Has anyone provided an outsource provider as a job reference?

It is known that people get certain jobs as they state that they have experience working with certain outsource providers, venders etc. However, it seems rare for the outsource providers and venders, the individual names in their LinkedIn profile as being experts in working with, to ever be contacted to provide a reference on that person.

If someone markets themselves as an effective manager of third-party providers then they should offer evidence of it.

I have known people on the client side that were so terrible at working with their service provider that no one on the provider side could cope with staying involved in the project or account for longer than 3 months. This person’s reputation was such that no one in an entire company wanted to work with them.

If the provider does not want to work with the contact on the client side, there is not a lot the provider can do about it. This is a risk to the client organisation as it could result in the provider not performing as best as they can due to not wanting to have any contact with a client contact. Plus, with the constant change on the provider side, as no one wants to work with the client contact, results in the level of knowledge and experience with the client organisation will always being low. So, in conclusion it is best to treat the provider with respect and to create a positive and mutually beneficial relationship with them.

I have also known people on the client side who were loved by the service provider. These were special individuals as they understood the service that had been bought including its benefits and limitations. At the same time, they understood and did what they had to do to ensure that their organisation was ready for the contracted service.

These people made a career of going from multinational to multinational implementing outsourced services and due to the excellent way they treated the providers the providers were more willing to go beyond the contracted service so to support them. As they knew that it would be beneficial to them as the provider and the client. This person created a team atmosphere and not a client to servant atmosphere that many client contacts believe they must create and enforce.

It seems that clients forget that they are starting a multi-year relationship with a provider and how they start and create the relationship will set the tone of the relationship for years to come.

Therefore it is important to start the relationship between client and provider in a strong a positive way based on mutual respect and understanding of the contract.