Insights from this Year’s IAOP Outsourcing World Summit, by Michelle Stephens, COP

I recently had the opportunity to attend the 20th annual IAOP (International Association of Outsourcing Professionals) Outsourcing World Summit held in San Antonio, Texas.  It always brings back fond memories of the network of friends and colleagues I’ve met and stayed in touch with over the last six years through IAOP Summits, chapter meetings, conferences and certification training classes. Regarding the latter, I am proud to have obtained my COP (Certified Outsourcing Professional) designation in 2011.

With the conference fresh on my mind, I’d like to share some insights on how IAOP has helped me develop a strong understanding of the structure and steps for implementing successful business process outsourcing projects, which in today’s environment must include a strong information governance framework.  I am very fortunate to have worked for over five years on the client side at a large P&C insurance company, spearheading the first of several outsourced offshore and onshore start-up engagements.  For the past six years I’ve worked on the provider side of the insurance industry implementing a variety of managed services projects. This hands-on experience, along with my education at IAOP, has enabled me to understand critical issues from both the client and provider perspective.

While I am currently an Insurance Solution Advisor working on the provider side, my background enables me to wear a client “hat,” providing my colleagues with suggestions that can help them understand the inner workings of potential insurance clients who are interested in using our services and how to best address their needs.  I also understand the importance of a strong governance framework from the client’s standpoint. This means I can help clients improve processes through an integrated service delivery model—leveraging and transitioning relevant work to onsite, offsite and offshore business processing centers—while deploying advanced technology where appropriate to generate results such as increased processing volumes and cycle times combined with reduced operating costs.

Because of my diverse experience, I couldn’t agree more with the message on the welcome page of the IAOP January/February 2017 issue of Pulse magazine, which we received at the Summit. CEO Debi Hamill stated:  “While robotics, artificial intelligence, digitization, crowdsourcing, and other technology trends are examined in depth throughout the Summit, core topics such as governance, contracts, negotiations, innovation and creating value are as important as ever in the program lineup.”

With that said, I suggest insurers keep in mind that value should be created via technology as well as through governance models and innovation.  For this and other key business reasons, Canon Business Process Services (Canon) offers a dedicated team of skilled experts who visit clients and implement a specialized, onsite Business Process Assessment (BPA).  This approach enables me and other Canon specialists to team with clients and listen as they share existing operational pain points and business challenges their organization is facing.  We can perform an in-depth analysis that looks at existing processes with an eye toward recommending and implementing solutions designed to improve and streamline workflows.

View our webinar to learn more about conducting a BPA.  Additionally, feel free to visit the Insurance Services page of our website for more insights on industry trends and best practices, including white papers, case histories, research reports and more.
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This blog was originally posted on Canon's website.
Michelle Stephens is a Certified Outsourcing Professional (COP), and the BPO Advisor, Insurance Solutions, Canon Business Process Services, Inc.