When we think of BPO outsourcing, we often think of offshoring, but you can also nearshore to other parts of the United States for example. Many California BPO companies hire in the Midwest or the East Coast for example. The question is, which parts of the country have the most reliable service providers?
What I learned through a lot of searching around and interviewing people is that California is the worst place to hire programmers. Interestingly enough, 17 years ago, I remember that my aunt told me that her husband’s friends with businesses never hired California companies to do anything because of the unreliable service. They always hired companies in the East Coast. I remembered her story long after the fact and found it to be generally true. I also learned that people who live in California who are FROM a reliable part of the world, tend to be more reliable.
In any case, the Midwest is a place where the level of integrity is much higher than the rest of the country or perhaps the rest of the world. We encountered personality issues with a few emotionally unstable service providers in the Midwest. We also found some people who were not that smart. But, we encountered far fewer liars and cheats in the Midwest than in other parts of the Country.
New Hampshire was another good place to find programmers. New Hampshire is a no nonsense state for rugged nature loving individualists. The folks there bring new meaning to the term, “Live free or die!”.
Massachusetts, my place of birth had mixed results. There were many highly intelligent software companies there, but many wanted to charge 200 hours for a project that experienced people typically bid 35-45 hours on. What does that tell you? Are they bidding high so that they can get rid of us? Very dishonest if you ask me.
No place in America is perfect, but New Hampshire and the Midwest are where I would refer a stranger to find good outsourced help in programming or perhaps other specialties as well. If it were me, I would strongly consider outsourcing to India. Good Indian teams can get your job done quickly and cost effectively. Good luck!
You might also like:
How to make sure the software company you hired will deliver
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/06/22/how-to-ensure-that-the-software-company-you-hired-will-deliver/
Slow-but-good verses fast & sloppy programmers
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/06/16/slow-but-good-verses-fast-sloppy-programmers/