Author: Rick Roberts
The end of the month is only a few days away, and the list of items that need to be completed is only growing. If only there were more hours in a day, or if only you were able to spend more time doing what you were hired for and less time putting out the fires that pop-up. Although a 25-hour clock seems like the only answer, something called Managed Services could be the solution you're looking for. Managed Services allow organizations to supplement or out-source key business functions to a Managed Services Provider (MSP). If you’re in a sales performance or process management role, and not working with a third party for Managed Services, it’s something you should seriously consider.
So what are the benefits of Managed Services, and why should you be taking advantage of them?
- Save time and money: Living in a rapidly changing environment can be tough - especially if you’re working with a vendor who uses a “break/fix” or on-demand outsourcing model. Not only can small changes cost you a few thousand dollars each time, but waiting for the paperwork and having to perform other tasks derail you from other responsibilities. For a fixed fee each month, an MSP would handle updates to the system - allowing you to focus on what you were hired for like sales planning and compensation analysis. Better yet, you wouldn't incur transaction costs for any changes made to their system. To put it more simply - hiring an MSP gets you a whole team, at a cost that’s less than hiring one or two more full-time employees.
- Expertise: System updates by the vendor mean one thing; needing
to re-familiarize yourself with the platform and it’s new features, which takes time, a luxury that you may not have. With a Managed Services contract, you don’t have to worry about any additional training. No more burning the midnight oil trying to to complete tasks related to formula and rule creation. Furthermore, just like most other specialists, SPM specialists are typically drawn to a consultancy that focuses on SPM - meaning that if you’re looking for top talent to help supplement your operations, then that’s the best place to look. 
No more “grunt” work: Little tasks always manage to become big ones, and having a long list of them means that you’re not able to focus on the most important deliverables until the eleventh hour. An MSP would handle things such as, but not limited to; sending out plan documents, troubleshooting calculations, loading transactional data to manage calculations, adding manual adjustments in the period, adding new hires and terminations, and modifying incentive statements. Let a MSP handle the small tasks, and allow yourself to see the bigger picture, like next year's incentive compensation plan before December.
