IndiaThink

Do you need an India Specific Project Plan?

Any project manager will tell you making a plan is the path to success.  The problem is many firms looking to outsource work to India do not create India Specific Project Plans.  Here are a few questions to consider:

How would you describe your relationship with your Indian outsourcer?
a.) Horrible.  They do not answer the phone when I call.  I am canceling.
b.) Ok.  We may send work there again but the Return on Investment was near negative.
c.) A partnership.  We have a understanding on both sides of the table what the needs are and how to get to that goal.

How many additional resources, beyond the plan usage, were assigned to get the project to completion?
a.) None.  We had a very detailed plan on what the project required and it was completely accurate. 
b.) We worked with the Indian outsourcer who helped us determine how to best allocate our resources to complete the project.  They were very knowledgeable in directing us.
c.) Many more than planned.  We had to pull resources from other projects to bring the outsourced work to final delivery.

How late was the last project outsourced to India delivered?
a.) The project was delivered 6 months late.  We have canceled our contract.
b.) The project was a few months late.  We are not sure why that happened.
c.) The project came in on time and every aspect of the deliverable was completed.

Did the outsourced project allow you to access talent that you would have otherwise not been able to hire?
a.) The work was done by people we could have hired locally, but we were trying to cut costs
c.) The outsource relationship offers us access to talent we could not have used based on cost or accessibility.
c.) We outsourced the work but we could easily do it ourselves.

If you answered C, A, C, A congratulations.  You are achieving the dream of outsourcing projects to India.  We are all envious of your success. 

For the rest of you, an India Specific Project Plan is required. 

Its that time of year...the Holiday Cluge

According the the Urban Dictionary, Cluge is defined as:

"When the characteristics of something entails a bunch of different aspects which seemingly do not make sense."

And this is how I would describe the holiday season which has already begun inside India call centers spanning back to that red Starbucks cup you received this am.  First a few things to recognize: India as a whole has lots of gods, lots of holidays but Diwali is one of the larger ones celebrated by the country at large, not just in a particular region.  Of course, do all of the regions of the country celebrate the same thing under the same holiday name?  NO. According to diwalifestival.org:

"In north India, Diwali celebrates Rama's homecoming, that is his return to Ayodhya after the defeat of Ravana and his coronation as king;

In Gujarat, the festival honors Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth;

And in Bengal, it is associated with the goddess Kali.

Everywhere, it signifies the renewal of life, and accordingly it is common to wear new clothes on the day of the festival; similarly, it heralds the approach of winter and the beginning of the sowing season."

Complicated but I believe its ok to summarize it by saying Diwali is known as the festival of lights. A time when houses are cleaned up and made bright.  Lights are used to illuminate the path home for the God(s ) and people are dressed in new clothing.  Fireworks are VERY popular as soon as dusk sets further encouraging the idea that celebrants are sending a signal to the gods to come home.

It should also be noted that Diwali has special significance inside business circles--its considered to be a perfect time to begin new ventures as well as start a new financial year.  People in India will actually say things around this concept like its a new year, and its a new beginning etc.

So, while call centers scramble to fill the shifts on this day, which is especially troublesome considering that this holiday is celebrated at NIGHT when most Indian Call Centers are packed to the gills answering US calls, their managers report going to extreme measures to ensure coverage.  Some reported offering 200% of the daily wage for attendance.  Others indicate that employees are allowed to request this day off months in advance and that space on these lists is limited.  Remember: availability of workers in India is tight so the idea that one will "loose their job" if they don't show up is somewhat farcical.

As the Western world's holiday calendar unfolds, project manager should always be aware of India's holidays when they are planning to work with a remote team.  The beginning of November always brings Diwali, buts its not necessarily on the same day.  Its schedule depends on the moon rather than days.  This year we have Diwali beginning on the 9th which some regions celebrate for several days.  Then we have a full work week, followed by US's Thanksgiving.  Then a week followed by Chanukah which falls mid-week this year ending on the 12th.  And here we are with one full week before Christmas and New Years follow.

The interesting thing about these absent days on our side of the world is they increase the work from a call center perspective sent over the India.  Prime buying and traveling season fires up the brightly colored lights inside the call centers that blare the number of calls in que requiring additional staff to cover the load. 

Be aware of the Holiday Cluge--it is truly a Cluge. It will come at you from both sides with too little staff in India to absent staff in the US to projects that are falling behind and phones that are not answered.  Awareness can manage your project around these dates to reduce making November and December dead zones in your project schedule.

