Service Providers (SP)are an extension of your business if you don’t trust then hire ones you do trust because together you will achieve so much more.
The relationships you have between your company and your SP can mean the difference between success and failure of desired business outcomes and even your business. Just like you would not put up with a lazy, unproductive employee, why do we tend to give SP chance after chance? It’s not like there are no other options out there for whatever service you need.
In an age where information sharing tools are available everywhere I still get told by managers that they are having trouble getting information from their Service Providers. So I did a little asking around to see what the problems were and why people weren’t being told things that they plainly should know. I uncovered several of the issues with a few listed below:
* Service Providers claimed they didn’t know who the correct contact was so they asked around the organisation and acted on the first response they were happy with
* Your employees ‘hand hold’ the SP through every step of the process and tell them what to do and how to do it, then if it fails all the blame is pushed solely to the SP.
* Businesses don’t trust their SP enough to give them room to deliver their desired outcomes without interference.
* SPs wait for businesses to tell them to investigate possible problems without taking the initiative to be proactive.
* Businesses and SPs don’t share the correct information between each other thereby inhibiting any efficiency and quick wins that are needed by the business.
Most problems that seem to occur with SPs are when information is kept from or not properly communicated between either stakeholder. When working with SPs there need to be clean and understood lines of communication and all expectations need to be identified upfront. If you seek a draft of widget A by 5pm today and they only have 3 hours to prepare then let them know what areas you want them to focus on as a priority, don’t wait to get the widget then argue they didn’t deliver a draft on that one area you thought they would but neglected to mention.
Have open and honest meetings where SPs and organisational staff feel comfortable to raise issues without attacking individuals. The problem is most likely in the process or a misunderstanding rather than someone aiming to cause a problem.
In all of this if you feel that your SP is not performing at their best and its being a detriment to your business then feel free to discuss this with your SP. If all else fails don’t be afraid to cut off the SP and find a new one. It’s better to let a SP go early rather than spend time and money getting nowhere and having to find a new SP months down the track or weeks before a deadline.