Offshoring – the pros and cons from a social and commercial perspective

January 13, 2010

A couple of years ago I wrote a draft article about off-shoring and the reasons why, ethically, it makes perfect sense and should not be condemned. However, it languished in the recesses of my hard disk until a couple of weeks ago, when a phone call I made to Telstra was directed to a call centre in Philippines and the poor voice quality of the connection provoked me to instantly announce my disdain via Twitter.

Since writing the original article my views have developed a little and, although I hold to the same basic tenet, it has become glaringly apparent to me that the decision to outsource can be a rocky road for many businesses, strewn with potential potholes. The ethical and direct financial benefits are easily justified, but harder to assess is the impact on your customer service and brand image.

As this topic involves a number of separate considerations I’ll provide a brief outline of the issues as I perceive them in this article, and delve deeper into some of these issues in more detail in subsequent articles.

Call Centre Staff image

As a business owner looking for improved efficiencies in my business I’ve often considered offshoring and tried to decide whether it is beneficial for us. The quoted rates from offshore vendors are on the surface highly attractive, so I’ve been tempted. However, I’ve also struggled with whether it’s ‘un-Australian’ and ‘unethical’ to ’send jobs offshore’. After grappling with this issue in great detail, I’ve reached the conclusion that there is nothing inherently unethical in sending work offshore. (Don’t shoot me yet! Ready my more detailed exploration of this topic in an upcoming blog!!!)

But aside from whether or not it’s ethical, there’s also the question of whether it’s prudent for my business. What tasks should I offshore? Will those contracted staff have any contact with my customers and/or other stakeholders, and if so, what impact will this have on my business and brand image?

As a consumer I frequently experience frustration and angst when I call a major ‘Australian’ company and encounter a customer service agent located in a foreign locale with whom I have considerable difficulty communicating due to cultural, language, and accent issues. Perhaps the two most striking examples were when I had to deal with an Australian Taxation Office employee who’s English was so stilted that I had to ask him to repeat himself time after time after time and still struggled to understand him; and on my recent phone call to Telstra when the quality of the phone connection (which was being transmitted to/from Philippines over VoIP) was so poor that the customer support staff sounded like Darth Vader, and he eventually had to phone me back twice to try to get a better connection. This type of experience undoubtedly damages the brand image of the organisations concerned.

Basic sales training teaches you that a key factor in sales success is the ability to establish rapport with your prospects and clients. Rapport is achieved through minimising the differences. I would propose that if you want to have strong relationships with your key client base, it is important to ensure that the customer-facing staff who interact with them can engage with them in a similar manner culturally and linguistically. Therefore, if your customers are primarily Australian-born English speakers, customer service staff should be fluent in English and preferably with non-intrusive accents at the very least. If your business targets a particular ethnic segment within Australia, then your requirements will differ. For example, the Asian-born population within Australia is growing steadily and provides lucrative business opportunities – if this is your target audience, you will fare well if your customer service staff can connect with your prospects using their own languages and cultural norms.

Other areas of your business don’t require customer contact and may be far better suited to offshoring. In Aktiv Tactics, we use the services of contract programmers/web developers, and I’m just now trialling the use of a Virtual Assistant who will manage a range of administrative tasks I currently undertake personally. I’m working with Philippines-based contractors because of their strong English skills and also the fact that I regularly travel to Philippines.

In my next few posts, I’ll look at:

  1. Why offshoring is ethical and humanitarian
  2. How does offshoring affect your customer service?
  3. Implications of offshoring for your brand image

Any thoughts? Please respond with your comments and ideas!

Posted in Marketing, Philippines, commerce, developing countries, humanitarian | 6 Comments »
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Are you breaking the law with your Wi-Fi connection?

December 23, 2009

According to the Herald Sun newspaper today, “a Monash university student has admitted in court scamming thousands of dollars worth of Internet access in what experts say is potentially a rocketing problem”. Considering I work with this type of technology (Internet, Wi-Fi, etc…) all the time and I’m not aware of the laws around this topic, I imagine there are many more people who would be equally in the dark.

