Outsource to America?

This week our company was in the news for receiving a grant from the State of Connecticut for “job creation.” Our agreement with the State is that we will match, dollar for dollar, the amount we get from them and use that money to create jobs in our home state. This is something that comes naturally to us as it is what we have been doing since we created our company.  Nobody who works for us lives outside the borders of Connecticut and most of us are less than a 20 minute drive away.  In this age of long distance commuting and “outsourcing” hiring locally might seem somewhat “out of date” especially since we are a Technology company.  We say “NONSENSE!” and would match our staff against any in the world and have currently found all the talent we need right here in our own backyard.

Moreover, as well as making sound business sense, my partner and I have always thought that this was “patriotic”.  For us, providing jobs for people in this country is important and we take issue with the prevailing attitude of “oh well, its globalization and that’s how it goes.”   We’ll go as far as paying more for our supplies if they can be domestically sourced.   I’m not saying that there isn’t a place for outsourcing in certain areas but in the last two decades it seems like there has been a rush to outsource everything that is possible, rather than everything that makes sense.  The values of teamwork, morale, communications, service and people management seems to have been, in many cases thrown out the window. The results overall have been reduced quality of service. (Think “Your call is important to us……”).   When it comes to designing complex software involving tight project deadlines, frequent communication and teamwork are essential. Nobody can convince me that doing so with people half a world away, whom I have never met and who don’t know our customers is anything but false economy at best and a potential disaster at worst.  Sure, the rates might be a fifth of what they are here in the States but that’s only one variable…….and it should NOT be the deciding factor.    (AND, it’ll probably take 5 times as long to get it right.)

So even if your idea of being “patriotic” includes outsourcing, you might want to look beyond the cost factor alone.  If you have ever become frustrated talking to a support person 6,000 miles away who is pretending to be “Mike from Atlanta,” imagine how that would work trying to design, develop, and implement a complex software product.

We can ONLY imagine, since it’s not something you are going to see us do.

To talk with Bob or Dave in Connecticut (yes, really, IN Connecticut) Contact us or Call us at 203-831-8655.