Nothing travels faster than light, with the possible exception of bad news, which follows its own rules. ~Douglas Adams …
I must admit, it’s been hard to pick up read the business section the last few weeks. Day after day, we’re being barraged with news about lay-offs, poor earnings, and irresponsible (or just plain stupid) executive behavior.
Today I came across an article that really helped to me to crystallize my thoughts about how we can keep jobs here without becoming protectionist. According to an article in InformationWeek dated February 2, (IBM Offers To Move Laid Off Workers To India) IBM has implemented something called “Program Match”. Basically it’s a program whereby laid off U.S. IBM workers can apply for offshore jobs in countries like India, China and Brazil. Relocation assistance would be provided. The article goes on to state that if selected, the employees ”will be paid according to prevailing norms in the countries to which they relocate.”
The story got me to wondering: Do U.S. corporations have any responsibility to mitigate the work they send overseas, assuming that U.S. workers are willing to be competitive or flexible? Given the millions of lay-offs now taking place in this country, isn’t it possible that U.S. workers would be willing to accept less, rather than losing their jobs entirely?
Put another way, Is there a domestic employment alternative to offshore outsourcing?
When the total cost of ownership for overseas labor is taken into account (Blended rates, travel time, turnover, dollar devaluation, rework additional management oversight etc.) one might be surprised to find out that the U.S. Knowledge worker might be within striking distance of being very competitive. With that in mind, here are some concepts worth considering before you decide to go overseas:
- With 10% plus unemployment expected by the end of 2009, extremely motivated, reasonably priced domestic IT talent is close by and ready to listen. Many IT professionals are very flexible and in some cases, open to a virtual office employment at reduced compensation levels.
- Due to the strained economic climate, there may be numerous dislocations of experienced and talented knowledge workers within the U.S. Prime examples are the auto industry migration to the South and the financial industry in the Northeast. What about the collapse of retail over the past year? Vast layoffs in the retail sector have created pockets of available talent in many areas of the country. These are resource opportunities that can result in large cost savings within a corporate budget.
- Depending on size and scope of the resource requirement, regional cost effective solutions may only be a virtual office away. Imagine experienced and talented reduced rate resources that can be occasionally available on-site, while most production is completed on a remote basis.
So rather than displacing, laying off and under utilizing our nation’s intellectual capital, maybe what we should be doing is asking whether they would be willing to make a few adjustments. For example, if a company is willing to relocate some one to India, why not relocate them to a lower cost of living area right here in the U.S., and adjust their pay accordingly? Such actions may offer one solution to the accerating unemployment gripping this country while at the same time support potential growth areas in the U.S.
There is no doubt that these are tough times, and lay-offs and terminations are as unfortunate as they are necessary for a companies survival. However, there are domestic alternatives to offshore outsourcing. With a little creativity, we can impact our growing unemployment issue. Before making an unconscious leap into the “swirling offshore waters”, consider how a homeshoring alternative such as the “Homeland Onshore Model” might work for your organization. You may be pleasantly surprised at the comparative risk-reward ratio.
If you have any thoughts on onshore vs. off shore, we’d love to hear your comments.
Posted by itonshore 
