A Tale of Two Outsourcers

Outsource for Success, Not to Abdicate Responsibility

By Barbara Lancaster

Imagine it is New Years Day 2004 and you're sitting at an upscale brunch across from two telecom CIOs. This isn't the beginning of a strange nightmare; it's a good opportunity to eavesdrop. You notice that one, an older man, looks haggard and is drinking his third Bloody Mary. The woman he is talking with, on the contrary, is vigorous, fit and rested, nibbling on a bit of honeydew.

The older man explains to his colleague that from dawn to dusk he's been tending to one OSS crisis after another. He and his team, he said, couldn't keep up with the demands for new product launches. Network inventories were always out of sync with field availability and invoices took more than ten days after close to get out the door.

The woman nodded sympathetically saying, “I know exactly what you mean. We're growing so fast, it's hard to keep up with the processing demands. Actually, I'm taking a serious look at outsourcing a whole bunch of functions.”

“Outsourcing, yeah, my CEO has mentioned that a lot recently,” he responds. “I'm just not sure another company can solve these problems for us or care as much about getting it right,” the man added. “And, uh, aren't you a little worried about your job?”

The woman shook her head, swallowed another piece of honeydew, and said, “I'm really not worried about my job. There are plenty of other priorities I can tackle if I had some time freed up. And yes, the things I'm outsourcing are very specific, but I've managed to talk to several outsourcing companies that have experience, know how to deal with my business, and have worked well with other companies like mine. And frankly, I'm certain there are ways to make sure anyone you hire cares about getting it right...”

Still looking skeptical, the man replied, “Well, I'm not convinced yet, but from what you're saying it sounds like it might be worth looking into.” He raised his glass, now half empty, and toasted to a prosperous new year.

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Fast Forward One Year
It’s New Years Day 2005, and here you are again. Same brunch – the eggs benedict and Nova were just that good last year – and wouldn’t you know it, same folks at your table. Maybe this year you’ll ask them their names…then you look again. The man is looking more haggard than last year, like Lincoln toward the end of his presidency, with a bottle of Xantac next to four empty Bloody Mary glasses.

The woman on the other hand, looks like the combined after pictures for Proactiv and Bowflex. As you lean in, you hear her say, “Thanks. I've been able to get a little order in my life. I've been getting to the health club three times a week.”

“Wow…not me,” says the man, stating what's already glaringly obvious. “There's still not a spare minute in my days. Remember last year we were talking about outsourcing?” Well, ironically enough I took your advice. We went ahead and decided to outsource all of our billing and order management. And you know what the results are? A total disaster, as far as I'm concerned…” You begin to worry that perhaps this man has had one too many. “We're still firefighting and working weekends. It's all gone from bad to worse. We're spending more, and it's harder for me to find someone to shout at when things go wrong. There seems to be no way out; even if we could get out of the contract, the change back would just be too much work and disruption…But, how about you?”

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