CSR in the Nearshore: We’re Paying Attention

A key part of our mission at Nearshore Americas is to create a more visible platform to highlight the work sourcing providers and their customers are doing in the area of corporate social responsibility. Although CSR may seem to have little to do with our core business-oriented coverage of the exploding Nearshore sourcing industry, we believe discussing CSR activities on a regular basis will be an appropriate reminder and powerful symbol of the kind of commitment companies are making in local and regional societies across the Americas.

Our role – and hopefully this is pretty apparent by now – is to get accurate information out to the world and particularly to US sourcing customers about what is really going on in this market. Those of us in the Nearshore sourcing industry continue to hear countless myths and misinterpretations about this market, so we’re always going to be here to get the story right and paint the most accurate picture possible.

Part of telling an accurate story includes highlighting the strong alliances outsourcing providers are establishing to help people in need. By exposing these activities we hope to contribute to breaking down any lingering perception that sourcing providers are solely in these locations to strip the local economies of good talent and operate in a bubble without regard to the needs of local communities.

In the majority of instances, we know this to be flat out false. I’ve had discussions in the last few weeks with many major companies about CSR in Latin America – including TCS, Capgemini, Sitel, and Teleperformance (mentioned below). These companies are in no way engaged in CSR to get a pat of the back or seek international acclaim. They are taking on projects quietly, and often anonymously, knowing that they have the resources to help out and it’s just the right thing to do.

Many of these organizations engage in these activities because it’s part of a corporate operating philosophy.  “The activities really give us a sense of a global bond in our corporate family… we come together in a time of need,” says Jenny Rodriquez, Teleperformance’s director of corporate social responsibility for the Americas and Asia Pacific.

Teleperformance conducts CSR programs around a three part goal, driven by philanthropy (community), environment and people care, says Mark Pheiffer,  Executive Vice President at Teleperformance , who is a key CSR leader at the global contact conter/BPO organization. He notes that significant energy is put into the company’s Citizen of the World program created to focus on underprivileged infants and children in 49 countries around the world. In each of the countries, a Teleperformance coordinator manages and administers to the program.

Specifically in Latin America, Teleperformance staffers in Latin America have recently been involved in these projects:

• Argentina collaborates with different charities (Techo para mi Pais, Fundacion Equidad & Banco de Alimento) that focus on improving the well-being of infants and children.

• Brazil has a strong commitment to Social Responsibility and encourages employees to volunteer their time to cooperate with local institutions to benefit the community.

• Chile has partnered with “Maria Ayuda” to aid abused and mistreated orphans in Santiago.

• El Salvador participates in the payroll deduction program to benefit “Libros de Amor” which focuses on preventing children’s malnutrition all over the country.

• Mexico is sponsoring via the payroll deduction program “Un Kilo de Ayuda” which prevents malnutrition in children less than 5 years old and pregnant women, in rural and indigenous countries.

Working on CSR initatives and interested in sharing your story with Nearshore Americas? Keep us posted. (kirk@nextcoastmedia.com) We want to hear about it.