{"id":1394,"date":"2012-03-15T21:55:00","date_gmt":"2012-03-15T21:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/projects\/horsesforsources\/iaop_2012_031412\/"},"modified":"2012-03-15T21:55:00","modified_gmt":"2012-03-15T21:55:00","slug":"iaop_2012_031412","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/iaop_2012_031412\/","title":{"rendered":"Have some industry events reached their stagnation point?"},"content":{"rendered":"
So who better to send to \u00a0the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP<\/a>)\u00a0annual summit in Orlando than HfS’ research head,\u00a0Tony Filippone<\/a>, who has attended this event for several years running in his previous role heading up BPO for healthcare payor giant WellPoint. \u00a0Here’s his report on the proceedings…<\/p>\n Lack of Thought Leadership Leads to a Rerun Performance<\/span><\/p>\n After attending the 2011 and 2012 World Summits hosted by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP), we were left with a feeling that event organizers were ignoring the opportunity to assemble top-notch thought leadership to drive community discussion. While keynotes were remarkably better than 2011, the educational sessions seemed similar to discussions had at every other event and last year\u2019s 2011 World Summit. Presenters share a background on their company, their journey to success, challenges overcome, and lessons learned. Service providers stand beside their clients as their clients endorse the service provider\u2019s services. Panelists who are CEOs for different service providers argue for the viability of regions, niche categories of services, and the need for better contract terms.<\/p>\n Time to change that channel?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The formula for events has become rote. Lectures and panel discussions are the dominant format, which drives little communication among attendees. Sessions rarely focus on the need for our industry to change and instead focus on repeating what has already happened or promoting sponsor interests. In lieu of tools and templates, presenters provide business cards and collateral. There is an exhibition hall full of booths staffed by marketing leaders handing out tchotchkes. Sales people meet between sessions to assemble lists of leads.<\/p>\n IAOP events, in particular, create the impression that the event is formulaic. Awards are given to individuals and companies. Many of the same people moderate or lead IAOP sessions each year. New lists of top service providers and advisors are announced. In fact, for the second year in a row, these \u201ctop\u201d lists exclude the likes of industry leaders Cognizant, IBM and Xerox.<\/p>\n It leaves us wondering whether the IAOP really intends to be a voice of the industry, or just another event company bent on rehashing the same themes. With a hefty $1,900 dollar price tag for the 2013 World Summit, we asked ourselves, \u201cIf I attended the 2012 IAOP World Summit, would I learn anything new in 2013?\u201d<\/p>\n Billed as “The Largest of its Kind”<\/span><\/p>\n Over 780 \u201cdelegates\u201d attended the IAOP 2012 World Summit held in Orlando, Florida. Roughly one third of delegates were customers or buyers, one third of delegates were service providers, and the last third were a mix of advisors, regional governmental representatives, academics, and press. The event spanned roughly two and half days, which were divided into the following types of content.<\/p>\n \u00bb\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Main session presentations<\/strong> where keynote presentations were given to all delegates. These made up roughly eight hours of the World Summit. Three of those hours were held at the same time as other content.<\/p>\n \u00bb\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Seven \u201ceducational\u201d tracks <\/strong>where companies presented theory and experiences. These tracks focused on customer experience, outsourcing tools, \u201cmanagement science\u201d, transition and governance, the \u201chuman side\u201d of outsourcing, globalization, and the future of outsourcing. There were six 50-minute presentations in each track, which totaled nearly six hours of content.<\/p>\n \u00bb\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Networking events<\/strong> where customers were sometimes separated from service providers and advisors. Besides structured \u201cspeed dating\u201d networking where participants moved from table to table discussing different topics (about two hours), there were evening mixers sponsored by service providers who gave away prizes to participants.<\/p>\n \u00bb\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Practicums <\/strong>were held on the morning of the last day where buyers and service providers were separated. Three hours of presentations were given to each group. Buyers heard ITSqc promote its CMI-like capability maturity model and presentations from P&G and McGraw-Hill on metrics. Service providers heard the findings from Duke\u2019s 2011 outsourcing study, ITSqc\u2019s promotion of its capability maturity model, and a sales effectiveness presentation from Pretium Partners.<\/p>\n In addition, several service providers sponsored dinners or drinks in the evenings. There was also a large hall filled with service providers\u2019 marketing booths.<\/p>\n The IAOP also rolled-out the \u201cSummit Hub\u201d, an online portal for attendees to read detailed session descriptions, plan their schedule, and proactively network with other attendees. In fact, the IAOP allowed all participants to update personal profiles and \u201crequest\u201d meetings with other participants online.<\/p>\n Benefits of Attending an IAOP World Summit<\/span><\/p>\n For the most part, IAOP puts on well-organized events with high attendance of a broad cross-section of industry stakeholders. Expect crowds full of buyers, sales people, and industry influencers. If you are a newcomer to outsourcing, a World Summit is an ideal event because it hosts sessions on nearly every conceivable topic, from contract metrics to outsourcing in China and from contracting for cloud technology to health care services. World Summits are a smorgasbord of outsourcing discussion. You\u2019ll have an opportunity to listen to topics on subjects you may have never otherwise have considered. However, discussion is rarely more than a high-level summary. You\u2019ll need to follow-up with presenters after the event to get the detailed information you need to execute.<\/p>\n Because of the breadth of discussion, there are great networking opportunities. You\u2019ll meet a large number of new people if you introduce yourself to your neighbors in each session, during meals, and take advantage of the structured networking activities. Most attendees find this the biggest benefit of the event. Yet, the busy schedule and predominately lecture-style formats of sessions limit your ability to interact with attendees. See our suggestions below for advice on how to improve your networking activities.<\/p>\n The awards given at the World Summit communicates clearly that the industry is a community and that some industry participants are great examples of outsourcing relationships and skills. To those who are new or have suboptimal relationships, the awards can serve as an aspiration. To those with experience, the awards can remind them that they haven\u2019t yet achieved all that they could. To those who win, awards are a wonderful recognition of hard work and industry contribution. More importantly, the community that assembles is full of people who achieved the same results, but cannot seek out recognition because their organizations do not want public recognition of their outsourcing prowness.<\/p>\n<\/a>As our research has\u00a0emphatically\u00a0revealed, peer networking is the preferred medium of choice for today’s outsourcing decision makers. \u00a0So when executives are putting considerable time, cost and effort into spending multiple days at these gatherings, they hope to get some serious value out of the networking and education. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
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