April 13th, 2010 by Robin Green

If you are an executive or manager who has implemented a BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) strategy, you know that a great deal of work goes into maintaining a relationship with the service provider and dealing with risks that such strategies involve. Maintaining a BPO relationship and mitigating risks is often a chore that costs an organization a great deal of time and energy–and consequently, money.

For this reason, becoming educated on BPO risk assessment and ORM (Outsourcing Relationship Management) is a must for any BPO manager. Of the myriad LMS (Learning Management System) courses out there for executives managing an outsourcing relationship, the most effective course covers not only how to maintain an outsourcing relationship, but how to assess and prevent the risks involved. In order to reap the benefits of business process outsourcing, any potential problems need to be prevented before they happen.

The first critical move, you may think, is choosing the right service provider. Not doing so can result in unnecessary costs to your business, and even make the BPO a failure. However, if you’re considering an LMS course on BPO risk management, you are also faced with the task of choosing an LMS provider. For a limited time, Coggno is offering a free trial on their system.

Click this link to try Coggno’s learning management system for your BPO management training.

There are a few potential risks involved in a BPO relationship–and the number increases when the relationship with the service provider is conducted exclusively via internet, and when the work assigned to the provider is internet-based. The internet’s vast geographic reach, ease of access, and anonymity call for close attention to maintaining secure electronic systems, intrusion detection, as well as user authentication, verification, and authorization. Understanding how to manage an outsourced relationship with these risks in mind will ensure that any related and potential dangers are avoided.

Reputation risk, compliance risk, operational risk, and strategic risk are four main BPO dangers for which an LMS course can help you prepare.

Reputation risk may be one of the most important to avoid. As Benjamin Franklin said: “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.” Reputation management is therefore an essential aspect of an LMS outsourcing management course. Reputation risks could result from poor service from the service provider, or from customer interaction that is inconsistent with the quality and standards of your organization. It can happen when the service provider’s practices are inconsistent with your business practices. Remember that the service provider is, for all intents and purposes, an extension of your organization, and any act on its part is a direct reflection on your organization.

Compliance risk occurs when consumer or legal compliance controls are not sufficient, or when a service provider has insufficient control systems. Operational risk can happen as a result of technology failure, insufficient financial capacity to complete responsibilities or offer remedies, and errors. Finally, strategic risk can result from adverse business decisions and can lead to adverse effects to earnings or capital.

An LMS course can train managers on the issues involved in outsourcing relationship management, including how to assess risks, choose a service provider, document a contract, and monitor progress and results. One critical element of risk assessment is determining the capability of the service provider to provide the necessary level of service. The process of choosing a service provider must include adequate time for executives to evaluate proposals and information the provider offers about the service.

An LMS course should also train managers to manage a contract in a BPO relationship. This includes tracking, measuring, and ensuring future results, penalizing failure, preventing failure, and creating performance measurements. These measurements should not only focus on current performance and results, but also respond by providing proactive solutions and predictions. Another part of contract management is a quality assurance approach which governs the processes and the service delivery of a BPO group.

If you’re outsourcing work to a third-party service provider to perform long-term activities, an LMS course is essential. Perhaps you already know a thing or two about managing an outsourcing relationship and preventing risks involved in BPO strategies.

You can avoid risks in your outsourcing strategy by conducting training using Coggno’s LMS. For a limited time you can try the system for free.

———————

Coggno.com provides high-quality LMS platforms world-wide.

April 6th, 2010 by Robin Green

A company planning to outsource one or more of business processes (BPO) should prepare extensively for success. Thorough preparation is, in fact, the only action that will ensure a successful BPO strategy.

Specifically, company executives managing the BPO transition should study ORM before proceeding with the outsourcing strategy. ORM stands for “outsourcing relationship management”, a term that includes organizational structure, management strategy, and IT infrastructure. It’s an entire business discipline, and execs should be familiar with it before embarking on any BPO project. An LMS online training course on how to manage an outsourcing relationship will ensure that the BPO strategy is effective.

BPO means, of course, that work once done in-house is moved to specialized offshore or domestic service providers. Oftentimes, a few employees are transitioned to the service provider team while others remain in-house to manage the outsourced group. Or, a company makes no changes in their in-house team, but contracts an outside service provider. Either way, it’s in the outsourcing governance area that companies and institutions tend to struggle.

An online ORM course teaches company execs what is often unforeseen; that there are certain skills and knowledge required to effectively manage outsourcing relationships. This realization usually comes too late, as companies struggle to effectively manage their outsourcing strategy as it is being implemented, rather than beforehand.

This lack of forethought and a formal design of outsource governance often lead to poor ORM and as a result, ineffective outsourcing strategies. Online crash courses in ORM work to prevent such failure.

