Archive for June, 2009
Posted on June 29, 2009 by Atul
By Jennifer Hamm
International human resource managers have long struggled to articulate the return on investment for expatriate costs.
Smart HR managers will be sure to highlight the findings of a recent
study by Dr. Michael Dickmann in their next presentation on expat ROI.
(Companies spend an average of $311,000 a year on each expatriate.)
An academic authority on expatriate management, Dickmann runs the Centre for Research into the Management of Expatriation (CReME) at the Cranfield School of Business in England.
His study, conducted in conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers, found that productivity jumps while the employee is on assignment, stabilizes when he or she returns and then increases again.
But
the key to ensuring ROI during and after assignment, the study finds,
is articulating specific goals and purpose. Though this may seem
obvious, the study – "Measuring the Value of International Assignments"
- found that many fail to do so.
As well, the study notes that evaluating expatriates "tends to be
handled by the host country only, despite suggested best practice and
most organizations' stated goal of involving both the home and host
locations."
Perhaps the study's most compelling result is that 15 percent of
assignees leave their organization within a year of repatriation.
"Companies are at risk of losing their expatriate staff because they
fail to devise a career path for them when they return from overseas,"
said Dickmann in a newsletter published by the school.
When coming off international assignment, new repats can get
lost in the corporate shuffle. Though expats may be well managed while
on assignment, they are likely to experience what the report describes
as "career wobble."
This is due to a couple of factors. The study found a correlation
between losing personnel and failing to articulate career goals. There
is also a tendency for both line and HR managers to think that once the
expat has returned home, they'll be fine. Not so.
"Much more time and effort must be put into preparing for an
employee's return – they need security, a meaningful role on their
return and to see a clear path for their future career development with
the organization," Dickmann says.
Without such a path, an employee may give the return on investment to another organization.
Blog courtesy of My Global Career.
Posted on June 26, 2009 by Atul
By Rusty Weston
Recruiters and hiring managers say that the demand for executives to
globalize business operations and tap worldwide markets has exceeded
the supply of globally experienced executives – at least in America.
As business schools race to add global curriculum, dozens of new
alumni-education programs and executive education courses suggest that
there is a market waiting to be served – expensively and immediately.
One of the more interesting new programs stems from a firm that has
been evangelizing the discipline of global leadership for years, the Center for Creative Leadership, a non-profit executive education group. CCL, as it is known, launched a program called Advancing Global Leadership.
"What makes this program unique is a business simulation," says Mike Kossler, CCL Senior Enterprise Associate. He says the
US$3,500 program will run simultaneously in Brussels, Greensboro, N.C.
and Singapore. The three sites will collaborate to "simulate what it's
like to work in a global environment and lead a dispersed team."
This
won't be just another day at the MNC office. The simulated company will
be in a crisis and the teams will have to respond in real-time -
distributing the workload as needed.
As CCL's own research illustrates, global business might better be called undomesticated for the stresses
it places on participants. I don't think organizations prepare their
managers and leaders to be effective global leaders," asserts Kossler,
who consults on global leadership issues, often for MNCs. "A lot of
people learn their global roles by trial and error."
Of course, as we have reported, there are other intriguing global executive programs available. The Global Leaders Program:
Growing and Innovating in a Flat World is a global executive leadership
program launching this summer in India and the U.S. Produced by two of
the world's top business schools, Global Leaders is staffed by
professors from the Indian Institute of Management – (IIM-A) and Duke
University's Fuqua School of Business. Students will spend eight days
in Ahmedabad, India, followed by eight days in North Carolina.
Sounds cool but the price tag is a lofty US$19,000. Do you have that much headroom on your AmEx?
Blog courtesy of My Global Career.
Posted on June 24, 2009 by Atul
By Stacie Nevadomski Berdan
The world economy is in flux but emerging economies continue to
drive significant growth for global enterprises. Global companies
recognize that their best chances for success lie with recruiting
managerial talent with international experience – it's the big resume differentiator.
For students who have studied abroad, this is good news, especially considering the contracting U.S. job market.
However, many students with who have lived abroad don't understand how
to package this experience in a way that's appealing to prospective
global employers.
And what do companies value most in the study abroad experience?
