For anyone considering an outsourcing project, I would suggest that the creation of a Statement of Work should be one of your first steps. It is essential to invest time in creating the SOW as it is the foundation for the outsourcing project.
The SOW describes the requirements of the work. It is analogous to a job description, as if you were going to hire someone to do the work. The SOW clearly defines the work to be performed, expected tasks, how the tasks should be performed, and how the work fits into the overall business strategy. It should specify milestones/timeframes, expected results, and specific criteria for measuring performance. As Stephen Covey said, €Begin with the end in mind€.
At times the SOW is not given proper attention, which is unfortunate considering its importance and ease of creation. Below are some important components of a SOW:
€ Scope of the project - a comprehensive, detailed description of the work along with background information on how the work fits in the big picture of the organization.
€ Details of the work assignment- provide details on how the work will be performed. Includes specifications, requirements, standards and workflow. Quality control processes and measures are included plus all items that materially affect the work to be done.
€ Service Level Agreement (SLA) - the SLA must be specific, measurable and must include the most important indicators of success.
€ Roles and Responsibilities - must be defined for both the vendor and client. This step is essential to holding both parties accountable.
As a final check, be sure that the SOW is comprehensive, clear, and detailed but as concise as possible.
Bottom line, we highly recommend that you invest some effort in the Statement of Work. It is time you will spend and will make the remainder of your outsourcing journey much easier.
Pat Keegan serves as Infinit Outsourcing Inc.'s Vice President for Strategic Solutions. Pat is a highly accomplished executive with extensive expertise in operational responsibilities across multiple functions and technologies. He has led large, mature organizations and planned, developed and launched new operations at startups. His key areas of expertise include global outsourcing, social media, strategic planning, professional services management, customer service management, process/quality management, and building sustainable high performance teams.
Infinit-O is an outsourcing services provider based in the Philippines. We provide Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) solutions. We are built to address the challenges of small and medium-sized companies who want to realize the full benefits of outsourcing.
The SOW describes the requirements of the work. It is analogous to a job description, as if you were going to hire someone to do the work. The SOW clearly defines the work to be performed, expected tasks, how the tasks should be performed, and how the work fits into the overall business strategy. It should specify milestones/timeframes, expected results, and specific criteria for measuring performance. As Stephen Covey said, €Begin with the end in mind€.
At times the SOW is not given proper attention, which is unfortunate considering its importance and ease of creation. Below are some important components of a SOW:
€ Scope of the project - a comprehensive, detailed description of the work along with background information on how the work fits in the big picture of the organization.
€ Details of the work assignment- provide details on how the work will be performed. Includes specifications, requirements, standards and workflow. Quality control processes and measures are included plus all items that materially affect the work to be done.
€ Service Level Agreement (SLA) - the SLA must be specific, measurable and must include the most important indicators of success.
€ Roles and Responsibilities - must be defined for both the vendor and client. This step is essential to holding both parties accountable.
As a final check, be sure that the SOW is comprehensive, clear, and detailed but as concise as possible.
Bottom line, we highly recommend that you invest some effort in the Statement of Work. It is time you will spend and will make the remainder of your outsourcing journey much easier.
Pat Keegan serves as Infinit Outsourcing Inc.'s Vice President for Strategic Solutions. Pat is a highly accomplished executive with extensive expertise in operational responsibilities across multiple functions and technologies. He has led large, mature organizations and planned, developed and launched new operations at startups. His key areas of expertise include global outsourcing, social media, strategic planning, professional services management, customer service management, process/quality management, and building sustainable high performance teams.
Infinit-O is an outsourcing services provider based in the Philippines. We provide Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) solutions. We are built to address the challenges of small and medium-sized companies who want to realize the full benefits of outsourcing.
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