Outsourcing benefits enrollment and communication does indeed rely on advanced technology. But keep this analogy in mind: many people drive cars safely without knowing what happens under the hood. Technology is essential. But, in a sector as intimate and crucial as outsourcing benefits, the first quality that must develop between you and a potential vendor is trust.
If that word seems strong, call it “chemistry.” Whatever term you prefer describes a bond that should link a buyer and seller in this field or, for that matter, in any other major HR-related outsourcing decision.
Look for a vendor who seeks a long-term commitment by showing that he or she is willing to take the time to invest in relationships on many layers. Experienced vendors know that prospects won’t discuss costs until they cross that first, essential bridge-establishing trust.
When you attack the challenge from that angle, you’ll be amazed at how your frame of reference changes and your comfort level soars.
I mentioned establishing client relationships on many layers. David Kinnear, Director of Business Development for the Black Mountain Group, speaks of “nurturing a relationship with our clients. Actually, a relationship with our clients’ employees. We like the fact that employees get to know us; we like the fact that we get to know them.”
In many sectors, including HR, the use of high-tech is now sufficiently mature that ideal vendor-client relationships are pushing way past “customizable off the shelf” (COTS) solutions.
Shoshana Zuboff, the Charles Edward Wilson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard’s Graduate School of Business Administration, predicts that the twentieth century model of “managerial capitalism”-mass production-is yielding to one in which products and services sell with “individual support.” Value-added is the new focus, providing support that individual clients demand. Winners in the “support” economy will be vendors who understand that the central component in selling is meeting, even exceeding, a client’s unique needs.
“Technology creates economies of scale,” says Kinnear. “You don’t need to reinvent it for every client.” Standardization repays with big dividends for everyone. But where a vendor-client relationship relates to service, “It comes down to the special needs of the client. Service,” he adds, “should not be the icing on the cake. It ought to infuse the way you and the client do business.”
So, if you have been tasked with the challenge of outsourcing your company’s benefit functions, take heart. Human relationships are moving back into the cold world of silicon. What you’re really shopping for is knowledge and understanding, two key components expressed as trust. In a world of commoditization, service is the make-or-breaker.