Based on my conversations with many large, multi-national companies,
the general attraction stems from the inherent curiosity in these
global-minded citizens. For some industries or companies, the benefit
ends there as they need global thinkers not employees willing to go
overseas.
For those global companies for which an international experience is a true hiring differentiator, however, the payoff can be huge. The vast majority of professionals I interviewed
on this topic agreed that if two applicants have essentially the same
resume credentials, they would choose the one who studied abroad or
possessed other international experience. The following attributes were
cited:
- Enhanced cross-cultural awareness critical to diverse, global teams
- Ability to bring global thinking skills to bear on problems across the board
- Multiple language skills, especially for non-American students who go abroad to English-speaking campuses
- Predisposition to and experience with global mobility
But
would-be employees shouldn’t expect these companies just to tick the
box of international experience and move on. Generally, this overseas
experience opens up a whole line of questioning during the interview
process – questions that, depending on the answers, will impact the
interview. For example, companies want to know what the student did,
learned and how he or she can bring that international experience to
bear on the job. Was the experience a rigorous one with a full academic
load on campus – or was it primarily just for fun with a light course
load? Were classes in the local language; was an internship part of the
term? Variations provide insight to a prospective employer.
Where a student studies increasingly matters to prospective
employers. Branching out beyond the typical Western European countries
into China, Brazil, Russia or India signals an enhanced awareness of
growing global economies – and a direct link to the places most
companies are expanding and growing within. These non-traditional
destinations often offer more challenging situations intensifying the
learning curve. Moreover, opportunities for employment in the U.S., UK
or South Africa working for a Brazilian, Indian or Chinese company are
on the rise.
Students can use not only study abroad experience, but also second or third language fluency,
internships abroad and international business classes and personal
interest can make a difference. I have found, however, that many such
students don’t know how to package these skills, how to apply them to
current global business trends, or know where to start if they simply
want to take a chance and move to another country to look for a job.
Both students and their career counselors, therefore, must make a
concerted effort to learn how to adequately enter today’s increasingly
global job market – or bring in the experts. In the workshops I conduct
on campuses, I provide practical advice that students can follow right away. Here are a few tips to consider:
1. Make sure that an international career is right for you.
Understand the skills needed, learn about the challenges of working
cross-culturally, and use the appropriate tools to search for
international jobs.
2. Develop a strategy after
you have done extensive research by gathering intelligence, networking
with as many people as you know and who know someone, and targeting
relevant markets, industries and companies.
3. Package your experience as appropriate for each market, industry
and company. Learn how to incorporate international experience and
interests into resumes, cover letters and interview preparation, making
your points relevant to the organization. Study or brush up on foreign language skills.
4. Consider working for the U.S. Government,
if you’re American, which estimates it will higher more than 200,000
graduating students in the next two years in areas such as FAA, border
patrol and CIA.
5. Manage your expectations. Companies may not send you abroad as a
transfer with a big package. They might offer you a position as a local hire
with wages commensurate with the local economy and living conditions.
Whether you choose to accept or decline, do your research and determine
the pros and cons.
6. Consider moving to another country without securing a job. Only
consider doing so after you’ve done extensive research on the economy,
job market, taxes, work visas
and more. Make sure you have at least six months of living expenses in
case you do not get a job immediately. Network like crazy before and
after you land. Appreciate the risks you are taking, the potential
rewards and manage expectations accordingly.
Today’s leading organizations value international experience and,
after a few years in another country, you could return to the U.S. with
enhanced and differentiated business skills to catapult you further and
faster.
Stacie Nevadomski Berdan is a consultant who specializes in international careers and co-author of the award-winning Get Ahead By Going Abroad: A Woman’s Guide to Fast-Track Career Success.
Blog courtesy of My Global Career.
Posted on June 23, 2009 by Atul
The need for outsourcing
talent, even in this economy, is still strong compared to most industries. Even in tough economic environments, organizations
must work hard to keep their employees from being recruited away by other firms.
Fortunately, there are a
number of steps that client organizations can take to mitigate the attrition
problem both on-site in their own organizations as well as offshore in the
supplier organization.
