I am a manager of an in house printing facility supporting multiple departments for a global corporation.  Recently, my department survived a wave of outsourcing largely because we were able to prove that our place in the organization was necessary because of the value we add to the company's core business.

Allow me to begin by overstating the obvious.  There has been an overwhelming trend to outsource any function that is not directly connected to any company's core business in an effort to positively impact the bottom line.  Those within the company tasked with making these determinations clearly have an agenda which is to save the company money.  Makes sense, I would think.   But what they miss is the intangible cost of doing business that way which eventually ultimately impacts the company's bottom line.  And that's your job.  Prove your value.

Here's how you start. 

 Build a solid team.   You can't succeed without solid teamwork.  So, how do you do that?  It's not always easy because each player on your team has his or her own personality and approach to achieving goals.  You have to keep everyone on the same page at all times.  Hey, you're in charge, you're the captain, it's your ship.  You need to plot the course clearly and concisely and communicate that direction extremely well, and you need everyone on your team to buy in to that.  So how do you do that? 

 Build trust.  You need a solid foundation.  Your direct reports need to respect you and know that you are there to support them to get their job done.  That can come in a number of ways.  First and foremost, always listen and be objective and allow them to grow and develop through training.  Let them out of their comfort zones.  Encourage cross training.  Empower them to make decisions.  Reward good behavior at all times. Don't miss an opportunity for that and never penalize someone for making a bad decision.  I would rather someone made the wrong decision than to not make a decision at all.  At least you have a fifty/fifty chance when you empower people to make decisions and when they stumble, they learn and grow and become better team players for it.  Once you build a strong team, a strong foundation, you're good to go.  Direct subtly, direct judicially, provide support, and reward all positive efforts.

What next?  You need a loyal client base.  How do you establish that?  Provide outstanding customer service and always focus on your client's needs.  That can take a long time to accomplish.  It's not about what you can do; it's about what your clients need.  Hey, you're all working for the same company so stay connected to the people you support.  Learn what your clients need and lead your team to solve your clients' needs through empowerment, delegating responsibility and providing your team with the tools that they need to accomplish those goals.  You are nothing without your clients.  Clearly your team can't solve every client's needs so you must have contingencies in place such as outside back-up printers for peak times for overflow work or when your staff may be spread thin or when you have equipment downtime.  That's ok, but you don't have to let your clients know that.  Train your team to always confidently say, "yes we can," once you have everything in place.  Your clients don't care that someone called in sick or the equipment is down, so don't tell them.  Tell them what they want to hear, which is that you will take this task off their plate and assist them in accomplishing their goals for less money than it would cost outside.   You will have a loyal client base, a fan club, and that's what you need.  That's value.

Ok.  So now you have established that you have a strong team and a loyal client base.  That doesn't address the bottom line.  What if it costs your company more to keep you than to outsource the work?  They will outsource you.  So figure out what makes sense for you to print internally.  How do you do that? 

 Do outside cost comparisons.  See what they're getting outside and what you can do it for in-house and if your service is less money, do it and if it's not, let it go.  Find you niche and know your company's business requirements by talking to people. 

Another key to determining your value is to make sure that there is a viable market for a particular service.  Don't bring in a service for only one client because their need could go away and then you're stuck.  Follow your company's trends and ask questions.  Find out what other groups' requirements are and when you find out, only then do you build it. 

Market yourself across your organization.  Print promotional materials.  Conduct open houses.  Understand your company's core business and anticipate where there may be a need for your services.  Identify the key players and go after them.  It may take several attempts and that's ok.  Don't be discouraged.  Go after new hires.  They don't even know you exist.  Be willing to partner with your Purchasing people.  Reach out to them and take some of their workload off their plate by providing the service in-house.  They will appreciate it. 

You need to build your volume in order to prove positive impact to the bottom line.  Your costs to the company are pretty much fixed, so the more you print, the cheaper your click charge will be.  If, for example, it costs your company $100 per year to sustain your existence and you print only one image, then your cost is $100 per copy.  But if you grow your volume to 100,000 images per year, your click charge is $.001 per image and no one outside is going to beat that.  Find that threshold where you need to be and share that with your team so that they understand what your expectation is and what your goals are.  Reach out to all departments over and over.  It can take a while to get results, but don't be afraid to be persistent. 

Sell your value, convenience, savings, quality, and most importantly, build relationships with your clients and pass those relationships on to your team and trust them to maintain them.  If you've built a strong team, the pieces fall in to place.

Conduct surveys.  This is very important whether on line or a simple card you slip in with every order.  Don't be afraid of negative feedback.  Learn from it and grow.  Build a fan club and if it ever gets to the bitter end, organize a focus group of your top fans and let them tell management why they need you and how important it is to your company's core business.  Be involved with the assessment process as much as management will let you be.  As difficult as it is, be a team player and be involved with the assessment.  It gives you control over your destiny.  Believe in what you're fighting for and know that you are making recommendations for the company's best interests.

This has been my ongoing core philosophy and it has brought me great success and I wish all readers the same successful outcome.