Author Archives: 123outsource

A solution to India’s transportation nightmare!

April 12, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: India | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A solution to India’s transportation nightmare
 
India has so many people, and so little space, at least in the metros.  One block in Pune has as much humanity and action as a linear mile does in Los Angeles.  It takes less time to go one mile in Los Angeles as it does to get through the one block obstacle course in Deccan Gymkhana!  Road taxes, custom buses and walkways are solutions discussed in another blog.  But, what about something really far out and fun?
 
The snake train
This idea is the coolest idea I have ever had. Its ridiculously expensive and probably not even buildable.  But, people would love it!  The snake train is a train that goes really slowly and smoothly. It is designed to move on a curvy track that resembles the shape of a long snake.  The cars would be wide and there would be no stations. You can jump on the train anywhere and get off anywhere.  The tracks are snakelike to allow more getting on and off points.
 
What would the train be like?
The train would be a mile long to ensure that you would be able to jump on or off without waiting long for the train.  Trains would have some space between them, but the point is to have a system where there is minimal or no waiting for getting on and off at any of the non-stations.
 
Non-stations
There would be no stations. You could go down a stairway wherever there are entrances and just run and jump on the slow moving train where you like. Although the voyage would be slower than a normal train, there would be little or no waiting time, and once on the train there would be plenty to do.
 
Multi-tasking
The point of the train is to have multi-tasking.   Each car would have its own theme.  One car could be an office supply store.  Get your paper and toner on the way to the office.  That way you are killing two birds with one stone as the Americans say.  Get to work while you are getting your shopping done. And don’t worry about parking to go shopping.  You are on a train, your car is out of the picture. Another car could have a cafe, an internet parlor, art gallery, Japanese lessons, a gym, TV room, or anything else that would be popular.  You could walk down the corridors of the mile-long train to find a car that had an activity appealing to you during your 45-minute commute.
 
What about the cost?
Dont’ even ask.  This would cost a mint, but it would make transportation fun.  The snake would be the new craze that would make the automobile obsolete.  “Oh, you still drive?  You’re so old fashioned” would be the phrase you would hear most.
 
Where would you put this monstrocity?
This type of transportation needs space to build and caters towards the upper-middle class.  It might be possible or practical to build something like this in Bangalore.  A city too small would not make sense to build something this expensive.  A city with distances too large would only be able to use such a system in a limited part of the city with high population density.  The train moves too slow to go more than ten miles in any direction.

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Outsourcing in Japan

April 10, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Japan Outsourcing

Japan has always been big on outsourcing, but it takes a different form in Japan than in other countries. Since Japan gained economic strength in the 1980’s it became very expensive, and they had to outsource labor and services.  It was common for Japanese to fly to Thailand to get some dental work done and then relax at the beach sipping on coconut water and enjoying some Rad Na (noodles).  Japanese would even go overseas just to go on a shopping spree. Of course, now the Japanese economy has been suffering for a long time. I could never figure it out. Japanese are the most efficient people on the planet, but they are no longer in the top ten for per capita income.

The primary country for outsourcing is India, and the primary language used is English.  Japanese have never been strong in their foreign language skills.  Since they are East Asian, and there are many local countries to outsource to, they might often prefer outsourcing to China, Korea, or Thailand.

Many Japanese nationals are moving to foreign countries to outsource themselves.  One call center employee moved to Thailand to get a job servicing Japanese companies.  The overhead is a fraction of the cost in Thailand, and the noodle dishes are just as good too!  American companies are happy with  English speaking Indian employees in India, while Japanese companies prefer to hire their own nationals transplanted in foreign soil.  The linguistic handicap of the Japanese people is one of the reasons for outsourcing to their own nationals, but cultural condusiveness and politeness is another.  Japanese are not very tolerant of those who have not mastered their infinitately complicated forms of etiquette.

Companies such as Transcosmos and Masterpiece have created call centers, data entry offices, and technical support services in Thailand, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.  Other jobs are going to Jakarta, Indoesia, and other places.  Many of these jobs are for larger companies, while the freelancers have gained a much higher market share recently.

Although Japan is the most efficient country on earth in my mind, their inability to outsource work to well established outsourcing countries like India is a huge handicap.  India can get programming, data entry, call center work, and any type of BPO, KPO, LPO, or other work done very quickly and for very reasonable prices.  The Japanese reliance on their own culture is a handicap that is very inefficient in this age of globalization.  I am personally happy that I am a universal human being and not addicted to any particular culture . You can put me in an African, Latin, Indian, European, Arab, Israeli, or American cultural environment and I’ll be quite happy.  But, for our friends in Japan, few will ever have the flexibility that I have due to their culture which traditionally is not accepting of foreign ideas.  The word for different in Japanese is the same word for “bad” unfortunately.

To end this post with a joke.  There was an old Woody Allen movie from many decades ago where a beauty pagent winner was giving a speech. She said that it’s okay to be different, just as long as you are not TOO different.  That was just too funny,  because it was an honest version of what otherwise would have easily been a hypocritical speech.

