CEO Post: Spreadsheet’s Role in Outsourcing
I was recently asked to comment on a business blog about the extraordinary growth of Outsourcing. What are the best ways to make judgments about which contractors to hire?
I follow this topic rather closely because the very nature of outsourced relationships requires file exchange and real-time collaboration among dispersed parties. Of course, that’s the eXpresso sweet spot, so I hope the outsourcing trend continues to boom!
Companies of all sizes are relegating specialized duties, whether it’s that one “expert” for a special project, or the outside professional group that handles the duties of an entire department. Executives debate the best ways to qualify contractors before hiring them. Certainly that’s a legitimate concern and there are some interesting views at the Elance blog.
After years in business and working with hundreds of outsourced contractors, I still don’t think there is a firm formula that works every time for screening people. My preference for seeing if someone is a good fit has been to rely on my gut feeling. When you have good, candid conversations, personal judgments about chemistry, abilities, and work ethic usually tell us if we have the right people.
Take a few minutes to see what kinds of techniques other business owners and executives use to “judge” their outsourced talent. You might pick up a great tip. Or, you might see that it is going to come down to “chemistry” anyway, so why not start there.
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Thanks
David
George,
Interesting post. I am all for globalization and outsourcing. In project management, one important step is when you form the project group and do an “inventory” of the different team members. Have you heard about FIRO (Fundamental Interpersonal Relationship Orientation)?