In 2008, I completed a summer internship in Hyderabad, India with a pharmaceutical company called Dr. Reddy's. In my free time, I wanted to learn more about the working culture of Indian people my age. I had one idea from my internship but, I wanted to learn more about outsourcing as well. So, I read a book called one night @ the call center by Chetan Bhagat. The book is 289 pages long and details out the events of one night at the Connexions Call Center in Delhi, India. Through the book, I got a glimpse of what outsourcing is like. We see it as a cheap(er) alternative than paying someone stateside to do the same job, they saw it as just a job. That job is starting to grow wings. Due to a unique economic situation IT outsourcing to India is getting more expensive. It is a prime example of the digital economy flattening the world. Companies are looking for the best employees and paying more to get them. We're seeing a fundamental change in the industry structure as it moves away from the low-cost model. I can't predict what this will do to the industry, but I fear it could dampen the persona of India as a destination for outsourcing. That being said, I am happy to hear that call center employees are getting paid more, I'm sure everyone has a story about a service call, hopefully it's about to get better!
P.S. A shout out to Pslaw he also references these premium call center employees as seen in "outsourced".
The Pricey Side of India's Low-Cost Outsourcing
I had no idea that outsourcing in India was headed in this direction. I had always thought of it as cheap labor but since these workers are becoming more and more qualified, they should be getting paid more.
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