The engagement model at HeroITES is an outcome of the collective experience accumulated from its offshore outsourcing engagements. The framework provides specific guidelines for various functions required to manage each engagement successfully throughout its entire lifecycle. The HeroITES engagement model is especially important for those intending to outsource their business activities for the first time. We employ flexible structures and superior relationship management with a view to developing long-term partnerships with our valued clients and serving them as per the specific requirements of their business modules and operational environments.

Key engagement models currently in practice:

• Third party operations
• BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) operations
• Partnership – as an extension of the client’s organization

Key Features

Program Objective Study

One of the important reasons behind performance variability and fluctuations is the unclear understanding of the program objective. Cost reduction seems to be the major motivation for outsourcing decisions, and the impact of the outsourced process on the revenue and profitability of the organization is rarely discussed upfront. A case in point can be the impact of a sales process on the customer experience and related customer behavior, or the impact of a customer service process in building brand loyalty. This may happen as the on-shore engagement is perceived more from a cost-centric angle rather than a revenue-driving angle. Our program objective study takes into account all relevant factors and issues, and the process in-charge conducting the study focuses on the following features:

• Process background and nature: Although processes are generally classified as revenue-centered and cost-focused, many of them are now moving towards hybrid expectations. A case in point is up-sales (revenue creation) during customer service process (which is a core cost-focus process).
• Cost impact of the process from client’s perspective: The business architecture of a process must be judged from the client’s perspective for maximum effectiveness. If taken in isolation, common performance parameters such as AHT may not reveal the real impact of the process in terms of revenue and costs. We try to look at the $ impact of processes and build efficiency metrics accordingly. For example, a sales process may be receiving many general query calls which are non-eligible for sales. Backed by the analyses of various non-eligible call scenarios, HeroITES tracks the actual sales against the investment per resource (hrs/associates etc.) and thus comes up with most suitable efficiency metrics.
• Current expectations and industry practices from similar processes: As HeroITES has served a wide range of clients and processes, we clearly understand the current industry trends in the contact center and BPO domain. Our innovative teams always come up with enterprising solutions such as creating a revenue stream out of a traditional customer service process.

Legal & Operational Contracting

Balancing the flexibility and control of service delivery is very crucial and needs to be done in the contracting phase. Powered by many years of domain expertise and experience, HeroITES, has handled numerous clients’ contracts and developed a thorough understanding of the legal requirements which are mandatory for operating in the US, UK and Australian markets. This has led to the creation of a standard contract document which is the base work, while additional features can be added to meet the specific needs of a certain process.

• Standard contract document: It is the basic framework which can be further customized for any process. The standard contract document stipulates the non-disclosure agreements and other important terms and conditions which are crucial for building a lasting relationship.
• Critical review of the applicable laws and compliance: The HeroITES team, along with the client’s team, conducts a review of the applicable laws for the process under consideration. The findings are then conveyed to the operating team for compliance. A compliance audit is periodically conducted as required by the law or as per the internal standards.
• Finalizing service delivery metrics to maximize program objective: The initial study of the program objective helps in building the right performance metrics. The study of existing process performance, if available, aids in stipulating the targets.
• Infrastructure needs: The success of the engagement largely depends on the kind of infrastructure required for the process. During the contracting phase, it is our established practice to study the technological and physical infrastructure needs as thoroughly as possible. The redundancies, as well as security & reliability issues, are also addressed during this phase.

Transition Team

HeroITES has years of experience and expertise in managing the transition and the service delivery for various process engagements. A right composition of leadership team with prior experience in handling similar processes is very crucial for faster learning and service delivery. In this phase, a leader is identified and is responsible for the entire process transition, as well as the first three months of program performance. While the project team is involved with various service delivery functions such as Operations, Quality, Training, Work Force Management and Technology, the project head (an operations director level person) manages the client interactions during the first 12 weeks.

Pre-launch Project Planning

The transition plan is well-documented covering all major steps to be conducted before the launch of the program. The documented plan adequately helps in periodic reviews with the client team.

Key features of the project plan:

• A customizable transition project plan
• All the critical functions and processes are identified
• Key timelines and deliverables are identified
• “Review Toll Gates” are clearly specified
• Training and quality team engagement: A dedicated trainer and quality team work with the client’s team for knowledge transfer and content building. A customized training module and a training plan are drafted with the help of the client’s team. HeroITES strongly recommends the presence of the Client Training Team during the onsite transition, as this helps in efficient knowledge transfer.

Performance Planning

Our Transition Methodology has identified some tools that measure the process performance and formulate the goals for the first 12 weeks. During this phase, the performance metrics are initially estimated using the past experience. This performance plan also clearly identifies the relationship between various parameters and takes into account the impact of lower productivity on overall performance during the initial days. The plan also provides a blueprint for the entire team for managing performance variability and prioritizing parameters.

• 12 weeks’ performance plan on all operational metrics: This is a critical document that estimates the weekly performance of the team on various operational metrics. These estimates can change as the team gains more experience on the program.
• Quality and floor training plans: Quality sessions and intermediate trainings are planned along with this program.
• Knowledge management: The first few days of the program are critical for the team as they face various call scenarios. This is an important phase though, as different call scenarios help our team gain in operating knowledge. During the first few weeks, the entire team is engaged in building upon the experience so that it can be easily conveyed to average performers and new-comers. This, in turn, shortens the learning curve and provides productivity gains for the client.

Review Mechanism

Well-structured, periodic reviews help build transparency between HeroITES and its clients. Furthermore, these reviews are extremely crucial for a successful engagement. The project plan and the 12-week performance plan provide the base for these reviews. Following are the key criteria observed:

• Periodicity and level of the reviews are clearly identified
• Training and quality sessions
• Operational performance reviews

Risk Management

Process outsourcing involves some built-in business risks which must be identified carefully. HeroITES has developed a sound methodology to identify these risk factors and create an effective plan of action to mitigate them. This, in turn, helps our clients reap the benefits of outsourcing along with a managed risk environment. HeroITES has classified the risks under following heads:

• Information Assets
• Managing Performance Deviations
• Data Security and Safety
• DRP/BCP (Disaster Recovery Plan/Business Continuity Plan)
• Business Ramp and Seasonal Ramps

Critical phases

Define	Measure	Analyze	Improve	Control
Understanding expectations	Planning for performance	Managing performance volatility		Managing the performance of growing account
Mapping processes	Creating a launch project plan	Reviewing the performance periodically to identify Quality/ Quantity and Productivity drivers	Refining the Performance Map, operational strategy and productivity yield	Establishing and refining the periodic review process
Understanding business drivers for clients	Charting "Quarterly Performance Map" taking into account the interacting SLAs	Assessing the validity of the "Economic Performance Indicator" taking into account the actual client impact	Developing the incentive structure for the service delivery team	Establishing best practices for the account in terms of performance management, new people introduction and capacity planning
Reviewing SLAs and Derive "Economic Indicator/s" for client impact	Reviewing the launch progress as per the "Quarterly Performance Map"	Assessing the validity of contractual terms		Establishing and refining the process of recursive training/ new hiring training
Formulating the operational strategy to meet Quality, Quantity and Productivity objectives.	Developing growth strategy			Identifying additional client impact areas to take the process for additional value