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Solutions to India’s transportation problem

April 10, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: India, Popular on Google+, Popular Posts | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The solution to India’s transportation problem

To see the 2015 version of this article — click here!
 
India used to be a poor country a few years ago, but now is having growing pains on their way to being #2 in the global economic scheme, with China looking like its going to be #1 for the majority of this century.  News articles keep stressing the same issue.  India can not grow its GNP without proper infrastructure.  But, roads and buildings take time, resources, money, and space to build.  These are things that India has a real shortage of.  India is short on time, because the time it has is spent in traffic, leaving little or not time left to build roads. It’s a catch 22.
 
The status quo
India’s main forms of local transportation are buses, trains (in certain metros), cabs, and especially the auto-rickshaw.  One British born Indian kid working in Mumbai I met on the train was quoted to say, “Two trains and a rick” in the context of him getting to his meeting.  Roads are congested and traffic law obedience is shaky outside of Mumbai.  There must be a solution.  Whats the answer?  You need to “Think outside the rick”.

Also see:
Wouldn’t it be nice to have your office in the Himalayas?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2011/04/27/wouldnt-it-be-nice-to-have-your-office-in-the-himalayas/

A stand up comedian at a stand up restaurant in India
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/01/05/stand-up-comedian-at-a-stand-up-restaurant-in-india/
 
Thinking outside the rick
India is used to certain modes of transportation, but those modes don’t work effectively for everyone.  Buses are too congested for women to get into without unwanted physical contact with men.  Rick shaw drivers often harrass women and the wait time for a rick can be unpredictable. Cabs in India are expensive and require waiting time. It seems that the country that is known for its respect for women…. well… doesn’t respect women.  For a woman to find a clean public bathroom is another nightmare of India.  It is not mandatory for India to have all of these unnecessary headaches.
 
The problem is that whatever mode of transportation you use, it either can’t move due to congestion, or you can’t get in the vehicle even if you really are a sardine.  Needs to be other options.  Here are some options that think outside the rick and solve these problems.

Also see:
Compilation of our most interesting articles from 2015
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2016/06/04/compilation-of-interesting-posts-from-2015/

India in 2140 — Rahul wanted a job at a multi-planetary company
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/05/29/india-in-2140/

Moving walkways
Near downtown areas where congestion is high, and distances are small, it is faster to walk. But, walking is itself an obstacle course, tripping over the front wheels of rick shaws, having your bag get caught on the handlebar of Rajiv’s bike, getting run off the road into a puddle by a truck. Its just not funny.  Moving walkways are expensive, but they solve a problem.  They would be elevated, and only pedestrians would be on them.  The walkway could move 4km/hour, and you could walk 5km per hour which nets you 9km per hour.  There could be coconut water salespeople, newspaper stands, and other conveniences on this moving network.  Additionally, a roof could go over the walkway giving protection in the monsoon season.  Get your exercise, while safely coming and going.  Additionally, traffic could move more easily without a zillion people trying to cross the road all the time. They could cross on these elevated walkways.  
 
Mini-Buses
I always remember comedian Yakov Smirnoff’s famous line, “Women are like buses”. Aparantly he felt that in Russia, women, were shaped like buses. But in India, women DON’T like buses.  Mumbai has the consideration to have women-only bogies (cars) on commuter trains..  Men will get arrested if they dare go in.  Women only buses, or women’s sections in elongated buses would solve problems for women.  Even a women’s waiting area with comfy seats and a bathroom with toilets that are cleaned throughout the day would be super.  To Americans this seems sexist, but try being a woman squeezed between four men who feel deprived of pleasure and you will very quickly see how gender separation is not only appropriate, but should be a universally enforced law.
 
Minibuses have the advantage of being small.  They can come more often, and can fit into smaller bus stations and smaller roads.  There can be particular buses for women only, or buses with larger seats that charge more for entry. You have flexibility with a minibus that a regular bus doesn’t have.
 
Also see:
Indians are used to noise, but do they like it?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/07/08/indians-are-used-to-noise-but-do-they-like-it/

Why your sitar & tabla lessons are the most important traning for business
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/06/09/why-your-sitar-tabla-lessons-are-the-most-important-training-for-business/

Standing only?
Indian buses don’t make sense.  They are always so crowded that you can never get a seat, but you don’t have room to stand either, since the few square feet available have been monopolized by seats.  This is illogical and inefficient!  REMOVE THE SEATS.  If you get rid of most of the seats, then there is room to stand, and you can squeeze more people in.  In a country that prides itself on its ability to squeeze humans as efficiently as it squeezes a sugar cane stick for a glass of juice, they should do it correctly.  Charge triple for a seat, and then people will be able to find a seat.  People should be charged for what they get.  
 
