Global Talent: Beyond Outsourcing

Many global organizations have identified limited availability of global talent as the primary limitation to their growth in key markets. At the same time, there is growing resistance to standard outsourcing arrangements among high-potential individuals, in locations such as India, who are no longer content serving as low-cost talent to perform narrowly circumscribed tasks that are “thrown over the wall” to them via e-mail. Rather than being second-class corporate citizens, these employees are looking for opportunities to rise into broader management and leadership roles, and are willing to move to a different employer if such possibilities for career growth are unavailable in their current workplace. They aspire to career paths that may include end-to-end responsibility for projects, including direct interface with internal or external customers, and comprehensive ownership of project scoping, implementation, and results. Organizations seeking to fully leverage their global talent must build skill sets among their employees that can enable them to move successfully beyond traditional outsourcing arrangements. Employees who have previously been in outsourcing roles often need to acquire capabilities such as executive presence, fluency in both micro- and macro-management practices, and leading with an agile style that adapts to different global market circumstances. Meanwhile, leaders from established markets must learn to apply a truly global perspective to tasks such as talent recruitment, performance management, and succession planning.