Companies and businesses that either lack time, expertise, or both, often outsource human resource tasks to an outside company. In the past, small businesses did not have the opportunity to Outsource functions such as HR, as the market was lacking in options to do so. However, a comprehensive range of HR services are available these days to cater to companies of all sizes, including those with up to 75 employees. Human resources management is one of the most widely outsourced businesses in the market.
Until recently, companies used to outsource only payroll and benefits administration to other companies. However, it is a relatively new phenomenon to outsource practically all HR activities like business processes and employee management. HR business process outsourcing has grown immensely over the years. Recruitment Outsourcing can perform all the recruitment functions like the assessment of departmental needs and placement of employees in appropriate departments.
Human resource outsourcing has become increasingly popular, especially for employee data organization and payroll calculation. However, many organizations prefer to handle recruitments and termination of employees locally. An external organization handling it may not understand the internal requirements of the company.
Outsourcing saves a lot of money as many service providers are able and willing to perform the tasks at low costs. Outsourcing enables companies to concentrate on their focal functional areas. However, the main disadvantage with outsourcing human resource functions is that there is no personal contact between the employees and the human resource department. This means that the personnel problems of employees cannot be easily addressed or communicated.
Occasionally, outsourcing may also pose a security threat in terms of breach of sensitive employee information.
Cost is the deciding factor while selecting an outsourcing service provider for most companies. On the other hand, some companies place more importance on the compatibility of work ethics. It is advisable to hire outsourcing service providers that have adequate experience in human resource functions and the necessary infrastructure and staff to carry out the job.
HR provides detailed information on HR, HR Software, HR Outsourcing, HR Jobs and more. HR is affiliated with Recruiting Software.
Source: Ezinearticles
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Outsourcing Pressure Washing and Facilities Maintenance Services
Labor issues in the United States are at a tipping point and it is difficult to get the labor you need to run your operations. With low unemployment of 4.9% it is obvious that finding good reliable help is not easy and once you have them you must pay them benefits and high rates to keep them.
For those companies, which own property or facilities it therefore makes sense to hirer out pressure washing services to keep the properties clean. This is necessary because you need to maintain your image and keep up with the needs of the property. The cost of pressure washing equipment, reclamation devices and labor mean that often it is cheaper to Outsource such services.
For almost 3-decades our company had been in the cleaning business and worked with commercial businesses who outsourced their Flat Work (concrete cleaning) to us. Our company, ConcreteWashGuys.com found work in Corporate Office Parks, Hotels, Commercial Buildings, Amusement Parks, Apartment Complexes, Large Box Retailers, Restaurants and Government Buildings.
It made sense then to Outsource and it makes even more sense now with low unemployment rates and difficultly finding good labor. Companies need to take a look at their real costs and operations to decide if outsourcing makes sense for them.
Source: Ezinearticles
For those companies, which own property or facilities it therefore makes sense to hirer out pressure washing services to keep the properties clean. This is necessary because you need to maintain your image and keep up with the needs of the property. The cost of pressure washing equipment, reclamation devices and labor mean that often it is cheaper to Outsource such services.
For almost 3-decades our company had been in the cleaning business and worked with commercial businesses who outsourced their Flat Work (concrete cleaning) to us. Our company, ConcreteWashGuys.com found work in Corporate Office Parks, Hotels, Commercial Buildings, Amusement Parks, Apartment Complexes, Large Box Retailers, Restaurants and Government Buildings.
It made sense then to Outsource and it makes even more sense now with low unemployment rates and difficultly finding good labor. Companies need to take a look at their real costs and operations to decide if outsourcing makes sense for them.
Source: Ezinearticles
Monday, August 28, 2006
Outsourcing
It’s about time someone spoke the truth concerning Outsourcing. The politicians sure won’t. They prefer to do finger-pointing saying it is “his fault”. It is those greedy manufacturers who want to make bigger profits by having cheap labor in Asia perform your task for less money.
Did anyone ever tell you that if it wasn’t for Outsourcing you might not have a job? Did anyone ever tell you that the underwear, shoes, jewelry and hundreds of other items you own would cost much more if it wasn’t for outsourcing? Probably not.
Sure, many tasks are being sent overseas. Why? Just because it is cheaper? No, because the manufacturer that item had to do it in order to be able to compete with other companies making a similar product. If your company or any company cannot remain in business then they will cease to exist and you will be out of a job. As a former manufacturer I will tell you it is dog-eat-dog out there and every company is doing its best to maintain sales and profits. The company did not go into business to make products and give you a job; they went into business to make money and if they can’t do that they (and you) will be gone.
