Top 10 essential qualities you need in a co-sourcing partner

The decision to select a co-sourcing partner is a significant one.  You’re entering into a business collaboration, designed to fuel growth and future proof your organisation. The following qualities and actions from your co-sourcing partner are essential to a successful working relationship.

 

Top 10 qualities you need from a co-sourcing partner

  1. Take time to thoroughly understand your business - from the outset, your co-sourcing partner should take the time to really get under the skin of your business. Understand your objectives, challenges culture and standards. You have to be able to work collaboratively with your co-sourcing provider, if they don’t understand you the relationship won’t work.

  2. Track record of delivery - it goes without saying you should be able to access testimonials and endorsements from other organisations your co-sourcing partner has worked with.  Strong communication, consistent delivery and an agile, strategic approach is what you should be looking for.  

  3. Understanding of the latest technology - your co-sourcing partner should have knowledge and understanding of the latest business support technology and should be keeping abreast of developments.  They should be able to provide insight and advice on the technology best suited to your business and your budget. 

  4. Strategic board level experience - your co-sourcing partner should have demonstrable experience of either advising or being a key member of boards across all areas they claim to specialise in.

  5. Availability and experience of on and offsite support - the right blend of on and offsite support to manage your challenges and skills gaps effectively will be essential.  You need to know your co-sourcing partner has a large enough team in place with varying levels of experience to scale your support as you grow.

  6. The company culture of your co-sourcing partner - if your co-sourcing partner has a strong company culture, treat their staff as their greatest asset and a clear identity this is a great indication they understand the importance of culture to the success of an organisation, meaning they’ll bring that attitude into your organisation.

  7. They have a strong network and high quality strategic partners - your co-sourcing partner should have great relationships with a variety of strategic partners in the form of potential funders, insurers, cyber security providers and wellness and benefit specialists will be critical to support you and your co-sourcing partner to deliver the best quality business support.

  8. Maintains strong associations with relevant industry regulators - it’s likely that at least some of the support you require will be in highly regulated areas like finance.  Making sure your co-sourcing partner is fully up to date with industry associations and qualifications is essential to be sure you’re receiving a legally compliant and robust service.

  9. They provide added value advice and introductions as standard - as a business collaboration, you should expect that your co-sourcing partner will be identifying other opportunities for you to grow your business, bringing new ideas and enabling this through a strong and well established network.

  10. Act as an off the record sounding board - you should feel comfortable to bring questions, concerns and new ideas to your co-sourcing partner at any time with the opportunity to discuss them openly.

Jayne Sanderson brown, partner at Fact3 says,

“It is Fact3’s vision to firmly establish co-sourcing as a new, improved and widely accepted way of working”

Fact3 have been delivering co-sourcing services for the past 20 years. We have a proven track record of fantastic relationships with our clients. We tick every box above, it’s a #FACT. But don’t just take our word for it, find out what our clients say here.

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