Compartments
Now are are talking.  A bus with the seats removed could have standing compartments.  Spare yourself from the risk of pickpockets with a vinal sheet attached to padded poles.  Of course in India, they don’t like padding.  They want you to get HURT when the bus slams on the brakes leaving you hurled into a piece of metal.  There is no satisfaction if the driver can’t cause you some misery. But, in a few years, the joy of seeing others hurt will wear off, and safety and consideration will become the norm — and padded metal bars will be a standard feature. Imagine a vinal compartment big enough for you to get in.  Nobody can touch you or your wallet.  Maybe there could be a pocket for your briefcase or bag.  Safe and comfy.  I love it!
 
Considerate drivers?
Now I’m really  out there.  I may as well be talking about science fiction.  I’m not sure if its possible for a bus driver in India to have manners.  I have never seen a polite bus driver there. Everyone else in India is polite… so the rude people are outcasted and can only do jobs like being… a lowly bus driver.  But, if local governments require drivers to go to school to learn formalized manners and drive considerately (not running people into the ditch, and not slamming on the brakes constantly), bus drivers could get a completely new rep.
 
Luxury buses
The affluent classes in India see it as not only a comfort, but a status symbol to have a car.   Not having a car is almost as bad as not having a maid.  But, what if buses were so comfortable that they had large, wide seats like on a first class flight. What if designer drinks were served like a Mumbai-Mocha-Latte, or a Soy-Green-Tea-Masala-Chai?  Buses could easily become the in thing.  Drivers could have nice outfits, greet people, and not make jerky driving manouvers.  You could even have wi-fi on the bus!
 
Special roads for buses
If buses had their own elevated roads that were really smooth and level, then buses would be fast and comfortable to use.  With smooth and leveled roads, you could use your laptop if the bus would maintain a constand speed.  People would be less inclined to drive if they could have fast and comfortable alternative transportation.
 
Singaporian style taxes
Indians will never buy into this… Or will they?  Singaporian roads function because there is a highway tax.  For a permit for rush hour use you pay a hefty yearly fee, and off hours, you pay a lesser fee. Taking up space on highways is expensive, and people should pay for this.  Indian roads would open up if drivers wer taxed. More people would take buses, and people would save time. Instead of taking 90 minutes to go to work, 35 minutes would be all you would need. What is your time worth?

A snake train!
What is this? I never heard of this before! A snake train would be a train with hundreds of slowly moving cars that you could read, eat, exercise, or just relax in. Click here to read more about the snake train!

Excuses will kill you
Its easy to say, “Its too difficult, it won’t work, it can’t be done!” Those excuses will leave India behind and leave room for China to quickly gobble up its revenues which is happening as we speak. Take action and find sensible ways to fix this nightmare!

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Women programmers in India and the U.S.
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/06/17/women-programmers-in-india-and-the-u-s/

Is it important to have an English accent if you work at a call center in India?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/03/01/call-centers-in-india-is-an-english-accent-important-just-do-your-job/

Is it fair that American jobs are outsourced to India?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/09/04/is-it-fair-that-american-jobs-are-outsourced-to-india/

If you invested in training your BPO employees, what types of skills would you teach them?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/03/28/if-you-invested-in-training-your-bpo-employees-what-types-of-skills-would-you-teach-them/

The effect of the British on India
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/02/02/the-effect-of-the-british-on-india/

2014 version: solutions to India’s transportation nightmare
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/08/23/solutions-to-indias-transportation-problems-2014/

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KPO Bangalore in the News

April 9, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: India, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

KPO Bangalore News
 
Bangalore KPO
Bangalore is India’s main outsourcing hub, and has the highest concentration of KPO companies anywhere in the world.  Knowledge Process Outsourcing is a fast growth industry in Bangalore and India as a whole as India is leaning towards more specialized work which most of the highly competitive newer outsourcing nations can not compete with.
 
Wipro of Bangalore
Wipro, a Bangalore headquartered company, opened up operations in Brazil four years ago and is happy with the performance of their Brazilian employees.
 
GIIP – Bangalore KPO Training
According to pr.com, a company in Bangalore called Global Institute of Intellectual Property  is now offering an eight week training program where post graduate students can learn the skills they need to work in a KPO, LPO, MNC, or R&D company.  All of the students in the first batch have been successfully placed in relevent jobs, and more than 75% of the students in the second batch have been placed even before they finished the program.
 
Research and Development KPO in Bangalore
financialexpress.com’s May 10th, 2010 article called, “Going up the value chain” explains how Indian metros have their various niches in the KPO industry.  Bangalore was in stiff competition with Moscow and St. Petersburg for research and development, while Chennai was competing with Guang-Zhou for engineering services.  Hyderabad meanwhile was focusing more on healthcare related KPO work.  The main point here is that Indian metros are getting more sophisticated in their value offering, and niches are developing in certain areas.  
 