Profits is not a dirty word. Again if it wasn’t for profits you would not have a job. The guy who owns the small business or the thousands of stockholders who own the big companies expect that company to make money or they will sell their shares and you will be gone too.
When you work for someone you want to do everything possible to contribute to their bottom line. Turning of the extra lights, keeping your machine properly maintained, getting a shipment out to a customer even if it means staying a few extra minutes and many other little things that you know better than I.
Until about 1975 we did Outsourcing and no one objected to it. The widget manufacturer stopped making screws and bought them from the guy across town or in the next state who made exactly what he wanted and at a price cheaper than he could produce them in his widget factory. Now we buy the screws from China and India at a price that is half or less than those made in the USA. If not each widget might cost dollars more and be enough to lose business to a competitor. If the widget company did not outsource there could be a strong possibility they would go out of business. Outsourcing is not a U.S. phenomenon. It is happening to Canada, Germany, Japan, England, France, Australia and many other countries. Even Mexico is losing jobs to Asia because they can produce the same quality goods and services delivered here for less.
Outsourcing is not only here to stay, but is going to expand as competition becomes even more fierce.
Source: Ezinearticles
Did anyone ever tell you that if it wasn’t for Outsourcing you might not have a job? Did anyone ever tell you that the underwear, shoes, jewelry and hundreds of other items you own would cost much more if it wasn’t for outsourcing? Probably not.
Sure, many tasks are being sent overseas. Why? Just because it is cheaper? No, because the manufacturer that item had to do it in order to be able to compete with other companies making a similar product. If your company or any company cannot remain in business then they will cease to exist and you will be out of a job. As a former manufacturer I will tell you it is dog-eat-dog out there and every company is doing its best to maintain sales and profits. The company did not go into business to make products and give you a job; they went into business to make money and if they can’t do that they (and you) will be gone.
Profits is not a dirty word. Again if it wasn’t for profits you would not have a job. The guy who owns the small business or the thousands of stockholders who own the big companies expect that company to make money or they will sell their shares and you will be gone too.
When you work for someone you want to do everything possible to contribute to their bottom line. Turning of the extra lights, keeping your machine properly maintained, getting a shipment out to a customer even if it means staying a few extra minutes and many other little things that you know better than I.
Until about 1975 we did Outsourcing and no one objected to it. The widget manufacturer stopped making screws and bought them from the guy across town or in the next state who made exactly what he wanted and at a price cheaper than he could produce them in his widget factory. Now we buy the screws from China and India at a price that is half or less than those made in the USA. If not each widget might cost dollars more and be enough to lose business to a competitor. If the widget company did not outsource there could be a strong possibility they would go out of business. Outsourcing is not a U.S. phenomenon. It is happening to Canada, Germany, Japan, England, France, Australia and many other countries. Even Mexico is losing jobs to Asia because they can produce the same quality goods and services delivered here for less.
Outsourcing is not only here to stay, but is going to expand as competition becomes even more fierce.
Source: Ezinearticles
Friday, August 25, 2006
IT and Business Process Outsourcing in North American Financial Services
Outsourcing has become one of the key strategic options available to banks and insurers not only to cut costs but to improve operating efficiency. Offshore application outsourcing and business process outsourcing are amongst the more recent additions to mainstream thinking causing controversy both in terms of employment and strategic viability.
Scope
- The report covers North American financial services across retail banking, insurance (life and general) and financial markets.
- In terms of Outsourcing services the report analyses three main markets: infrastructure, application and business process outsourcing.
- Analysis of FSI attitudes and outsourcing plans draw amongst others on 100 interviews with senior IT/business professionals in North American FSIs.
Highlights
While strategic outsourcing is an important trend, selective outsourcing has become increasingly important at the expense of wholesale IT function outsourcing as vendor performance and manageability issues have become increasingly important to FSIs.
The dominant driver for outsourcing is moving from cost control/ reduction towards a more balance spectrum of drivers. Vendors will increasingly need to be able to combine transformation and revenue-growth supporting skills with cost reductions to win deals.
Vendors must develop credible IP-backing for their service offering in line of business specific BPO either through in-house developments or strategic partnerships as proof of offering and as means of delivery.
Reasons to Purchase
- Take advantage of one of the fastest growing vendor opportunities in the financial services market.
- Understand the drives and inhibitors of outsourcing in the financial services sector to improve marketing and sales efficiency.
- Improve understanding of own relative market positioning and FSIs' perception of the competition to enhance sales conversion rates.
Source: Whitepaper.outsourcingpipeline
Scope
- The report covers North American financial services across retail banking, insurance (life and general) and financial markets.
- In terms of Outsourcing services the report analyses three main markets: infrastructure, application and business process outsourcing.
