What do you mean by a workforce plan?  Does it involve forecasting the hiring needs that the organizations will have in the various disciplines? 

What are the prominent capabilities that Brazil has to offer in the IT and BPO Outsourcing World?  Which companies are considered to be at the top?

Do we think that countries such as India, Manilla and even China will ever be able to handle work that involves deep knowledge about a specific process area?  An example of this is US Benefits.  Can we really expect them to comprehend the terminology and details around the various benefit plans offered by US companies?  These countries tend to break down the work into silos in order to transactionalize, however we seem to loose the overall understanding of the processes from end to end.

What are some of your experiences?

Does anyone have experience with outsourcing the HR functions (Payroll, Benefits, Pension, HR Admin) in Europe where transaction volumes are small within the countries?  What types of solutions exist for companies with scattered headcounts among these countries and how have you overcome the language and critical mass barriers?

Depending on the size of the outsourcing project, you may not have the luxury of dedicated SMEs and project managers.  In any event, it is best to structure the team upfront and provide a support structure to those areas that are expected to manage the transition and run the shop. 

We have taken the outsourcing project as an opportunity to give some high performing SMEs the opportunity to take on additional leadership roles in order to free up their management's time to run the transition.  Being creative within the teams will help to ensure focus on the outsourcing project and keep things running within the functional areas.

If possible, it would be best to define the "retained" individuals up front and utilize them in key roles to assist with the transition while incenting those that are not retained to stay on throughout the transition and stabilization phases.  That has worked for us in the past.

Do any of you out there currently outsource the Recruitment Process function and if so what are the key components of the function? 

What providers exist out there and what are the capabilities?

What type of technologies are offered and what have your experiences been like?

It has to do with the people that are assigned as the key interfaces to your account and their ability to manage relationships.  Chemistry plays a big role between the client relationship manager and the provider relationship manager.  If they are able to connect and understand one another the relationship management portion of the contract becomes that much easier.

It's critical to always meet and know who the key players will be on your account prior to signature.

The Relationship Manager should be on the internal team - prior to day one if possible.  It's best if you define your retained organization in the early stages of the deal and that you select individuals who you know will be a part of the retained organization to become the key process experts.  This will ensure cooperation and these individuals can assist through the change management issues. 

Dedicated project management resources are critical - since it's unrealistic to assume that individuals can keep the shop running while simultaneously working through an outsourcing transition.  Buyers should invest in a strong Transition Manager with strong project management and communication skills.

Although cost savings is obviously a reason, the other main reason that we outsource in the BPO space specifically, is to leverage the standard tools and processes that Suppliers have to offer for the various business processes. 

We do not have the time, money or resources to invest in developing tools and standard processes for functions that are standard and available (i.e. Accounts Payable) in the marketplace. 

Has anyone successfully outsourced their Accounts Receivable - Collections, Cash Applications, Dispute Resolution functions?

Please share your experiences - positive or negative.
Which companies and countries have the best capabilities?
What reactions have you received from your end customers?
What type of Collections have you outsourced - commercial vs. consumer?

Does anyone know which country (excluding India) has BPO capabilities for Finance & Accounting and HR functional areas?  Is anyone successfully outsourcing these functions in such countries like Brazil, Mexico or Argentina?  Any experiences you can share would be appreciated.

Buyers care about Vendor Relationship Management.  Many times they underestimate the effort required to manage the relationships especially if they don't have any previous outsourcing expriences.  Many buyer organizations do not have the talent or skills within their own resource pool to successfully manage a contract.

As buyers become more educated they will address this in advance of the deal.  Until then I think it's up to the Suppliers and any Consultants that Buyers work with to highlight the benefits of addressing earlier than later.

I've learned from many experiences what buyers can do early in the assessment/procurement process to ensure greater success post contract.  Here they are:

1.  Identify the buyer Relationship Manager early and ensure they are engaged throughout the negotiations and pre-contract sessions.

2.  Ensure Suppliers have access to all relevant documentation during due diligence phase and insist on a comprehensive due diligence report from each Supplier.

3.  Identify the Transition Manager from Supplier and Buyer organization.  Critical skills include project management and good communication skills.  Ensure these 2 individuals spend time outlining and agreeing to the transition plan pre-contract signing.

4.  Invest in Governance Organization (Buyers) and identify roles and responsibilities - identify candidates and involve them as early as possible.

5.  Visit Supplier delivery centers - reverse due diligence.

6.  Communicate open and honestly to impacted organizations throughout the outsourcing cycle (assessment/procurement period through contract signature and beyond).  This will increase the level of buy in and support.

7.  Invest in good legal support - it's well worth it in the end!