via China gives tax break to service outsourcing firms.

Here we go again!  Another politician working on making America less competitive and forcing American companies to have more disadvantages as they compete globally.

Jobs are not created by putting more hurdles in front of companies. Jobs are created by providing incentives for companies to invest in communities and new opportunities.

Has anyone done a study of how many jobs are being created by foreign outsourcing companies in the U.S.A.? Has anyone done a study to see what impact outsourcing is having on the fortunes of the buyers?  Are they competing better and thus creating more jobs and better futures for their employees?

We are lot more connected than when most of these politicians started their careers.   They need to spend more time understanding the connectedness of our world and how one needs to compete NOW!

When will we learn?  Tax and harass. That’s no way to support America’s competitiveness.  We need to continue to promote free trade while working to create jobs in our country in new sectors by supporting innovation not stifling it.

The “A” word (attrition) is back in outsourcing companies

With uncertainty easing, attrition, the biggest nightmare for HR managers in IT services and outsourcing companies, is on the horizon while for some firms, it is already here. So just how are the big 3 IT services firms faring on the attrition and hiring front? Consider the following attrition rates (as of January):

• Infosys. Attrition at Infosys rose from 10.9% the last quarter to 11.6%. However, a March Wall Street Journal article quoted a CLSA Asia-Pacific report as saying that there are unconfirmed rumors that 4,000-4,200 employees have resigned at Infosys for the month of February alone – well beyond the 1,200 employees who should be resigning each month (as of December 31, Infosys had about 109,882 employees). Nevertheless, it was also noted that Infosys had the largest bench strength in the industry at almost 20,000 free resources.
• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Attrition at TCS has been stable at around 11.5% – although company officials expect this rate to rise. However, the Wall Street Journal noted in February that TCS will go on a hiring spree and hire up to 30,000 new employees after the next fiscal year begins on April 1. This is on top of the 11,500 planned hires for the first quarter of 2010. It was also noted that 70% of new hires for the new fiscal year will be fresh graduates and more than 2,000 employees will be recruited from outside India.



• Wipro. Wipro had an attrition rate of about 13.4% – up from an average of 8.9% over the past three quarters. Hence, the Hindu Business Line noted that they were planning a salary hike for February along with promotions to help prevent attrition from rising further while recruitment initiatives would happen on a demand basis and include a mix of campus hires and science graduates along with experienced talent. Meanwhile, the Hindu Business Line quoted Girish Paranjpe, the Joint-CEO of Wipro’s IT Services group, as saying that the company’s bench strength was around 7,500 to 8,000 on an employee base of about 103,000 while the industry bench strength standard is usually twice that.

However, another Hindu Business Line article noted that the brunt of any rise in attrition rates will likely be borne by mid-size software outsourcers who could see attrition rates reach the 15% level. Moreover and since the big players have mostly not been hiring for some time, employees with midsize firms are more likely to consider jumping to larger companies if they are offered the right opportunity.

Meanwhile, utilization rates (that is, the number of employees billed per hundred verses those who are on the bench) are also increasing at the big 3 IT services firms. According to the Hindu Business Line, utilization rates rose from 67.3% to 68.8% at Infosys, 73.6% to 77.2% at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and 70.8% to 73.2% at Wipro.

Nevertheless, as both utilization and attrition rates rise, its time for companies to once again think about long-term strategies for retaining employees. As Raman Roy, the chairman and managing director of BPO firm Quattro, noted in the Financial Express, meddling with salary and benefits is a short-term strategy (he chooses to focus on in-house training to create an efficient group of high achievers) while attrition is merely a symptom and not a disease. In other words, its the symptom of an increasingly healthier job market and economy for outsourcing.

In this post-Enron era of mandated transparency, corporate annual reports offer greater insights to a broader range of stakeholders, not just investors.

Though annual reports suffer from an excess of glossy prose and
disclosures, savvy corporations realize that it's not just financial
analysts and investors reading between the lines. Increasingly, job
candidates are mining annual reports to better equip themselves for
interviews and to gauge the corporate culture.

"The strongest candidates are the ones that dig into annual reports," says Lori Blackman, president of DNL Global, a Dallas-based recruiting firm. "The job candidates' objective should be to help grow the company."

Here are some questions job seekers should keep in mind when reading an annual statement:

• Is the company profitable? Which lines of business turn a profit and which underdeliver?
• What are the company's biggest business or market-driven challenges?
• Does the company focus solely on executive compensation or does it
  tout an equity distribution plan for rank and file workers, too?
• Does the company discuss its commitment to talent management?
• Does the company express a preference for home-grown rather than acquired talent?
• Does the company have a commitment to global diversity? Is this
  commitment reflected in their choices of directors and executives?
• Does the company have a viable global growth strategy?
• Is the company committed to building greener, more energy efficient operations?
• Does the company support volunteerism and creative philanthropy?

Profitability. The good news is you don't have to be an MBA
or financial analyst to make sense of the numbers. There are a wide
range of articles on the web and various books available about how to read financial statements and annual reports.

If
a company is privately held, it is not required to disclose its
financial results, however, few companies keep their success a state
secret and there may be press releases or newsletters available that
share the information.

