The topic is about team deputed at Customer Place and about making a Win-Win situtaion to both Customer and Service Provider

1. Team Management – Deputed at Customer Place Page 1 of 4
Dated: 25/06/2013
Team Management
Deputed at Customer Place – Engrave long-lasting Positive Impression
By Manish Srivastava MBA, MCA, PMP
Context
The Organisations nowadays due to their strategic needs and risk mitigation perspective are
outsourcing certain activities to specialised teams. Based on their in-house competencies, they
outsource the tasks in which they require support from experts. Implementation of projects in the
field of Information Technology mostly takes the top position in their list. There are various means of
engaging the service provider including letting their team be stationed at Customer‘s premises and
execute the implementation under their guidance and control.
The success for this arrangement in terms of outcome and benefits depends upon the adaptability of
the team to the new working environment and their performance. From the service provider’s
perspective, the team before moving should be inducted with all required details. They should be
groomed as Organisation’s representative carrying image and capabilities and made aware about
their crucial role for the Customer engagement and their contribution towards the objectives.
In this article based on my past related experience, I have recommended some action points for the
service provider team to help build Customer-oriented team and deliver results exceeding
expectations. The points will help the team to adapt and build their attitude and temperament as
per the new working environment.
Recommendations
The Service Provider team can divide the entire engagement tenure into four phases – Induct;
Adapt; Contribute & Release.
The Account Manager (person managing the Customer) should take
the responsibility of initiating and driving the Induction phase. This is
carried within the Organisation before sending the selected team to
the Customer place.
1. Induction of new member: The member deputed for an
assignment at Customer place before joining, should be inducted
with all details about the Customer including:
 Signing Non-Disclosure Agreement (or any other document
equivalent) – To abide with the contractual agreement of
confidentiality with Customer, the member should be
explained in detail about the document(s) and its relevance
and implications. Any other security or breach related
procedures should also be elaborated and signed. The team
should be made aware about the implications of non-adherence and its fallout over the
individual and Organisation.
Figure 1 Engagement Phase

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Dated: 25/06/2013
 Assignment Purpose – The objective and purpose of the deputation should be described in
detail along with the job role and their associated Customer expectations. The team should
be briefed about the assignment its derivatives and role in Customer’s Value Chain. The
team members should browse through the website to have the pre-requisite knowledge
about the domain and work areas. Role(s) & Responsibilities of every member should be
explained along with expected achievements and linked to their appraisal process. Tentative
duration of assignment and dependencies should be highlighted to the team in advance.
 Organisation Structure – Inform the team about the Organisation structure and the
departments related to the work. Provide them the list of concerned personnel along with
their designation, contact details and their role, relevance and importance during the
execution of assignment. Advise them about the reporting hierarchy, reporting manager and
department details. For cases where more than one service providers are involved, brief the
team about their role and responsibilities, their involvement in the assignment and most
importantly the working equation.
 Communication Protocol – The communication protocols with Customer teams should be
properly defined established and published. It should contain details related to all means of
communication including email, meetings and calls (telephonic or video) -
o Relevance of ‘Tos’, ‘Ccs’ and content etiquettes; formality of language used
o involvement of relevant internal and external members in the communication
o Escalation path and procedures from both sides
The team should be encouraged to have a cordial professional relationship with the
Customer however need to caution them from sharing of service provider’s confidential
information.
 Location(s), Working timings and Security Access – Brief the members about the new work
location(s), applicable timings along with formalities required for Security access. A list of
Do’s and Don’ts should be prepared, instructed and handed over for daily use reference.
 Eligible Leave policy – The team at the Customer place needs to adhere to the host leave
policies. They need to be well-informed about eligible days.
 Timesheet Approval process – Timesheet in most of the cases is a crucial document that
captures the activities performed by the member for the duration. Upon approval from the
Customer, this document serves as the invoice artefact for the billing purpose. The team
should be clearly explained about the timesheet filling, submission and approval process.
2. Member adapting to the Customer environment: The member after joining the workplace
should start adapting to the new environment. As part of induction, the member should liaise
with the Customer reporting manager and get all the details related to work and environment.
Organisations carry their own culture and it is the member’s responsibility to grasp it at the
earliest. The areas to address are:
 Office Timing – Strict adherence to the Customer office timings. Punctuality is always sought
for and respected in the field of professionalism. Earn it.