- Analysis of FSI attitudes and outsourcing plans draw amongst others on 100 interviews with senior IT/business professionals in North American FSIs.
Highlights
While strategic outsourcing is an important trend, selective outsourcing has become increasingly important at the expense of wholesale IT function outsourcing as vendor performance and manageability issues have become increasingly important to FSIs.
The dominant driver for outsourcing is moving from cost control/ reduction towards a more balance spectrum of drivers. Vendors will increasingly need to be able to combine transformation and revenue-growth supporting skills with cost reductions to win deals.
Vendors must develop credible IP-backing for their service offering in line of business specific BPO either through in-house developments or strategic partnerships as proof of offering and as means of delivery.
Reasons to Purchase
- Take advantage of one of the fastest growing vendor opportunities in the financial services market.
- Understand the drives and inhibitors of outsourcing in the financial services sector to improve marketing and sales efficiency.
- Improve understanding of own relative market positioning and FSIs' perception of the competition to enhance sales conversion rates.
Source: Whitepaper.outsourcingpipeline
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Choosing the right Outsourcing provider
Outsourcing is not always the right answer and it is important to choose the right outsourcing provider with care. The biggest danger is if both parties expectation does not match each other. It is therefore essential that the processes are properly defined (and subsequently followed) or it is a recipe for disaster. It is important to find a BPO which knows what it is doing and a good indicator is to ask for references, (though these can be rigged as well).
A more reliable indication is to analyse the process documentation and ask for a testing period, prior to going live. This serves several purposes:
1) Process documentation indicates the level of quality, which can be expected
2) Testing period is always required as there will always be teething problems, when two organisations are starting to work together. Always allow for enough time to test and do not be afraid of asking for additional tests if you are not convinced.
En essence, outsourcing can be very beneficial for any business, small or large, but it is vital that
proper research is done prior to commencing to outsourcing.
A more reliable indication is to analyse the process documentation and ask for a testing period, prior to going live. This serves several purposes:
1) Process documentation indicates the level of quality, which can be expected
2) Testing period is always required as there will always be teething problems, when two organisations are starting to work together. Always allow for enough time to test and do not be afraid of asking for additional tests if you are not convinced.
En essence, outsourcing can be very beneficial for any business, small or large, but it is vital that
proper research is done prior to commencing to outsourcing.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Small Business Outsourcing Can Work Wonders
Work hard for success is what we hear everywhere. But have you ever thought about implementing a smart move to be successful. Well outsourcing is the smartest business move that you can make for your small business. There are many small business ventures that can implement small business outsourcing to earn profit. Yes, there are many benefits of outsourcing, but until you implement the process you will not actually know how beneficial small business outsourcing can be for your business.
The internet is a great source for you to find out people who will do the work for you. These days you can find virtual workers who will do any sort of work for you. If you want a research paper written, want someone to do the accounting and bookkeeping or just want someone to take care of the work backlog that you have accumulated you just have to find someone to do the job for you.
One of the key benefits of small business outsourcing is that you will save lots of money. Hiring manpower to do the work for you can be a time consuming and difficult task for you to handle. Small business outsourcing takes care of this for you. The outsourcing firm will do the work for you and hire employees for you by hiring people for you who will do the work for you for half the amount professionals working in your country would demand for doing the same work. Imagine this scenario, you will get the work done by a qualified professional and you also end up saving a huge amount of money.
The quality of work becomes definitely better, simply because the work is done by a qualified professional. All people who work for outsourcing are very highly qualified, so you can rest assured about the quality of the work done by them. You can regularly check out and see if their work they are doing is quality work or not. At any time you feel that your work quality is suffering, you can stop the work and find someone else to do the work for you.
If you have finally decided to implement small business outsourcing for your business, you must find out the best outsourcing company to do the work for you. Find out the efficiency of the company by talking with people who have already worked with them. Check out the security feature provided by the company. This is your business we are talking about and you must not compromise on anything for this.
Small business outsourcing results can vary form business to business. Depending on many factors, your business may or may not be successful. However, there is a great chance that the benefits of outsourcing your business abroad will be many and varied. The results can vary from business to business and company to company due to many factors.
Source: http://www.ifrworld.com
The internet is a great source for you to find out people who will do the work for you. These days you can find virtual workers who will do any sort of work for you. If you want a research paper written, want someone to do the accounting and bookkeeping or just want someone to take care of the work backlog that you have accumulated you just have to find someone to do the job for you.
One of the key benefits of small business outsourcing is that you will save lots of money. Hiring manpower to do the work for you can be a time consuming and difficult task for you to handle. Small business outsourcing takes care of this for you. The outsourcing firm will do the work for you and hire employees for you by hiring people for you who will do the work for you for half the amount professionals working in your country would demand for doing the same work. Imagine this scenario, you will get the work done by a qualified professional and you also end up saving a huge amount of money.
