As outsourcing continues to grow in popularity as an option for a company’s call center or IT development and sales, we have seen a majority of the offshore outsourcing go to India. One has to wonder why this shift in popularity for Indian outsourcing has transpired. Several years ago, the concept of outsourcing was used primarily as a method for saving on expenditures. However, today it is included as part of a company’s global strategy if worldwide marketing is part of the company format and is considered a viable solution for a variety of situations.

Decision makers are oftentimes challenged to profit from the competition’s failures and the option of outsourcing usually enters into the proposition. Typically, the rate of success to achieve a company's goals is greater when outsourcing is utilized. And this success has been well documented in mid-size to larger scale off-shoring projects focusing on India. However, one question always arises --- "How do you measure success?"

Typically, tools are implemented by the call center to gauge this issue and included in the communication between them and the company for which they are performing the service. You have to proactively address the outsourcing arrangement in order to measure the company’s success. The following criteria are critical when it comes to ensuring an offshore call center business relationship.

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Contract Management – This is always needed whenever services are hired out to an offshore service provider. External legal advice is inevitable if there are no in-house legal services available. This ensures that the business relationship is built on a stable foundation with no possibility of any legal ramifications.

Cultural Awareness – Characteristically, there is a certain amount of time pressure involved with offshore outsourcing and the tighter time frame and schedule forces management to be more profitable sooner. Where relationships with offshore call centers are concerned, Indian staff and Western staff need to be trained on the cultural differences between the two nations.

Expectation Management – Typically, where outsourcing is concerned there is a supplier and a purchaser, just as there is in normal commerce. Outsourcing has the tendency to produce a slightly different set of expectations. The fact that the outsourcing services are coming from India complicates the expectations somewhat. The closing of any gaps in expectations will eliminate the possibility of any problems.

Experience Factors – The larger the outsourcing/call center operation gets, the more critical experience becomes. In order to ensure a successful offshore engagement, the identification of risks is a crucial element. The transfer of these services back to the on-shore entity can happen if wrong decisions and expectations result due to errors in judgment or mismanagement.

Framework Governance – If this is not clearly defined at the outset of the business relationship, an outsourcing initiative can fail easily. This has been proven time and time again by watching the market and the trends of this type of business relationship. All managerial processes, rules, and regulations are stated implicitly by the governance of the framework and will be followed to the letter by virtue of this governance.

Offshore Preparedness – Not only is extensive knowledge and personnel training required but it must be constantly supported prior to the transfer of the service to the offshore location. In order for this to work, it is relevant to this preparedness factor and how well it is implemented. A company’s success can also be hindered if there is a strong resistance to this.

These criteria are strictly met and performed by some Indian outsourcing entities, hence the growth in popularity for that location. InSO has more advantages than a typical Indian call center, since they have their headquarters in Los Angeles with their offshore call center in India. This enables the client to have the quality of an on-shore location with the cost-effectiveness of an offshore presence --- the best of both worlds.