An article in Executive Grapevine reports that UK businesses are rushing to deal with the fallout from the India outsourcing crisis, with senior UK staff to manage the crisis now top of the Coronavirus hiring list, according to research conducted by New Street Group.
India’s lockdown is having a huge impact on businesses that have outsourced call centres, IT and other functions to India over the last two decades.
The data states that many UK businesses are scrambling teams to try and ‘re-shore’ work from India to the UK as many workers in India are unable to go to work (due to both lack of available infrastructure and established working practices).
Demand for senior UK staff to manage the fallout from the India outsourcing crisis adds to the list of hires businesses are already making following the outbreak of the coronavirus this year. Inquiries from businesses in relation to the following specialist roles have risen by approximately 20% on average over the last two weeks:
Lack of ‘relevant candidates’ impacts hiring
Head of Business Continuity: Specialist role to oversee current operations and systems in a disaster or crisis situation. Reports to Chief Operating Officer.
Head of Cash Management: Specialist role to reduce cash outflows – especially negotiate new deals with suppliers over terms of payment and volume of delivery.
Head of Risk Management: Specialist role to manage risks across the business e.g. across supply chains and across operations across different countries.
Chief Restructuring Officer: Board-level position that assesses how a business could restructure in order to sustain profitability or reduce losses during a period of financial stress for that business.
Financial Planning & Analysis Director: Experienced directors to assist the Chief Financial Officer in ensuring that immediate operating expenses and debt obligations can be met.
“For many UK businesses the problems in India risk key functions going offline. That’s added to the chaos at many UK operations and delivery centres over the last 24 hours,” said Andrew McIntee, Managing Director at New Street Group.
“That’s resulted in a surge in demand for hiring of professionals like business process change specialists who can help redirect work from India back to the UK where companies have greater flexibility in both workforce and workplace strategy.”
