An ideal outsourcing option.

For more than 100 years association management companies have served as the ultimate outsourcing opportunity for boards of directors and chief staff executives alike. Boards look to AMCs when outsourcing all administrative and staff leadership functions, which allows boards the freedom to focus primarily on key industry issues, opportunities, and threats. Chief staff executives realize administrative functions can be outsourced to free up staff to clearly focus on key issues addressing their industry or profession.

Philip Lesser, CAE, vice president of Bostrom Corporation, Chicago, has said, "Outsourcing is contracting out that which you can do but choose not to." For instance, hiring a lawyer to serve as antitrust counsel isn't really outsourcing, because most associations don't have antitrust counsel on staff to begin with. Hiring someone to manage your registration process or produce monthly financial statements, for example, can be considered outsourcing. You can and probably have done these tasks in-house. You may now be looking for more effective ways to accomplish them.

As the chief decision maker, ask yourself several questions:

* Can someone else do these tasks better, faster, or less expensively?

* Are we currently spending unproductive staff time doing these tasks?

* Will my time or the time of my staff be freed up by outsourcing these responsibilities?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, it's time to consider outsourcing.

Outsourcing assessment

Now that you're thinking of outsourcing a project or process, how do you do it? Start by answering a few fundamental questions. 1. Do I want my members to know that I'm outsourcing this project? Certain projects lend themselves to anonymity, such as financial management and dues billing, where the association member does not know that the project is being handled outside the association office. Registration processing is also a blind process because the phone is answered by the AMC, but the company states the name of your association. Other activities do require revealing that you outsourced the project or function. For instance, when an AMC produces a magazine or journal, members will see a different address and acknowledgement of a separate publisher.

2. How much interface is required with members on this project? Generally, outsourcing a project works better if the interface is between the AMC and association staff, as they know what needs to be done and the consequences of delaying decisions. This also simplifies the reporting and communication process.

3. What kind of reporting measurements are important? How often and in what form do you want to communicate with the AMC? Specifying these expectations up front will decrease confusion and increase satisfaction.

4. Do I have a schedule, budget, and vision or goal? A reasonable schedule, appropriate funds, and a vision of a successful outcome are all necessary ingredients to frame a positive working relationship with any company you consider for outsourcing projects.

The RFP process

Once you've decided to outsource, a request for proposals is always a good way to clarify expectations. Remember, the more detailed the information you provide in your RFP, the more accurate the price and schedules you'll receive from an AMC. This in turn will lead to a more solid and secure partnership with the AMC you select.

When reviewing proposals from AMCs, key questions to ask include these:

* Does the AMC have relevant experience and references?

* Does the company have adequate staff resources to serve me?

* Who would be my key contact?

* How much would I need to educate the AMC about my industry, issue, or project?

* How would services be billed?

A full understanding of budget and costs is necessary. In addition, when you interview your prospective AMC, ask about its structure. Would it serve your needs? Make sure it's a good fit for your association.

Full-service expertise

In general, AMCs have experience with all facets of association management - from processing dues billing to writing press releases to managing international expositions. AMCs know your challenges; an AMC probably has experience with your particular situation, due to the breadth of clients an AMC serves.

AMCs can be the solution for associations needing to outsource projects or functions. If an AMC can perform tasks better, faster, or less expensively than you can, why not let it? Then you can concentrate on using your time and resources more effectively.

Mark T. Engle is a principal of Association Management Center, Glenview, Illinois. E-mail: [e-mail].