career development.

Many organizations have not caught on to the importance of taking an interest in their millennial employees. Less than 2% of millennials identify a colleague, employer or supervisor as the person encouraging them to pursue their professional aspirations, according to a study conducted this year by Bentley University’s Center for Women & Business. The study concludes that many organizations are missing an important opportunity to retain millennial employees by failing to take a personal interest in their career ambitions. One success story cited in the study was a millennial woman who loved her summer job because her employer made an effort to communicate the value and impact of her work. Each week, she was sent to other departments to see how the organization as a whole was using her work. As a result, she felt valued and motivated – and she developed a much deeper understanding of the entire organization in the process, a benefit to her and the employer.

Attracting and retaining millennial women is a business necessity for my organization and so many others. Building a culture where conversations about career development and flexibility are both frequent and constructive is an important, tangible step towards helping women reach their full potential in the workplace.

Recruiting leaders for outsourced engagements

You will always at some point find that you will likely have to replace some people on your team and recruit new leaders. As you rebuild your team, what traits and qualities will you look for? What indicators might help you identify higher-potential staff and likely “A” players?

Here is a good listing of traits and characteristics you should look for in a global world which ever culture you think fit. As leaders to lead teams globally you need to have these to succeed.

THE ESSENTIAL TRAITS

There are six key leadership traits including: curiosity, courage, perseverance, integrity, confidence, and empathy. Some of these traits may be innate―while some are born with a particular trait―while other traits were developed over time, forged in the crucibles of critical moments and relationships.

1. Curiosity

Curiosity is both the most surprising and most frequently mentioned trait. The desire to understand and learn new things helps leaders to build the diverse experiences that later gives them the foundation to be an accomplished leader. Yet, the importance of curiosity as a critical employee or manager is rarely studied in the management literature, curiosity is one of the most important qualities top recruiters look for in recruiting talent. Whether innate or cultivated, curiosity is vital to motivating leaders to pursue experiences and learn lessons that build deeper insights and understanding in an ever-changing knowledge economy.

2. Courage

Courage is the willingness to face uncertainty and perhaps danger. There are always critical moments in which leaders are called upon to be courageous and willingly move into unfamiliar ground in order to go forward. Often, courage is manifested in the willingness to take on new challenges that stretch the individual well beyond what he or she already knows how to do. Courage helps the leaders to master new skills and experiences critical to their advancement and their personal credibility.

3. Perseverance

Perseverance (the willingness to work through challenges without giving up) is another trait vital to individual success in both professional and personal contexts. Often, perseverance provides the drive to master a difficult subject or situation. Among our respondents, this willingness to persevere was sometimes learned in childhood. Others work at cultivating this trait, training with determination to excel in an area where they are not naturally gifted, such as a musical instrument or a sport, to achieve a high level of proficiency. Perseverance enables leaders to undertake challenging and difficult assignments and advance in their chosen professions.

4. Integrity

The trait of “ethically saying what you mean; and doing what you say” is highly desirable . Being able to marry the right intentions with right actions provides a foundation for trust within and across an organization. Getting things done with integrity also makes it easier for others to work for and with you.

5. Confidence

Confidence is another trait that is highly valued. Confidence does not have to be innate; a calm and self-assured style can be cultivated through practice. Confidence that’s grounded in prior experience and confidence in engaging the unknown are particularly valuable. Leaders expressing confidence can assuage anxieties and make it easier for staff to follow direction.

6. Empathy

Empathy—the ability to understand and consider another’s point of view—is also highly valuable for leaders. Empathy can be valuable in testing your point of view against those of others and in avoiding blind spots in decision-making. Furthermore, it can help executives be more effective communicators to, and influencers of, their key stakeholders by driving understanding and helping to find points of convergence that meet each other’s needs.

