#BPO and #ITOutsourcing deals are managed through scorecards, dashboards etc. with a RAG status (red, amber, green).
Especially at the start of outsourcing deals, during transition and knowledge transfer phases, dashboards tend to color red.
Now, as a service provider or client program manager, you can wait until the steering committee tells you to GET TO GREEN ASAP.
Or… you could decide to proactively create your own "get to green" plan.
What it is?
A simple visual tool that shows what interventions you have planned with owners, timelines and resources to mitigate specific issues.
It basically is a communication tool that you can use to convey the message that “yes we are in a difficult situation AND yes we are on it to solve the issue ASAP”.
You want to show you are in control, lest you will be controlled by others.
It should be tailored to a critical audience. Some steering committee members like graphs. Some like high level summaries. Others want every nitty-gritty detail.
It is based on an adequate RCA (root cause analysis). It doesn’t make sense to waste effort on the wrong root cause.
It should facilitate a two way conversation. This is covered through the “Help required” section of the plan.
Complex issues typically have complex solutions on both sides of the fence. Steering committee members may need to be activated to escalate, allocate time and resources etc. within their organizations and their senior management.
When an issue is super critical, the get to green plan is managed through daily meetings. The frequency may decrease to three meetings per week, a weekly meeting etc. depending on the progress of the resolution.
Years ago my wife and I were on holiday in Indonesia. While in a cab at night driving to a traditional dance performance, I received a phone call from my manager. He informed me the client was unhappy about the status of the contract change process. The client asked for a GET TO GREEN PLAN ASAP. It apparently could not wait until I was back at work.
So you can imagine the mood in the cab and theater after that phone call.
If you want to avoid such situation you may want to consider a get to green plan proactively.
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