IT success is critical to your job

The British Computer Society is the UK’s Chartered Institute for IT. I have a CITP after my own name. Seven years ago I worked on a BCS research project with Elizabeth Sparrow, focused on how offshoring would affect the UK technology industry. Elizabeth subsequently became the president of the BCS for 2010-2011. I contacted her to ask about the questions that have arisen from the proposed outsourcing commission in Brazil.

IT Decisions: If employment law has not been changed for nearly 70 years, so ideas like TUPE (acquired rights) and sub-contracting are all foreign then how can outsourcing work smoothly? Where do you start?

Elizabeth Sparrow: The starting point for politicians must be to recognize the importance of the IT industry to the health and wellbeing of the economy. In the new global world in which we live it is easier than ever for companies to relocate to new countries and to buy IT services from anywhere around the world. The most successful countries in the world all recognize the critical importance of the IT industry to their future and invest accordingly.

This means paying attention to a raft of measures not the least of which is a sound and unambiguous regulatory framework. Employment law is a critical factor in this. Developing a set of regulations that both protects the valid interests of employees and supports the development of successful commercial enterprises is no mean feat. This will only be tackled effectively by politicians if they recognize the importance of the issue to the national economy – and thus to their political futures.

Many countries have developed employment laws that match modern requirements of outsourcing deals and there is much to be learned from other countries’ experiences. In Brazil perhaps the first step is to clarify the outsourcing supplier’s responsibilities for its employees. Companies seeking to get the benefits from outsourcing that are available to them elsewhere in the world can spend an enormous amount of time and money trying to resolve employment issues where the law is not clear and ultimately this will discourage corporations from doing business in Brazil.

ITD: Is outsourcing unavoidable in the present and future corporate environment?

ES: The IT industry is continually developing and expanding. Outsourcing has been an integral part of the industry since the 1980s and has continued to expand and has grown particularly strongly through periods of recession in the global economy. Today we have a rich and mature IT outsourcing market, offering a wide variety of services to meet different needs. The trend towards outsourcing shows no sign of abating. Indeed as technology becomes ever more complex and specialized there are few companies that do not make use of outsourcing to some degree. The growth of outsourcing has also opened up opportunities for companies that provide these services and governments should also ensure that they provide the right environment to help local companies that sell IT services to both national and international organizations.

As the outsourcing market has matured different regions in the world have developed different specialism’s and have become known for their expertise in specific areas. Any major company looking to outsource its operations will take a number of factors into account in choosing possible locations – language skills, cultural compatibility, government support, labor pool (size and skills base), educational system, infrastructure, data and intellectual property protection, political stability and, finally, cost. The challenge for any government is to recognize its country’s competitive benefits and build on these to support a thriving outsourcing industry.

ITD: How do you balance employee rights and expectations against the need for corporate flexibility and ability to compete?

ES: Unless it is well managed, any move to outsource IT functions can create anxieties about job security and concerns about future prospects. A poorly planned outsourcing program can lead to a loss of valuable talent and expertise within the organization. IT professionals may feel under threat and unwanted and this situation will be made worse by a period of uncertainty. During the planning and transition process, some IT staff may decide to leave and pursue their careers elsewhere and this can increase the pressure on those that stay. All employees, whether impacted by outsourcing or not, will be watching how these issues are handled. There are a number of actions that can be taken to support and encourage those IT staff affected by outsourcing – create a transition plan with clear timescales and milestones, offer retraining and help for those seeking new employment, give employees as much notice as possible about the changes that will be made and start formal meetings with trade unions at an early stage.

Ultimately it is in no one’s interests to impose excessive demands on corporations contemplating outsourcing for sound strategic reasons. Companies must evolve to remain competitive and this may involve outsourcing. Employees, however, can and should be offered help and support as they transition to different career paths.

Photo by A Lucky Strike licensed under Creative Commons