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Dated: 25/06/2013
 Dress Code – Dress attire, cleanliness and the accessories should match to the Organisations
dress code. Should be presentable.
 Etiquette – Organisations have their own culture and etiquettes. Follow etiquettes related to
greeting individuals, mutual respect, decent conversation over phones (duration, area and
voice), having lunch etc. Maintain office decorum. Concern and care for others should reflect
in the deeds.
 Using their resource – The privilege to use the resources extended by the Customer like
workstation, email, phone, fax, conveyance, internet, print, library, cafeteria etc. should not
be exploited.
 Performance – The member should show eagerness in joining the work and proactively start
interacting with the concerned team and start performing. Gelling with the team and
concentrating on the output deliverables.
 Other Service Provider – In case where more service providers are part of the team, have a
balanced and professional relationship with clear and agreed responsibility matrices.
 Status Report/Timesheet – The procedures for status reporting, timesheet approvals and
other communications should be discussed and confirmed with the Reporting Manager.
Regular communication (both formal and informal) with the Customer team helps in building
confidence in working relationship.
 Plan Leave and apply in advance – Based on the agreed terms and conditions, leaves can be
availed by the member. The leave application with longer duration should be submitted well
in advance for approval. This will portray member’s genuine concern about the impact and
also intent to help Customer to plan and manage the absence and knowledge transfer.
The Account Manager during the regular meetings with the Customer should enquire about the
team’s performance and convey the same to the team for further improvements.
3. Justify the presence by Contribution: Once adapted to the Customer environment, the member
should start delivering to the expectations. The Customer should perceive the objectives getting
fulfilled and benefits coming out of them. These activities should also reflect in regular status
reports in form of formal communication. All relevant feedbacks should be taken seriously and
worked upon for further improvements.
The member should take care about the information getting shared between the Customer and
parent Organisation. Utmost care about the classification and confidentiality should be taken.
No details from either Organisation should be communicated without consent. Violation of it
may lead to legal implications.
During the overall tenure at Customer Organisation, the member should create a positive
identity and help the parent Organisation establish a place to reap the benefits.
The member should also gel with the Customer team and for other activities like cultural and
social events. On invitation, they should participate and contribute and leave a healthy image.

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Dated: 25/06/2013
Team members working at Customer place over the time feel disconnected (left-out) from their
parent Organisation in terms involvement and information (changes, assignments, policies etc.).
From the Service Provider Organisation’s perspective, the Account Manager on a regular basis
should meet and update the team about the other news and progress and make them feel
engaged.
4. Release with formal Handover: There is always an end date to the assignment and member’s
association with the project. Graceful exit with proper handover process should be planned in
advance and executed to the satisfaction. All formalities of knowledge transfer, hand-holding
sessions, returning documents, surrendering access cards, login ids, email ids etc. should be
followed and communicated to all stakeholders for their reference. The workplace and other
resources should be cleaned and cleared along with any other pending transactions. A formal
no-objection certificate can be obtained from relevant departments.
The release process should also include acknowledgement of the contribution in form of
Timesheet approval and Feedback form from Customer Reporting Manager.
Conclusion
In today’s competitive world, adding new Customers and retaining the existing ones is one of the
biggest challenges for the Service Provider Organisation. Customer Satisfaction is one of the key
factors to deal with. The performance of the on-site team dictates the Customer Satisfaction Index.
It becomes the prime responsibility of the Service Provider to induct and equip the selected team
and make them the flag bearers. To have the processes and contact point(s) defined that cover and
address all the team’s doubts and issues and give them confidence, contentment and belongingness
working at Customer place.
The need is to have Customer-oriented teams who can adapt and gel with the new conducive
environment and deliver more than expectations – Engrave a long-lasting positive impression. As
the famous saying from Walt Disney about Customer satisfaction goes - “Do what you do so well
that they will want to see it again and bring their friends”.
About the Author
Manish Srivastava, PMP, has over 17 years of global experience in managing large projects and
clients in India and abroad from different domains including Finance, Cargo, Manufacturing,
Procurement and Government. He has orchestrated numerous end-to-ends Software Development
Life Cycle from Pre-Sales bid to Warranty Support for Web/Client-Server technologies under the
Quality frameworks of CMM Level 5 and ISO. In addition to his PMP certification (2006), he also
holds Master of Business Administration (2006) from University of Bradford and Master Degree in
Computer Applications (1995) from Magadh University. He would welcome to discuss further using
Linkedin.