When it comes to operations, the name of the game in the development and non-profit sector is cost efficiency and resource maximizationWe are talking about companies who are working to make a difference in the world on very limited budgets.
When analyzing Sales and IT outsourcing providers it is key for leaders of the non-profit sector to consider short terms costs against long-term benefits.For our non-profit sector potential clients as well as for start-ups, here are a couple of pointers to consider when analyzing potential vendors.
First of all, it is paramount that you determine priorities within your organization and that every stakeholder has a clear idea of what they want to be outsourced and why. Leaders must have clarity of what are core functions to the organization that either push the mission forward and generate revenue; our recommendation is to focus outsourcing on non-core functions that normally would take time from leaders to focus on strategy and growth related 100% to the business.
Second, make sure that you address the users of your technology within the organization who will be impacted by outsourcing. Understand their process and map it out in a way that all stakeholders know the process by heart and the implications that outsourcing will bring. Also, make sure to provide a sense of direction about this strategy mainly because outsourcing is generally seen as a short-term strategy when it can be a long-term or permanent strategy for many organizations.
Last but definitely not least, leaders of organizations must learn to quantify values to help compare and help you move through the decision process. It is important to assign values (numbers) to desires and compatibility for any given feature; using a 1-10 scale or other similar metric is always helpful.