A company’s executives should approach outsourcing relationships in a way that corresponds exactly to the company’s short- and long-term objectives. And one concept that an LMS course teaches executives is that good ORM involves a proactive strategy in preventing failure. Instead of simply measuring, tracking, reporting measures against targets, and penalizing the service provider, executives should use that information to manage future performance. That way, when systems or processes are showing signs that they are heading towards failure, they can be eliminated or changed before the problem actually occurs. A proactive approach has higher rates of effectiveness than any carrot-and-stick strategy. It will also help to root the major causes of dysfunctional or unsatisfactory outsourcing relationships.

A complete online course in ORM deals with the three areas of concern in BPO transition and ORM, which are management strategy, organizational structure, and IT infrastructure. Management strategy refers to identifying the best service level agreement and relationship techniques for your business process outsourcing strategy. Organizational structure refers to developing the appropriate in-house management, or the oversight structure and mechanisms. Finally, IT infrastructure is the supportive IT infrastructure which enables the monitoring and management of a network of external service providers.

Management strategy involves a critical element: contract management. This includes tracking, measuring and ensuring results, tracking, penalizing and preventing failure, and developing performance measurements. These measurements should not only address current performance, but also respond by providing proactive solutions and predictions. Contract management also involves a quality assurance approach that governs the processes and the service delivery of a BPO group. Remember that the outsourced service provider has a vested interest in achieving results, just like the company is it servicing.

Since service provider contracts are often transitory, they should specify responsibilities and processes of the BPO transition term. Generally, the contract with an outsourced service provider should include provisions for performance management, and the contract language should be flexible, allowing for changes as they become necessary.

An LMS course for executives implementing and maintaining an outsourcing relationship should cover not only the benefits of BPO, but also the risks involved, so that problems can be prevented before they arise. For example, there are a number of possible risks when the service provided involves the use of the internet. The internet’s extensive geographic reach, ease of access, and anonymity call for close attention to maintaining secure electronic systems, intrusion detection, as well as user authentication, verification, and authorization. Understanding how to manage an outsourced relationship with these risks in mind will ensure that any potential dangers are avoided.

Ultimately, it is the executive’s responsibility to manage the outsourcing relationship, a task that shouldn’t be taken lightly, and is best prefaced by an LMS course in ORM. After all, regardless of service provider shortcomings, changes in business conditions and technology, and other factors that may account for problems in a BPO strategy, the responsibility of achieving results lies with the party who has the most to gain or lose in the outsourcing relationship: the company itself.

————————–

Coggno.com offers premier LMS online training courses.

March 30th, 2010 by Robin Green

Whether you’re seeking training for your business, school or organization, e-learning via a learning management system can greatly reduce the necessary costs and time you’ll spend on training. However, you shouldn’t expect your students to have more than minimal previous experience with online learning. Therefore, one crucial factor to student success (and ultimately, if you have a business, employee success) is early guidance for students beginning an online training program. During the first month, you should expect to help students through their first experiences in your virtual training environment.

The methodology behind this guidance varies, depending on your needs and resources. You may opt to hire a training advisor who answers any student questions via email, discussion boards, or phone. This training advisor might remain for the entirety of the course or be there only for orientation. Otherwise, students can be led through an online orientation to be completed on their own. This may include sample activities and practice sessions introducing students to the different course features.

In your online training orientation, you can also help teach trainees how to navigate the course with the use of video tours. Video tours are a fun and simple way to quickly teach LMS students important information before the course begins. Presenting this information in a visually interesting way will help ensure that students are digesting it properly.

Studies show that students who are required to take an online orientation before beginning their online course are far more likely to be successful in the course, and remember the business processes they are taught. A typical orientation in a learning management system course might be as short as 30 minutes, or as long as two hours or more. Regardless of the length, the important factor is its actual completion before onset of the online course, so that problems are prevented down the road. Students should feel 100% comfortable navigating the course and performing the types of tasks expected of them.

LMS training orientations should answer a few questions a student might have before beginning the online training or educational course. Some of these questions are obvious, while others are less so.

First of all, you should answer the question: what is online learning, and why is this course being delivered online? The explanation may include a variety of factors, depending on your organization or company. Are you outsourcing certain business processes and your employees are living in different locations in the country or world? Briefly explain some of the most important benefits of online education as they correspond to your school, business or organization.

Second of all, what technical knowledge is expected? Can students complete the course without any knowledge or skills?

Third, what actual technology is needed? Using an LMS, all that is typically required is a computer with internet, with no extra programs or hardware necessary. However, some online education tools require certain programs or hardware such as headphones, microphone, etc.