Top 5 Mistakes Executives Make Preparing for Initial Business Negotiation inside India

1. )Assume business negotiations will take place at appointed time.

• Any meeting scheduled in India will, most likely, be delayed. You many have to wait, and wait, and wait till very late hours in the evening to have the live conversation you believed was secured when you left the states. Be patient. Be awake. Be there. Don’t be surprised if the meeting happens at 2am. This is not an affront; rather they will be extremely pleased you have agreed to stay available while they confront the daily madness of a country that has no sense of time.

2.)Assume Yes means Yes in the western context.

• All executives need to be aware of how the “Indian Yes” it will confront you at every turn during your trip to India. From your hotel waitress when they assure you they have Coke and they bring you Pepsi to the person you are asking to agree to your contract terms. Yes means little in India. You should view it as a casual comment, rather a affirmation that someone heard what you said, and they are letting you know that the information was received. The desire to say yes is rooted in India’s culture and as a rule they generally feel uncomfortable contradicting another person. If they perceive bias or a particular preferred response, they will provide it. Walk carefully through your negotiation. People are saying yes because they are agreeing to your terms or because they are being courteous. Kind. Polite. Confirm all yes answers with a very detailed pattern of questions to affirm that all tenants of agreements are actually agreed upon.  REMEMBER:  India’s yes may look like a no in the physical sense of their head nod.  Their nod is closer to a roll (the Mumbai Roll it is often called).  Be aware of the verbal and physical queue of the conversation.

3.) Assume a meeting will consist of an office meeting and last for one hour.  And then you will leave.

• Meetings will rarely be on time(repetition here is purposeful.  a statement to the impact of time on your negotiation attempts). Build a schedule around late starts and late endings. Unexpected dinners. Invitations to things you never imagined but MUST accept to close the deal such as setting of completely dangerous fireworks outside the building to celebrate the new year. Now would be a good time to discuss the family aspects of India’s culture. Open doors are a rule. You must accept invites to whatever social gatherings are presented. Don’t refuse invitations based on your western notions. Your future business partner may invite you to his daughters wedding and you should plan to spend the next few days sitting, eating and enjoying the Indian culture.

4.) Assume India is joking when they mention auspicious days to meet.

• Red flags should be raised when a future business partner mentions that the day you have selected to meet is not auspicious to meet for business relationships. This is a serious comment and should be accepted in a polite manner, immediately offering a different time to meet. India has many complicated calendars, which could never be covered in this simple blog post, that dictate bad days for business, fruitful days for marriage and everything in between. Be flexible and your host will be pleased with your advanced cultural knowledge.

5.) Assume negotiation tactics centered around time will make any impact with the India side.

• A lot of sales tactics in the US are based on quarters---making the “number” for the quarter. These ideas, while very relevant for business around the world, will not work well in India. Time is not “money” in India. Rather it is an ever evolving item unfolding around them. There is time to get things done right. There is little sense of hurry in the same sense of US standards. Do not expect much reaction when attempting to negotiate decreased contracts around time.

And one more for a bonus:
6.)Assume timelines set for implementation of relationship will come to fruition.

• Congratulations! You have successfully engaged in an India based business engagement. Now is the time to set expectations on when the engagement will kick-off. Be very clear on what your needs are, when they need to be met, and expect that these objectives will not be met. What does this mean to you? Set objectives that are more than you need. Push your must have dates forward and be pleased if they are met initially. Your relationship with India is beginning, be patient and allow some time to teach the team what you need and how they can get there.

Key to Success: Engagement Mangers

Back from a gorgeous time in Mexico where I join my friends each year to focus on relaxing and improving my yoga practice.  I was excited to return and get back to things...and then my house sold.  Like in a day it sold so things are crazed.

In my absence others are picking up my charge!  Check out this article in CIO written about Mary Lacity who is studying the outsourcing world from her seat at University of Missouri-St. Louis.  The article is a journey through her research into "what works" in an outsourcing and what makes them fail.  Bottom line: she believes the key to a successful relationship is to bring in an engagement manager from the vendor.  This person is the "primary point of contact for the client's project managers (who will work with) both onshore and offshore teams."  This is an expensive proposition.  In my experience its worth every penny to have someone playing this role and Mary agrees by saying this is the key to success.  Why?  "They are really stumbling because they underestimate the knowledge transfer issues, the cultural differences, even the time zone issues."

My paraphrasing fails to do it justice--its worth the read.