The quality of work becomes definitely better, simply because the work is done by a qualified professional. All people who work for outsourcing are very highly qualified, so you can rest assured about the quality of the work done by them. You can regularly check out and see if their work they are doing is quality work or not. At any time you feel that your work quality is suffering, you can stop the work and find someone else to do the work for you.
If you have finally decided to implement small business outsourcing for your business, you must find out the best outsourcing company to do the work for you. Find out the efficiency of the company by talking with people who have already worked with them. Check out the security feature provided by the company. This is your business we are talking about and you must not compromise on anything for this.
Small business outsourcing results can vary form business to business. Depending on many factors, your business may or may not be successful. However, there is a great chance that the benefits of outsourcing your business abroad will be many and varied. The results can vary from business to business and company to company due to many factors.
Source: http://www.ifrworld.com
Friday, August 18, 2006
Business Process Outsourcing for Small Business
Business Process Outsourcing is hiring external businesses to deliver a task that you otherwise had to do inhouse and has been around for many years, but has with the introduction of the Internet and globalisation taken a new dimension. Many large businesses have chosen to outsource some of the activities, simply so they can focus on their core business. Companies such as Microsoft have outsourced not only much (if not nearly all) of their high end jobs such as software architecture and development to offshore outsourcing companies in India, but also their customer service. Large companies that operate in Australia are also using BPO to a large extend. Hutchinson, Vodafone and Telstra have outsourced a great deal of their customer service to call centre locations in India and there are too many other examples to mention.
The trend is very clear, many if not all large companies choose when possible to outsource and they all have one thing in common. Cost of labour. No Australian, American or Western European call centre can compete with labour costs of less than $10 AUD an hour. Sure, the customer may experience an operator who speaks with an accent, but when you can save over 50% in costs, it is worth while.
Why should small business outsource
Clearly the large companies benefit from this, but why can’t medium and small businesses copy the large companies? They can, but for some reason they choose not to. Business owners who have spend their life building their business may not see outsourcing as a viable option for their business, because it will not fit into their business model, which is very similar to the way many business owners were regarding the Internet and email some years ago. Outsourcing may not reach the same level of popularity as the Internet, but there is little doubt that the businesses, who chooses to focus on their core business and outsource the non core activities to experts will become more competitive, simply because they do not have to allocate time, money and dedication to activities that does not contribute to the bottom line.
For details read here.
The trend is very clear, many if not all large companies choose when possible to outsource and they all have one thing in common. Cost of labour. No Australian, American or Western European call centre can compete with labour costs of less than $10 AUD an hour. Sure, the customer may experience an operator who speaks with an accent, but when you can save over 50% in costs, it is worth while.
Why should small business outsource
Clearly the large companies benefit from this, but why can’t medium and small businesses copy the large companies? They can, but for some reason they choose not to. Business owners who have spend their life building their business may not see outsourcing as a viable option for their business, because it will not fit into their business model, which is very similar to the way many business owners were regarding the Internet and email some years ago. Outsourcing may not reach the same level of popularity as the Internet, but there is little doubt that the businesses, who chooses to focus on their core business and outsource the non core activities to experts will become more competitive, simply because they do not have to allocate time, money and dedication to activities that does not contribute to the bottom line.
For details read here.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Risks of Outsourcing
Expense of initial migration. The best method of mitigating the concern of high upfront expenses is through a transparent, closely aligned partnership. The two parties can work together to construct a business case that satisfies both sides; for example, initial expenses can be minimized in exchange for a multiyear commitment that enables the outsourcer to make the necessary investments on behalf of its client.
Fear of losing control. Loss of control is best tackled in a similar manner with internal departments. Strict policies and procedures can be implemented to ensure satisfactory compliance. Another way of looking at it is that the separation of duties through an outsourcing partner allows for increased, rather than diminished, control.
Intellectual property issues. In cases where intellectual property is a concern, specific clauses can be written into the contract to ensure protection. Clearly defined audit procedures that adhere to compliance can be set up prior to the outsourced relationship commencing. Other legal resources include nondisclosure and noncompete agreements, patents and copyrights.Also, the
ROI of outsourcing hasn't been proved.
On the contrary, the ROI component of outsourcing has been shown time and time again. In fact, the greatest arbiter, the marketplace, seems to give outsourcing a resounding thumbs up. Beyond reducing head count and employee overhead, additional benefits such as faster time to market and improved quality of the finished product can achieve an ROI of over 400% in some cases.
