Keeping the use of business or technology services a secret from the public is standard operating procedure in corporate America. Paradoxically, it’s a bad idea for all of the stakeholders — your company’s customers, its employees, its investors and for the American public, too.
Sure, everyone knows why corporations keep it a secret. Corporate communications managers are worried that opponents of offshoring will demonize their brand on the Lou Dobbs show or in the local newspapers. But this kind of short-term defensive posturing worsens the public’s perception of both globalization and outsourcing because no one is making the positive case for why it is vital to an organization’s competitiveness or future.
Sadly, even mainstream business media fail to grasp the difference between captive and outsourced services. We see examples of this ignorance all the time with discussions about call centers located in offshore locations.
Although the issue of “offshoring” has quieted in the media, it’s not going away forever. My view is this — enough is enough — U.S. industry needs to create a trade group to promote the use of global services. The American public is woefully misinformed about globalization and with a carefully crafted message a trade group could begin to articulate the affirmative case. No, that’s not our role; we are journalists and not cheerleaders. And, unlike a trade group, if there’s something amiss, we’re going to point it out.
The time has come for U.S. companies to stand up for what they believe in, which is tapping global talent to strengthen their organization. In short, this is a time for transparency, not secrecy. Here’s why:
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Failure to disclose denies your customers a chance to opt-in.
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Failure to disclose does nothing to enhance the public’s perception of globally delivered services.
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The paradigm of keeping data onshore and amending it offshore is a legally untested solution. Privacy experts call it a “workaround.”
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Public relations and staff lawyers are notoriously risk-averse. They also can’t see the forest for the trees, meaning that the big picture here transcends your organization and its concerns about a backlash.
How do you achieve transparency?
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Recognize that stakeholders, including your employees and investors, have a vested interest in knowing your organization’s long-term services strategy. Illuminate them. Ask your CEO to disclose your organization’s three to five year labor plans.
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Build a corporate data privacy map. Chart how and where customer data flows between shores and service providers. If you disclose it (try the Web), your risk exposure decreases.
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In the long run, transparency in the use of globally delivered services is the only sustainable approach to managing people.