Fourth, will the online course have an interactive element, such as a student discussion forum or other space? If so, how exactly will that work? Will there be a moderator for the student forum who will grade students on their participation, and if so, how will students be graded? Describe in minute detail what happens when students miss an assignment or a class (if there are classes,) as well as how exactly students will be graded, and any other bits of critical information.

Fifth, how is the course structured? Students should know exactly what to expect. Sixth: What is a typical online session or activity like? Provide a practice activity, lesson, or session.

Lastly, how can students contact someone for help? Is feedback a feature of the online course, and if so, in what form?

It’s best to understand what students can expect from a course as early on as possible. In your orientation, emphasize the importance of familiarizing oneself with the LMS and exploring all the different features. Students should know where all the different content can be found in each section of the e-learning course. In addition, let trainees know they should check the learning management system regularly for announcements and training updates, as well as new assignments.

The most well-prepared students are the most successful students, and ultimately, the best employees. Whether they are vocational students, outsourced service providers, or other learners, a good training orientation starts your students off on the right foot.

————————

Coggno.com provides high-quality online training.

March 23rd, 2010 by Robin Green

For companies implementing Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), service provider training is easily provided online, via learning management system or other virtual classroom tool. A powerful BPO helps a company in many ways, providing cost-effective and first-rate service. Combine this with the efficiency and low investment of LMS training, and companies are able to both cut costs and focus on the most relevant business matters.

One great aspect of BPO is that it allows companies to easily vary service level based on customer demand. This is one characteristic that is makes BPO successful, and increasingly attractive for all sizes of companies; especially in a financial climate that demands that companies sink or swim. Varying service level based on consumer demand saves companies significant amount of money.

Business process outsourcing also allows companies to focus more on their core business. Every company has a limited number of human resources, whose energies should be spent on the most vital matters of the company, rather than processes like HR implementation, customer service, and accounting.

These processes are vital to a company, of course, which brings us to another benefit of BPO: access to first-rate business process solutions. Rather than developing, implementing, and constantly upgrading a particular business process in-house, BPO allows a company to access the best processes, systems, and solutions with a smaller investment. Companies have access the best expertise out there, and since the investment in assets is lower, the company’s risk in the investment is greatly reduced.

Delivering online training via a learning management system, companies are able to better train and manage their service providers and ensure the best performance. BPO allows operations to be planned and scaled with increased flexibility, and creates a flow of new ideas to the company’s business processes–and the same is true for online training solutions.

In the world of online education and training, companies have a wide variety of choices. Using a learning management system, companies can create their own training in house, outsource the task of developing customized training courses, purchase training courses from LMS e-markets and other vendors, and more.

Furthermore, an LMS with a pay-per-use business model ensures that all e-learning courses and training programs stay fresh, and do not become outdated or irrelevant. Companies are able to create and deploy content on an as-needed basis, providing convenient and cost-effective e-learning solutions.

Using a pay-per-use LMS, course creators and administrators maintain full control over their learning material. LMSs like Coggno allow course creators to create and brand their own learning content, customizing it for in-house purposes or syndicating the course for a wider audience.

Successful BPO is proven to save organizations a significant amount of time and money. When companies adopt e-learning solutions through a pay-per-use LMSs, the costs of training itself are significantly less than those of traditional training methods. For this reason and others, more businesses are finding online training solutions to meet BPO, compliance, and management training objectives.

Training courses in compliance and BPO training topics are often available via LMS e-training markets like Coggno’s. Compliance training courses on topics like Team Dynamics, Motivation in the Workplace, and Writing Reports can be found at a low cost and delivered conveniently to BPO service providers. Project Management is one SilkWeb course that helps organizations remain competitive and relevant in a time of perpetual change. It reviews project management processes, project and team cycles, and evaluation and improvement techniques. Courses like this help to orient both staff and managers to the functions and tools needed for successful management.

Business process outsourcing and online training are two business choices that have a great impact on a company’s success. In order to leverage the opportunities for cutting costs and increasing efficiency within a company, a little bit of thinking outside the in-house box is required.

—————–

Coggno.com provides premier e-learning education.

March 10th, 2010 by Robin Green

As any company with an outsourced extension knows, business process outsourcing (BPO) can involve certain risks. Security, disconnect, lack of motivation, and unforeseen costs are just a few. However, learning management systems (LMS) can help mitigate these risks by creating a more centralized training system, in which all employees are trained to execute the same processes. In doing so, outsourced extensions of a company are able to operate in a more unified and parallel way, and avoid the traps that so many outsourcing organizations fall into.

