I’ve now done over 40 site visits to service delivery centers–mostly in India, but also in the Philippines, Malaysia, Ireland, Spain, Czech Republic, South Africa, United States and all over Latin America—both as an advisor and as a host, and I still enjoy them. I watched kids open Christmas presents a couple of days ago and could not help but draw a parallel. The wide-eyed excitement that comes with seeing the capabilities of mature service providers is really not that different from the kids ripping the wrapping off their presents.

I love the site visit because it is when prospective outsourcing clients go from skeptical to enthusiastic, from fearful to excited, from “this must happen” to “I can’t wait for this to happen!”  For the customer, it’s the first chance to see how many of their peers are really making outsourcing and offshoring work, and how much more capability is possible in this environment than “back at home.”  For the provider, it is the best opportunity to prove the promises of the sales cycle can indeed be delivered. It’s one of the reasons that we usually advise our clients to bring along their loudest naysayer—it turns them into supporters almost every time!

The promise of outsourcing lies not just in labor arbitrage, but in the focus a specialist can bring to a back-office process or technology, and the advantages of a global footprint in a global economy. A well-designed site visit will showcase all three! Yet even as they build excitement for an outsourcing initiative, site visits are also a great reality check: they highlight the challenges of working remotely, across time zones, and how those challenges are addressed by other companies doing the same things; they can expose the vast cultural and socio-economic differences that will exist no matter how good the commercial relationship; and they show everyone what traveling “half way” around the world—twice—really means!

Because of the intense experience site visits represent, they also carry significant weight in the client’s decision-making process. Providers prepare intensely but the visiting delegation should prepare just as much! If you need help planning site visits, reach out to us—we can help!