As an outsourced services provider, I always had professed my faith in remote engagement. My moment of truth came however when Pujarini, my webmaster and key person on marketing, had to relocate to another country. We decided that it was time now for us to walk the talk on a strategic function such as marketing. Based on my experience, here are few points that I think are critical to the success of any remotely engaged service.
- Throughput over Activity. Most managers I have come across are comfortable tracking, monitoring and reporting activity. It is good to remember that value is communicated much better when throughput and not activity is reported. When everybody is comfortable with the throughput idea, the reason to micro manage ceases to exist. As throughput gets standardized, its helps build confidence and trust across the board.
- Environment over Application. The lesson to be learnt here is well taught by social media based networking. The joy off remote engagement is truly enhanced by the environment that is set up. It is ideal to have a single dashboard that serves as the interface to all the stakeholders that are engaging remotely.SaaS and Cloud basedapplications have much to offer in this space as we keep discovering with both clients and our own team.
- Shared Values over Contract. The Satyams and Madoffs will continue to happen in spite of the Enrons and the Worldcoms and the answer is not more and more regulation. Rather, it is more fundamental and vital to upfront ensure that certain shared values govern the relationship and this is well understood by all stakeholders. It also pays to go beyond the agreements to comply and examine demonstrated behavior in these areas.
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