Successful IT Outsourcing

Handling Xenophobia in Offshoring and Outsourcing

Jaiyant Cavale — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:52:05 +0000

One of the lesser known advantages of offshoring is that of reducing xenophobia. People who have worked with teams abroad report lesser animosity towards people’s of other cultures. This is because of the interaction, working with teams from a different culture and recognising that similarities are more than the differences help in reducing prejudices and biases.

With this in mind, offshoring and interacting with teams abroad could be the first step towards assimilating and learning from other cultures. Research shows that those who are open minded tend to be more innovative. Xenophobic attitudes can hurt a companies profits!

Probably it is time that we learned thy hatred and fear directed at other cultures will lead us nowhere. It is important to accept other cultures as they are and it is also important to be open minded so that we learn from them as well.

I would love to hear your experiences about how offshoring helped anyone that you know to reduce animosity towards other cultures! Have you come across someone who was virulent but after that trip to Turkey started to gush about good looking lovers in Istanbul? We would love to hear your experiences in the comments section below.

You could get in touch with any of our professional developers, programmers and techies by contacting us directly at Distant Jobs toll free at 1-888-886-7343. International clients can reach us at 514-816-4146 or visit our Web Development and IT Outsourcing Agency website at Distantjob.com.

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Twitter to Stay in Touch with Offshore Employees

Jaiyant Cavale — Fri, 18 May 2012 01:24:08 +0000

Twitter can be an extremely useful tool to stay in touch with your offshore employees. Not only is it free but it comes with a number of application to manage your feeds and to learn what is going on around you.

It allows you to make lists and categorise the people that you ate following. You can keep lists of all your employees and see what they re up to. You can ask them to tweet each time they meet a target or each time they complete tasks.

It reduced costs and offers immediacy that no other form of communication has still been able to. It is one of ye more interesting an non invasive ways to communicate but people still do not understand how it may be used in offshoring and outsourcing situations.

I shall try and offer more tips how one can use Twitter to the fullest and make use of this free tool which comes with more than a million applications. If you use Twitter in your offshoring operations, do let us know in the comments section below!

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Colombo: Offshoring Industry’s New Oasis

Jaiyant Cavale — Wed, 16 May 2012 04:12:42 +0000

The capital of Sri Lanka, Colombo is a seaside town that is kissed by the waves of the Indian Ocean. The city is multicultural and multiracial. With exquisite colonial buildings and great infrastructure it is possibly the most westernised city in South Asia.

Though the city has witnessed blood shed, tsunamis, an other calamities it is relatively peaceful an it’s friendly citizens make the experience worthwhile. Thanks to the initiatives of the local government it is a great place to invest and to find offshore vendors.

It has web repeatedly featured in many travel magazines and business columns for its infrastructure, English speaking citizens and educated lot. It is probably easier to find employees in Colombo than in a city in china as English really is a very important factor when it comes to offshoring.

If you are planning to offshore work to a relatively cheap place, Colombo just might be the place to go to. If you have had any sort of experience in Colombo, do let us know in the comments section below. I am sure it would prove to be an interesting topic to talk about!

Would You Consider Nepal as an Offshoring Destination?

Jaiyant Cavale — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:54:27 +0000

Nepal is a small Himalayan kingdom that is straddled between India and China. This tiny nation has seen thousands of years of history and culture and that is precisely why it is of great importance to the offshoring world.

Nepal has good infrastructure in terms of human resources and facilities for international companies to set up businesses. Nepali government is friendly enough and is one of the safer countries for foreigners to visit. Of course, it has it’s share of troubles but it is nonetheless an important detonation web we talk about offshoring to South Asia.

Nepal is significantly cheaper than India and thanks to an English speaking population which is educated, the cultural barriers are much less when compared with China. Nepali citizens are software and computer savvy and much of the work that is sent to India can also be sent here. The capital Kathmandu was one the hippie hangout and it continues to have that exotic atmosphere to this at.

If you were looking for a great offshoring destination which was cheaper than India but not as daunting as china, you probably should look towards Nepal. Have any of you worked with Nepalese people in the past? If you have do let us know what your experiences were in the comments section below!

Tales from the Call Center Floor

Jaiyant Cavale — Sat, 12 May 2012 21:12:56 +0000

When Tina Turner sang “whatever you want, whatever you need.. I’ll be right here”, I am sure she had something else on her mind an certainly not a contact centre employee. Contact centre employees and call center workers are supposed to be available for callers whatever they want and need.

This attitude is greatly reflected by Filipino workers who tirelessly answer calls and resolve issues of the customers who call. In fact Filipino workers enjoy their work. I spoke to Ms. Maria, who is a contact centre worker in Makati City. She spoke about how much she has actually learned from her customers and how some customers call back again just to hear her voice.

While that may sound a little unethical, Ms. Maria insisted that she never would cross the line and develop any sort of relationship with the callers. No matter how flattering it is when callers praise contact centre workers, these are individuals who keep work and play separate. Filipino contact centre workers are known for their dedication to ethics and are some of the most hardworking contact centre professionals.

Have you encountered any stories that would warm readers hearts? Do let us know in the comments section below and we would love to listen to your experience with contact centre employees. It doesn’t have to be all peaches and cream. If you want to complain about call centre professionals, we would be glad to hear that as well!