Key steps to reducing attrition in the retained
onshore team
Step 1: Reach out and understand what
the employees care about (Hint: it may not be all about financial rewards)
Too often, employers assume
that employees care predominantly about their compensation. It’s true that compensation is
important. But employees often
care as much, or more, about non-financial aspects of their jobs.
When an organization wants to
find out what matters to its employees, it should ask. A heat map is one way to capture and gauge
employees’ levels of job satisfaction and to understand what the employees care
about. It’s a periodic survey and
data capture method that asks employees about their levels of job satisfaction
in a number of areas – from job roles and responsibilities to career
development and growth opportunities, engagement experience, and
compensation. A quick and
meaningful response to the heat map results is the key to making heat maps an
effective retention management tool.
Step 2: Develop a mentoring program
Mentoring is one important
way that organizations can build employees’ affinity for the firm. Different from coaching, mentoring is a
strategic endeavor that provides a forum for the mentee to develop
professionally and personally.
Benefits for the mentee include:
- Access to the mentor’s
expertise and experience
- Skill development
- Broader view of the firm
- Exposure and
visibility
Step 3: Develop a culture that
encourages engagement
Engaging workers – so that
they feel they’ve positively impacted the company’s performance – is a prime
retention tool that’s equally important onshore and offshore. (A Towers Perrin study revealed that
59% of workers who consider themselves engaged intend to stay with their
employer, while only 24% of workers who consider themselves disengaged plan to
stay.[1])
Engagement drivers are often
those same factors that employees care about – from opportunities for career
growth to feeling proud of the organization.
Key steps to reducing attrition in the new offshore
team
Step 1: Work with suppliers to manage
retention
Working with suppliers to
manage retention in offshore third-party arrangements involves a number of
efforts, including:
- During due diligence,
client organizations should look closely at prospective suppliers’
retention levels and policies for managing the factors that lead to
attrition
- Hold the supplier
accountable by building attrition metrics into SLAs
- Encourage the supplier
to develop non-poaching agreements with other suppliers
- Ensure that the
supplier implements a practice such as the heat map
- Work with the supplier
to build development and career plan for their staff assigned to you
Step 2: Design rotational exchange
programs
Exchange programs that let key
offshore employees work onshore at the client site for 3-6 months help those
employees feel a greater level of affinity for the client organization as well
as a greater sense of engagement.
Also, an exchange program gives employees the opportunity to learn about
the client organization’s culture, method of operation, and products and
services – knowledge that the employee can bring back to the supplier
organization to help boost performance.
Step 3: Show your face
For key members of the client
organization to show their faces at the supplier organization is a critical way
to build cultural affinity for the client, facilitate growth in important
personal relationships, boost loyalty, and encourage engagement. One way to show your face is to
make regular visits (perhaps quarterly) to the supplier location. But there are other, less costly ways
as well; personal phone calls are effective as a more frequent way of showing
your face.
From finding out what on-site
employees really care about to making visits to supplier locations, these six
retention strategies will help minimize the number of times that one of your
best employees catches you in the hall and asks “Do you have a minute?” (Too often, that conversation ends with
the employee walking out the company’s door – and that costs the company a
lot.)
Posted on June 23, 2009 by Atul
Even if a client organization
recruits and retains the best global talent, that talent has to be
managed. And managing across
borders is a complex job that requires a special kind of manager – a
globally-savvy one.
Yet just as there is a
shortage of other global talent, there is an even higher shortage of
globally-savvy managers. Because many
traditional managers may not have the skills necessary to become excellent
global managers, some organizations resort to poaching globally-savvy managers
from their competitors. But that’s
not a viable long-term solution to the management talent shortage. To succeed globally in the long-term,
client organizations need to learn how to find and/or develop their own
globally-savvy managers.
Portrait of a globally-savvy manager
There are certain key
competencies that are required to succeed as a global manager – certain key
qualities that globally-savvy managers have in common. They include:
Globally-savvy
managers don’t just cope, they adapt.
Surveys have demonstrated that the inability to manage change is one of
the most significant barriers to a successful global sourcing initiative. So a globally-savvy manager will not
only know how to manage change, but how to communicate the benefits of that
change to the appropriate decision-makers.
Globally-savvy
managers have a broadened mindset.
They can look across situations, business segments, and cultures and
focus on the commonalities rather than the differences. They think globally when considering
business opportunities and account for cultural differences.
