IAOP Chapters:  Governance

CHAPTER CHAIR

Next Virtual Meeting:  Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Please plan to join us for the next Governance Chapter Webinar, chaired by Vantage Partners, on Tuesday, June 10 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. EDT; 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. CEST. 

Our second knowledge sharing session in 2008 will address the topic of “Making Governance Operational.”

Outsourcing governance is about much more than boxes and lines on an organization chart.  Effective governance requires a clear set of processes for managing a myriad of activities from the contract, to performance, to consumption, to joint planning.  While many companies acknowledge the need for some processes for managing their relationships, they often don’t do a good job at putting them into practice, or they don’t recognize the need for some processes until a problem has already arisen.

Special guests Paul Fox, Vendor Manger from ING Bank, and Ernie Zibert, South Pacific Client Delivery Manager for Hewlett-Packard, will share their experience and expertise in defining governance processes and putting them into practice.

Be sure and register today for this dynamic presentation!

IAOP members wishing to attend the upcoming meeting please email  the chapter coordinator at amanda.corbett@outsourcingprofessional.org

If you are not as yet a member of IAOP and would like a guest pass for the meeting, please Request a Guest Pass.

IAOP Members:

Click Here and login  to download past meeting presentations for all IAOP chapters

January 23, 2008 – Chairman’s Summary:

The most recent IAOP Governance Chapter meeting was held via webinar on January 23, 2008 from 11:30am ET to 1:00pm ET and focused on remediation and renegotiation. Thank you to our guest speakers, Neil Hirshman from Kirkland & Ellis and Doug Plotkin from PA Consulting.

The fourth webinar in the series on Governance Across the Life Cycle, addressed the remediation of problems and the renegotiation of contracts. It looked at some of the typical problems that buyers and providers face in a mature relationship and some strategies for addressing them and making the necessary adjustments going forward.

Danny Ertel, chair of the Governance Chapter framed up the key challenges faced by parties in a troubled relationship and facilitated a discussion with guest panelists Neil and Doug.

In addition a short document to be available at the Governance Chapter Open House at the Outsourcing World Summit in February.

Danny Ertel
Partner
Vantage Partners, LLC
Brighton Landing West
10 Guest Street; 3^rd Floor

Brighton, MA 02135
Tel:  (617)354-6090
Fax: (617)354-4685



Primary Purpose

According to a recent IAOP survey, Governance is the top challenge facing outsourcing professionals today.  Outsourcing Governance is a complicated topic, encompassing a range of issues from performance and change management, to staffing and skills, to metrics and incentives to mindset and culture.

Fifth Meeting: November 8, 2007

The IAOP’s Governance Chapter held its fifth meeting on Thursday, November 8, 2007 and discussed the topic of “Decision-Making Rights & Responsibilities: Beyond the Basics.”  The meeting was moderated by Danny Ertel, Chair of the Governance Chapter and Partner at Vantage Partners. Danny hosted special guests Marni Dicker, VP of Business Affairs and Corporate Legal Counsel for SNC-Lavalin Profac, and Ron Barbera, Executive Consultant, Relationship Alignment Solutions for IBM Global Technology Services.

Danny opened with thoughts on why it is important to get clear on rights and responsibilities for decision making and why this is a key aspect of outsourcing governance and relationship management. Danny highlighted the D-I-C-N (Decision Driver, Inform, Consult, Negotiate) framework as one approach to clarifying roles and responsibilities for decision making.

Marni Dicker from SNC-Lavalin Profac explained why decision making can be complicated when there are various types of agreement models and type of contracts. Marni also emphasized the importance of strong relationships regardless of the details of the contract, as trust and credibility play a role in all decisions.

Ron Barbera from IBM’s Relationship Alignment Solutions group discussed challenges that can arise when the contract actually dictates who makes the decisions - such as when decision makers are only the ones who sit at the top of the organization. Ron talked about why that’s not always the best approach and it can be beneficial for decisions to be spread out among different roles and responsibilities within a defined framework.

The meeting concluded with a series of useful follow-up questions including:

What can you do up front and early in the relationship launch to establish clear decision making roles and responsibilities?

What have been the big pitfalls or challenges related to clarifying decision rights and authority?  What’s your advice for avoiding or mitigating those problems?

Are buyers aware of these types of decision making issues and how are they reacting to them during the selection process?

Fourth Meeting – July 16, 2007

The fourth IAOP Governance Chapter meeting, moderated by Danny Ertel, was held on Monday, July 16th, beginning at 11:30am EDT.  Danny opened the meeting by sharing some thoughts on why the parties need to begin to put in place effective governance and relationship management early, rather than wait until steady-state. 

Meeting Frequency

Quarterly

Meeting Type

Web-based (webinar); Teleconference


Examples of topics and speakers:

Topic: What is Outsourcing Governance?

Speaker Example: Advisor, Thought Leader (Academic), Experienced Buyer/Provider

Topic: Effective Governance: Lessons Learned about What Works (and What Doesn’t)

Speaker Example: Experienced Buyer/Provider

Topic: Building a Governance Team: What Experience and Skills are Needed?

Speaker Example:  Advisor, Thought Leader (Academic), Experienced Buyer/Provider

Non-Solicitation Policy

All IAOP Chapters adhere to the non-solicitation policy.  Click here to view the policy.   

Karl Boone, a member of PA Consulting’s Management team and Certified Outsourcing Professional instructor, then shared some advice on what outsourcing customers need to have in place in order to enable a smooth transition, including:

•               A realistic transition plan
•               Governance processes (e.g., for change requests, communication, risk management, etc.) that are well-understood and agreed by both parties

•               A Service Management Organization that is aligned between the customer and supplier
•               A plan for stakeholder management

•               Rapid ramp up of resources

•               Joint understanding of the technical solution

Karl also shared some critical steps customers should take, and potential challenges/pitfalls to watch out for during transition. 

We then heard from Nadia Johnson, an experienced manager with Pfizer who is responsible for making governance happen through transition day-in and day-out.  Nadia shared her perspective on critical steps to take during transition, possible challenges, and the importance of getting started early with governance.

The webinar then concluded with a robust Q&A and closing comments, with Nadia, Danny, and Karl sharing their perspective on questions such as:

•               Given how busy transition is, how do you get the necessary attention on creating a Service Management Organization (SMO) early on?

•               How do you set the tone for appropriate escalation (given that different companies have different views of escalation, depending on their cultures)?

•               How quickly can vendors realistically ramp up their side of the SMO?

•               Where do good metrics come from for the transition phase?

•               How do you strike the right balance between relationship building between both sides and getting right level of escalation?

•               How can you enable new SMO team members to transition into their new roles?