Three Top Tips When Building An Outsourced Mathematician Or Statistician Team

Looking at outsourcing mathematicians who apply mathematical theories and techniques to analyse and solve practical problems in business, engineering, the sciences or other fields? Whose high-level skills will streamline and enhance everything from accounting to inventory management to marketing to sales forecasting to financial analysis? Or perhaps you’re considering outsourcing statisticians who use statistical data to collect, interpret and analyse numerical data to assist with decision making and policy? Whose accurate estimates and forecasts about costs, demand, prices and sales help in sound decision making, predictions and assumptions?

Outsourcing with a trusted partner will give you access to experts who build solutions, perform analytics and help to generate valuable business insights. Mathematician and/or statistician outsourcing should form a key part of your risk management strategy - most especially if you lack the in-house resources you need. Hiring a team of outsourced professionals will offer you access to experts in the latest technologies and approaches and it’s often easier, less time consuming and more cost-effective than building your own team from scratch.

So how do you ensure your outsourcing strategy keeps risk mitigation and BCP objectives top of mind? Here are three key areas to consider:-  

1/ ESSENTIAL MATHEMATICIAN OR STATISTICIAN OUTSOURCING PARTNER CRITERIA:

• • Can they demonstrate they have access to a large mathematician or statistician talent pool and have an EXCELLENT employer reputation in the internal job market? This is vital for ensuring they are able to attract and retain the very best talent for you.
  • Do they specialize in attracting STEM graduates who can easily be nurtured and grown into the team you need?
  • Will they assign a dedicated person to help you evaluate your team’s performance, bridge skills gaps, do due diligence and scale your team depending on your current project needs and economic situation? (You need to do the same from your side.)
  • Do their corporate culture and values align with yours? 
  • Do they have a robust data security policy?
  • Do they want to see you succeed first-and-foremost, and will they remain by your side from conceptualization through to implementation and beyond?

2/ MERGE YOUR ONSHORE AND OFFSHORE OUTSOURCED TEAMS

Actively involving all of your internal stakeholders with your outsourced team on a daily basis is essential to ensuring your outsourced team beds in as smoothly as possible. Taking on offshore team members can revamp processes and change work environments and core operating methods in multiple departments. Onshore team members know best which questions to ask and what kind of data they need to support their decision-making processes - so involve them early to ensure you set off and keep on the right track. Research your outsourcing partner thoroughly to ensure regular communication, updates, meetings and reporting between all teams are guaranteed. A proactive change management approach is a vital part of your overall risk management strategy.

3/ TRAINING

Ensure that training for your outsourced mathematician or statistician team is a key part of the partnership you enter into with an outsourcing partner. This can include knowledge sharing sessions and workshops; weekly meetings; hackathons and masterclasses. Make sure that knowledge sharing business trips can be arranged between two or more locations when possible. These will help to keep your distributed onshore and offshore teams synced and on the same page, as well as boost overall team morale and foster collaboration in a friendly, open-minded, and culturally diverse environment. You may also like to consider purchasing online courses (and putting them as KPIs) to help keep your team up to date in a rapidly changing environment.

Like most STEM jobs, there is a critical global shortage of mathematician and statistician talent so outsourcing can be a highly beneficial alternative for companies struggling to find and attract appropriate talent onshore. Outsourcing the talent you need will also significantly cut the length and cost of the recruitment process. Building outsourced mathematicians or statisticians into your business continuity plan can significantly speed up your digital transformation.

If you’re looking for an offshore outsourcing partner who truly cares about adding value to your business, Sharesource could be the answer you’re looking for. Download our eBook, '30 Essential Questions to Ask a Provider Before You Outsource’ to ensure you're informed and have the right questions to ask when considering the next step.