Socially Responsible Outsourcing: The Way Ahead
Inspiring lessons from socially responsible outsourcing examples to help you understand how to bring a positive image to your outsourcing endeavors
Outsourcing is powerful. There is not doubt about that. As an operational and management tool, outsourcing and offshoring bring a wealth of benefits and bonuses to the executive table.
However, on the other hand, outsourcing as a brand is still negative. Indeed for many, it is akin to a bad son of the family earning good money.
C level executives have known the existence of these 2 schools of thoughts but had very few avenues to explore when it came to finding a common ground to merge them in harmony.
But now, things are brightening up for C level executives. There is finally a way to win the hearts of the public and many employees, managers, and shareholders.
Socially Responsible Outsourcing - the new trend to watch out in coming years!
SRO is an extension of CSR (corporate social responsibility) and every C level executive knows how important a role CSR plays in shaping an organization's brand.
C level executives are now taking efforts to bring a positive image to outsourcing by sharing a vision of enhanced excellence and quality through outsourcing and by making Socially Responsible Outsourcing a priority in everything they do.
Michael Corbett, International Association of Outsourcing Professionals Chairman, says "Companies providing, using and advising on outsourcing will become known for adhering to and advancing the highest ethical standards, contributing to communities, bettering the environment, and expanding career opportunities and training for employees."
There's socially responsible in a nutshell.
To amplify the point further we have some stories from the business world where players have launched and have been adhering SRO standards for the betterment of the people involved.
The transition thoughts
Many experts and thought leaders opine that although a common set of accounting principle sounds good on the surface it will prove much more difficult to implement.Having grown accustomed to U.S. GAAP for over the last 70 years, the new set of principles will turn the comfortable accounting standards upside down. IFRS will give a completely different look to Corporate America's financial statements and how they are prepared.
Hence they are on a consensus that a phased-out approach is much better than a one-time transition approach.
At the time of writing, there is a wealth of debate and valid arguments on both sides concerning what is best for US companies and investors. And companies in Corporate America are jumping into the IFRS bus.
Public companies are already gearing up for the transition and this is shown in the increased appearance of education of controllership staff and management in 2008 company budget. Given the scope, volume and the consequences of the transition the education process will proceed for years.
The implications of IFRS conversion impact a large part of a company including their accounting software, staffing, investor relations, board education, and potentially their organizational structure. These elements will continue to feature in both annual and long-term budgets.
Being Socially Aware
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Applied Materials Inc takes many steps to ensure that their outsourcing providers are aligned with their own company's objectives.The onus of the job falls on CIO Ron Kifer.
"..we will select an organization that has a plan and demonstrates [a determination] to use a level of social responsibility that's consistent with our goals and objectives," says Kifer.
And Applied Materials is finding ROI in the endeavors as well. As an example Kifer cites environmental policies, noting that reducing a data center's cooling requirements can save cash in this era of escalating energy costs.
"Few would do it if it didn't produce a financial return, and it's becoming a competitive advantage," Kifer says.
Spreading Social Responsibility
Mountain View, Calif.-based Samasource is another pioneer whose vision is to tap the world's untapped talent through socially responsible outsourcing. Samasource is working on building processes that identify the standards and work with partners to build the certification process. Also there's an auditing and monitoring mechanism to ensure that the certified companies are actually meeting those standards.The second part of their endeavors is to be brokers and facilitate the flow of work from wealthy countries to poor individuals. Their vision is to facilitate some sort of a marketplace where they can do client development and build a unique brand around responsible outsourcing to draw clients.
Continuing with their commitment to socially responsible outsourcing, Samasource has recently announced a partnership with oDesk, a leading online marketplace for services with over 100,000 buyers and providers that centers on a "responsible outsourcing" awareness campaign for members of their network.
Conclusion
It is no mere speculation that socially and environmentally responsible outsourcing is here to stay and dictate terms in near future. Already, many buyers are asking their outsourcing providers about recruitment and retention policies, employee training, compensation plans, and benefits packages. It will only increase with companies asking for green initiatives, community practices and other socially responsible acts.It's all about minimizing public pressure as much as possible by using socially responsible business practices.
Prospective buyers are seeing companies that expect workers to be on call constantly or to always put in extra hours without additional compensation with negative eyes. They know that hiring such outsourcing providers could face negative public pressure.
Pioneers such as Samasource and Applied Materials will continue to flourish in the public eyes and many will follow their example. This will eventually lead outsourcing providers to rethink their strategies and operations and take a step towards being socially responsible providers.