Why Managing Staff in the Offshored Setup Is Quite Challenging - Essay Example

Introduction Managers are endowed with the task of managing people within the organisation. This is usually a very challenging task that needs to be undertaken with a lot of tact. Managing people includes ensuring that they are motivated in the workplace. This helps to ensure that they perform their best in order to enhance maximum benefits for the organisation and the staffs as well. This can entail giving encouragement and inspiration to the employees. (Rutherford and Mobley, 2005) Management of people also entails hiring and generally carrying out the recruitment exercise. It also includes firing those that are not performing their duties as per the requirements. It is also the responsibility of the management team to discipline the employees whenever they violate the rules and regulations laid down in the organisation. Part of the aspects in managing employees includes carrying out evaluations of their work such as appraisals. It is quite imperative to note that it is more challenging to manage staffs when an organisation carries out offshoring. This paper looks at offshoring in five areas. These are IT, marketing, customer care services, web design and back office services. (Rutherford and Mobley, 2005) Information technology Information technology is highly utilised among many organisations in the twenty first century. It is quite essential in ensuring delivery of efficient services. It highly entails various aspects of technology and the use of computer. It is usually carried out by people who are skilled in the profession of information technology. It is also a combination of communication and computer technology in ensuring the smooth running in an organisation. Through the use of information technology, data can be communicated, produced, manipulated, stored and also retrieved. (Rutherford and Mobley, 2005) There are various issues that should be considered before offshoring information technology. One of the essential factors to be considered is the quality of labour. The tasks carried out by the IT department require skilled labour. This therefore means that offshoring of IT should be carried out in a nation that has skilled workforce. Apart from the professionals, the degree of technological advancement should also be considered. When managing IT specialists offshore, one has to consider the challenges of culture and virtual communication. It is highly recommended that the manager also be conversant with IT and carry out a thorough recruitment exercise. Offshoring is however not recommended in cases where IT is the core of the business, organisation needs frequent communication and the required technology is changing at a very fast rate. Marketing This is also one of the areas that can be outsourced in an organisation. This is basically introducing a Company and its products to the customers. This is in such a way that customers get to know what the Company does and know the products or services offered. This is carried out with the aim of increasing sales and to enhance the profitability of the organisation. Marketing is carried out for the benefit of both the customers and the organisation. Marketing is highly carried out when new products are being launched in a market. Offshoring of marketing function is highly incorporated in global organisations. (Rutherford and Mobley, 2005) There are various factors that need to be considered before carrying out offshoring of marketing services. It is very essential to consider the aspect of cost. This is whether it may be cheaper for the services to be carried out within the country where the Company is based or not. Other things that should be considered are the possibilities of the organisation’s marketing tactics being duplicated by the service provider for other customers. This is considering the fact that each organisation has its own unique way of carrying out marketing. It is also essential to analyse whether the organisation intends to sell its products or services to other nations or within the parent country only. Other issues relate to the laws and regulations pertaining to marketing that are found in the nation that offshoring is to be carried out. Some of the aspects to think about when managing marketers offshore include the evaluation of their motivational standards. (Rutherford and Mobley, 2005) Marketing can be challenging and marketers need to be constantly motivated so that they can continue with their marketing tasks. There should also be a mechanism of evaluating the marketers’ work and rewarding them accordingly. It is very essential to think about the ROI in line with offshoring the marketing function. Essential recommendations when tackling this area are that some types of marketing need not be off shored. This includes event management may be ineffective and quite costly. This is considering the fact that it requires high interaction with the customers. Customer care service This is also one of the areas in organisations that are highly off-shored. Many organisations are consciously ensuring that customers get quality services whenever they seek for information concerning the Company etc. These services are usually provided before customers make a purchase, during the purchasing process and after the purchase has been done. It is a very important function in an organisation and plays a great role in retaining existing customers and also attracting new ones to make purchases. All the activities carried out in line with customer service are always geared towards ensuring that there is overall customer satisfaction. (Rutherford and Mobley, 2005) There are various issues that have to be considered before offshoring customer care services. One of the essential factors is the language of the service provider and the language used by customers. In case customers are fond of using a native language, then offshoring this service may not be the better option. It is also quite essential to consider the level of communication technology in the market. This includes the type of communication networks available and their overall efficiency. If the offshoring country has poor communication technology, this can adversely affect the entire business. Another essential factor to consider when off shoring customer care services are the communication skills of the people in the market. Some nations have some accents that can affect the overall communication with the clients. It is also essential to consider the difference of time with the offshoring nation. (Rutherford and Mobley, 2005) In case of differences in time zones, one has to consider whether the staffs are willing to work on a twenty four hour basis –like having different shifts of night and daytime customer service providers. The aspect of cost should also not be left out among issues to be thoroughly analysed. It is highly recommended that thorough recruitment process should be incorporated when hiring new employees in the offshoring venture. It is also recommended that the staffs go through rigorous training concerning all the aspects of the Company and the Company’s expectations. This also includes on the issues concerning the delivery of quality customer services. (Rutherford and Mobley, 2005) The management has to come up with measurable ways of evaluating the work done by the customer service representatives. There has to be a way in which the conversations can be retrieved and analysed in order to ensure the provision of quality services. This helps to maintain an organisation’s customers and also attract new ones. Web design Many organisations have websites where customers can easily log in to get more information concerning the Company and products among other features. The development of a Company website is not an easy process. A company website always gives the overall corporate image of the Company itself. Some of the websites have features such that customers can purchase online. There are various things to consider before offshoring this service. This includes the skills of the service provider. This requires people who are highly skilled in graphic and web design. It is also important to consider the cost of maintenance because in case of any problem then the service provider has to work on it. It is also essential to consider the security measures. This is more so organisations that deal with transfer of funds online using the Company website. There are various issues to think about when managing the web designers offshore. One is ensuring that they provide quality services and they also meet deadlines. It is highly recommended that one carries out enough research on the services of the designers before offshoring. It is highly recommended to exhaust internal opportunities before thinking of offshoring web design. (Rutherford and Mobley, 2005) Back office services There are various functions that are carried out in the back office. These include keying in the system various data that relate to customers or the business. Other functions include overall maintenance of the Company’s records and carrying out of clearance services. In some organisations, it may include accounting, settlements and regulatory compliance. Some of the factors that need to be considered before offshoring this service are the cost. It is also very essential to consider the security and confidentiality of the data that should be handled. (Rutherford and Mobley, 2005) There are also various things to think about when managing this group of people offshore. This includes the mechanisms of evaluating their work, the ability to meet deadlines and also ensuring that they are motivated because the work is usually repetitive and can be quite monotonous. It is highly recommended that people who have the experience with the work should be hired. The cost of outsourcing these services should also be considered before venturing into offshoring. (Rutherford and Mobley, 2005) Conclusion In conclusion offshoring entails having the outsourced functions carried out in another nation. There are five areas in an organisation that can be off- shored. They include information technology, marketing, back office, web design and customer care services. It is quite essential to note that managing staffs in off-shored set up is quite challenging. This is more so because of the distance between the staffs and the management team. The differences in culture can also cause misunderstandings. Nevertheless, the management team have to ensure that the off-shored staffs are motivated. This can be done through praise, improving their remuneration packages among other ways. Some of the aspects of managing people include hiring, evaluation, promotions and also firing. All these have to be carried out to ensure overall profitability of the organisation. Reference: Rutherford, B., and Mobley, S. (2005): The Next Wave: refining the future of offshoring Journal of Corporate Real Estate, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 87-95 Read More