A joke about the Bangalore KPO industry
A young man named Ramesh, a research expert walks into a pub on Church Street in Bangalore.  He drinks to excess, falls unconscious, and the next day finds himself in one of Bangalore’s many KPO companies and was told that he would have to work there for the next six months.  Ramesh asks, “Have I been Shanghaid?”.  The reply was, “No, you’ve been Bangalored!!!”

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Accounting India in the News

April 7, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: Accounting, India | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Accounting India Outsourcing News

OPI
prnewswire.com’s December 8th outsourcing article states that Outsource Partners International has partnered with financial software provider Blackline Systems to bring accounting and finance software to OPI’s global client base, many of whom are interested in outsourcing accounting. India has a very fast growing accounting outsourcing industry which could be very heavily effected by software developments in any part of the world.

Outsource Partners International has 3700 specialists working in its offices which span five countries including the U.S., India, U.K., Bulgaria, and Malaysia. This company focuses on drawing upon best in class practices, continuous improvement (called Kai-Zen at Toyota), and using outsourced accounting talent and enabling technology to make the clients’ experience optimal with finance and transform operations.

Eversheds
According to thelawyer.com, Eversheds has begin offering a support services outsourcing deal, sending procurement work to Accenture. Most of the HR, administration, accounting and BPO work will be outsourced to India.

Quickbooks
Outsourcing Quickbooks services saves companies a lot of money. Bookkeeping can be done by a specialist company domestically or overseas. They might provide more reliable, efficient, and cost effective services.

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Call Center Manila News

April 6, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center, Philippines, Popular Posts | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

To see the article:
10 ways to gain clients for your call center — click below
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/07/21/10-ways-to-get-more-clients-for-your-call-center/

Call Center Manila News
 
Manila Call Centers are expected to grow in total revenues due to grow due to increased internal demand as well as increased outsourcing revenues.  Additionally, Indian companies are now outsourcing jobs to Filipino call centers.  The continued recovery of the global economy will also help to fuel growth.  According to abscbn news, Filipino call centers could have total revenues in excess of over 7.38 billion dollars which seems like an optimistic figure considering that total revenues were less than six billion this year.
 
CCAP’s president claims that 350,000 currently work at Filipino call centers, many of which are Manila call centers.  India only has 330,000, and the Philippines has taken the lead over india in call center revenues this year.
 
Additionally, Manila call center employees are reported to be having less regular mealtimes, and indulging in an excess of caffeine, fast food, and alcohol.  A study indicatd that Filipino call center employees skip many meals.  40% skip breakfast (the most important meal of the day), 20% skip lunch, and 16% skip dinner.  The most popular foods included fried chicken, chips, fries, and burgers in that order for Filipino BPO workers.  Coffee consumption was 2.3 cups per day compared to the national average off 1.7 cups.  Filipino BPO employees also prefered drinking to partying or other leisure activities.  It looks like the lifestyle of a Manila call center staff member needs to be more health conscious and less stressful.  Maybe a walk in the park would be good!

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The Miracle of Blogging

April 5, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The miracle of blogging
 
Blogging is a relatively new phenominon in web business. It used to be something that eccentric loners did to connect to the world.  Now, its considered a standard part of promoting your websites and web business.  I’m not a writer, but the irony is that I spend 30% of my professional time writing (or “trying” to write).  
 
What does blogging do?
Blogging connects you to people who want to read.  Successful blogs will get amazing search engine presence, and people looking up keywords will be able to find you.  If your blogs are interesting, informative, or entertaining, then you can develop a following which is a fundamental part of your success. Additionally, blogging is sometimes fun, because its an outlet to express yourself.
 
How does blogging work?
Many people start a blog, and then don’t write much. They will write a dozen posts and give up because nobody is reading it.  Others will persevere longer and get some viewers.  But, its hard to develop a following.  Blogging alone is not the solution. Combining networks is how to become successful.  If you have a large site with email addresses in a database for a few thousand individuals, you can email them once a month to invite them to your blog.  If you keep them entertained, they will open your subsequent emails and become regular visitors for your blog.  If the blog is boring, you are dead in the water, but being interesting alone without a network leaves you in the cyber-doldrums.
 
Keeping it interesting
When you cater to a particular group of people, you have to find out what types of topics interest them.  Its not always easy, because people often don’t give feedback.  You can keep track using analytics tracking systems, or just see if anyone write a comment to your blog.  Once you find out what people like, try to find more ideas which relate in theme or spirit to the ideas that worked.  What I learned is that it is not so critical how good a writer you are, providing you find topics that people want to read about and make some interesting points.
 
Combining networks?
The trick of blogging is understanding that critical mass and links are what attracts search engine traffic.  If your blog has 100 or more posts, you will attract a lot of search engine traffic.  However all posts and no links is a very incomplete formula.  You also need links, but where can those come from.  You can link to your blog from your site, twitter campaign, facebook, and have other people you know link to your blog.  If people like a particular blog post, they might link on their own to that post.   If you do an email blast to people on your network, if they click on links in the email to your blog, that will boost your search engine traffic too.  Everything you do compounds on itsself.  I’m not sure how well a blog would do that had no supporting networks.  It would have to compensate by being very large and have a few hundred posts.
 
