Having worked in the outsourcing industry now for over 20 years I have a deep personal awareness of the practices and disciplines that permeate it. Disciplines drawn from the accounting profession, from the legal profession, from engineering, from software development and from marketing. Daily I see operational best practices being implemented, I see boards executing excellence in corporate governance, sales professionals implementing the highest forms of their tradecraft, I see strategic planning, due diligence, systematic innovation, ground-breaking research, exciting new product development, continuous process improvement, disaster recovery and business continuity planning, international standards accreditation and legislative compliance.
I have travelled to exotic locations, to prestigious locations and to remote hardship locations. I have spoken with people who buy services, people who deliver services and people who advise, promote and support the transaction of services. I have discussed onshoring, offshoring, nearshoring, rightshoring. I’ve been involved in the tiniest of micro-transactions, numerous large transactions, and I’ve studied some of the world’s mega transactions. I have engaged with my colleagues at a detailed operational level, at a corporate strategic level, at and industry consolidation level, and even to the point of reviewing the philosophy of the meaning of truth.
Above all, I have seen many tens of thousands of people, aged from fifteen to ninety, speaking many, many languages, wearing a host of different clothing styles, some locked into their environments by month on month of ice, while others perspire under the tropical sun. I have seen school leavers, business people and university professors. I have seen government employees, independent contractors and the elected and appointed heads of nations. And universally, throughout this wide world I have been privileged to see, there has been an awe-inspiring commitment to outsourcing.
Outsourcing underpins the economies of some of the most populous nations on earth. It is the chosen profession, worldwide, of a vast pool of talented, enthusiastic and competent people. It is well past time that this profession, of which I am so justifiably proud, took its place as a legitimate profession.
To be considered a “profession”, as distinct from an occupation, requires that other professions should accord you the same respect as they accord themselves, and other occupations that they class as professional. It is not enough to simply stand proudly and claim it as your right. Respect is not claimed, it is earned. To be regarded as a true ‘profession” outsourcers need to be awarded that status by those occupations that are already acknowledged as professions. We need to be accepted as a legitimate peer amongst the other professions.
There is no reason why we cannot attain that legitimacy. In my opinion, we have all the characteristics we need to be perceived in that way. However, we cannot expect legitimacy to be handed to us on a plate. It is not enough to be worthy – we must demonstrate that worthiness. It is not enough to embody the characteristics of professionalism – we must communicate those characteristics. It is not enough to behave professionally, we must be seen to behave professionally – and we must be seen to censure those whose actions undermine our professionalism.
I am proposing that we take a long, hard look at ourselves, at our profession, and that we take a structured, methodical approach to covering off all the bases that will lead us to the respect and approbation that our industry deserves.
On the right side of this blog, I am offering a framework within which we can couch our discussions. Let me place this before you, so that you can select those parts of this discussion where you can make the strongest contribution. Share your opinions, your suggestions, your ideas. Share your perspectives, your wishes and your hopes. Above all, join in and share in this experience.
