Bear with me and you’ll see that this post isn’t about knocking the outsourcing industry as a whole, but rather about making sure that you have all your proverbial ducks in a row when selecting and managing your team.
There isn’t much sense focusing on the Apple/Foxconn thing, that’s a moral issue that had no impact on product quality and profitability.
The real message to be taken from this video is this:
- Due to the potential language barriers involved with moving things offshore, and the rising wages in many “outsourcing hotspots” like India and China, you should always see how much your costs will be for hiring the same individual/team in-country as well as offshore. Hiring people in your own country helps the economy and may lead to easier communication, which can off-set the potential drawback of paying a few extra bucks.
Obviously the video is more geared toward the manufacturing industry, but can just as easily apply to creative, administrative and customer service outsourcing as well. How many of us have wished we could talk to someone local (or at least national) when we call a 1-800 number to order a pizza or deal with a warranty issue, etc.?
Sometimes the grass isn’t always greener on the other side…
Main image by PresidenciaRD