The implication from the news report is that it was illegal for Zee Ping Lim, the individual at the centre of the case, to connect to another person’s internet connection and use it without authorisation. But considering that most computers with Wi-Fi support will automatically connect to an available unsecured connection with no user interaction whatsoever, can a user really be responsible for this usage? Sure, most users will be aware that they’re not connected to their own wireless network, and will have sufficient knowledge to realise they’re utilising another person’s bandwidth, but how can the law cover such an ambiguous area where another user could legitimately be unaware of an automatic connection?

Given that wireless access points are easily secured with encryption (WEP or WPA being the two main types), surely it would make more sense that the owner of a wireless access point should be responsible for ensuring they have implemented security. If a user then intentionally managed to hack their way into such a secured network (which in itself would be hugely improbable and a major achievement in it’s own right!) there’d be no doubt that they were there with illegal intent.

There are frequently legitimate situations where you can jump on to a free wi-fi hotspot, such as at a cafe or airport lounge, and there’s no way for a user to distinguish which connection they are entitled (and encouraged) to use versus which connection would be ‘illegal’ to use – until you’ve established your connection and opened a web browser window, you can’t receive any communique from the owner of the network to advise you of whether or not you’re welcome there.

What do you think? Although I agree that Zee Ping Lim would likely have been fully aware that he was utilising somebody else’s bandwidth and should not have done it to the extent that he did, I think the law should place the responsibility back on the network owner to implement some security if they don’t want somebody piggy-backing on their connection. That’s the only way to make it clear where each party’s obligations begin and end, and to protect innocent (mostly non-technical) users who have inadvertently ’strayed’ onto somebody else’s wireless connection.

Posted in technology | 2 Comments »
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Political killings in Philippines a tragic symptom of the nation’s problems

November 26, 2009

In 2006 I was visiting the Philippines during the pre-election campaigning period, and was dumb-founded to read of scores of politically-motivated killings. Political candidates and their aides, advisors, assistants were being picked off in ones and twos all around the nation. I quickly learned that, sadly, this was par for the political course in the Philippines. Coming from Australia, where a political candidate would never dream of being killed simply because they stood for election, this state of affairs all but defied my comprehension. Reports I have read suggest a total of 129 people were killed in connection with the 2007 elections, and 177 wounded. The 2004 elections triggered 189 deaths!

But as little as I understand it, I’ve come to expect it. I continue to be deeply grieved, both for the country and the families of the victims, each time I hear of another killing, but rarely surprised any more. With elections coming up in 2010, the same pattern has been repeated in recent months, right up to the shooting of Jovito Baldos Diaz, former mayor of San Quintin, just a few days ago.

And yet, as much as I’ve come to expect it, I have been totally shocked by the most recent travesty – the massacre of 52 (yes, fifty-two!) family members, aides, and journalists who were travelling to file nomination papers for Esmael Mangudadatu in Maguindanao Province. This is also, simultaneously, the largest single killing of a group of journalists/media ever recorded. My heart grieves for the country of the Philippines.

Hearing of such an atrocity can at times leave us feeling utterly hopeless.  But the Philippines is a country of 92 million people who desperately need hope for their future. The people of Pilipinas need to believe in their future and commit to a different tomorrow.

In the Philippines corruption, poverty, poor life expectancy, and incredibly tough living conditions are par for the course. But it shouldn’t be so. This is a country of innovative people, passionate, loving, resourceful. Unlike some poverty-riddled African countries which suffer from lack of natural resources and rain, the Philippines is blessed with an abundance of natural resources – excellent agricultural land, unlimited marine resources, huge biodiversity and ecological opportunities, mineral reserves, and so much more. The Philippines is a country which really has unlimited opportunity.