Fear of losing control. Loss of control is best tackled in a similar manner with internal departments. Strict policies and procedures can be implemented to ensure satisfactory compliance. Another way of looking at it is that the separation of duties through an outsourcing partner allows for increased, rather than diminished, control.
Intellectual property issues. In cases where intellectual property is a concern, specific clauses can be written into the contract to ensure protection. Clearly defined audit procedures that adhere to compliance can be set up prior to the outsourced relationship commencing. Other legal resources include nondisclosure and noncompete agreements, patents and copyrights.Also, the
ROI of outsourcing hasn't been proved.
On the contrary, the ROI component of outsourcing has been shown time and time again. In fact, the greatest arbiter, the marketplace, seems to give outsourcing a resounding thumbs up. Beyond reducing head count and employee overhead, additional benefits such as faster time to market and improved quality of the finished product can achieve an ROI of over 400% in some cases.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Outsourcing Cleaning Services in Your Company
Most businesses which do not understand outsourcing maybe missing the point. For instance does your company hire a service to do the landscaping, street sweep the parking lot, power wash the concrete, clean the windows, wash the company vehicles or a janitorial service to come in and clean the bathrooms, clean the carpets and tidy up? If so you are outsourcing and well you should be outsourcing cleaning services and such.
Why you ask? Well you could cut out the costs if you really had too and yet can you really afford to buy a lawn mower and a pressure washer and have one of your skilled employees out there washing the concrete, cleaning the vehicles and moving the lawn? After all it could take them hours to do what it seems like it takes only fifteen minutes for these service companies to do. And when your employee spends hours doing it are you really saving money?
Additionally consider all the rules and regulations with OSHA, EPA and the fact you need to store the lawn mower, go buy fuel and buy fertilizers, pressure washer parts and chemicals to do the job anyway? Outsourcing cleaning services, well it just makes good dollars and cents.
For details read here.
Why you ask? Well you could cut out the costs if you really had too and yet can you really afford to buy a lawn mower and a pressure washer and have one of your skilled employees out there washing the concrete, cleaning the vehicles and moving the lawn? After all it could take them hours to do what it seems like it takes only fifteen minutes for these service companies to do. And when your employee spends hours doing it are you really saving money?
Additionally consider all the rules and regulations with OSHA, EPA and the fact you need to store the lawn mower, go buy fuel and buy fertilizers, pressure washer parts and chemicals to do the job anyway? Outsourcing cleaning services, well it just makes good dollars and cents.
For details read here.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Dangers to Outsourcing
There are certain dangers to outsourcing. One of the most prominent is the exposure of sensitive data to foreign countries. It may not just be the question of data – even secret organizational tactics and managerial strategies may be exposed that could prove to be detrimental to the parent company. There may also be dangers relating to restrictions and dissimilar legislations in the offshore country that sometimes require changes in business policies. Outsourcing is also responsible for the distance it creates between the employer company and the employees. This deters the employers from building good rapport with their employees.
Outsourcing may be a way for a company to lay roots in a foreign country where they may be thinking of expanding. Hence, a company may outsource its business to a company in India in order to understand the prevailing Indian market and to adjudge the Indian customer. This may be a ploy to sooner or later open a branch in India. Huge conglomerates that are perpetually expanding opt for outsourcing as a survey method rather than as a method for garnering more business.
Outsourcing may be a way for a company to lay roots in a foreign country where they may be thinking of expanding. Hence, a company may outsource its business to a company in India in order to understand the prevailing Indian market and to adjudge the Indian customer. This may be a ploy to sooner or later open a branch in India. Huge conglomerates that are perpetually expanding opt for outsourcing as a survey method rather than as a method for garnering more business.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Offshore Outsourcing
Certain companies contract their businesses or part of their businesses to other companies located in foreign countries. This business procedure is called offshore outsourcing. Offshore outsourcing has become a very feasible trend for companies that are expanding or just trying to reduce their overhead expenses.
It makes good economical sense to outsource business to a developing country. Developing countries like India have the human resources to conduct businesses, but they may not have the capital to set up huge infrastructures. Such offshore countries are usually willing to do business at a fraction of the cost, as they pay their employees less and also have an easier structure of tax payments. This profit carries on to the outsourcing company.
Another advantage is that the portion of the business outsourced (which may be sales, telemarketing, research, etc.) no longer remains the concern of the outsourcing company. The offshore company hires its own experts and professionals. This creates a constructive division of labor that becomes fruitful to both the outsourcing company and the offshore company.
Outsourcing may be a way for a company to lay roots in a foreign country where they may be thinking of expanding. Hence, a company may outsource its business to a company in India in order to understand the prevailing Indian market and to adjudge the Indian customer. This may be a ploy to sooner or later open a branch in India. Huge conglomerates that are perpetually expanding opt for outsourcing as a survey method rather than as a method for garnering more business.
