2
6

A
p
r
i
l

2
0
0
4

Reversing Outsourcing

According to a recent mailshot I received from an organisation touting itself as a networked support mechanism for the commercialisation of research:

Increasingly, employees are seeking more flexibility in their working hours and work location. The reasons for this include the growth of single parent families, the problems of arranging childcare, the difficulty and cost of commuting and for many people the desire to achieve a better balance between work commitments and family responsibilities.

Many UK white collar jobs, including those of call centre workers, are being lost as major financial institutions and other organisations seek cost savings by outsourcing work to countries such as India and Malaysia. This is a major threat to the UK economy.

Businesses generally are feeling downward pressure on prices and are seeking areas of cost reduction.

New ways of working which take advantage of new technologies such as broadband and IP telephony to allow employees to work professionally and productively, regardless of their physical location, offer a solution to the above issues.

Oh, please. Since when has broadband and IP telephony offered a solution to outsourcing to other countries? These are technologies, not solutions. We have broadband at our office. We also do a lot of work from our own homes, whenever we feel like it. Is it cheaper to come to us than to go to India? No. Why? Because these other countries have a lower labour cost. As for IP telephony: well yes it could help, if you had masses of staff all hooked up to terabit broadband. Never heard of it myself.

Things that really help reverse outsourcing are traditional things about good business. Give customers a better level of service; promote the fact that all added value operations are handled in-house; nuture your customers; make them feel wanted and valued; invest in career development for existing staff; improve the way in which work is managed and tracked…

So what about the age old issue of outsourcing call centres. Well, recent indications are that it can be less effective than having call centres in your country of origin. See Dell’s experience. They should know.

Job done.

Permalink | General Musings

One Response to "Reversing Outsourcing"

  1. 27 April 2004 at 10:30 AM

    Mark wrote:

    I totally agree.

    This is a very important local issue in the Highlands Of Scotland where I live. Call centres are an important part of the local economy here. Wages are relatively low compared to other parts of the UK that also offer sufficient infrastructure for call centres to operate.

    But there has been a lot of recent news about call centres in Scotland (not just the Highlands) moving to places like India. BBC Scotland had a very informative documentary on the subject a few months ago.

    There are obvious problems with having your call centre culturally detached from your customers. It is obviously preferable to have your call centre in the same country.

    But India is not only cheaper than the UK; the level of professionalism in call centres is also higher.

    A call centre job in India is viewed as a good career. Call centres attract University graduates who see it as a career for life and are keen to put their all into the job. They work hard to understand our culture and products or services that are literally foreign to them. A call centre employee is viewed as a professional. I admire them and I can see how call centres are improving their economy, but we are a consumer-oriented society and this is not what’s best for UK consumers.

    In stark contrast, in the UK, a call centre employee is viewed as a modern type of production line worker, i.e. casual and low paid work. So, even though it is preferable to have your call centre in the same culture as your customers, it is no surprise that UK call centres find it hard to compete with their Indian contemporaries.

    If we want to keep call centres in the UK then we need to change the way we view them and their employees. Why shouldn’t Customer Care be viewed as just as professional as, say, Banking? As a consumer, I want the best Customer Care that is available on those occasions that I need it. I know some folks who work in call centres; they’re bright, courteous people who are highly trained to do their job.

    We’re a capitalist democracy in this country; if we’re only prepared to pay for second-rate customer care then that’s what we’ll get.

Leave a Reply

Grab the RSS feed, or have a wander through the archives

copyright ©2006 and so on, ninthspace.org, except quotations, lyrics and some images which are the rights of their respective holders