Philippines’ Attrition is Spiking – Is Latin America Next?
January 27th, 2012
By Luke Bujarski
High employee turnover is something that sourcing managers have learned to put up with when offshoring IT and BPO tasks to India. But now the Philippines has also begun showing signs of overheating. Given Latin America’s relatively small labor pools, we worry that the region might follow suit and succumb to the same pressures that have pushed the Philippines to its limits. So far, rampant turnover has not been a major problem with LatAm markets. But just in case, we decided to take another look at some of the details around attrition and other symptoms of hot labor market conditions.
Second Annual Nearshore Nexus Comes to New York City this April
Nearshore Nexus, the only North America investor conference focused entirely on the Caribbean and Latin America IT and BPO sector, will take place on Thursday April 19, 2012, in New York City.
Nearshore Nexus will feature the best minds in global services to examine the growing role Latin America is playing in delivering quality outsourcing services to businesses across the Americas. The outsourcing sector in Latin America has been growing at over 20 percent per year – noticeably higher than the global average. The theme for the 2012 edition of Nexus is: “Intelligent Analysis of Outsourcing in the Americas.”
“I’m very proud of the fact that we will attract delegates and sponsors from over 15 countries in Latin America. This testifies to …
Don’t Let Stagnation Kill Your Shared-Services Operation
January 25th, 2012
Speed is of the essence, DeMent says.
By Patrick Haller
Success of a shared-services operation depends upon more than just a good plan and solid execution – like any good relationship, it requires constant monitoring and regular maintenance. Without a serious, ongoing commitment by the CEO, CFO, CIO, and managers throughout the company, shared services will implode. The entire corporate way of thinking has to change.
Staff Reduction: How to Make the Most of a Painful Situation
January 24th, 2012
By Daniel Berthiaume
A crucial aspect of many IT outsourcing and BPO initiatives is internal staff reduction. Despite the cost savings and more efficient operations that might result, few managers look forward to determining who stays and who goes when a department outsources certain functions. But properly evaluating employees in the event jobs need to be terminated is absolutely critical to BPO success.
How to Be More Successful at Vendor Management
January 12th, 2012By Patrick Haller
Forrester's Lutz Peichert recommends "a holistic view" of a supplier.
Effective vendor management requires more than monitoring service level agreements and keeping a watchful eye on things after the contract has been signed. Buyers can save themselves a lot of grief by examining certain criteria in advance that might not currently be part of their due diligence process.
Many companies seem to be aware of the fact that they need to improve their vendor management processes. In the latest Forrester’s Forrsights Business Decision-Makers Survey, Q4 2010, 48% of the respondents indicated that they will expand their vendor management capabilities.
Silicon Valley Execs Offer Up Guidance to Colombian Entrepreneurs
January 3rd, 2012By Patrick Haller
At the beginning of December, a group of 34 Colombian software designers, mobile app developers and gaming designers participated in an exploratory tour to Silicon Valley – meeting with executives at Google, Facebook, Pixar, Apple and Cisco.
The trip – which was organized by Proexport Colombia – featured several key takeaways, including alternative business management and process approaches, leading-edge ways to market and sell software and the need for Colombians to worry less about certifications and focus more on serving core business needs.
Creating Effective SLAs: Pay Attention to Productivity and Data Accuracy
December 21st, 2011
By Marc Tanowitz
As outsourcing buyers use service levels to measure the performance of a provider, service level agreements (SLAs) are one of the buyer’s fundamental vendor-performance management activities. An SLA’s agreed-upon quantitative provider requirements establish the baseline performance levels and define the monetary credits or other remedies associated with a provider’s failure to meet the standards. The principal role of an SLA is to align buyer and provider objectives.
Paraguay-based Digital Agency Dreams Big in a Small Market
November 18th, 2011By Patrick Haller
Landlocked between heavy-hitters Argentina, Brazil and capped by Peru, Paraguay is not yet a viable Nearshore destination. Yet, with over 80% of the population below 30 and an appealing tax regime – Paraguay is not the backwater many people might assume. To get a real world perspective, we checked in with a fast-growing digital media agency with A-list US clients, that belies the typical stereotype of this often overlooked South American nation.
Woodland Hills, California-based Advanstar Communications—the trade publisher that reduced its debt by $385 million last fall—said Tuesday it has struck an agreement to outsource its production-related functions for the company’s magazines and directories to global IT services company HCL Technologies.
The agreement, Advanstar said, will result in the elimination of approximately 100 employees at its Duluth, Minnesota facility. Those staffers are expected to be offered temporary employment of at least four months with HCL and will be eligible to receive severance from Advanstar at the conclusion of their employment with HCL.
Advanstar will continue to employ roughly 75 people in Duluth, the company said.
According to Advanstar CEO Joe Loggia [pictured], the decision to outsource production was not “made lightly.” “Given the many challenges facing the business-to-business print industry, we must change the way we do business in order to continue to provide maximum value and service to our customers,” he …
Men’s Health Mag Gets ‘Passion’ Injection from Colombia
October 29th, 2009[Editor note: It's turning in to "Media Week" here at Nearshore Americas. Keep the stories, rumors and ideas coming. - kirk@nextcoastmedia.com]
Men’s Health Magazine is, despite appearances, far more than just an outlet for smart ways to lose weight or lessons on how to become the world’s greatest lover. Men’s Health, a title owned by Rodale, is also in the serious business of providing innovative marketing programs to key advertisers who are constantly looking for the next big idea, says Men’s Health publisher, Jack Essig, who I interviewed this morning.
Essig raved about the genius performance he’s seen from a Colombia-based company called Zemoga, which he says is rewriting the book on dedication, passion and creativity in formulating digitally-based solutions for many of Men’s Health’s advertising customers. “They live and breathe the brands they are working on which is not always the case in this industry,” says Essig. Zemoga, which employs about 110 people in Colombia and the US, services clients like Sears, HBO, ING, Yahoo, Viacom, A&E Television Networks, Toyota and Sony.
