- Taking a holistic approach to managing the scope of the BPO relationship. High performers consider the entire, end-to-end business process to be in scope, including elements managed within the client’s enterprise, those run by third parties as well as related processes that may impact overall performance.
- Adopting a collaborative approach to governance. Collaborative BPO governance is much more than a set of committees or a schedule of meetings; it also comprises the attitudes toward the relationship and the behaviors that strengthen it.
- Making change management a priority. High performers execute carefully planned change programs to manage the effects of change during transition and beyond.
- Focusing on benefits beyond cost reduction. Both client and provider look for value beyond cost – cost reduction is important but is not the prime motivation.
- Targeting strategic business outcomes. High performers aim for specific strategic outcomes -- not just more efficient transactions – that can be measured, such as helping clients increase revenues.
- Leveraging domain expertise and analytics. Clients look to their providers’ deep industry knowledge and ability to analyze data to more predictably drive business outcomes.
- Aligning the retained organization with the outsourced processes. High performers place as much importance on the client’s internal transformation as they place on transforming the outsourced processes.
- Using technology as an enabler. In high-performance BPO relationships, technology is a source of innovation and advantage, not just the infrastructure of delivery.
Survey results indicate that a collaborative, approach toward governance is important to create high performing BPO relationships. In collaborative arrangements, clients consider their BPO provider to be a strategic partner, and senior leaders from both sides commit their time to the relationship. A broader stakeholder alignment and involvement of senior leaders mean that high performing engagements are better able to productively resolve their conflicts than normal engagements. Findings showed:
- Nearly 85 percent of high performing BPO engagements consider the service provider to be a strategic partner compared to 41 percent of typical engagements
- In 75 percent of high performance BPO engagements, senior leaders from both parties spend time to understand each other’s objectives and strategies compared to 33 percent of typical engagements
- 90 percent of the high performers reported that the client and provider were able to productively resolve conflicts. This was true only with 44 percent of typical performers
- Making change management a priority.
- 77 percent of high performing BPO engagements have successfully executed change management plans compared to just 34 percent of typical engagements
- Nearly 85 percent of high performing engagements proactively refine their objectives as the relationship matures compared to just 40 percent of typical engagements
- Focusing on benefits beyond cost reduction
- 67 percent of high performing engagements include business benefits beyond cost in the business case compared to 26 percent of typical engagements
- 58 percent of high performers will consider service options with greater value, even at higher costs, compared with 31 percent of typical performers
- Targeting strategic business outcomes
- 56 percent of high performers seek competitive advantage through BPO, while only 28 percent of typical performers aim for that goal
- 64 percent of high performing engagements place more focus on capturing other benefits as they achieve cost reduction compared to 40 percent of typical engagements
- More than half of high performers (54 percent) have contract performance incentives in place, compared with only about a fourth (24 percent) of typical performers
All respondents had strong involvement in managing their BPO initiatives across many BPO segments including finance & accounting (F&A), procurement, supply chain, human resources, contact center, analytics and marketing operations. Respondents represented a cross-section of industry sectors including banking, financial services and insurance; electronics and high-tech; life sciences; consumer packaged goods and energy & utilities.
As part of the overall study, The Outsourcing Unit at The London School of Economics also conducted more than 20 in-depth interviews with Accenture clients who qualified as high performers to demonstrate how they apply the high performance behaviors and management practices. Combined with its research database of more than 1,300 outsourcing client case findings from more than 250 academic analyses, the Outsourcing Unit at the LSE has further validated the research results and is developing case studies and “practice” papers illustrating how these practices and behaviors work in live BPO engagements. To access the “Achieving High Performance in BPO” research report, visit www.accenture.com/highperformancebpo. Or view the high performance BPO Infographic. About Accenture Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company with over 244,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$25.5 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2011. Its home page is www.accenture.com.