An American executive traveled to India recently, hoping to cement elations with local employees at his firm's new call center there. Soon after arriving, he found himself scanning a dozen eager faces arrayed around a conference table.
As he urged his workers to cast aside preconceptions, the executive fell back on a familiar phrase. "There won't be any sacred cows," he said earnestly. Faces fell, eyes widened and jaws went slack. His listeners were aghast at the unintended stereotyping.
Cultures do not always clash with as much force as in this reportedly true story, but North American card issuers should remain vigilant when taking collection efforts offshore, according to industry experts seasoned in the ways of globalization.
The challenge appears bound to intensify as offshoring increases in the next few years, says Dennis Grady, executive vice president of Global Vantedge Inc., a Larkspur, Calif.-based agency that offers collection and other credit services. The company employs five workers in the United States and 1,000 abroad, mostly in India.
Grady says offshoring, the practice of using technology to farm out chores to workers in distant countries to reduce wage costs, started 20 years ago with information technology. The concept moved into telemarketing and telesales seven years ago and made its first appearance in collections four years ago. Offshoring …
No comments:
Post a Comment