Twitter?
Twitter is a very interesting tool.  Twitter is a great way to link to pages on your site, new blogs, events, and other things going on.  Twitter is perfect for tweeting about whats going on in “real time” as opposed to tweeting about old things.  Although its hard to know how to please your audience and know what to tweet about, if you tweet about things your viewers like, your number of followers can go up within 24 hours.  Additionally, you might get retweets, and many clicks on good links.  There is a lot of competition on Twitter. People can go to thousands of established twitter networks, so why yours?  The only way to build a big network is to figure out how to tweet really popular material every single day.  Good luck!!! I’m just beginning to figure out how to please the Twitterers.

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Casual day at a call center in India!

March 31, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center, Humor | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Casual Day in an Indian Call Center
 
This is my sense of humor I guess.  My favorite show is Outsourced which takes a deeper look at the many issues effecting the lives of call center workers in India as well as Americans living in India. I relate to this because I have spent many months in India and have gone through all of the cultural issues, dyssentary, monsoons, etc.
 
My skit idea is that the manager of an Indian call center named John wants his employees to become more comfortable with the American culture, so he calls America and asks his manager what to do.  The senior manager, Chuck in California says that they should do things like Americans do.  Have an office party once in a while, have casual Friday, have personal days, and do as many things as they can like people do in America.
 
So, John decides to have casual Friday.  I am thinking of Rajiv Gidwani from Outsourced reluctantly saying, “Okay workers, listen up… today we will be having casual Friday, I personally don’t like the idea, but I was talked into it by our senior manager”. The real life Rajiv hates anything casual and loves the corporate power image with suits and formality.  So, John tells the workers, that they can dress how they like:  in jeans or casual clothing, and that they can even bring their animals to work, since thats what many companies in California allow!  In California, in some of the film industry offices, people will bring dogs to work for example. 
 
Finally, casual Friday comes after a long 96 hours of waiting!
Anita brings her Chihuahua.  Naren brings his pet rat.  Girish brings a baby cat.  Manish brings a peacock.  Sanjiv brings a monkey. Santosh brings a cow.  And Nuntheny brings the baby elephant from aunty’s temple down the street.  John says, I’m so happy that you are adapting to our American ways.  It makes  much more relaxing atmosphere when you bring your pets, doesn’t it?  The workers agree. 
 
But, John becomes disturbed at the type of animals that were brought in.  They don’t seem like “pets”. 
John: Anita, I love your little dog, he is so cute…., but Naren.. a rat?  A rat is not a pet.
Naren: For me its  a pet.  We have so many of them in India and they are so cute with their little beady eyes.
John: A peacock?  Don’t those belong outside?  Don’t they make this loud hooping sound any time there is noise?
Manish:  Oh, he is our family pet, and after all, today is casual Friday, so we must bring our pets.  I love Sally my peacock.  Sally… don’t listen to what John has to say, he doesn’t understand you!
John: Sanjiv, I love your monkey, but monkeys are mischevious animals. 
Sanjiv:  No, not my monkey, he is wonderful. He never misbehaves.  By the way John?  That banana on your desk?  Its not going to last long, better put it in a drawer.
John: Nuntheny, I love your mini elephant.  He is so….
Nuntheny: He? He… is NOT a he… its a She
John:  Oh, I’m sorry. 
Nuntheny:  You should be!  How would you like it if people mistook you for a lady?   There there Laxmi, John didn’t really mean what he said. You’re a real lady… here…have a banana… Good girl.
John:  Hmmm, this attempt at learning American culture is not working out as I expected. I was thinking more along the lines of dogs and maybe a cat here or there.  Perhaps a hampster.
Nuntheny:  Well, in India we have different types of pets.
John:  Anyway, break is over its time for work.
—— TRUMPET sound….  MOOOOOO….  woof ..woof…woof.  hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo…

John calling Chuck:  Chuck… these Americanization ideas like casual Friday? 
Chuck:  How is it going?  I love casual Friday
John:  It’s not working as planned.  When they are making calls, they can’t hear the customers with all the trumpeting sounds of the elephant, the moo sounds, and the peacock starts hooting every time there is a sudden sound.
Chuck:  Oh my god, it sounds like a zoo!
John:  Yes, thats the word I was looking for. 
Chuck:  Hmmm.  Lets change the plan a bit. We’ll have Sari Thursdays and Jeans Fridays.  That way we can have the best of both cultures without all of the sound effects.
John:  Yes Chuck  (trumpet sound of elephant), I am hearing you (bark bark)… trying to hear you…I’m not sure how good I would look in a sari though. Thats my only concern.
Chuck: Don’t worry John, ONE SIZE FITS ALL!!!!

