The Boomerang Effect

Technology is ever evolving. It consistently sees new and emerging trends in strategy, methodology and architecture. In such a rapidly changing industry, there arises a need for increased production and creation which, in turn, leads to the need for new talent. The question then is how to source this new need for employees.

One option that is being explored within many technology based businesses is off-shoring hiring. However, with off-shoring comes many side effects, both positive and negative. Here, I'd like to discuss my experiences with clients who have used the off-shoring model and give you some industry insight into this model of hiring.

Off-shoring is not a new concept, it has been a prevalent part of IT staffing for a number of years now and still remains to be a popular option for many companies. Of course there are benefits; however, more frequently I speak to clients who experience frustrations with the off-shore model and find that bringing back the work actually holds more value. This is good news for Sydney based recruiters and developers a-like.

An SME I work with in North Sydney has done just that. They have recruited 3 additional .net developers and a tester in the last 6 months, when they opted to bring all development back onshore to Sydney, after a 12 month stint in the Philippines.

My client provides some insights into why they decided to bring back work locally: "We found that time zone difficulties meant the outsourced team could not easily join our scheduled dev meetings. There were language difficulties and verbal communication was difficult. The outsourced team had no real "ownership" or their work, so could not make tactical decisions. This required micro-management. In-house resources sitting next to each other, in the same office, can be involved with every part of the development process; they have much more awareness about product direction and are much better at making correct tactical decisions. Frustratingly, on two occasions, our outsourced resources resigned from the outsourcing company. We lost a lot of knowledge without any possibility of intervening and trying to retain the resource. The Cost benefits were only good when hiring Junior-Mid developers. When hiring Senior Developers or Project Managers, the costs are much higher, and there is less benefit. We required higher skilled resources."

With similar sentiments from many other clients in the technology business, we are starting to see a growing trend in on-shore hired employees. Work is starting to filter back into the local talent pool and confidence is growing in the market. Both clients and candidates are benefiting from this as the best candidates are finally on the move as high profile clients are hiring on-shore again. A great roundabout for applicants, companies and recruiters to ride on.