It happens to me every spring. I have the privilege of observing two phenomena, and both are impressive. Like the natives and the tourists, I drive the highways of Texas to see the beautiful Texas Bluebonnets covering the pastures and hillsides and framing the highways. It’s an inspiring sight. 

I also have the privilege of seeing the inner workings of some of the world’s most outstanding outsourcing relationships – the nominees and winners in Outsourcing Center’s Outsourcing Excellence Awards program. The 2010 winners were announced this week. It’s interesting to me that, every year, nearly 100 companies nominate their relationships for an Outsourcing Excellence Award – and the judges agree that it’s difficult to select the finalists, let alone the winners, because they are all so outstanding. 

That’s definitely in contrast to the many companies that are disappointed every year that their own foray into outsourcing proved unsuccessful. What do these award-winning companies know that others don’t?  

Here’s what I find when I analyze the data on relationships nominated for an award over the past 14 years.  They don’t fit a mold. While some of them start out with a partnering approach, others don’t reach that point until two or three years into their relationship. Some use outsourcing consultants to help structure their deals; others don’t. Many put their contract in a drawer after signing it, but others consult it at times. Their contract lengths vary. They all have effective communication structures, but some are more informal and ad hoc while others are very formal meetings. 

However, they do share some behavioral characteristics.  They demonstrate personal accountability at all levels. They operate as a team. They treat each other with respect and appreciate each other.  They drive toward building a common culture. They strive to excel in all they do.

Sounds simple and ordinary. But that’s not the case. They are rare enough behaviors that they stand out like the bright orange Indian paintbrush flowers among fields of bluebonnets. 

Although every deal is unique and varies in complexities, it all comes down to the people – on both sides. It’s people who do the work, focus on excellence, take pride in what they do, maintain integrity, communicate and collaborate, build a culture, reinforce values, make decisions that can make or break a deal, and identify what it will take to achieve the outsourcing objectives. As crucial as these behaviors are, that’s not all that leads to success. 

The bottom line is: at every step and every turn, they make it happen. 

You can learn valuable insights and best practices from their experiences related in articles and white papers on the Outsourcing Center website for the remainder of this year and learn how to be among those who make outsourcing success happen, as opposed to those who wonder why it didn’t happen. 

Congratulations to each of the Outsourcing Excellence Award winners for 2010:

• Best Partnership: Talecris Biotherapeutics, Inc. and Siemens IT Solutions and Services, Inc.
• Best Long-Term Momentum: BP and IBM
• Best Communication: PNC Bank and Océ Business Services 
• Most Flexible: Group Health Cooperative and CB Richard Ellis
• Best Transition: Centegra Health Systems and Dell Services
• Best Impact: Grupo Posadas and Oracle On Demand
• Best Applications Outsourcing: Oklahoma Dept. of Human Services and ACS, A Xerox Company

Since 1998, freelance writer Kathleen Goolsby has studied outsourcing relationships’ successes, failures, trends, and best practices. She has interviewed more than 860 executives at buyer and service provider companies and is the author of “Critical Requirements for Building and Sustaining a Successful Outsourcing Relationship,” a chapter in Global Outsourcing Strategies: An International Reference on Effective Outsourcing Relationships (December 2006, Gower Publishing). As a freelancer, she also currently serves as the Senior Writer for ned by Outsourcing Center  (whose parent company is sourcing advisory group, Alsbridge) and has authored dozens of articles as well as white papers. In a past role, she was editor of Outsourcing Venture (a former print publication). You can contact Kathleen at ksgoolsby@gmail.com.

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