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Stay-Back-Team is Continuity Component of Outsourcing: Bridging Core Business and Service Providers
March, 2008
By Michel Theriault
An effective stay-back-team (SBT) can be the cornerstone of any outsourcing initiative. The facility management staff who remain with the corporation after an outsourcing initiative form an important link between a corporation's business and the service provider, both from the onset of the RFP process and ensuing re-organization when the contract is awarded and for ongoing management of the services.
The role of the SBT can vary depending on the overall goals of the corporation and the exact nature of the outsourcing initiative. However, the core role related to the outsourcing initiative will remain the same - managing and administering the contractual relationship between the organization and the service provider.
Generally speaking, in any large outsourcing initiative the SBT performs the following important functions:
- Asset Management / Strategic Planning.
- Contract management / administration (including Performance Management).
- Coordinating the linkages between the service provider and the corporation.
- Other Facility Management functions retained in-house.
The SBT should be established early in the process so the team can be involved from the beginning, giving it the knowledge it needs to manage the service provider after start-up. This is an important consideration, since an outsourcing initiative includes many steps from the decision to the selection and transition of the successful service provider. These steps are sequential so unless the SBT has been involved in each step along the way, the continuity and knowledge necessary to effectively manage the contract and the relationship could be lost.
Managing the outsourcing relationship requires flexibility since not everything can or will be reflected in the contract. The relationship between the service provider and stay-back-team has to be flexible enough to enable changes as the contract progresses.
When a professional organization is hired to manage facility functions, it's important to let the service provider do the job. The SBT should then concentrate on long-term activities like Asset Management and Strategic Planning, in addition to managing the relationship and monitoring the service providers' performance. Even if Asset Management/Strategic Planning activities are outsourced to the service provider, a member of the stay back team should oversee the activity and interface with the corporation due to the strong interrelationships between the facilities functions and the core business.
SHIFTING ROLES
New roles may represent a fundamental shift for the SBT. A typical challenge is that the team members may have previously performed the function themselves and now they have to change their mindset. This includes letting go of the details of how the service is delivered and focusing more on the strategic issues and outcomes that add value to the corporation.
Interaction with the service provider becomes critical, since the service provider in an outsourcing initiative provides a much broader scope of services than with sub-contracting or out-tasked services. Outsourcing includes a larger management component to the service.
There must be trust between the service provider and stay-back-team since a positive relationship is an important element of a successful outsourcing initiative. The SBT has an important interface role with the service provider by:
- Translating the corporate objectives and goals for the service provider
- Aligning the contractual relationship and objectives for the service provider with those of the corporation's objectives
- Defining expectations and priorities
Establish short/long term objectives.
Although the term partner is embraced by some and avoided by others in outsourcing initiatives, the fact remains that the service provider will likely become much closer to the internal customer and has a major influence on the success of a corporation's core business. Partnership, in the non-legal sense, is critical to ensure the service provider is successful, which ultimately makes the outsourcing initiative successful.
The most successful organizations take this approach when managing their outsourcing relationships. The best way is to work as a team, searching together for solutions that will fulfill both parties' needs.
Since SBT members often undergo a significant shift from their previous roles within the organization, it requires a careful matching of skill sets and even culture. Staff will need to move beyond their day-to-day operations roles and assume the role of an owner representative with strategic planning responsibilities.
SKILLS & STRUCTURE
Each of the variety of roles within the SBT can necessitate a different mix of skill sets and qualities. Some roles may be very similar to the ones that previously existed, while others may require a different and new mix of skill sets.
With a focus on contract management/administration as well as a significant focus on asset management in the new role, there are a number of skill sets that should be present in the SBT, particularly within its leadership. For roles closer to the operational activities, such as in-house services, the focus is more on knowledge and expertise related to the function. At higher levels, the ability to change culture, plan strategic initiatives, build consensus and effectively manage the new relationships to meet the corporation's goals is critical.
Basic elements might include:
Effective linkages:
The stay-back-team needs to be able to link the activities of the service provider and other in-house services with those of the corporation and its core business. This requires a broad knowledge of the services being provided and sufficient knowledge of the corporation and its core business. The SBT leadership must have the ability and the status necessary to interface with other groups within the corporations' core business in order to have influence and be effective at managing the linkages.
Cultural change:
The outsourcing initiative itself is a cultural change that needs to be effectively supported by people who can adapt themselves to the new culture, and can also lead others through the cultural change. It is important when selecting the SBT members that they fully support the initiative and can work in the new environment. The SBT leaders in particular must be capable of influencing a significant change in the culture.
A critical mass of internal knowledge and expertise:
The SBT needs to have a critical mass of knowledge related to the services being outsourced as well as the services that continue to be provided in-house. This knowledge should include that of the core business as well, if possible. Detailed historical knowledge is also very useful, however many of the staff with this type of knowledge will be retained by the service provider and both the personnel and the records will be accessible.
The size and structure of the SBT depends on the size and scope of the outsourcing contract, as well as the services, if any, that remain in-house. The make-up of the SBT may change slightly through the different stages of an outsourcing initiative, but the core staff managing the relationship should be constant if possible.
It is important to consider where within the corporate structure the stay-back-team reports to ensure it has sufficient influence within the corporation, and can effectively participate in overall corporate strategies and decision making that affects or is affected by the facilities management functions.
Interaction with the service provider is also an important element of the SBT. There will usually be important interactions at many different points between the service provider, the SBT, and even other departments within the corporation, but it is important to formalize and maintain a single point of contact for issue resolution, contract interpretation and central coordination.
Michel Theriault is Principal with Strategic Advisor, specializing in facility, asset and property management consulting. For more information, contact him at michel@strategicadvisor.ca or see the web site at www.strategicadvisor.ca. |
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