Provider Sites & References are a Tell-All
One of the first stops you should make along the path of vetting service providers is the physical work site and/or website of each and every candidate that you’re scrutinizing. Provider workspaces are a tell-all when it comes to demonstrating the claims they make, and from visiting them, you’ll discover key information that could influence your final decision.
The trick in discovering key information, however, is to not be influenced by what they want you to see. The real information – that is, the manner in which they work and the respect for how it’s done, is often hidden behind the lobby, the fountains, and the mountainous library of business magazines and books. What you want to see is behind door #1: the offices, the studio, and the employees.
Look for Organization, Efficiency, & Respect
You’ll want to note how well or how poorly organized your candidates are, and how efficient they are in moving information from one location to another. You’ll want to observe employee behavior and note whether it’s as professional and respectful as claimed. These two seemingly insignificant affairs say a lot about how they’ll treat your project while they’re working on the projects of others.
Online, check provider websites and note how well written and structured their copy is. Note whether web forums are fully functional, and observe the quality of supplied photographs. Forgiving the use of a liberal creative license, you should be able to tell which providers take their online image seriously, and which ones don’t. Professional service providers work behind professionally built websites, whereas amateur providers work behind websites you’d be too ashamed to show your own mother.
Non-Access is to be Expected… and Accommodated
Do note that it isn’t always easy or practical to make a physical visit, especially with so many service providers offering services online. Some providers, after all, work in corporate buildings or overseas while others work in temporary, rented buildings or their own homes. The environments in which providers work are as varied as the opportunities to outsource, and so is the access to those environments.
It is not unreasonable, therefore, to expect non-access from a service provider working from home, nor is it unreasonable to expect the same from a group of providers working out of privately leased office rooms. So when faced with a no-access option, investigate references.
Verifying References and Claims
Speak with each reference to verify a provider actually performed the work claimed. Ask questions about work performance, and note issues that contributed to a difficult transition during any part of the project. Question how easy or difficult it was to get the project started or keep it going once the project got rolling. Ask whether the project’s termination was a smooth, amicable termination, and if there were problems, try to get an explanation.
What you’re doing in all of this is learning how a candidate provider will treat you and your own project. If your project is a customer service project, you’re learning how a candidate provider will treat your customers. In both instances, you’re learning how a candidate provider respects the work that they do, and whether that respect will carry over to your own outsourcing concerns.
