Work 3.0 – The Office Has Left the Building

I came across what I think to be a game changing move by AOL earlier this week. They have given their developers the authority to use freelancers using an innovative service called odesk. So AOL developers can take on up to 3 additional staff to make them more productive. As announced in their recent investor briefing this move will “Empower our engineers to be smarter, faster, more efficient”.

To me this demonstrates an inspired leadership decision. It gives their developers authority and autonomy and opens up access to a global resource pool. This in turn will enable AOL to identify their future leaders as those who embrace the initiative will increase their own efficiency and build a great career for themselves.

The move will lead to increased productivity as developers can use odesk contractors to bring in people with specific specialist skills and build a stronger better team. In addition they can take advantage of time zone differences, to streamline their work flows, for example using overnight testing with team members based in different time zones to achieve a true 24/7 operation.

This move demonstrates that AOL understands the advantages of working globally and accessing talent pools, wherever they may be based. As it says on the odesk site it’s Work 3.0, and it’s already here.

Go East young man

Earlier this week I was speaking at the Born Global event run by Entrepreneur Country. On the same day, the latest UK unemployment figures were released, with the shocking statistic that youth unemployment now exceeds over 1 million, with a staggering 21% of 16 – 24 year olds without a job.

While I was listening to some excellent speakers, urging entrepreneurs to look around the world to expand their businesses in fast growing economies, it struck me that perhaps there are opportunities for ambitious young people who are willing to travel.

In our offices in Vadoroda, India, there are currently 3 interns who have come to India to learn how business works there. They are from Mexico, Brazil and China. They have recognised that today’s economy is global and the more you can learn from other countries at the beginning of your career, the more marketable you will be. Employers in fast growing economies value the skills that British people can bring to the market; examples could be a trainer in a call centre, or a marketing graduate who can provide a view of the UK economy and customers.

Any young Brit that is willing to go and spend 6-12 months in one of these emerging countries will almost certainly walk into a job when they get back. I think if we had a generation of young people, who had experience of other fast growing markets it could only help the UK to become more competitive as an economy and perhaps even assist us in getting back on the path to growth.

Indian Dynamism

Today I attended a presentation in Vadodara, India where we celebrated team members who had been with Quickstart Global for 5 years. At the same time, due to our significant headcount growth across India, we asked new employees to introduce themselves to the rest of the team. What astounded me was the level of hunger, passion, professionalism, dynamism and energy that every single person displayed. Those that think that India is just a labour arbitrage play are sorely mistaken, India is a force to be reckoned with. India has also changed significantly since Quickstart Global set up our first centre here 6 years ago; unless your experience is very recent (weeks and months rather than years), I recommend that you do not judge based on past experience and that you revisit the country with an open mind.

Fabulous new startup

I recently spoke with the founders of Marketinvoice (#marketinvoice). It’s not often that I really rave about a new company but these guys are changing the invoice factoring industry for the better and deserve to go far. Any entrepreneur that has worked with invoice factoring companies know how bad they can be. These guys have changed the game by allowing high net worth’s, hedge funds, family offices etc to bid for individual invoices. The invoice buyer gets better returns on their money and the invoice seller gets hands on their tied up capital for less – a true win win. I look forward to these guys succeeding

China’s economy relative to other countries

Here’s a really interesting article from The Economist. It compares China’s states against various countries around the world.

Is the office dead?

Just read this article – very interesting. It discusses the rise of micro-multinationals and attitudes related to the usefulness or otherwise of the traditional office.

New thinking needed on talent scarcity

Recently John Cridland, deputy Director-General of the CBI commented that UK companies were experiencing great difficulties in recruiting specialist staff from overseas due to immigration regulations, and that this is damaging British industry.

The question now is how can companies operate within the immigration legislation? I think organisations need to have a radical rethink about how they work. It is no longer necessary to be sitting in the same office as a colleague to work effectively; or even to be located in the same country. To achieve the best results organisations need to attract and employ the best talent – where ever it may be.

The availability of collaborative tools today means you don’t need a huge infrastructure to be able to communicate globally in real time. All of our clients are working with teams which may be thousands of miles away – but they are still achieving great results.

We are where we are politically. The Government needs to be seen to be taking action on immigration, even though they are unable to affect the numbers of low-paid workers coming in from the EU. It’s time for companies to think globally and work with the best people; wherever they may be.

UK to introduce Entrepreneurs Visa

Yesterday’s announcement by David Cameron of the “Entrepreneurs Visa” caught my eye. In my blog on 21st March this year I drew attention to proposed US legislation (EB-6) which similarly aims to attract the ideas and capital which can be transformed into jobs and tax revenues. I hope it attracts great people to run successful businesses.

Radio interview last week

I was interviewed by Lauri Elliot from the Art of Business last week.  Have a listen here.

 

 

Indian ownership of UK companies

When Tata agreed a takeover of Jaguar and Land Rover, I can recall headlines in the Indian press such as:  “The Empire Strikes Back”.  In the British media the mood was more:  “The Great Indian Takeaway”.   Unfortunately, discussion about foreign takeovers is often laced with xenophobic language which blurs the real issues.

The problem is, it’s costly to be xenophobic in matters of business and economics.  Let’s face it, the British car industry was the proverbial “dead parrot” for decades under domestic ownership and failed to meet the challenges of international competition.  Thankfully, Japanese investment and skillful management, showed that the British car industry was not actually dead, but “just resting”.  The renaissance generated thousands of jobs and left a high quality skills base.

The Tata Group is now the largest manufacturing employer in the UK, and Indian companies as a whole employ nearly 100,000 people in Britain.  Thousands more jobs exist thanks to activity of British companies in India.

Tata Motors’ purchase of the Jaguar and Land Rover marques from Ford for £1.15bn in 2008, is an example of a long-term investment which will benefit both historic marques.  In return, Tata will learn much about the premium and executive car markets.  It’s important to remember that Indian acquisitions tend to be “agreed” rather than “hostile” and are viewed as partnerships, with managements and workforce kept in place.  The approach to business is long-term because the UK is seen as a base from which to expand in to Europe.  Tata has also launched the Jaguar and Land Rover brands in India, where the luxury market is expected to grow quickly in the next 5 to 10 years.  All this bodes well for the future.

In 1600, India and China accounted for over 70% of the world’s GDP.  As both countries take centre stage once again, their economic power will be felt across the world. The UK will need to be pragmatic and forge mutually beneficial business links.

The UK’s economy has been more open, flexible, dynamic and welcoming of foreign capital and talent than many of its European neighbours.  This has been a source of competitive advantage in the past, and will continue to be so in the future.  When the usual concerns about foreign ownership are raised in the UK, it’s worth recalling the words of Deng Xiaoping.  He said:  ” It does not matter whether a cat is black or white, if it catches mice, it’s a good cat.”  In other words, if foreign ownership of UK companies brings investment, skills, and jobs, then surely it’s a good thing.

Britain has nothing to fear from long-term investment from India and everything to gain.  In fact, the UK and India are natural business partners.  JCB, BAE, Mott McDonald, Cairn, Standard Chartered, Infosys, Wipro, Religare, HCL  – these are just some of the companies who do business across both countries.  We have a historic opportunity to develop a relationship between the UK and India which will drive growth and prosperity in both countries whilst reducing unemployment.  As someone once said: “This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship”.

This article was originally written by Rakesh Rawal of Plus 91 Europe and published in Professional Engineering magazine.