I had just finished explaining the model we had designed to facilitate the outsourcing of correspondence generation, something that would potentially save the company over $350k a year. The model includes;
Reviewing the current data load mapping and upload process
Ensuring issues are addressed that they are addressed and rectified before outsourcing can occur.
Checking all calculations are current, effective, and maintain their integrity through the load process
The response was not warm.
“I’m telling you that it won’t work. I won’t support the outsourcing of our correspondence module”
I sat at the end of the meeting room table where the voice inside my head is screaming “because you don’t like effing change!” and resisting the urge to throw the wireless mouse in her general direction. Once composed, I pressed on with the knowledge sharing exercise.
“What is the major concern that you have with outsourcing correspondence?”
“Everything needs checking” the stare was steady and unwavering.
“Why does everything need checking?”
“Because I need confidence that the member will receive the right information”
“And we can’t achieve this by fixing the problems that we know we have before we outsource?”
“No”
“Because….” God this was like pulling teeth
“Because every letter is unique”
“Every letter? But we have standard templates”
“And we edit every single one”
“Why?”
“So we know they’re correct”
I paused, and rephrased “How do you know that they are incorrect? And why are they incorrect?”
“We check them against the member accounts to make sure the right fees and calculations have come across in the data load”
“So the data load is wrong?”
“Yes. And each calculation is unique, so we have to manually check them all”
“There aren’t standard parameters for the calculations?”
“Well yes, but they’re percentage based, so each one is different”
“But the same rules apply to each calculation?”
“Erm. Yes.”
“So they could be programmed and put into business rules so they can be applied automatically?”
“I suppose”
“And the other data discrepancy is a result of the data load being wrong?”
“Correct”
“So if we did this…” I scrolled back to the presentation slide that said
Reviewing the current data load mapping and upload process
Ensuring issues are addressed that they are addressed and rectified before outsourcing can occur.
Checking all calculations are current, effective, and maintain their integrity through the load process
“Then we could fix the problems?”
There was a pregnant pause, by the end of which the tops of her ears where decisively pink.
“I don’t want to outsource”
“Why?”
“Because I need to check everything”
“Why do YOU need to check everything?”
Another pregnant pause, met by a defeated sigh, and the comment “Because I’m a control freak and I want to be indispensable”
I smiled to myself, on the inside, and the smell of victory drifted into my nostrils.