The Challenge
The client had determined to undertake an extremely fast transition of work streams and jobs to an outsource partner in Bangalore, India. This restructure resulted in the movement of approximately 1,200 posts (from the US and seven European countries) to India within a one-year period. It was critical that this project worked smoothly, as many of the work-streams were deemed mission-critical in terms of ensuring client deliverables.
It became obvious at an early stage of the transition that the project was not happening as smoothly as had been anticipated. Major interface challenges were developing between the US/European employees and their new Indian colleagues:
- Client deadlines were being missed
- Inaccurate work was being submitted from India
- Attrition rates in India were extremely high
- Morale amongst US and European staff was low
The Approach
Global Business Culture was approached to work with the senior leadership team in the US to analyze what the root cause of the problems were, and it became immediately apparent that US and European employees had no understanding of the way their India counterparts worked and, in reverse, the Indian employees were confused by Western expectations.
A rolling program of training was introduced in the US, Europe and India which was aimed at:
- Developing greater cultural awareness on both sides
- Isolating current and future interface problems
- Improving metrics to ensure better quality work was delivered
- Working on solutions to ensure enhanced cooperation and results going forward
The Business Outcomes
The workshop program was rolled out across a population of around 1,000 employees which ensured a consistent message was delivered in all locations and an agreed corporate way of working was adopted across the global organization.
Tangible results achieved were: lower attrition rates in India, better adherence to deadlines, increased accuracy of work and improved morale in the US and Europe.
What the client said
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