Why Outsource and Why eSOURCE?

A Personal perspective from Brian Haines:

When I was responsible for NatWest corporate electronic banking in the last decade I focussed on quality service delivery while volumes of work continued to expand. There was always, as now in the banking sector, real pressure on containing or reducing headcount and associated costs. I was therefore “forced” to look at outsourcing and thinking outside of the box.
 

My main concerns then were perceived loss of control and potentially service quality, although I would be delivering a “quick win” to the executive team. Real people were, of course, involved and it was important to protect the organisation and the individuals concerned.
 

To cut a long story short, we moved to action, produced the business case and implemented a full outsource of customer visits [installation & training] to a trusted partner. All worked well, the benefits were seen and other programmes [notably Year 2000] were successfully implemented. For the last 9 years, having left NatWest I have been delivering outsourced services with the eSOURCE  Team to most of the major banks and BACS solution providers. It might be accepted now that I know what I am on about!
 

When asked to describe as briefly as possible our business proposition [always difficult!], I explain that we employ engineers and training consultants that provide services to companies who don’t need to employ these individuals.  

Outsourcing and the real considerations:

• Firstly it is important to understand your core competencies and determine what you believe is not fundamentally necessary to be delivered “in house” This is likely to be for all products & services – sales & marketing and front line operations. For some this might be a change in existing strategy. You should, of course, articulate your concerns to the prospective partner/supplier.
   
• Most of us will have to be involved in major projects or programmes that have a defined start and end and you have to allocate and train (new) resource with appropriate investment. At the end of the programme you then have a number of people that you then need to retrain or relocate at further cost. Budget allocation and control can therefore fluctuate and exceed initial expectations.
   
• When managing your project team or for ongoing day to day operations you can be “sidelined” or concerned about amount of holidays/cover, unplanned leave and long term sickness. Staff might be late or become unreliable. Training, development, performance management, appraisal and staff benefits all have an appropriate cost. People move on and leave at the most inconvenient times!
   
• Do you have effective coverage in the field force across the whole of the UK/GB covering all major conurbations as well as the far flung outposts?
   
• How about full calculation, effective benchmarking and understanding of the costs of vehicles, insurances, fuel, depreciation, management process, mobile phones, equipment, salaries & NI, pensions and associated staff benefits.
   
• Can you also ensure all best practise is shared across the team, obtain continuous improvement feedback regularly and measure customer satisfaction and delight? 

Why eSOURCE and our response to these concerns:

• 10 years direct and proven experience of delivering outsourced quality services for a range of blue chip customers and in demanding environments.
   
• Service Level Agreements that are tailored to your requirements for time responsiveness, quality criteria, risk management information and escalation. 99-97% achievement to date.
   
• Complete scalability for ongoing activity or major programmes and across UK with excellent representation in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Partners in most developed countries around the world.
   
• “You only pay for what you get!”– So a fixed price per unit that is all absorbed and no concerns or associated cost for staff absence or training/accreditation. No charge for avoidable unsuccessful visits.
   
• Quality delivery in line with stretching standards for a 3-times accredited Investor in People. We train our team to high standards and we welcome quality checks on site.
   
• Regular face to face operational reviews and delivering shared improvement programmes. Bespoke back office systems and secure reporting daily.
   
• Online customer feedback to measure level of  satisfaction [currently 90’s percentile]
   
• Customers that have been very pleased with our service delivery and are pleased to provide references.