However, if a company has correctly assessed its limitations, then outsourcing may make good business sense. It may also provide dynamism in the economy of a developing country.
It makes good economical sense to outsource business to a developing country. Developing countries like India have the human resources to conduct businesses, but they may not have the capital to set up huge infrastructures. Such offshore countries are usually willing to do business at a fraction of the cost, as they pay their employees less and also have an easier structure of tax payments. This profit carries on to the outsourcing company.
Another advantage is that the portion of the business outsourced (which may be sales, telemarketing, research, etc.) no longer remains the concern of the outsourcing company. The offshore company hires its own experts and professionals. This creates a constructive division of labor that becomes fruitful to both the outsourcing company and the offshore company.
Outsourcing may be a way for a company to lay roots in a foreign country where they may be thinking of expanding. Hence, a company may outsource its business to a company in India in order to understand the prevailing Indian market and to adjudge the Indian customer. This may be a ploy to sooner or later open a branch in India. Huge conglomerates that are perpetually expanding opt for outsourcing as a survey method rather than as a method for garnering more business.
However, if a company has correctly assessed its limitations, then outsourcing may make good business sense. It may also provide dynamism in the economy of a developing country.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Outsourcing: China Faces an Alarming Talent Shortage in the Future
As the world’s manufacturing workshop, mainland China has been supplying everything from toys, textiles to computer chips with the help of its huge supply of low-cost workers. A country of millions of university graduates, one would think it to be a forgone conclusion it will one day become a Goliath in the off-shored / outsourced IT and business process outsourcing.
In order to sustain an economic growth and avoid a talent crunch, China will have to ensure it produces more graduates capable of being employed in world-class companies, local or international. This is absolutely essential if China has to evolve out of its domination of the manufacturing sector to future dominance in the services sector as its economy develops and matures.
There are those who argue that willingness to work long hours should compensate for deficiencies in suitable Chinese talent. While this holds true to some extent on the factory floor, it is unlikely to make a major difference in services that would only highlight the skill deficiencies. These two factors combined with the difficulty in reaching more than half of China’s widely scattered pool of graduates prohibits multinational companies from hiring in China.
Again, multinationals desirous of setting up an off-shoring / outsourcing base in low wage China find it difficult to recruit the right kind of talent, is because of stiff competition for home-grown talent from domestic and multinational companies. Unlike Philippines and India whose economy is growing at a less brisk pace than the Chinese economy, working for an off-shoring / outsourcing firm is a decidedly good option. That is not the case in China as there are other suitable alternatives for the right kind of graduate with many more jobs in export manufacturing.
In order to sustain an economic growth and avoid a talent crunch, China will have to ensure it produces more graduates capable of being employed in world-class companies, local or international. This is absolutely essential if China has to evolve out of its domination of the manufacturing sector to future dominance in the services sector as its economy develops and matures.
There are those who argue that willingness to work long hours should compensate for deficiencies in suitable Chinese talent. While this holds true to some extent on the factory floor, it is unlikely to make a major difference in services that would only highlight the skill deficiencies. These two factors combined with the difficulty in reaching more than half of China’s widely scattered pool of graduates prohibits multinational companies from hiring in China.
Again, multinationals desirous of setting up an off-shoring / outsourcing base in low wage China find it difficult to recruit the right kind of talent, is because of stiff competition for home-grown talent from domestic and multinational companies. Unlike Philippines and India whose economy is growing at a less brisk pace than the Chinese economy, working for an off-shoring / outsourcing firm is a decidedly good option. That is not the case in China as there are other suitable alternatives for the right kind of graduate with many more jobs in export manufacturing.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Offshore IT Outsourcing
Internet Technology (IT) companies from advanced countries are increasingly outsourcing their work to developing countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The main motive behind this outsourcing of IT work is to reduce the costs to the company. An estimated 50% can be reduced by outsourcing IT jobs to offshore countries with lower economies.
Most companies that undertake outsourced work, such as BPOs (Business Process Outsourcing), can handle many aspects of IT works. These aspects may range from software developing and testing, help desk support and data entry and processing. Offshore IT companies usually hire proficient professionals to develop software such as .NET, Java/J2EE, wireless/mobile application developments, database solutions and smartcard solutions among others. These professionals may be permanent employees of the offshore BPO, or they may be hired from time to time on a contractual basis.