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Hotels in India, whay they do right and wrong

March 21, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: India, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Hotels and businesses in India – what they do right and wrong
 
I run an outsourcing site and have been to India five tmes.  I’m familiar with Indian businesses and what they do right and wrong.  The sad part is that many of the business owners are oblivious to what they do right or wrong.  
 
What people do right
In a nut shell, India is a friendly place, and businesses usually have some nice people to chat with when you go to talk about business. There is not as much time pressure as in America or Singapore.  People are more laid back and easy going in India.  Chai, samosas and cookies are some of the benefits of doing business in India. However, coffee is rarely one of the perks, unless its Madras coffee.  Programmers and internet workers in India are young and fast.  Companies often overstaff themselves, making it possible to get lots done fast without the “pipeline effect” that we have in America.
 
What goes wrong
Having enough middle level managers to assist with customer service and supervise work going through is hard to find at many companies.  Poor communication skills are a trademark at Indian companies. The boss will know five languages, but the rest of the people in the office will be communicationally challenged.  Sales people often lack finesse and lack the proper amount of empathy necessary, and are often very pushy and go for a hard sell which many find disturbing.  But, there are other problems as well.
 
Hotels
The hotel market in India is a very different industry from outsourcing, but there are parallels.  (1) They are in the same country as the outsourcers, (2) The culture is the same, and (3) They deal heavily with foreigners who have very different standards.  Hotels in America function with very stiff competition.  Hotels are categorized into an endless array of “Levels” which are as complicated as the social stratification system in Japan.  You have to talk to someone for at least ten minutes to figure out who is supposed to bow down to the other in Japan.  
 
Hotels – America Vs. India
There is Motel 6, Motel 8, Econo-lodge, Quality Inn, Radison, Hilton, Sheriton, Hyatt, and the list goes on.  Each hotel has its own brand and set of customer expectations (or lack of them).  In India, the big foreign hotels charge 50% more in India than they charge in the states while salaries in Indian metros are 80% less — do the math!  Then, you have the no-name hotels owned by independent operators that don’t have any international standards to conform to.  You will find all types of sloppy management in India that would get you outcasted from any franchise in America. As a matter of fact, I just visited a hotel that got kicked out of their franchise.  They had nice staff and nice rooms, but there were lots of little things wrong with the infrastructure and service.  Doors opened the wrong way, staff knocked on the door when the don’t disturb sign was up, the walls were new but the furniture was ancient… It made me say hmmm.  In America, if enough little things are off, you lose at 50% of the value of the room.
 
In India, the small hotels will have staff members badger you every morning offering unwanted services ranging from laundry to newspapers.  Then, you will be badgered again by someone who wants to offer you breakfast and always offers an unwanted omlette.  When you try to explain that you don’t want too much cholesterol, they don’t understand that word, nor do they look it up.   The answer is always, “Stop bothering me– no — if I wanted your service I would call for it”. Then there is the double knock done simultaneously while you are opening a door to a room where someone is naked, and didn’t have time to say, “Stop, don’t come in”.   The people offering service don’t always think and the managers don’t generally train people.
 
Don’t sweat the details.
An American expression.  Paying enough attention to perspire is what we call “Sweating the details”.  In America we say, “Eon’t sweat the details”, but in India, I strongly recommend working up a great deal of sweat about details and then taking a relaxing bath.  Inspect what your staff does, and how they do it.  The details are always wrong in India, and that will get you fired from American clients really fast.  I met a hotel manager who said, “Think about what to do, how to do, when to do”.  I agree with him profusely, however, he should be dictating to his staff what to do.  They are not educated and he is, therefore the manager should do the thinking.
 
How does this apply to outsourcing?
Outsourcing companies have the same sins that hotels do.  They will offer a good service, but lack quality on the “details”.  Pay attention to the details.  How do you greet people on the phone, how do you present work, how do you track worker performance, etc.  Each industry has different things to pay attention to.  So, its up to you to figure out what to pay attention to, and then you will get ahead.  Foreign companies are coming to India and eating up the market share.  They pay attention to details and they will eat your market share for dinner if you don’t!

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Reverse Outsourcing in India

March 19, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: India | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Reverse Outsourcing in India
 
Reverse outsourcing is rampant in India.  Instead of us getting our services from them, they are outsourcing their lunch, shampoo, and even their university education to us.  KFC, Subway, Best Western, Whole Foods, and even Duke University have taken root in India and are leading the reverse outsourcing craze.
 
