Managing Outsourced Work
Lawyer Blog Post 2010/09/06 21:33
Outsourcing has become easier with modern technologies like the Internet. I suspect outsourcing will become even more popular as businesses seek greater efficiency and as professional services become more specialized.
If you are a business handling confidential client information, outsourcing comes with risks and responsibilities. The risks are fairly obvious. Sensitive information in the hands of third parties presents opportunities for identity theft, fraud, and other illegal or unseemly activities. In many cases, you cannot closely monitor third party activities or easily hold them accountable for mishandling information or breaking confidences.
Such risks probably do not outweigh the benefits of outsourcing, but they should perhaps inspire your adhesion to policies and procedures designed to minimize them. For example, maybe all your clients should know about and give explicit written consent to your outsourcing, even if your outsourcing seems like a commonplace, obvious, or implied part of the service being offered. Although you may have good relations with your third-party vendors, keep in mind that the good relations are yours, not your clients’. Even if you regularly outsource to a firm which you know and trust and which has its own professional responsibilities, your clients may have personal reasons for avoiding contact with your vendors of first choice.
You may also wish to formally evaluate the credibility of third-party vendors you hire to perform outsourced work, perhaps maintaining a list of credentials for being eligible to handle confidential information. Explaining these concerns to your clients, and the steps you’ve taken to mitigate them, will inspire confidence in your services.
If you are a business handling confidential client information, outsourcing comes with risks and responsibilities. The risks are fairly obvious. Sensitive information in the hands of third parties presents opportunities for identity theft, fraud, and other illegal or unseemly activities. In many cases, you cannot closely monitor third party activities or easily hold them accountable for mishandling information or breaking confidences.
Such risks probably do not outweigh the benefits of outsourcing, but they should perhaps inspire your adhesion to policies and procedures designed to minimize them. For example, maybe all your clients should know about and give explicit written consent to your outsourcing, even if your outsourcing seems like a commonplace, obvious, or implied part of the service being offered. Although you may have good relations with your third-party vendors, keep in mind that the good relations are yours, not your clients’. Even if you regularly outsource to a firm which you know and trust and which has its own professional responsibilities, your clients may have personal reasons for avoiding contact with your vendors of first choice.
You may also wish to formally evaluate the credibility of third-party vendors you hire to perform outsourced work, perhaps maintaining a list of credentials for being eligible to handle confidential information. Explaining these concerns to your clients, and the steps you’ve taken to mitigate them, will inspire confidence in your services.
