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Outsourcing Management: Do You Have an Empowered Transition Team?
By Frank Usher, Managing Consultant, Alsbridge, Inc.

Value can be lost at several points during the life of an outsourcing agreement. It starts with attempting to perform transition with staff on an “as available” basis rather than as a dedicated transition team. This loss of value can begin immediately after signing the contract if transition management does not receive the attention and level of importance that it deserves.

During an outsourcing procurement cycle, much attention is paid to the provider’s transition plan which will call out specific tasks that are the responsibility of the provider as well as tasks that need to be completed by the client.  Unfortunately, the time devoted to transition planning on the client side is minimized.

One of the first mistakes a client makes is to assume the retained operations staff can be full-time members of the transition team. Making this decision will adversely affect both the transition and the on-going operations. Transition is a phase and a work effort all to itself. It cannot be successfully accomplished from the corner of a desk but must be led by a dedicated staff.

In order to be successful, transition management needs a single point of contact for all transition activities. That contact, the transition manager, may report directly to the CIO or to a key senior manager for the duration of the transition. The transition manager’s prime mission is to manage the pieces of transition in a way that allows everything to stay on schedule. They will work with key staff, members of the provider transition staff, key stakeholders, as well as other provider team members.

The transition manager is also responsible for working with the client communications staff to communication activity related to the transition. Key transition communications need be tailored for IT leadership, business leadership and other key client stakeholders including major third-party contractors of the client that will be affected by the transition.

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