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Letters to the Editor
In reaction to 'Global G8 Think Tank' - 18 August 2009:
I think shared services in our Government will be very helpful in terms of efficiency in service delivery and saving on costs.The transformation will definitely face resistance from certain quotas, however it's important that some services and processes that cut across different government functions be consolidated. For the case of Procurement it would be better for the Government to consolidate all their activities into a shared service center that would source and buy for most of its requirements instead of having many semi autonomous procuring authorities. This will help develop a central place for information in case of inquiries.
Odote Bernard
In reaction to 'Virtual HR' - 11 August 2009:
I certainly do think that Virtual Hr can work in most HR areas,for example on the Reward Section i do not think you need a person to be able to calculate your benefits or effect a change in your bank Account,these can be done by a system.Same can also be said for the HR part that sponsors employees for further studies you can set up parametres of awarding these scholarships and set up a system,incase there' approval needed then it will automatically notify the designated approver.
Odote Bernard
In reaction to ‘cost or culture’ - 4 August 2009:
I work for a company that has outsourced its care centre on IT issues to India and sometimes the language is a huge barrier in problem- solving. It takes a lot of time trying to understand each other. However, I think the outsourcing of such services is very vital for concentration on core businesses.
Odote Bernard
Thanks for bringing up a very important perspective. I have been working with a HRO organization and have serviced a large number of clients. According to me it is not about “cost or culture” but it is about “cost and culture”.
Depending upon the type of work - there are business risks which become prominent if an organization offshores any job which has higher cultural sensitivity.
Unfortunately no one has ever done detailed research on how to measure cultural sensitivity for a job. If some industry forum creates a list of jobs and how a cultural sensitivity index can be assigned to that job, this would be great tool as a baseline for companies who are considering outsourcing.
Ashok Bildikar, CEO,
Neeyamo Enterprise Solutions (p) Ltd.
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