What are some of the risks involved in business process outsourcing, and how can a learning management system prevent them? For starters, there can be some security risks involved. Outsourcing an Information System, for instance, might be a risky venture. If an information system is being controlled overseas, this could involve not only privacy issues, but communication problems. Learning management system training content that covers these challenges and prepares employees and managers to handle them can stop these issues from arising in the first place.

Another risk is a disconnect between you and your outsourced extension. For that reason, a strong learning management system course that deals with compliance training topics such as communication strategies and specific processes is key.

Solid LMS training for managers is an essential implementation for BPO extensions. For example, a course in project management could help your managers review project management processes, project and team cycles, and evaluation and improvement techniques. A project management course is able to orient both staff and managers to the functions and tools needed for successful management.

Another kind of course with great benefits for managers in an outsourced post is a course that covers team dynamics and staff motivation. While most managers would agree that staff motivation is a critical element of managerial duties, many do not actually practice effective motivation, and are in the dark as to what kinds of strategies, techniques, and theories factor in. A course training managers on what kind of motivation strategies actually work, and how to implement them, is a strong preventative measure against BPO risks such as a changing attitude among employees or low employee morale.

BPO works best when all employees are trained uniformly using an LMS that delivers effective and repeatable training programs. It’s also important that the LMS training is easy to update to address extension-specific matters and new developments in a company.

This is another reason why online training is an effective risk-preventative measure: the fact that it is easy to update and deliver immediately, when you need it. In the past, when training was handled with instructional books and booklets, or with pdf and power point documents, the process of updating training was often a slow and painstaking one. An LMS training program is essential in providing staff with the most up-to-date information.

When you use online training technology like learning management systems to train employees in BPO positions, you’re thinking progressively for your company. Think about it. The person you’re training–especially for outsourced HR positions–just might be the one in charge of administering a very similar kind of training someday. When that day comes, having had experience with LMS training, they will be in an ideal position to help others along in the process, and deliver the training effectively.

In order to reap the benefits of business process outsourcing, the risks involved must be foreseen and prevented using the resources available to companies. One last risk is the underestimation of running costs for outsourced extensions. Cost-effective LMS training solutions can help lower the costs of BPO as well as take care of a number of other problems before they even arise.

——————-

Coggno.com offers high-quality LMS platforms.

March 1st, 2010 by Robin Green

Business process outsourcing is fast becoming the norm among large-scale companies and businesses, and offers some outstanding benefits. But it can also be a complicated venture, which is why strong LMS or other online company training is crucial for organizing and training employees whose work is outsourced.

Business process outsourcing (BPO) refers specifically to the contracting of business processes to a third-party service provider, instead of having them performed inside the company. It can involve the outsourcing of basic business functions like human resources or finances and accounting (back office outsourcing). Or, it can include customer-related services like contact centers and user support teams (front office outsourcing). Offshore, nearshore, knowledge process, and legal process outsourcing are four sub-segments of business process outsourcing.

Of course, business process outsourcing (especially off- or near-shore) can save organizations a great deal of money. Everything from labor to overhead costs like electricity and water bills becomes cheaper. However, it also means that it becomes increasingly important that employees are part of a supportive and efficient training system, in order to ensure successful distance team work.

BPO is nothing new. Outsourcing itself can be traced to as early as the 1830’s, when the U.S. commissioned workers in Scotland to build ship sales and wagon covers. By the 1970’s many computer companies were outsourcing their payroll preparation systems to different financial offices who offered these services. Manufacturing companies like Coca-Cola also began to use business process outsourcing, and more and more businesses caught on to the trend as the 70’s passed. By 1980, almost all company accounting tasks, as well as other kinds of work, were being sent outside company walls.

In relation to the frequency of business process outsourcing taking place, companies are paying greater attention to their learning management system training and other online training systems. Everyone wants to secure a process that works for his or her company, to reduce the cost of training by finding a customized solution and making it both adaptable and repeatable.

It’s never been uncommon for organizations to outsource content development, such as learning programs, management and company training, including tasks such as the production of books, training materials, videos, and other educational materials.  LMS vendors offer benefits such as flexibility, customization, and cost-effectiveness to organizations using BPO.

In the past, before learning management systems and other online training systems, training employees was a more decentralized process. Oftentimes, companies could not even be sure how much money they were spending on training across their enterprise. The process varied widely from group to group, and company to company.

Companies who use business process outsourcing can save money if they are able to centralize and repeat the process of training. This is where learning management systems are useful, since they allow users to create and deliver customized training solutions. Companies can make training their own, integrated with their logo and corporate color scheme. Learning management systems that use a pay-per-use business model make it easy to load and reload learning content as required for relevant, up-to-date training. This model allows organizations to help employees gain the skills and knowledge required in exactly the period of time necessary.

——————–

Coggno.com provides premier learning management system platforms world-wide.