At the end of an outsourced services contract clients benefit from hindsight when determining whether to continue with the incumbent provider or make a change. Renegotiation presents an ideal opportunity to address sources of dissatisfaction. However, rather than assume the service provider is at fault, clients would be well-advised to consider that they might share responsibility for some of the relationship’s problems.
Renegotiation is also a perfect time to focus on governance and the relationship, and how to revise both the governance exhibit and operational processes in the next phase. A “back-to-basics” conversation will provide appropriate thoughtful introspection to help the whole service delivery and governance team.
In the cut-and-thrust of daily services management, identifying the underlying problems
in services relationships can be difficult. Root causes are often related to lack of process,
attitudes (on both sides), a need for different measures (service levels often don’t really tell the story), and frequently, the need for different kind of executive engagement.
This ISG white paper identifies fourteen keys to governance success and sets a framework for an internal discussion aimed at identifying strengths as well as opportunities for improvement in the relationship. Presented as an open-ended survey, the questions posed aim to identify key issues honestly that must be addressed from all levels, starting at service delivery and up to executive leadership.
About the author
Cynthia Batty
Cynthia Batty is the ISG’s Chief Knowledge Officer. In this role she is the ISG service methodology architect and global integrator of the company’s products and services, and is the leader for developing, growing and leveraging ISG’s accumulated intellectual property resources. Prior to this role, Cynthia was a lead in ISG’s Governance and Transformation practices, and maintains a continuing role in the Organizational Change Management practice. She brings 25 years of practical experience to advise clients on their sourcing governance and service management design, as well as organizational change management and maturity development. She is a recognized expert in sourcing governance, vendor and contract management. She has helped more than 50 governance organizations with business management and service management processes in both single-provider and multi-provider environments.
