The process selection score: outsource, split or keep?

Key takeaways

The GBL Process Selection Score is a process outsourcing assessment that rates one business process on five tests, each scored 0 to 2, for a total out of 10. It tells you whether to outsource the process whole, split it between your team and a provider, or keep it. Scoring one process takes about 15 minutes with the person who runs it.

• Five tests: repeatable, defined, separable, controllable, non-differentiating.
• 8 to 10: outsource the whole process.
• 5 to 7: split it, or fix the weakest test first.
• 4 or below, or 0 on controllable: keep it in-house.

What does the process selection score measure?

The score measures how well a whole process will travel to a managed team, not whether outsourcing is worth it for your business in general. It looks at the process as a unit, from trigger to output, and asks whether someone outside your business could run it to a standard you can check, without dragging your team into every step.

• Which business processes should you outsource?
• What is a business process? A plain guide for SMEs

How do you score each of the five tests?

Score each test 0, 1 or 2 with the person who runs the process today. Use the evidence you have, such as volumes, error logs and written steps, rather than impressions. When two people disagree, take the lower score.

• Repeatable: 0 if it runs a few times a month, 1 if weekly, 2 if daily or in steady volume.
• Defined: 0 if it lives in one head, 1 if partly written, 2 if written with rules and a quality check.
• Separable: 0 if it is tangled with other work, 1 if it has a few handoffs, 2 if it has a clean start and end.
• Controllable: 0 if the risk cannot be contained, 1 if it needs extra controls, 2 if access and contracts cover it.
• Non-differentiating: 0 if customers buy because of it, 1 if it shapes their experience, 2 if they never notice it.

• How much volume makes a process worth outsourcing?
• Process dependencies: map them before you hand over
• Does this process win you customers? The differentiation test

What does a worked score look like?

In an illustrative example, a 20-person distributor scores three processes. Supplier payment runs score 2, 2, 1, 2, 2 for 9: outsource the preparation, keep the approval. Complaints handling scores 2, 1, 1, 1, 1 for 6: split it, so routine logging and replies move and resolution decisions stay. Pricing reviews score 0, 1, 1, 2, 0 for 4: keep them. These are example scores, not a benchmark for your business.

• Supplier payment runs: outsource the prep, keep approval
• Complaints handling: what to outsource and what to own
• Should you outsource pricing? Why the decision stays in-house

How is this different from the other GBL scorecards?

Each scorecard answers a different question. The outsourcing trigger scorecard asks whether your business needs to outsource now. The repetitive task fit score asks whether one small task is ready to hand over. The process selection score sits between them: once you know you will outsource, it tells you which whole processes to move and how to split them.

• The outsourcing trigger scorecard
• The repetitive task fit score: ready to hand over?

When should you not trust the score?

Treat the score as a guide, not a verdict, when the process is about to change, when one person scored it alone, or when a regulator or major customer has rules about who does the work. A high score on a process you are redesigning next quarter is a reason to wait, not to move.

• Should you fix a process before you outsource it?
• Regulated processes: outsource the work, keep the duty

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: owners score their own processes higher on defined than the people who run them. Scoring with the person who does the work usually drops one or two processes from outsource to fix first, which saves a messy handover later.

• See client work
• BPO Solutions for UK businesses

Process selection score checklist

Use this list each time you score a process.

• Name the process by its trigger and output.
• Score it with the person who runs it.
• Use volumes and error logs as evidence.
• Take the lower score when people disagree.
• Apply the override for 0 on controllable.
• Write the verdict and the weakest test.

• A business process register: map every process once
• Outsource, split, fix or keep: four process verdicts

Next step

Score your three busiest processes and send us the marks. We will tell you which verdict we would reach and why, including where we think the score is too generous.