- Cultural
agility and global sourcing experience
Globally-savvy
managers have the ability to lead well across different cultures. They’re most often strong leaders, and
have an affinity for adjusting well to unfamiliar situations. They understand that cultural
differences are complex and have the potential to derail a sourcing initiative.
Some
organizations look to managers from the sourcing location for their
understanding of the complexities of working globally, knowledge of the local
cultural landscape and network of strong relationships in the sourcing location
(for example, the client may hire a Filipino living and working in the U.S. as
the global manager for an offshoring initiative to the Philippines).
Or
the client may hire an American manager who has experience as an expatriate for
her knowledge of the U.S. business culture and global experience as an
expatriate. Ideally, client
organizations will blend the two approaches, says Lori Blackman, Founder and President
of human capital consulting firm DNL Global.
- Strong
relationship management and communication skills
Globally-savvy
managers are not only good at managing relationships across business segments
and cultures, but they also know key individuals within the organization. Globally-savvy managers establish and
maintain active networks and strong relationships.
- Strong
performance management skills
Globally-savvy
managers can engage and motivate their employees – even those who are thousands
of miles away. They also
understand how to develop local talent – instead of relying on more expensive
and sometimes less effective expatriates.
- Finding and/or developing globally-savvy managers
Some globally-savvy managers
seem like they were just born that way – they’re out there for the organization
to find. Finding them is about knowing
the indicators of a globally-savvy manager – understanding the qualities that they
possess.
But globally-savvy managers
can also be developed from within the organization. Key steps to developing them include:
- Creating
global learning opportunities
Developing
programs that offer managers the opportunity to work outside the organization’s
home country – through expatriate programs or temporary assignments abroad – can
be a first step in developing the adaptability and cultural agility that are so
important in a global sourcing manager.
But
bi-cultural expatriate and temporary work-abroad assignments may not help
managers develop the necessary global mindset. To foster that development, organizations should work to
create global teams – to internationalize their ranks. That can allow for global learning
opportunities on both the institutional and the individual levels.
- Building a global
leadership factory
Organizations
should invest – from the top down – in programs to create global leaders. Global leadership factories can be
semi-formal internal programs or formal educational opportunities outside the
company.
Corporate
education programs are great places for managers to develop global leadership
abilities – picking up relevant skills and learning from others’
experiences. The programs are also
great places to build networks and absorb global culture and values.
From knowing how to identify
a globally-savvy manager to how to develop one, the ability to create a global
leadership team with the qualities of the globally-savvy manager is essential
to the success of any global sourcing initiative. As important as other aspects of talent management are in
their own right, the client needs a globally-savvy manager to lead the
initiative to success.
- Atul Vashistha
Posted on June 23, 2009 by Atul
As Carol Burnett once said, “Only I can change my life. No
one can do it for me.” To succeed
as a leader in business today requires keeping pace with rapid changes
occurring in our business environment.
Two of the key changes and opportunities today are outsourcing and
globalization. So increasingly,
the responsibilities of CFOs, HR executives, procurement executives, and others
is becoming dependent on successful management of third-party partners. This
requires executives to add a new skill set: The Outsourcing Competency.
An executive today must also be able to govern third-party
relationships and ensure delivery from outsourced or globalized operations.
Whether the service provider is delivering a project that has a fixed timeline
or delivering services for ongoing operations, the ability to seamlessly
integrate service providers with an internal team is becoming a critical part
of an executive’s resume.
Managing third party deliverables sounds simple, but is
wrought with challenges and difficulties when examining it more closely. Deliverables must be defined properly,
aligned with business objectives, delivered on time, and, of course, within the
defined budget. In many
organizations, information is captured in employee’s heads rather than a
knowledge management system, this making knowledge transfer a big challenge.
And then, how does one integrate an outside partner or remote location into the
process?
Whether outsourcing information technology, human resources,
finance, or procurement, executives must understand the core processes, be able
to objectively assess the current operating level of the internal organization,
and orient the service provider or globalized operation toward the outcomes
(service levels). This skill
requires an adept ear for listening to what could be done and balancing it for
what should be done, while maintaining a business relationship that should be
transparent to end users.