Outsourcing IT to other countries does not always mean huge projects outsourced by big companies. Even individual work is sometimes outsourced. India is indisputably the hub of outsourced IT work -- mostly from America. In Bangalore, India alone, there are 110,000 employees who perform jobs like building software, designing chips, reading MRIs, running computer systems, etc. These people are IT professionals who may work at a rate of less than $7 an hour. This certainly saves the American company a lot of money; while, at the same time, adds fuel to the foreign economy.
Offshore IT companies need to be dynamic. Outsourcing companies prefer their offshore counterparts to keep in tune with rapidly the ever-changing information technology. Hence, companies that undertake IT outsourced jobs continually upgrade their employees sending them for training in the country of the parent company.
Most companies that undertake outsourced work, such as BPOs (Business Process Outsourcing), can handle many aspects of IT works. These aspects may range from software developing and testing, help desk support and data entry and processing. Offshore IT companies usually hire proficient professionals to develop software such as .NET, Java/J2EE, wireless/mobile application developments, database solutions and smartcard solutions among others. These professionals may be permanent employees of the offshore BPO, or they may be hired from time to time on a contractual basis.
Outsourcing IT to other countries does not always mean huge projects outsourced by big companies. Even individual work is sometimes outsourced. India is indisputably the hub of outsourced IT work -- mostly from America. In Bangalore, India alone, there are 110,000 employees who perform jobs like building software, designing chips, reading MRIs, running computer systems, etc. These people are IT professionals who may work at a rate of less than $7 an hour. This certainly saves the American company a lot of money; while, at the same time, adds fuel to the foreign economy.
Offshore IT companies need to be dynamic. Outsourcing companies prefer their offshore counterparts to keep in tune with rapidly the ever-changing information technology. Hence, companies that undertake IT outsourced jobs continually upgrade their employees sending them for training in the country of the parent company.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
A Critical Tip To Make An Outsourcing Project Successful
Understanding what you want to accomplish is critical to a successful Outsourcing venture.
Although there are many who claim to offer offshoring procurement services, the fact remains that only the business contemplating outsourcing can determine the what, who and when of any offshore service project.
To this end, a business needs to understand the WHAT of any outsourcing project. The what of course, is what will be outsourced. It's not enough to simply state we're gong to outsource IT technology services, or Human Resources, or any other facet of the business.
So the first order of business when considering outsourcing is:
Define the current Process
. This should be done with an understanding of requirements. Requirements should be clearly defined in such a way as to eliminate ambiguity and offer a measurement method. Fast service is NOT a metric. Answering and resolving a specific type of customer inquiry within x number of minutes IS a requirement.
The exercise of defining the current process allows you to understand the details of what actually needs done. This information will be needed when/if transferring that process over to your new outsource partner.
Now would also be a good time to do a cost benefit analysis on the proposed process. This allows the business to have a solid estimate of the current operating costs of the process under consideration for outsourcing.
A major Technology company who insisted that any cost that couldn't readily be quantified, be marginalized or simply ignored. They based the decision to outsource their internal help desk for thousands of people based on a simple statement; "Support call costs will go from 25 dollars to 6 dollars." Problem was that they didn't cover all the costs.
Although they required calls to be answered within a certain period of time, they didn't set a resolution time. When support was in house, an engineer could call for support and get a resolution in hours. After the transfer however, that same call took a minimum of 3 days and sometimes over a week for resolution.
So the key tip is to know your process and costs prior to considering offshoring any project. By being armed with solid information, it's then possible to select the right outsource partner and make a good decision for the business.
Source: Itoutsourcingservices.com
Although there are many who claim to offer offshoring procurement services, the fact remains that only the business contemplating outsourcing can determine the what, who and when of any offshore service project.
To this end, a business needs to understand the WHAT of any outsourcing project. The what of course, is what will be outsourced. It's not enough to simply state we're gong to outsource IT technology services, or Human Resources, or any other facet of the business.
So the first order of business when considering outsourcing is:
Define the current Process
. This should be done with an understanding of requirements. Requirements should be clearly defined in such a way as to eliminate ambiguity and offer a measurement method. Fast service is NOT a metric. Answering and resolving a specific type of customer inquiry within x number of minutes IS a requirement.
The exercise of defining the current process allows you to understand the details of what actually needs done. This information will be needed when/if transferring that process over to your new outsource partner.
Now would also be a good time to do a cost benefit analysis on the proposed process. This allows the business to have a solid estimate of the current operating costs of the process under consideration for outsourcing.
A major Technology company who insisted that any cost that couldn't readily be quantified, be marginalized or simply ignored. They based the decision to outsource their internal help desk for thousands of people based on a simple statement; "Support call costs will go from 25 dollars to 6 dollars." Problem was that they didn't cover all the costs.
