We are outsourcing our entire marketing department to an external agency to save costs before our exit. How do we represent an external agency on our Accountability Chart, and how do we hold them accountable when they do not attend our internal EOS meetings?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

You can absolutely outsource the execution of a department, but you cannot outsource the ultimate accountability of the seat. Every box on your Accountability Chart must have one name in it, and that name must be an internal member of your leadership team. You cannot put the name of an external agency in a leadership seat. To structure this correctly, assign an internal leader, such as your Integrator or VP of Sales, to own the Marketing seat. This person is accountable for the results of the marketing department and manages the relationship with the external agency. The internal leader will monitor the agency's performance using measurable key performance indicators on your weekly Scorecard. To ensure alignment, have the agency lead attend a portion of your weekly Level 10 Meeting to report on progress, or run a separate, dedicated meeting pulse with them. If the agency fails to deliver, the internal seat holder is the one who must answer for it and make the decision to replace them. By keeping the ultimate accountability inside your organization, you protect your business from losing control of critical operations and demonstrate to potential buyers that you have a robust system for managing external vendors.