Our experience in outsourcing and global services consulting
and research shows that executive that are successful establish the processes
as shared above and then pay attention to the following factors:
1. Life
Cycle Commitment
Organizations tend to launch services globalization initiatives rigorously and
with the appropriate management involvement in governance. However, the senior
level involvement and attention dwindles when the initiative progresses into
its second year. Despite comprehensive plans or contractual clauses to enhance
productivity, such obligations are neither proactively monitored for positive
results, nor are they pursued. It is important to ensure that the attention
stays strong throughout the entire life cycle of the project.
2. Internal
Commitment
Organizations wishing to benefit from services globalization should undertake a
realistic internal assessment of their ability and readiness to pursue such
complex initiatives. Aside from cultural and skill differences, other aspects
like internal communication structures, resistance mapping, and cultural sensitization
need to be adequately addressed prior to commencing such initiatives. We have
seen time and again, when an organization is not poised internally to take on
services globalization projects it will face resistance from internal
stakeholders resulting in lack of focus on such initiatives. These executives focus on readying their
organizations.
3. Decision
Making
Organizational hierarchy and culture play important roles in defining the
decision-making authority within an overall governance organization. Executives
needs to ensure that bureaucracy is not built into this governance structure.
The structure should be able to clearly delineate responsibilities across the
strategic and tactical, while ensuring that it is flat enough to encourage
timely decision-making and appropriate controls. At the same time, not enough
structure and staffing can lead to problems.
4. Staffing
of Governance Teams
Most global corporations have delegated initiatives to a sourcing division and
let it manage the offshore piece, regardless of the level of complexity, spread
of global delivery, contractual commitments, etc. By doing so, organizations
are yielding to a restrictive approach towards continual and effective program
governance that could prove detrimental. For example, management commitment to
a simple single-site offshore delivery initiative has been similar to a more
complex, multi-site multi-country multi-vendor offshore delivery initiative.
5. Leverage
Role of Influencers
Another important facet is to ensure that while nominating managers /
individuals to staff appropriate governance teams within the structure, their
ability to influence others is taken into account. Such individuals can become
vocal champions and ambassadors of the initiative, resulting in increased and more
importantly, consistent attention throughout the longevity of the project.
6. Investment
in Time and Effort
For governance to be effective, operating staff and managers will need to
budget anywhere between 15% to 28% of their time and effort dealing with
ongoing offshore initiatives. The CXO level should budget approximately 5% of
their time on governing services globalization initiatives year-on-year,
consistently. It should be recognized that such investment in time would be on
the higher side during the beginning phases of the initiatives.
7. Adequate
Governance Budget
Based on our experience helping leading firms adopt best practices, we
recommend companies to budget governance at approximately 8% of their overall
initiative expenditure, spread across the life of the entire initiative. This investment pays off both in the
short term and the long term.
Successful
executives recognize the need for above and thus elevate their outsourcing
competency.
- Atul Vashistha
Posted on June 22, 2009 by Atul
Hello everybody and welcome to our blog. Our goal here is to create a community for job seekers, employers and recruiters interested in outsourcing and globalization. We will use this medium to share thoughts, ideas and resources from us and also guests regarding careers and jobs.
Cheers,
Atul Vashistha
Posted on June 11, 2009 by Atul
It’s been over a decade since corporations started
leveraging outsourcing to better manage capacity, costs, quality, risk and
speed to market. From offshoring
to managed services, there has been a dramatic evolution in corporations’
thinking about outsourcing.
Corporations are challenging existing business models as they seek ways
to speed innovation, focus on their core competencies, and scale to capitalize
on opportunities and outpace competitors. Today, many corporations are looking
beyond back-office, labor-intensive tasks to outsource more complex business
processes – from investment and pricing analytics to inventory management to
aircraft engine maintenance forecasting.
It is no longer a debate as to whether to outsource but rather what
functions can be outsourced. As a
business consultant, I hear often about companies’ abilities to achieve cost
and/or capacity advantages, and yet, many are still not satisfied. For some, it
has not given them much advantage from a competitive standpoint and for others
it is just moving the “cost” around.
I hear often from businesses, when will I see significant value?