Although they required calls to be answered within a certain period of time, they didn't set a resolution time. When support was in house, an engineer could call for support and get a resolution in hours. After the transfer however, that same call took a minimum of 3 days and sometimes over a week for resolution.
So the key tip is to know your process and costs prior to considering offshoring any project. By being armed with solid information, it's then possible to select the right outsource partner and make a good decision for the business.
Source: Itoutsourcingservices.com
Offshore Outsourcing OR Offshoring
Offshore Outsourcing - or Offshoring, which is a related term but has slightly different connotations - has a significant potential to improve an organization's bottom lines, make it more responsive to changes in technology, improve quality of offerings, import new and desired skill-sets into the organization and generally make the business enterprize more competetive in today's market-place. However, if done with little preparation and without a clear business case, can often be a sure recipe for disaster.
Here we provide you some tips on how to actually go about executing your offshore outsourcing initiative so as to make it a success.
1.Define your service level requirements (SLR) in unambiguous terms. Any outsourcing house worth its salt must have an easily customizable and flexible SLR format. If they tell you they don't, then that's one of the earliest signs of trouble.
2.While defining the SLR, see how knowledgeable, responsive and helpful the contact on the provider's side is. See if she somehow adds value to the requirements generation stage by asking relevant questions.
3. Remember always to beware of a provider who promises everything that you seek can be done! That is a clear lie. As a test try making seemingly difficult or impossible or costly demands.. Not everything that you would 'like' to have ideally would be possible in an Outsourcing scenario - at least not right away.
4. Visit the provider's office at least once. Meet the team that will work for you. Get familiar with them.
5. Ask the provider to provide you a named list of people that will work for you and insist on keeping the team composition unchanged. Any changes in team should be communicated to you explicitly. Put clauses into the Service Level Agreement (SLA) ensuring these. Outsourcing is all about people. So give this the same amount of attention as you would do if you employed these people yourself in your own office. At a later date when the relationship has matured to an extent, you may consciously decide to trust your provider. But, don't do that from day one.
6.You can additionally insist for quality and security certifications. However, even if the provider has all the required certifications, you MUST visit their location and check for yourself the quality management system and the security procedures that they use in practice. Meet the security chief and the quality manager and talk to them informally about their processes.
7.Insist on the provider coming up with measurable metrics about the work - both in terms of quality achieved and quantity served. Check if the metrics are such that you could double-check these on your own easily. Insist on a regular MIS reporting by the provider.
8.Insist on reward and penalty clauses within the SLA, based on these metrics. However, be flexible in reviewing these clauses from time to time. Remember, just as you are taking a risk outsourcing the work, the provider also is taking risks. It doesn't necessarily make you a winner if the provider's costs increase unduly while acceding to your demands.
Source: Tathyadotcom.exportersindia.com
Here we provide you some tips on how to actually go about executing your offshore outsourcing initiative so as to make it a success.
1.Define your service level requirements (SLR) in unambiguous terms. Any outsourcing house worth its salt must have an easily customizable and flexible SLR format. If they tell you they don't, then that's one of the earliest signs of trouble.
2.While defining the SLR, see how knowledgeable, responsive and helpful the contact on the provider's side is. See if she somehow adds value to the requirements generation stage by asking relevant questions.
3. Remember always to beware of a provider who promises everything that you seek can be done! That is a clear lie. As a test try making seemingly difficult or impossible or costly demands.. Not everything that you would 'like' to have ideally would be possible in an Outsourcing scenario - at least not right away.
4. Visit the provider's office at least once. Meet the team that will work for you. Get familiar with them.
5. Ask the provider to provide you a named list of people that will work for you and insist on keeping the team composition unchanged. Any changes in team should be communicated to you explicitly. Put clauses into the Service Level Agreement (SLA) ensuring these. Outsourcing is all about people. So give this the same amount of attention as you would do if you employed these people yourself in your own office. At a later date when the relationship has matured to an extent, you may consciously decide to trust your provider. But, don't do that from day one.
6.You can additionally insist for quality and security certifications. However, even if the provider has all the required certifications, you MUST visit their location and check for yourself the quality management system and the security procedures that they use in practice. Meet the security chief and the quality manager and talk to them informally about their processes.
7.Insist on the provider coming up with measurable metrics about the work - both in terms of quality achieved and quantity served. Check if the metrics are such that you could double-check these on your own easily. Insist on a regular MIS reporting by the provider.
8.Insist on reward and penalty clauses within the SLA, based on these metrics. However, be flexible in reviewing these clauses from time to time. Remember, just as you are taking a risk outsourcing the work, the provider also is taking risks. It doesn't necessarily make you a winner if the provider's costs increase unduly while acceding to your demands.
Source: Tathyadotcom.exportersindia.com
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