“Our employees are our most valued asset.”
The above statement is a most appalling example of utter bullshit. Once upon a time it might have been true that utility providers and outsourcers valued their employees but today it’s a lie. The modern version should read:
“A cheap subcontractor is our least expensive overhead.”
Lets face it, offshoring sucks. I’ve been making enquiries about changing teams within the company I work for and getting back into something more hands-on. Fortunately I have some good contacts within who are prepared to remove the corporate hat for long enough to reply honestly. The advise from all of them is to stay away from technical roles as they’re vulnerable to offshoring. Doesn’t matter if it’s Windows, Linux, Unix or Mainframe, they can all be installed, operated and managed by a faceless somebody in India. The only thing it’s hard to offshore is networking as the little chap in Bombay hasn’t got long enough arms to plug the cables in.
I hold a (unprofessional) hope that one day offshoring will come back to bite companies like my employer very painfully on the ass. It’s a nasty and unethical practice and I would like to see customers insisting that their services are delivered and operated from our own shores.
It’ll all end in tears and I suspect the tears will be on the cheeks of those, “Most valued assets�?.