In the old days, your choices from lunch included a box lunch from  your wife.  There was a famous company in Mumbai that delivered lunch to people.  They would send someone to the person’s house, so their wife could give a freshly cooked box lunch to the “dabbawalla” to be delivered to the husband at work.  Typical North and South Indian food are available in most Indian metros, with an added bonus of Chat, Pao Bujji, and Pani-Poori in Mumbai as regularly available snacks.  But, things have changed.  Now you can reverse outsource your lunch to an American company.  KFC in India has branches all throughout the country in most or all of the main metros.  The taste is slightly different from American KFC.  Indian KFC has more sweet chili taste, while American KFC has more of the taste of the various mystery herbs and spices that the world has been trying to decode for decades.  Subway is all around India too.  McDonalds has wonderful Indian burgers such as the aloo-tikki burger made out of potatoes, spices and other vegetarian items ground up into a delicious patty!  Pork and beef are typically left out of the menus at these establishments.  So, Americanization goes only so far.
 
If you go to an Indian convenience or medical store, you will find that most of the items are from the good ole’ USA.  Laundry detergent, shampoo, soaps, chocolate bars, the brand names are almost all American sounding!
 
But, the new trend in reverse outsourcing is education.  For years Indians and Chinese have been coming to America in droves to get their Master’s degrees.   Leaving their families behind to indulge in long hours of study, lonlineness and culture shock. Those days are being… well…. reversed!  Soon, you will be able study at Duke, right in the privacy of your own country! Yale is planning a joint venture with IIT in Kanpur and Kozhikode.  Brown is planning a branch in New Delhi.  There are many other Universities in line for overseas expansion. It looks like KFC in India is not the only American satellite presence! 
 
India needs 600 more universities and 35,000 colleges over the next 12 years according to Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal.
 
As time goes on, India will have access to everything we have here in America.  The only thing that they need to outsource from us that is not on the list… clean air and uncongested roads.   Maybe that will get on the agenda soon.

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How to find an outsourcing job!

March 11, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

How to find an outsourcing job
 
People in India ask me every day to hire them, and I have only two things to say.  I am in Los Angeles, and Maria and I do the only jobs that need to be done at least for now.  Additionally, we are in the directory business, and your experience is in? Oh, you didn’t mention what your skill set was, you just approached me begging for a job — any job — please I’m desperate.  Give me an outsourcing job or my family will starve!!!!!  Sorry, even if you were the best directory staff member in the world, you are in Ahmedabad, and I am here in Los Angeles and you can not get a visa to come here.  So, asking me for a job, is the wrong approach.
 
Go where the jobs are
Most people looking for outsourcing jobs are in India or Manila.  There are plenty of outsource process jobs there.  Different cities have a higher or lower concentration of certain types of jobs.  If you want to work at a KPO and are in Darjeeling, you need to move to Bangalore.  If you want to specialize in outsourcing cardamum, then you need to move from Mumbai to Sikkim or Kerela.  Certain regions lend themselves to certain professions.  Additionally, certain physical places have particular vibrations.  Some places are busy while others are sad, or slow.
 
Pound the pavement!
Pardon the American expression.  This means that you need to go around aggressively banging on everyone’s door, finding out where the jobs are and who to talk to.  There are local newspapers with endless information about outsourced jobs and training for call center and other types of jobs.  The internet has many sites that can help you find a job in India.  Click India is one of the best sites around, and there are others. 
 
Network!
Its hard to network if you don’t know anyone.  But, if you know someone who knows someone, then network with them.  Its hard to get a job through a cold contact (someone who doesn’t know you).  But, if they were introduced to you, then you have a huge edge over a complete stranger — assuming you know your skills well.
 
Contact everyone
Contact as many companies as you can that have jobs within your skillset.  Don’t waste people’s time contacting them if you are not going to be clear about what you do, and what you want to do for them.  Contact relevent companies only and talk to the manager and let them know you want to do Data Entry for them, or Flash Design.  Ask them if you can meet with them.  Even if a company doesn’t have an opening today, if they like you and you keep in touch, they might hire you later.  Enthusiasm and devotion is an important trait that employers look for.
 
Interview
Bring your professionally written resume with all of your professional experience and education listed clearly on it. Dress well, and be cool and confident.  Don’t be arrogant or overly aggressive — nobody likes that.  Don’t try to come across as being smarter or more aloof than you are.  Be calm, friendly, speak clearly, and appear knowledgeable.  Personality flaws account for more work problems than skill flaws.  So, behave in such a way where you show everyone what a pleasant and easy to work with person you are.  If you are applying for a sales job, you might want to show a little more gung ho attitude plus empathy — the qualities necessary for success in sales.  If you are going to do programming or data entry, try to convey how methodical and responsible you are through your body language if thats possible.  If you are going to be an incoming call center employee, show everyone how nice and patient you are.  Different jobs have different traits, and you need to show these without appearing fake. 
 
Being on the money!
Another American expression.  This means to be on top of things and to know what you are doing.  Many people looking for work come across as being clueless and lost, not knowing where to go or what to say.  Figure all of this out before you talk to a contact person, or you will make a terrible impression.  The worst problems I have had with people in the work world was not skills, and not personality, it was people who were not on top of things who flaked and didn’t double check their work or follow up on things.  If someone asks you a simple question and you give them a confused look or look afraid, that is clueless behavior.  Give a clear, friendly answer to their question.  If you don’t know the answer, just let them know that you haven’t thought about that yet. Politicians and salespeople are experts at giving smooth answers to questions they don’t have the foggiest idea about.  My advice is to study how politicians handle interaction and be like them.  Working in a corporate office place is very political.
 