It is not hard to understand why the question of
value is still raised when you consider that today’s outsourcing models have
some inherent limitations that reduce the overall gains companies can achieve: low
worker retention, lack of control and visibility for clients, and long,
inflexible agreements to cover execution and investment risks for both parties.
These issues are more pronounced due to recent trends in internet and social
networking capabilities that have us rethinking outsourcing from a geography
game (i.e. “cheap labor force”) to a game of skill and expertise (i.e. recruiting
a team of all-star experts). Few
business “futurist” or industry pundits would argue that the popularity of
social networking, collaboration tools and the pervasiveness of Web-based
applications from email to CRM have given corporations greater visibility,
control, and speed than ever before.
We have become accustom to “always on” services and give little thought
to the backend processes that deliver those applications to our laptop – it
just happens. It is what many
people today refer to as “cloud computing.” I believe there is a lot of value in an outsourcing
model that borrows a page from cloud computing – on-demand, pay-as-you-go,
unbound by geographic constraints, and where tasks are assigned to a team of
distributed workers. Seriously,
what’s not to like? I call
this next phase in outsourcing, “cloudsourcing.”
Cloudsourcing combines on-demand business process
outsourcing (BPO) with crowdsourcing technologies to enable companies to
purchase quality BPO services on-demand through a pay-per-use model. Cloudsourcing allows corporations to
launch new business process work types, scale and innovate in Internet time and
maintain real-time visibility and control to minimize risk. Further, it enables
corporations to have immediate access to the right worker, with the right
skill, at the appropriate price point, regardless of location.
For those in the
consulting world, there is no doubt that the world is truly flat as Thomas
Friedman presented so vividly in his book. With cloudsourcing, “The Flat World” becomes more visible
and the creation of on-demand workforce can be realized. Imagine being able to hire what skills
you want, when you want and for how long you want! This not only converts your fixed costs to a variable
structure but also enables you to launch new programs in internet speed — broadband,
of course! Cloudsourcing also
enables BPOs and individuals who have particular skills or expertise new
avenues to offer their services on-demand.
So when will cloudsourcing be a reality? Interestingly, there are examples of
work being deployed in this model today.
Take for instance, LiveOps, a Silicon Valley technology company run by
Maynard Webb, the former Chief Operating Officer of eBay. It has been cloudsourcing through a
virtual workforce of more than 20,000 independent contractors, and recently
launched a new work marketplace, LiveWork, as a platform for on-demand business
process outsourcing. While the
company provides on-demand contact center services to a wide range of businesses,
the impact of cloudsourcing is best illustrated with the services they provide
with natural disaster emergency relief efforts where fast response to the “unpredictable”
is the norm:
When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of
the U.S. in 2005, a toll-free communications center was urgently needed to put
victims in touch with their families. Every other outsourcer that was
approached to provide communications services declined to take on the project,
because they couldn’t mobilize agents fast enough. Within three hours, LiveOps
launched a call center with over 300 independent, home-based agents ready to
help reunite victims of Hurricane Katrina with their family members. The
virtual call center, with no fixed investment in buildings or technology infrastructure,
was established with skill workers in hours and then subsequently wound down
when work was done.
Consider
what all of this may mean for your business or industry – a retailer during its
high season being able to scale to meet call volumes, a technology company needing
to rapidly staff up its email customer support team in response to a new
product release, , or a gaming
company needing an on-demand workforce to augment their existing team to help
moderate their online chatrooms. I
believe the possibilities are huge and will lead to more work types being
outsourced.
In the summer of 2007, I wrote an article titled “Futurized
Corporation,” describing a company that shines in its ability to seamlessly
stitch together component-based, composable services from different providers
and its own operations to re-create self-standing business functions – i.e. a
virtualized supply chain. This
vision is cloudsourcing at its best. I believe with this new trend, companies now may be able to
achieve significant gains by taking advantage of on-demand BPO model that
increases velocity and agility and thus creates sustainable competitive
advantage.
Atul Vashistha is
Chairman & Founder of neoIT, a leading global services and sourcing
management consultancy. He is also Chairman & Founder of NeoGroup, an
outsourcing firm focused on vendor management, and program management of
governance, regulatory and compliance initiatives. Atul Vashistha also founded Best Outsourcing Jobs in May 2009.
