Can Tennessee see outsourcing as the best solution?
One of the most important elements of outsourcing has come about due to the rise of call center culture. The rising importance of customer service and offering people the chance to interact with firms has made call centers essential in so many industries and lines of business.
One American state has decided that enough was enough and that the off shoring outsources tasks was beginning to become a drain on the local economy. It can be seen that as a number of jobs were lost from the local economy, the level of local expenditure would start to contract which would lead to a further reduction in sales. There is a cyclical effect in the economy and anything which causes a downturn is unlikely to be the only affected factor. This has led to many states having concerns about call center workers but not many have been able to do too much about it. The benefit of offshore outsourcing comes from the fact that the level of wages that are able to be paid to the workers are much lower than what they would be paid in most countries. The Western world has long been utilizing the difference in cost of living and wage levels to ensure that they can get cheap labor but there is a now a backlash against this form of business and there are steps to be more proactive with regards to outsourcing.
The state of Tennessee is employing a number of local citizens in a funded call center in an attempt to stimulate the local economy and to build some confidence in the local region. For those people who have the jobs, it is an obvious boost bit there are many questions being raised about the overall suitability or indeed benefit that this move is bringing. The state is clearly funding the jobs heavily because if a firm was really keen to outsource their work, they would offshore with no problem at all so there needs to be an incentive. This means that the taxpayer’s money is being utilized to make this deal more attractive to the firms but even with that in mind, it may still be of benefit to the local economy. Although it is costing taxpayer’s money, if it helps to circulate expenditure and develop spending and local consumer confidence, it will be money well spent by the Tennessee state.
Many people are also angry that whilst there are some jobs up for grabs, many more appear to be heading towards India and away from local people who really need them. The current unemployment levels in Tennessee are extremely high, amongst the highest in the whole of the United States, and it is apparent why local citizens would want more opportunities but of course, it is not always as easy as that.
To be a properly efficient call center operation, there is a need for training to ensure the staff are skilled to the right levels and for some companies, the lure of Indian offshore call center staff is still greater than using local sourced workers, regardless of the benefits it may bring to the local economy.
