India Facing Call Center Crisis: Blame Bangalore Bar Closing Times

from the drink-up dept

Stephanie Overby writes "Could your company's sinking customer satisfaction numbers have something to do with the early closing time for bars in Bangalore? If your call center is based in India, they just might. Indian corporate recruiters are facing a harder sell with students when it comes to the help-desk jobs that used to symbolize India's rising fortunes. Bad hours, worse pay, and verbal abuse. Who needs it? It's also probably no coincidence that since Bangalore pushed up the closing times for its bars and "entertainment" establishments to 11:30 p.m. a few years ago, the appeal of shift work has dwindled. What 22-year old wants to graveyard shift when it means no social life, particularly when there are new, better alternatives? The net result is not pretty for Indian call center operators... or the U.S. companies that source their work there. "

Filed Under: call centers, india, offshoring

Tech Innovators Aren't Big Offshorers

from the no-real-surprise-there dept

For years, we've been pointing out that the worries about offshoring have been greatly overhyped. In fact, a new study points out that, despite popular opinion, offshoring isn't particular popular in the tech industry -- especially among companies doing serious innovation. It is more popular in the banking and insurance industries, to be sure, but the tech industry has learned that you don't outsource the actual innovation. That's because innovation isn't a commodity that goes to the cheapest workers. It requires the best workers. Of course, if our immigration policy continues to keep some of the most qualified workers in other countries, then we should expect more innovation to shift overseas as well. That's why it's never made much sense that the same folks who are against offshoring are often against increasing the number of H1-B and other visas for highly skilled foreigners. If you keep them out of the country, the work will only go to where they are. However, if the best innovators are here, then that's where the innovation will stay and there's less incentive to offshore work.

Filed Under: offshoring