Other attributes of high-potential talent

Many of the above traits align with other findings on the qualities of high-potential talent. Recently, for example, in “21st century talent spotting: Why potential now trumps brains, experience and competencies” (Harvard Business Review June 2014), Claudio Fernandez-Araoz notes five indicators of high potential:

The right kind of motivation—a commitment to fiercely pursue unselfish goals (additive to the trait of integrity above)
Curiosity—a penchant for seeking out new experiences and an openness to learning and change (same as our prior study)
Insight—ability to gather and make sense of information that suggests new possibilities
Engagement—a knack for persuasively using emotion, logic, and communication (similar to empathy for communications)
Determination—a wherewithal to pursue difficult goals and overcome challenges (similar to perseverance)

Traditionally, the most used gauges of the above traits are analysis of personal and work histories, reference checks, and interviews. But one other method—observation of the trait—can also be feasibly employed in the recruiting process. For example, an executive walks potential recruits through a manufacturing plant in order to discover what the candidate observes about the plant and what questions they ask about the operations.

Recruiting and onboarding of new talent to your team is likely to create significant demands on your time, and success is not always guaranteed. Beyond gauging proficiency in their functional specialization, recruiting to the above traits may help to improve the odds and return on recruiting—helping to identify high-potential, future leaders who are adaptive to changing organizational contexts and needs.

Trust & Relationship in outsourcing

Trust is a core ingredient to build successful relationships. Both personal and professional ones. It is a major leadership characteristic. However, you can´t take it for granted. You need to work hard to earn trust and to keep it. In an outsourced environ, it is even more important to trust each other side and work towards the common goals. Given the distances, relationships in a typical outsourced arrangement, cultural differences etc. it is imperative to keep trust in each other and enhance the relationship further. Most often promises are made and not kept or not taken seriously. Given the multiple levels at which works gets done in outsourced engagement, building trust from the top to the bottom most levels would be extremely rewarding.

Isaac Watts once said that “Learning to trust is one of life’s most difficult tasks.“ If you´re not seen as a trustworthy person you can´t neither form engaged relationships nor high performing teams. And without them you can´t become a successful leader and manager. If you were not careful, you can lose trust within days or even hours.

In today´s article I´d like to share with you my thoughts and what I consider being the most important principles to build, regain, and sustain trust:

Walk Your Talk. Mean what you say and keep your word. Deliver your committed tasks and duties on time and in full. Be consistent and reliable. Arrive promptly to meetings. If you might risk missing an agreed timeline, proactively communicate and explain it, apologize and come forward with a new proposal. Try not missing it a second time to protect your reputation. Lead by example and permanently demonstrate that you deliver on your promises and that others can count on you.

Communicate Frequently And Openly. Direct, quick, accurate, and honest communication builds trust. Share regularly with others. This underlines that you have no hidden agenda. Address possible trust issues within a team in an open and prompt manner. In this context also crucial to develop and possess good active listening skills.

Tell The Truth And Take A Stand. Be honest and don´t lie. This is not as easy as it might sound. Of course, we wouldn´t admit it, would we? Anyway, it´s key not leaving out relevant facts, figures, and opinions when discussing and arguing. Even, and especially, when it´s awkward and painful. People will appreciate it. Also be willing to say no. You can´t be everything to everyone. Taking a stand based on sound arguments – well and politely articulated – will earn you respect and trust.

Be Transparent And Unite. Share your objectives, strategy, agenda, and values. People want to know what you think and believe and to understand how they might fit into the picture. This gives them security and confidence in you and your intentions. Create a common identity and establish a sense of companionship.

Show People That You Care About Them. Be out for others and not primarily for yourself. Appreciate all people you´re dealing with. Show sensitivity to their interests, wishes, and needs. Value them and thank them. Express sincere gratitude rather two times too often than missing it just once. Do it from the heart.

Empower Others. Show people that you trust them. Grant flexibility, stimulate initiative- taking, and ask for regular feedback. Have faith in others skills and capabilities. Be willing to let go and to share power. “The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them” (E. Hemingway).

