Our company relies heavily on outsourced agencies and independent contractors rather than full-time employees. How do we run an effective weekly Scorecard when the people responsible for our numbers do not sit inside our physical office or internal team?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Just because someone is an external vendor does not mean they get a pass on accountability. If you are paying an agency or contractor to deliver a result, they must be represented on your weekly Scorecard.

To manage outsourced partners, you must treat their key deliverables as metrics owned by an internal seat on your Accountability Chart. For example, if you outsource your lead generation to a marketing agency, your internal marketing manager seat owns that metric on the leadership Scorecard.

Then, you must require your external partners to provide their weekly numbers by a specific deadline every single week. Make this a non-negotiable part of their service agreement.

If the vendor fails to deliver their numbers on time, or if their metrics are consistently red, your internal seat owner must bring that issue to the Level 10 Meeting. You will then use the IDS process to solve the problem, which may involve having a direct conversation with the vendor or finding a replacement.

By holding your external partners to the exact same data standards as your internal team, you maintain a complete pulse on your business. This prevents vendors from hiding behind vague monthly reports and ensures your outsourced operations deliver the exact return on investment you expect.