So what’s missing? Why does the country continue to be trapped in poverty and violence? Why do political candidates have to risk their life if they run for office? Why did 129 people pay with their lives in 2006/07 in a purportedly democratic country? In a nation which is predominantly Catholic, surely most Pinoys would argue that they should be blessed by God, and He should be “on their side”?

This is a country which needs a radical change. And not just a change of office holders (although that probably wouldn’t hurt). The Philippines needs a change of heart. A change of hope. A change of healing. Filipinos need, in a ground swell of love, to commit to confronting the cancer in their society which is killing their hope for the future.

Many people ask the question “which came first – the chicken or the egg?” – which comes first, poverty or corruption? If we solve the poverty, will the corruption be eradicated? Or do we need to solve the corruption to eradicate the poverty? I don’t have a trite answer for that, and so I would argue we need to do both. We need to tackle this problem from every angle we can. (I’ll write in future about some ideas for each of those angles – there’s so many opportunities that I couldn’t possibly include them all in this article.)

As our hearts all break for this latest terrible travesty in the Philippines, let’s all commit in our every thought and deed, to be the people that will create the future we hope for – a future where democracy (and people) are respected, where power is not misused, where justice prevails, where forgiveness overcomes hatred, where compassion overflows, and where treating everybody without partiality or favouritism is the norm.

Oh Lord God, may you bless the people that together make up the nation of the Philippines.

Posted in Philippines, corruption, developing countries, human rights, humanitarian, poverty, tragedy | Leave a Comment »
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What’s the truth about climate change?

November 25, 2009

Emails leaked over the weekend by anonymous hackers, via a Russian web server, have unearthed a culture of deception, bullying, intimidation and smear-campaigning by certain scientists at apparently reputable climate research institutions such as the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia in the UK. Where many have been quick to write off the ‘conspiracy theories’ postulated by a few of the sceptics, it would appear that they’re really not too far off the mark.

With data modelling suggesting that temperatures should have climbed more than what they have, senior scientists at the CRU unashamedly emailed each other essentially lamenting the fact that the facts were not consistent with their theories, and suggesting they’d better find different data, or different ways of interpreting the data, to make it conform to their agenda. Colleagues with differing viewpoints were ridiculed and/or sacked.

In a nutshell, any shred of scientific credibility or integrity has evaporated and they have very clearly demonstrated that they are intent on proving their point regardless of whether that’s factual or not.

I don’t claim to be a scientist, and so can’t argue the finer points of the science behind carbon and it’s role in global warming, but from a philosophical point of view I think it’s clear that we need to keep a much more open mind and be willing to listen to a broader spectrum of voices from the scientific community.

I don’t need any convincing to reduce pollution, waste, landfill, energy consumption and so on. I believe there’s a clear case for treating responsibly our use of the natural resources around us, and our physical health is certainly not aided by wanton pollution. But I have no time for one-eyed, aggressive, bullying agenda-driven politicians and scientists who are so focussed on their agenda (and each may have different motivations behind that) that they disrespect and ridicule dissenters, and fail to allow themselves to think more laterally about other real issues that may be of concern if in fact they’re wrong about the causes of global warming.

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Cheap airfares?

November 11, 2009

I’m a sucker for a cheap airfare! Anything that will get me to Philippines one more time makes my ears prick up. So Air Asia’s current sales have me salivating like Pavlov’s dog! Under $300 return to Philippines if I’m prepared to fly via Kuala Lumpur.

There’s only one catch…

Their web site is so shockingly slow that it keeps timing out, falling over, collapsing, screaming, and kicking you back to the start! 2 hours to select and book a single return airfare to KL!! Hmm… I wonder what value to place on my time…

Also, beware of hidden costs – for example, no check-in baggage is allowed in the base price, or meals. But all are available as an extra cost option. And if you’d like to select your preferred seat, you’ll pay for that too. And of course, any changes will cost.

But for AUD$8 return between Malaysia and Philippines, it’s tempting…

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We need basic medical supplies!

