Nowadays, outsourcing or contractor management is often not an activity that can be carried out manually or using a simple Excel file. The move to an integrated, full-feature outsourcing management system is a must for many companies seeking to ensure ongoing growth while retaining complete control over their activities.
This begs the following question: How do you go about choosing an outsourcing management system? Or, more precisely, how do you choose the one that is right for you? Given the substantial investment required on your behalf, you have much to gain by carefully considering your options upstream of making your purchase. To help you assess your options, following are a number of important features and points to consider for distinguishing between good outsourcing management solutions and even better ones.
Read also: 10 Criteria for the Right Contractor Compliance Management Software
Define Your Needs
- Number of contractors with which you conduct business;
- Number of sites (plants, work sites, warehouses, etc.) in operation;
- Availability of internal resources assigned to contractor management;
- Risks to which your workers and your company are exposed.
The greater the risks involved, the more your company stands to gain by awarding contractor management to a firm of external specialists or considering recourse to an effective outsourcing management tool. Indeed, higher levels of risk imply an increased probability of a hazardous occurrence with severe consequences.
What is more, the time devoted to contractor management necessarily increases when large numbers of contractors and operating sites must be handled by internal resources with limited availability. In instances of the like, these resources often tend, quite naturally, to sidestep other health, safety and environment processes, creating gaps elsewhere in company operations. Recourse to a software solution and outsourced management services would therefore appear to be a wise choice.
1. Adaptation to Your Needs
Excellent outsourcing management solutions are not developed by IT professionals alone. Their development also requires the input and expertise of field specialists. What good would a software package be if it did not, in some way, facilitate your day-to-day processes?
The solution of choice must meet your needs and be adapted to the specifics of your company and the industry in which you operate. The ‘one size fits all’ approach is to be avoided as it will only partially satisfy your needs.
2. Ergonomics and User-Friendliness
Ergonomics and user-friendliness represent two key elements for differentiating outsourcing management software. At first sight, all systems may seem identical and appear to offer the same functionalities. Do not, however, allow yourself to be fooled.
If, each and every time, you have to look for a frequently consulted directory or click eight times to get into a particular section, you will quickly become frustrated, tempted to abandon the software, and retreat back to your old methods.
3. Ease of Implementation
Software as a service solutions (SaaS) are increasingly popular with companies seeking to update their computer systems. Easier to implement than traditional software and requiring fewer resources to maintain, these fully external solutions have the advantage of meeting with less reticence from IT teams. Tool modularity and flexibility also combine to make these packages sensible choices in that they allow companies to choose only the options that they need based on the nature of their activities.
4. Expert Support
To ensure a truly customized solution, make certain that the software offers technical support for turnkey implementation. Thus, the technical support team can be poised to assist you with more complex customization procedures requiring advanced knowledge of tool functionalities. Intervention by the team will save you time and money by enabling you to complete your tasks much more smoothly and efficiently.
5. Compatibility with Systems in Place
Ideally, the solution should be compatible with all your existing IT systems and enable you to incorporate all corporate entities concerned: human resources, quality, safety, etc. Integration into your enterprise resource planning (ERP) software - such as SAP or Oracle to manage all corporate resources - and site security control system will render the solution all the more ideal. Compatibility of the like will enable you to reduce interventions substantially, centralize data and resources, and provide for gains in time and efficiency.
Mobility is also crucial when you have growing numbers of workers on the road and on different work sites. Remote access to information, no longer a luxury, has become a necessity given that it enables companies to substantiate worker productivity and facilitate communications.