Sharing the wealth. Few companies take the opportunity to
talk about what they do for employees, apart from discussions about
funding pensions or other required disclosures. This is a mistake. Job
seekers are potential stakeholders who want to know what's in it for
them, too.

Talent Management. In General Electric Co's annual report,
Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman & CEO, devotes considerable space to human
capital initiatives. "We don't want thematic leaders who move from
subject to subject," Immelt writes. "They can't build. All of our
compensation and succession planning values long-term commitment." I
don't think you have to be a Kremlinologist to read between the lines: GE wants depth, rather than breadth, in its leaders.

Home grown preference. Honeywell states in its annual report
that 65% of its top positions are filled with internal candidates. As
an outsider entering the organization, would you have a harder time
than a long-time Honeywell employee of jumping to the next higher level
within the organization?

Global Strategy. If the company lacks offices, customers or
suppliers beyond its home country, it lacks a global strategy. A
company that boasts of growing international revenue is committed to
sustaining a global presence. Both Honeywell and GE, for instance, will
see nearly half of corporate revenue come from outside of the U.S. this
year.

Global Diversity. While GE is one of the standard-bearers for
global growth and human capital investment, Pepsico is unrivaled for
its commitment to global diversity. From its Indian CEO Indra Nooyi, to
its "Ethnic Advisory Boards," to its discussion of diversity and
ownership culture, Pepsi 's commitment is more than skin deep. Does the
potential employer simply talk a good game?

Good Citizenship. Baxter touts its place on a list of "100 Best Corporate Citizens" by Corporate Responsibility Officer
magazine. A wide range of employers engage in innovative philanthropic
initiatives. Aflac, for instance, established a children's cancer
center in Atlanta and sells 'plush' ducks to raise money for hospitals
that treat children with cancer. Again, does the employer have anything
to tout and if not, why not?

While you could ask a hiring manager or a recruiter many of these
questions, assuming you're granted an interview, you might be better
served to kick the tires first. If the company is committed to talent
management – it's in the annual report. If it's not there, perhaps that
should tell you something about the company.

Of course, annual reports are just one tool among many. Paul Zellner, Managing Director of Russell Reynolds, a
recruiting firm in Chicago, recommends listening to replays of
quarterly analyst calls for a discussion of key business issues facing
the company. If you want to impress a hiring manager or recruiter,
Zellner says, prepare yourself to express this idea: "This appears to
be your [company's business] issues … Here's where I have been
helpful in solving these kinds of problems."

Reading annual statements, which are typically available in the
investor section of a corporate website, is a bit drier than surfing
business articles or corporate brochures. But, in effect, job seekers
should view themselves as investors -potentially investing the best
years of their lives in this company.

Blog courtesy of My Global Career.

To call today’s economy tough is like calling Moby
Dick a big fish. Let’s face it, with the threat of double digit
unemployment looming ahead it is down right scary for the vast majority
of people I hear from each day. 

However, if you can stay focused, determined, upbeat
and flexible these times offer opportunities for not only continuing
but also advancing your career. Here is the straight scoop as I see it.
While the number of jobs may be on the decline there is still work to
be done. Doing more with less is a mantra I hear resonating with
employers I speak to around the country.

So here are a few tips to help you get and stay employed:

• Be a “force multiplier”. Both in interviews or with your existing
  employer show that you will make a difference by giving 110% and being
  willing to wear more than one hat. Become that “go to” person in your
  department.
• Upgrade you skills immediately. Look for new opportunities in your
  existing role. Develop a “new and improved” skill set. Take some
  courses, volunteer for a new project.
• Sell your skills first and then your experience. Remember, your
  experience is your past; your skills are what you bring to the
  workplace now and in the future. Demonstrate your flexibility to tackle
  whatever needs to be done.
• Interview with your ears. Eighty-five percent of all job seekers
  talk too much in the interview. Listen closely to what the employer
  needs then respond as someone who can satisfy those needs. An
  open-ended question such as “Could you please tell me more about that?”
  will elicit additional information from an interviewer as well as
  clearly demonstrate your interest in learning more about the position.
• What your boss tells you directly about your performance is
  important. However, what he or she doesn’t say may be even more
  important. Watch for the more informal signals such as what meetings
  you are invited to, what emails you are copied on, or even off handed
  comments that come your way at a meeting. Stay focused on this informal
  feedback and the signals it sends to you about where you stand in our
  boss’s eyes.
• In an interview, ask questions that set you up to make the sale. A
  question such as “What results do you ant me to produce immediately?”
  sends a strong message that you will hit the ground running if they
  hire you.
• Brand and promote yourself. Your personal brand is the image you
  want others to have of you. Put this in writing. For example, if you
  want to be seen as the “consummate team player” be sure to write down
  the specific behaviors you will do everyday to create that brand image.
• For older job seekers, you don’t have to fake youth to get a good
  job, but you usually do need to present yourself as in touch with
  relevant current trends, in synch with current technology, generally
  energetic and vigorous. Look for opportunities to present age as an
  asset by translating “age” into “experience”, “maturity”, and “sound
  judgment”.

Marc Dorio is a results oriented Organizational Effectiveness and Training professional and the author of books such as The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Perfect Interview .

Blog courtesy of My Global Career.

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.