November 11, 2009

After a quick visit to my local Retravision in Heathmont, I’ve picked up a suitable box to pack up two network servers for shipment to Global Impact in Davao, Philippines. They’ll be going by sea, and arrive there in January, after which I’m planning to make a trip over to set them up and train the local staff in the administration of them.

However, there’s likely to be a fair bit of empty space in the box so this is an opportunity to send over basic medical supplies as well – things like:

  • Band-aids *
  • Non-stick dressings *
  • Gauze swabs *
  • Steri strips / skin closures *
  • Burn cream *
  • Betadine *
  • Pain killers (Panadol/Nurofen)Elastic bandages *
  • Instant ice packs
  • Saline steritubes *
  • Antiseptic steritubes *
  • Triangular bandages
  • Scissors
  • Splinter probe
  • Emergency shears
  • Forceps
  • Safety Pins
  • Gloves
  • Emergency Blankets
  • Eye bath
  • Universal dressings*
  • Stingoes
  • Sunscreen *

* denotes “can never have too many at the base!”

If you’d like to contribute, no matter how large or small, donations of goods can be delivered to Mitcham, Heathmont or Warranwood by prior arrangement – just call Philip on 0400 878 630 and we’ll make sure somebody’s there to receive you – or small parcels can be mailed to PO Box 140, Mitcham VIC 3132.

When enough people make a small contribution, the nett result goes a long way! These supplies will help Global Impact to make a significant impact in the lives of many desperately poor Filipinos.

For more information about the Davao base, take a look at the web site of Glen & Sarah Biggs (Base Leaders).

 

Posted in Philippines, non-profit, poverty | Leave a Comment »
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Why experiences are key for non-profit organisations

November 10, 2009

For many years, fundraising (and, for that matter, commercial marketing) has operated on the basis that a simple transaction occurs when money changes hands, and the recipient of the money delivers a product or service in return. That ’service’ may be the delivery of humanitarian services in poverty-stricken countries, as readily as it may be a material product. But the transaction wasn’t seen as really entailing any ‘involvement’ between the parties – once the non-profit received the money, they expected to go off and fulfill their obligations and not hear from the donor again until the next time they needed some more money.

A fascinating trend in Western consumerist societies may give us some insights to new approaches which could enhance and augment our traditional fund-raising models:

Experiences

The Baby Boomer generation were born in tough economic times, and were brought up to value a long-term stable job, home ownership, and financial security. By contrast, Gen X and Gen Y have become progressively more blasé about these traditional values for a range of reasons – long term job stability is not something they’re familiar with or could even comprehend, the relative economic prosperity of modern times likewise has ensured that they haven’t grown up experiencing severe economic hardship and the drive for financial “security” is therefore not as strongly entrenched, and home ownership is seen in some cases as unattainable and in other cases as a burden of responsibility which they’d rather defer until later in life.

With their relative financial security, Gen X and Y seem far more willing to defer or dilute serious saving and investment strategies and instead tend to go seeking a whole raft of experiences. This is possibly also tied to the fact that people are marrying later in life, and often stay at home with their parents until well into their 20’s, thereby reducing their financial commitments.

At the same time, these generations are showing an increasing interest in social, environmental and humanitarian issues, and frequently view contributing in these areas as a crucial element of their lifestyle, often choosing to lessen their workloads in order to have more time for advocacy and volunteering.

With a sympathetic generation of socially conscientious 20- and 30- somethings actively seeking opportunities to contribute, how can a non-profit best capitalise on this goodwill? By creating experiential partnership opportunities in which supporters become much more than donors – rather, they are responsive to opportunities to engage in a scenario and take away from it memories, emotions, and learnings that not only reward them for their contributions, but also help to mature and develop their philanthropic and volunteering bent.

The application of this insight will vary from organisation to organisation – in fact, there are limitless possibilities – but the starting point is being aware of this trend. Next time you’re brainstorming about how to increase the supporter base for your non-profit organisation, give serious consideration to how you might create opportunities for ‘experiences’.

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