ABSTRACT
Much has been written about the concepts of outsourcing. Research will reveal numerous books, journal articles and case studies attesting to its merits, but I have found that there is little to nothing available that is specific to a records management facility, as such. The content of this guide is a distillation of the outsourcing process,
derived from detailed and wide-ranging research in the subject but contextualized to cater for the records management environment. The guide itself is shaped by the views and practical experience of
others in the industry as well as by my own experience, and is intended to provide useful guidance to others faced with the quandary of whether or not to outsource. It will guide them through the various strands of activity towards successful implementation. Not all aspects are covered in full. For instance, it is assumed that the finance, legal, contracts and other managers, specialists and experts are competent in their discipline and there is thus no attempt to dwell on the detail of their input. However, the process is fully defined and all strands of activity are touched upon with the purpose of ensuring that the records manager is aware of what needs to be done and that nothing is missed. Outsourcing is a global phenomenon that has enjoyed rapid growth
over recent years, evidenced by the proliferation of outsourcing service providers in all areas of business. The concept centres on businesses and organizations divesting themselves of essential but non-core business activities and, properly managed, outsourcing can realize considerable cost and other benefits for both the service provider and the outsourcing client. The horizon, however, is littered with failed, ill conceived or
badly managed initiatives, primarily because of muddled planning, a lack of strategic direction, a lack of clear objectives, listic targets and, most of all, the failure to establish a partnership with the service provider. Outsourcing is not necessarily the way ahead for every organization
or business: therefore, it may not be suitable for yours. Only you or your business leaders can establish this, and reading through the content of this guide should most certainly help you to decide which route to take for your own records management function. In the meantime, before you really get into the content of this guide, here is a little food for thought: There is little point in outsourcing a facet of business activity, and incurring the associated costs of the supplier’s profit and the cost of procurement to manage the tendering process, if the required performance targets can be efficiently and effectively delivered in-house by reviewing processes and procedures and conducting a successful audit that will result in a ‘weeding out’ exercise of what you do actually have stored away in filing cupboards, in boxes under the desk, in the attic and most certainly in the basement. It is all too easy to place the documents in a box filing cupboard and forget about them, but what happens when something goes missing (and, believe me, it is always the one document needed up the command chain that cannot be found)? There is no record of that document and it is you, as the records manager, who has to go to the senior manager to explain yourself. Rightly or wrongly, you will be the victim of someone else’s negligence. You should also take the necessary steps to reorganize the deployment
and functions of internal resource. Whilst it flies in the face of analysis methodology to form preconceived conclusions before considering the facts, there is a wealth of evidence to suggest that outsourcing should never be considered as an end in itself. However, this is not to say that outsourcing as a stand-alone initia-
tive will not realize benefits. It probably will. But they are likely to be localized and are likely to introduce unforeseen penalties for other aspects of the business. The trick is to assess the potential for outsourcing as an integral part of an overall plan to determine what those benefits might be, whether they can be redeployed elsewhere to enhance the growth and productivity of the business, what knock-on effects are likely to ensue for the other parts of the business, and whether the overall
result is cost effective. In my opinion and experience one needs to the whole life costs prior to any rash decision being made to an organization’s business critical records. Remember that no matter what format it is in, is a key asset to any In order, then, to determine whether the concept is likely to benefit a
business and, if it is, how, it would seem essential that the first step should be to devote sufficient time and resource to properly assessing the potential for improving business performance. This, in turn, will inform the development of a business improvement programme, within which outsourcing may be one of a number of considerations. Investing time at the outset in terms of a feasibility exercise will be one of the best investments you make in terms of the definitive outcome.
