Good outsourcing isn’t just about delivery. It’s about clarity. You should know what’s getting done, what it’s costing, and what’s next.

But sometimes the reports don’t add up. Hours don’t align with outcomes. Costs creep without explanation. You get answers to the questions you didn’t ask - and silence on the ones you did.

This article is about how to respond when your BPO’s reporting feels off - without assuming bad faith, or letting problems grow.

1. Start by naming the pattern

The danger isn’t one suspicious invoice. It’s a recurring mismatch - between what you expected to see and what you’re shown.

That might look like:

• Tasks marked complete - but nothing live
• Time allocations that never seem to stabilise
• Performance charts that keep changing format

Start with a specific. “We’re noticing that X isn’t matching Y.” Avoid accusations. Ask for help reconciling. This gives your BPO a way to respond without going on the defensive.

2. Ask for the story behind the numbers

Flat reporting hides friction. If a dashboard looks fine but something feels wrong, ask for narrative, not just data.

Try:

• “Can you walk us through what happened here?”
• “What changed between last month and this one?”
• “If we had to explain this trend to the CFO, what would we say?”

The goal is to understand whether the issue is:

• A communication gap
• A process change you weren’t told about
• A deeper delivery problem

Each one needs a different fix.

3. Re-establish expectations - in writing

If you’re chasing clarity every month, something’s misaligned. Don’t keep solving it in Slack.

Instead, agree on a standard reporting rhythm. That might include:

• A fixed format (with version history)
• An agreed list of KPIs and project milestones
• Commentary on changes, risks, and upcoming shifts

You’re not just protecting yourself. You’re helping your BPO team stay accountable to shared facts.

4. Watch for overcompensation

Sometimes, when a client flags reporting issues, a BPO responds with more - more charts, more metrics, more noise.

This creates the illusion of transparency, without improving actual visibility. If your inbox starts filling with dashboards no one reads, press pause. Ask:

• “What decisions are these metrics helping us make?”
• “What would we cut if we had to choose just five things to track?”

Better to have a tight report that guides action than a bloated one that muddies it.

5. Don’t rule out structural issues

If you’ve clarified expectations and the reporting still feels wrong, the problem may not be the data - it may be the setup.

Common structural causes:

• Your team and the BPO define success differently
• KPIs are tied to outputs, not outcomes
• The account manager isn’t close enough to the work

Fixing this might mean changing the reporting owner, revisiting SLAs, or in some cases, reconsidering the fit of the provider.

Final thought: clarity is a shared responsibility

You’re not unreasonable for wanting clean, consistent reporting.

But fixing it isn’t about demanding more. It’s about aligning on what matters, and making that visible to both sides.

When your BPO shows you what you need - not just what’s easy to measure - that’s when you know you’re working with a partner, not just a provider.

This article is part of our “Outsourcing Without Regret” series - practical guidance for selecting and managing BPOs with confidence.