Focus On The Positives. Don´t punish mistakes. As they can happen think and speak about them in a results-oriented and forward-looking way. Jointly look with others for solutions and implement actions to avoid that they´ll happen again.

Coach And Train Others. Guide people around you and assist them in finding their way and the right solutions for themselves. Don´t tell them what to do. Instead ask them for their opinions. Support them in becoming great and outstanding.

Follow High Ethical Standards. Do the right things. Even, and especially, when it might be hard. People will like, respect, and trust your integrity.

Admit Mistakes And Weaknesses. Fortunately, you´re only human. So, when you don’t do the right thing, admit it. Be transparent, authentic and willing to talk about your mistakes and faults in a constructive manner. When you are vulnerable and have nothing to hide you radiate trust. That´s what people love.

Establish Long Term Relationships. Trust is usually not the result of short term actions and profits. It´s stemming from deeper values, ethics, and fundamental principles. Take your time and don´t rush. Be willing to let trust evolve and flourish. The best trust fertilizer is to “give without any strings attached.“ Don´t expect always something in return.

Website Development: Outsourced or Outhoused? « Workbox Blog

Nice article – courtesy Workbox…check this out

 

Website Development: Outsourced or Outhoused?

You’re a brilliant marketing consultant and web designer!

The site you designed for your client launched on-time and on-budget. The outsourced development shop did a great job at a great price. Your client loves you.

The trouble started a month later.

Maybe this is what you experienced:

  • The client wants some new features and the developer isn’t responding.
  • You need to update WordPress, but don’t have a staging site on which to debug.
  • The platform or design isn’t scalable for new features or content sections.
  • You and your client don’t have permission to access the web server.
  • You don’t own the Google Analytics account.
  • Who has the domain registrar login?
  • And your client doesn’t want excuses.
  • And your profit margin is shrinking.

Yeah, you went cheap, and now that $500, $2,000 or even $5,000 isn’t looking like such a bargain after all!

You “outhoused” your website development.

Don’t get me wrong – a lot of marketing and design consultants have great success with inexpensive website development outsourcing. They’re successful because they did their homework and clearly defined the project, not just for the developer, but for their client as well.

There are some big issues that inexperienced consultants have with outsourced developers.

> The developer isn’t going to warn you about or protect you against things that will cause problems later on, and may actually have an incentive to NOT warn you (issues around hosting, content management systems, analytics systems, domain registration).

> The developer isn’t going to tell you things you don’t want to hear or say “no” to any request.

> The developer will not “fill in the blanks” if instructions aren’t accurate or clear.

This isn’t necessarily the developer’s fault. They make money by quickly and efficiently building websites – and assume you know what you want. When they get a request that doesn’t fit into their basic model, they get confused and unresponsive, and don’t know how to pull clarification out of you. Also, they may use a simple, inflexible solution to solve a problem you don’t understand or want to deal with so they can keep the project on-time and on-budget. Sure, some are flaky jerks, but most are really trying to do a good job.

Here’s the deal: you’re not getting a true partner with many inexpensive outsourced development teams. You’re getting worker bees. Clearly and accurately define the task and everything works great. Deviate and get stung.

Here are some tips so you can avoid “outhousing” your web development project:

  • Discuss hosting and be sure you are permitted to have access to the live website code.
  • Understand your client’s long-term plans (1-2 years is enough) for the website and be sure to account for them in the design and technology platform.
  • Confirm that your client has the logins for everything! Hosting, domain registrar, analytics accounts, third-party service providers.
  • Define a website software update process. WordPress and other software needs to be updated regularly for security purposes.
  • Require a development or staging site to test software updates and technical enhancements.

The good news is that if you do your homework, clearly and accurately describe your project and requirements, and manage your development team correctly, you can build a great relationship with an outsourced developer. Then you get a reliable partner – and you and your projects won’t fall into the outhouse!