A quick joke about politicians.
A guy named Joe was running for Senator in his state.  He had previously worked for a church group but quit.  When asked why he quit, he said that he didn’t enjoy working for the church group because it got too political!
 
Good luck!

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How to write a resume for an outsourcing job!

March 9, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: Getting a Job, Outsourcing Articles, Popular Posts | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

To see the 2016 version of this article — click here

How to write a resume for an outsourcing job
 
We get many resumes emailed to us daily, and it is sad to see how poorly organized they always are.  I have not seen one good resume so far.  There is more than one way to write a good resume, but the most important thing is to keep it organized with no omitted information.  Information should be in inverse chronological order, contain information about your education, and even professional memberships.  Please keep in mind that I am sitting here in Los  Angeles, and the rules are different in Manila or Hyderabad, or wherever you may be.
 
Here are some general tips about resumes.

Use a high grade of paper
In America, it is customary for resumes to be treated like very valuable documents such as legal documents like wills, or trusts. Likewise, resumes traditionally are printed by a professional printer and drafted by a professional typist.  The paper used should be a very fancy grade of off-white or ivory colored paper. Some use light gray in the legal profession.  Different professions might have different standards.  The main thing is to ask around to see if a particular grade or shade of paper is preferred.  Your resume is one of your first impressions, and you want to appear fancy and well equipped. If this is not available wherever you are, try to find a very high-end print shop near the downtown of your metro, or do the best you can in your neighborhood.

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Inverse chronological order
Although there are various ways to craft a resume, the information should be in some sort of clear order.  Make sure that all of the years in your professional life are somehow accounted for, or you will be questioned.  I have seen more resumes in inverse chronological order meaning that the most recent job description is on top.
 
What to put on the resume?
You should state your job objective, and indicate any highlights in terms of your type and level of specialties. There should be a brief summary of each job you have held, education, and anything else that you think is really important.  Its generally preferred to keep it to one page, but two might be okay.  It might not be a bad idea to attach exhibits to the back of the resume: one exhibit for each job you want to elaborate on if there is a lot to say.  That way the interviewer can view that information only if they want to, but won’t be overloaded.
 
Job objective
It is recommended to put this at the top of the resume.  Indicate what type of job you are looking for and why.  
 
Highlighting special skills
You are encouragedd highlight particular areas of experience that would be highly needed by the potential employers you are contacting.
 
What do I say about each company I’ve worked for?
Include the dates you worked for these companies, the name and city of the company, and your job description.  You might quickly mention particular tasks that you were responsible for if you can keep it short.
 
How do I document my education?
State what schools you went to and when.  What degree did you get?  Were there any special areas of focus?  What did you major in?  Stick to Universities and High School, or whatever the highest two degrees you have earned are.  If you went to special trade or music schools, you can list that too to make an impression.
 
Professional memberships?
Everybody wants a job and claims to be good at what they do or want to do.  But, a professional membership can prove how passionate or serious you are about something.  If you claim to be a member of a professional organization, make sure you really attend meetings and know what is going on at that organization so you will appear to be serious.
 
Customized letters should accompany each resume
People looking for jobs fax, email, and mail resumes to everyone in sight.  This is not so smart.  Resumes get throw away quickly.  You should make personal contact with whomever you are sending the resume to so they will remember you when they get the resume. That way they will at least read it before they shred it.  Attach a nice customized letter with the resume. You can say how much you enjoyed talking to them on the phone and how eager you are to get started soon.
 
Don’t list reasons why you terminated employment
If the interviewer wants to ask, they can ask why you left a job.  But, the worst thing you can do is to jump from job to job.  Its expensive to train and hire new employees, so bosses want someone who is stable who will stick around and work hard.
 
Good luck!
Go on the internet and read the details about good resumes.  Have a few people in the business world check your resume and make pointers. Have them check again once you have fixed the pointers.  Its common to go through many drafts before arriving at a perfect finished product.
 
Remember
A resume makes one of the first impressions that you will make with an employer.  Get to know contact people at companies over the phone or in person before sending a resume.  In marketing, having met someone is worth a thousand pieces of paper.  Being on top of your skills is critical.  There are thousands of unqualified people looking for work.  If you feel you are not at the top of your game, please find a tutor, school, or way you can improve upon your weak points.  Make sure you know everything you need to know.  Nobody wants a semi-disfunctional worker. You will waste people’s time and end up unemployed if you don’t know your stuff.  Practice your communication skills to.  Everyone needs someone who can speak well, confidently, and clearly. Meeting someone is the first impression, the resume is the second, but good work skills will keep you employed in the long run with a high salary.

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