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Tackling the Issue of English in Brazil

Jaiyant Cavale — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:05:18 +0000

One of the larger issues concerning offshoring world is that of language skills. Brazil is an amazing country with a number of people who are great workers. They not only are professional but are also westernised which is a great boon to Americans who don’t want to face culture shocks.

However, the goliathic country speaks Portuguese and those who speak English are far and few in between. This is not only a hindrance for Americans but also to British and Canadian companies which have sought cheaper and stable economies to send work to.

Brazil has a great tradition of being stable and it’s economy is by far the strongest among the developing nations. It in fact surpassed Britain sometime back to become the sixth largest economy in the world. With all these strong points speaking for Brazil it is only the issue of English that bothers the Amazonian land.

My suggestion would be to start learning Portuguese as it is not only a beautiful and rich romance language but also a very viable business language. Portuguese is very similar to English as many words are derived from Latin in English as well. Perhaps it is time to invest in a language course than thinking about other things.

Have you started to learn any foreign language in order to improve offshoring relationships? If so, which one did you learn and why? Do let us know in the comments section below.

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Offshoring: Cultural Transference and Assimilation

Jaiyant Cavale — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:32:31 +0000

A long long time ago, when they still use to get people to work on typewriters there was almost little knowledge about things work in other countries. People had strange opinion about other cultures and constantly viewed other peoples with suspicion. This was mostly because they had little intact with the outside world and the little knowledge they had about other cultures only served to strengthen the prejudices and biases try had of others.

This gradually changed with the advent of computers and the Internet. It is no longer impossible not to have friends in every country on earth even without vet having travelled ten miles. This increased exposure and interaction with other people have resulted in cultural awareness and business relationships.

Probably this increased business relationship with other nations prompted business owners and corporations to seek help and get their work done in countries where the wages are less and affordable. Thankfully this worked not only for business and reducing costs but also to increase human contact and develop cultural connections.

By maintaining business and offshoring relationships with other nations we not only fight stereotypes and prejudices but we also end up making profitable relationships with other vendors a business entities. Perhaps this is why offshoring serves to build bridges rather than crate economic problems. What are your views on cultural transference and assimilation? Do let us know in the comments section below!

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Mysore: A Cheaper Alternative to Larger Indian Cities

Jaiyant Cavale — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:42:10 +0000

Mysore is a tiny Indian city located in the southern state of Karnataka. It is located just a few hours from the business hub of Bangalore and has a number of monuments which are of interest to tourists. Though small in size in Indian standards, it has more than a million people living in it who can speak English and are employable.

The city also has good infrastructure and the business locations include one of the many techno parks that dot the city’s landscape. It can be an interesting way to deal with rising costs to offshore work to. Small Indian city which not only has good infrastructure but also English speaking individuals who are ready to work.

The city has a number of engineering and commerce colleges and the university churns out graduates who would make for good contact centre and the support employees. They can be hired for a lesser cost than those in cities like New Delhi or Bangalore as the living costs would be very less.

If you plan to meet your offshore employees in person the city offers great hotels and monuments which you could check out as part of your business trip. You may also go ahead and visit the forests nearby which offer camping spots and trekking routes. Mysore can be a good offshoring destination if you are looking at cutting costs.

How Do You Communicate with Offshore Teams?

Jaiyant Cavale — Wed, 02 May 2012 18:34:46 +0000

An interesting development in the world of offshoring is the way we have come to interact with individuals. There was a time when we we to depend on the telephone to make calls and to interact with people who weren’t nearby. Gone are those says when we anxiously waited for those international long distance calls.

Now it is no longer existent even in distant memory all the travails of communication which existed a couple of decades ago. We not only take communication for granted but we also tend to expect people to be available twenty fours hours seven says a week. Modern communication has completely changed the way we do business.

An interesting anecdote here would be that of Mr. Steen from Sweden who spoke with a friend of mine here in India. My friend found it rather strange that Mr. Steen preferred to make telephone calls when it was easier to communicate over BBM, a popular messenger service. They both have access to the service.

This only shows how a regular telephone call may sometimes feel out of place in a world that is highly wired and connected. Probably Mr. Steen preferred to use the telephone for a more personal way of communication. It was perhaps his way of saying that he preferred human bonds over colder ways of communicating. It all boils down to personal preference at the end of the day.

What do you prefer in this ever changing world of communication? When was the last time you write a hand written letter and sent through snail mail? Do let us know in the comments section below!

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Turkey’s Emerging Role in IT Offshoring

Jaiyant Cavale — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:40:28 +0000

Turkey is a recent phenomena though it is one of the most ancient countries in the world. It is rather affluent but also is affordable when it comes to European standards. Many European companies have begun to set up shop in Istanbul the largest city in eastern Europe.

Not only Istanbul but the capital Ankara is a major city with a number of tech parks dotting the landscape. It is incredibly beautiful and the people are just as warm and friendly as the city seems. Of course, Ankara has bitter winters and that is a different story altogether.

What interests us as offshoring professionals is that it I a great place to find offshore employees who know how to get the work done at an affordable price. The cities of Turkey are gold mines of professionals who are well versed with European ways and working culture.

Turkey can be a great place to live and work, and it can be an even greater place to get your offshore employees from. It is affordable and inexpensive. You would encounter professional European level individuals who know what it takes to be offshore employees.

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