Let聮s face it Wholesale Tony Snell Jersey , competitive outsourcing is here to stay. We don聮t have to agree with it politically, emotionally, or theoretically聟it聮s just a fact of life in today聮s business environment? which begs the question whether our performance management process and systems are up to the task.
For all that has been written about the practice of outsourcing (and there聮s no shortage of writings in this space), precious little has been said about if and how our PM processes and systems will need to change in a heavily outsourced environment. Perhaps this is because many companies still see an outsourcing relationship as just another vendor to be managed- a key vendor or strategic partner perhaps, but a vendor relationship nonetheless. But is it really that simple? To answer this question Wholesale Rashad Vaughn Jersey , it聮s worth looking at a couple of key aspects of performance management that has shaped this landscape in recent years.
On one hand, there is the reality of outsourcing, and the overwhelming complexity of dealing with an overextended network of information flows, many of which will ultimately exist outside of your corporate information portfolio. On the other hand, we聮ve had the significant growth of ERP and other corporate wide reporting systems- a IT 聯wave?that is replacing our legacy mainframes with the latest and greatest in enterprise reporting technology. The operative word here is 聯enterprise? and what that word really means to the future of performance management.
While the wave of ERP systems has driven some well needed perspective and improvements to our performance reporting environment Wholesale Greg Monroe Jersey , it has also created a level of 聯structure?that may be difficult to maintain in tomorrow聮s business environment. The reality is that hundreds of millions of dollars has been spent in this transformation, an investment that could soon end up in our museum of IT history if we are not careful. Outsourcing poses the biggest risk in this arena, as it will quickly challenge the very structure that these latest and greatest corporate applications set out to achieve.
Let聮s look at a typical outsourcing a function like facilities management聟stuff like corporate security, catering, janitorial services Wholesale Malcolm Brogdon Jersey , equipment maintenance and the like- a function that was once one of many departments that make up our internal organization. Only now, this function has become heavily outsourced because of the scale and unit cost efficiencies achieved by shifting these services to a best-in-breed provider (an obvious end state for all 聯non core?function like this).
On the surface, the outsourcing of a function like this appears to be a significant 聯win-win? That is until the company tries to roll the management of this function into the corporate IT fold. What was once a simple task of rolling up accounting and HR data from internal systems, is now a task that may involve up to 10 different vendors. If the complexity of capturing the costs from this many points of service doesn聮t kill you, the process of understanding and normalizing for the differences in data reporting and accounting practices certainly will.
And that聮s not the worst of it. The 聯zinger?in all of this is that you聮ve just spent 80 million dollars as a company to develop your 聯integrated?reporting framework Wholesale D. J. Wilson Jersey , which, at a minimum will have to be re-tooled to integrate with the myriad of relationships that are now reflected inside of one single outsourced process. That assumes of course, that all of these vendors and partners 聯play ball?your way- an unlikely reality, to say the least.
If you聮re an IT director responsible for the implementation of one of these integrated reporting systems, this is the proverbial train wreck waiting to happen. But don聮t jump off that bridge quite yet Wholesale Matthew Dellavedova Jersey , because there is a silver lining. That is, if you are willing to challenge the conventional way information is answer lies in embracing what some refer to as an 聯inside out?versus a 聯top down?information management framework.
So what do we mean by an 聯inside out?information framework? Let聮s start from a different place. Imagine a world where an enterprise is really a large collection of many businesses, all of which can be viewed as independent competitive entities- entities that are assembled in a way that is strategically connected to the vision, mission, and objectives of the corporation.
That聮s right聟everything from the security guards on the first floor Wholesale Thon Maker Jersey , to the investor relations department on the thirty-fifth. Instead of each of these businesses being given a budget, they are given a clear set of KPI聮s, a list of competitors, and a performance contract with clear incentives and accountabilities. They (with some coaching if necessary) determine what information they need to manage their business and achieve their outcomes. They may be given some tools of the trade to manage this information, but the information is their聮s to manage.