Aug

19

As more and more companies in the West outsource work to achieve flexibility and lower costs, a lot of people are left in the lurch, downsized, out-of-work. Could there be a silver lining to all of this?

Apparently there is. If Life gives you lemons, then make lemonade to sell, even if it means selling it yourself off-shore.

Outsourcing provides opportunities to everyone. It’s not taking jobs, but making jobs as well.

Demand High, Supply Low

Asia is one of the prime destinations for cost-effective back office work and information technology outsourcing where countries like India and the Philippines are booming with growth due to revenues from research and development, software engineering and contact services.

The demand for these low-cost but first rate products and services are increasing, with multi-billion dollar contracts signed each year.

However, the outsourcing industry is barely keeping up with the demand for these demands, just barely since the human resources is lacking.

Many job applicants, fresh from their respective university campuses, in these low-cost regions do not have sufficient skills and training that would make them capable to meet the demands of the outsourcing industry.

There is a disparity to what these college graduates have learned from their classrooms from what they need to know to be employed.

To remedy this, service providers have to spend time, effort and money to have their workforce trained (or re-trained) to do their jobs as befits their client requirements.

Since there are plenty of job openings, a large number of “international” applicants with the right qualifications have been trickling out from the West and actively pursuing these opportunities here in Asia.
They go where the work is, and being welcomed with open arms.

Outsourcing services companies are hiring from the West: trainers, supervisors, managers, consultants and tech specialists to guarantee service quality that meets or exceeds global standards.

Having professionals from the West on the company payroll to supervise on-site and bring customer-oriented business culture to the work floor, adds credibility to the company which earns client confidence.

e-Telecare, a business outsourcing company which primary does voice-contact services, employs has 10 site managers who handle 1,200 people each and 4 site managers were hired from the United States who were knowledgeable in the business competencies that’s unique to the industry.

Outsourcing Frontier

In the drive to produce high quality products and services as low costs, outsourcing has been the fuel to arrive to innovations to business applications of technology.

Cloud computing, or Computer System virtualization, is now a new frontier that is fast growing due to its flexibility, efficient resource allocation and effective cost reduction.

For every new frontier, one would need guides and presently there are not enough people qualified to guide the way, particularly in Asia.

A high demand for IT professionals, with specialized skills and know-how in the virtualization of computer systems, is expected to keep on growing to meet the future labor needs in the region.

It doesn’t matter where they are from as long as they have the relevant skills, experience and attitude.

Outsourcing companies put focus on diversity and competency as they build up their workforce resources.

Outsourcing is opening doors, not only for technology and communications, and not only for one particular geographical region, but for every one is able to recognize the opportunities and grab them when these come a-knocking.

References:

  1. “BPOs launch programs to help attract, develop managers.” 15 August 2008. GMA News Business. Accessed 18 August 2008. Link here
  2. Giridhadas, Anand. “Outsourcing Works, So India is exporting Jobs.” 25 September 2007. The New York Times.  Accessed 25 July 2008. Link here
  3. Mollman, Steve. “Reshaping Asia’s Tech Talent Pool.” 18 October 2006. Business Week. Accessed 27 June 2008. Link here
  4. Solomon, Sol. “Financial Techies bank on Jobs in Asia.” 29 July 2008. ZDNet Asia. Accessed 18 August 2008. Link here
  5. Solomon, Sol. “Demand for Virtualization experts grows.” 4 August  2008. ZDNet Asia. Accessed 18 August 2008. Link here
  6. Stewart, Christopher. “Outsourcing Joins the MBA curriculum.” 28 March 2004. The New York Times. Accessed 18 August 2008. Link here
  7. Thibodeau, Patrick. “China Rising: If you know Mandarin and Management, You’re In.” 30 May 2008. CIO.com. Accessed 20 June 2008. Link here

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