Successfully tapping into and managing external resources

About this Publication

Overview 
From building basic trust, to dealing with cultural differences and language issues, this Quick Insight identifies the basic principles of effective team working. It also highlights how two field leaders, British Telecom and Shure Inc, work with external groups to deliver specific product development objectives while still speeding up their overall development time.

Implications
When organizations begin working on new product development across globally-dispersed teams they need to be aware that the relationship needs managing in such a way that the right elements are put in place early on. Readers of this QI will gain an insight into:

• how to structure on and off-shore teams and reporting lines
• how to achieve maximum capacity by balancing priorities effectively
• the rewards of a mutually profitable relationship
• where you should compromise to empower the team
• why you should look “inside first” when external teams are failing
• how Shure takes external relationships to the next level

Originality
Organizations are increasingly exploring options around the use of external resources to enhance internal product development capabilities, however such relationships need to be carefully managed. This Quick Insight details how British Telecom, through its Customer Centricity Programme, has upgraded the overall capabilities of the corporation via what it calls ‘the utilization of off-shore teams’. It also highlights how smaller organizations can build relationships with other companies to speed up their own product development processes or gain access to competencies that do not exist in house.

Structure
The “Focus On…New Product Development team working” section highlights the major issues that companies must consider when it comes to working with groups who are not co-located.

The “Succesfully tapping into and managing specialist resources” section is based on an interview with Brett Shepperson, former program manager at British Telecom (BT). It outlines the manner in which Shepperson managed relationships between BT and the external companies he employed to deliver competencies which did not exist ‘in house’.

A “Comparator Case Study” item provides insights into how Shure Inc. finds the right external partners to work with and how it goes on to build long-lasting relationships with that team.

Table of Content

Key Insights