Qantas-Accenture deal "may" send 1000 back-office jobs to India

[Quickstatus]

From where I stand, anything that is not customer facing is the back office -this would include the Board.
Luckily the Qantas Chairman and 2/3 of the Board have to be Australian Citizens and the Board has to legally be in Australia and not Accentured.

I think that ticks the box for any perceived "Spirit of Australia" requirements.

 

[dajop]

I think that ticks the box for any perceived "Spirit of Australia" requirements.

We've always assumed the word "spirit" used in this context is defined as "an animating or vital principle". There are other definitions, including a more ghostly one. Maybe that's what the mean now?

 

[Quickstatus]

Maybe that's what the mean now?

Vital principle??
Most would agree, I think, that "A Fair go" has been offshored/outsourced.....

" Spirit of Australia " is incorrect - it should be "Figment of Australia"
You would imagine it to be real but it does not exist. .....

 

[kamchatsky]

From where I stand, anything that is not customer facing is the back office -this would include the Board.
Luckily the Qantas Chairman and 2/3 of the Board have to be Australian Citizens and the Board has to legally be in Australia and not Accentured.

I think that ticks the box for any perceived "Spirit of Australia" requirements.

When Qantas says Spirit of Australia, they meant the alcoholic version ......

 

[bPeteb]

Accenture. Yikes. Too many poor experiences over the years with them. Qantas better be ready to pay 10x what they thought they were going to.

 

[Viridis]

If Qantas can outsource finance, marketing, etc etc etc then there is no reason why it can’t outsource the CEO, CFO, COO, the transformation dude etc

Oh, wait …….

 

[jb747]

And the outcome...

 

[Quickstatus]

And the outcome...

Wow that is minimal wait time on the phone. Looks like an improvement

 

[SYD]

Sounds like Coles is further progressed with their Accenture deal to offshore ~1000 back office functions also.

Paywalled but the first paragraph has similar details to what QF is pondering.

Coles lands Accenture deal to send hundreds of office jobs to India

The supermarket giant wants to cut costs and invest in online operations, following other major Australian companies in sending corporate positions to India.

www.afr.com

I suspect neither are the first nor the last doing this.

VA has already offshored quite a chunk of their workforce according to their “anti slavery” report.

 

[Melburnian1]

Sounds like Coles is further progressed with their Accenture deal to offshore ~1000 back office functions also.

Paywalled but the first paragraph has similar details to what QF is pondering.

Coles lands Accenture deal to send hundreds of office jobs to India

The supermarket giant wants to cut costs and invest in online operations, following other major Australian companies in sending corporate positions to India.

www.afr.com

I suspect neither are the first nor the last doing this..

New Ltd papers report that Coles says AI was 'a factor' in the decision.

 

[lovestotravel]

AI is easier to say, than off-shoring.

 

[LionKing]

Sounds like Coles is further progressed with their Accenture deal to offshore ~1000 back office functions also.

Paywalled but the first paragraph has similar details to what QF is pondering.

Coles lands Accenture deal to send hundreds of office jobs to India

The supermarket giant wants to cut costs and invest in online operations, following other major Australian companies in sending corporate positions to India.

www.afr.com

I suspect neither are the first nor the last doing this.

VA has already offshored quite a chunk of their workforce according to their “anti slavery” report.

I think this makes sense, though I am disappointed they area outsourcing to India not South East Asia, which the geographic proximity would have been an advantage for those centres in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand.

Offshoring jobs is inevitable because Australian wages are too high and a sensible manager would have offshored positions. If I would be running a large company in Australia I will go further and make my best effort to avoid Australian citizens and permanent residents to work for my company, but in return I will promise the lowest prices in the industry in Australia.

In a world of high cost of living, cost advantage is the most important strategic advantage that every sensible manager would have considered. It's just an application of Porter's Five Forces.

 

[Melburnian1]

I think this makes sense, though I am disappointed they area outsourcing to India not South East Asia, which the geographic proximity would have been an advantage for those centres in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand.

Offshoring jobs is inevitable because Australian wages are too high and a sensible manager would have offshored positions. If I would be running a large company in Australia I will go further and make my best effort to avoid Australian citizens and permanent residents to work for my company, but in return I will promise the lowest prices in the industry in Australia.

In a world of high cost of living, cost advantage is the most important strategic advantage that every sensible manager would have considered. It's just an application of Porter's Five Forces.

The most sensible location to offshore Australian jobs is Philippines, as Filipinos fairly easily learn Australian lingo and customs (assuming they are properly coached and supervised).

Look at Filipinos' record in Australia: they mix well, are often held in high esteem for their diligence and are sought after by employers.

Plus they have far better English proficiency than Indonesians and Thais and their quasi-USA accent makes them pretty easy for most Australians to understand.

 

[SYD]

The most sensible location to offshore Australian jobs is Philippines, as Filipinos fairly easily learn Australian lingo and customs (assuming they are properly coached and supervised).

Look at Filipinos' record in Australia: they mix well, are often held in high esteem for their diligence and are sought after by employers.

Plus they have far better English proficiency than Indonesians and Thais and their quasi-USA accent makes them pretty easy for most Australians to understand.

Except they’re the victims of their own success. Having incorporated AI into their service offerings to meet client demands, over 35% (!) of the local Phillipines workforce are at risk of loosing their jobs due to AI.

I was listening to a news report just yesterday on the subject and meant to post a comment. Here’s an article from over a year ago and according to the report yesterday those job losses are progressing at pace.

https://www.staffingindustry.com/news/global-daily-news/over-a-third-of-philippine-jobs-at-risk-from-ai-says-world-bank

 

[LionKing]

The most sensible location to offshore Australian jobs is Philippines, as Filipinos fairly easily learn Australian lingo and customs (assuming they are properly coached and supervised).

Look at Filipinos' record in Australia: they mix well, are often held in high esteem for their diligence and are sought after by employers.

Plus they have far better English proficiency than Indonesians and Thais and their quasi-USA accent makes them pretty easy for most Australians to understand.

If I would be senior management I would have offshored finance and higher end management jobs to Hong Kong, and get mainlanders to fill those roles, so that the mainland 896, 007 efficiency would be achieved in my company.

Then lower level of management (customer facing) and call centres will be in the Philippines for better English and culture.

Together I think there will be no need for having an office in Australia as most staff (which will be top management) remaining would be working from home, which would have saved billions.

 

[Viridis]

I think this makes sense, though I am disappointed they area outsourcing to India not South East Asia, which the geographic proximity would have been an advantage for those centres in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand.

Offshoring jobs is inevitable because Australian wages are too high and a sensible manager would have offshored positions. If I would be running a large company in Australia I will go further and make my best effort to avoid Australian citizens and permanent residents to work for my company, but in return I will promise the lowest prices in the industry in Australia.

In a world of high cost of living, cost advantage is the most important strategic advantage that every sensible manager would have considered. It's just an application of Porter's Five Forces.

Funny how it is always the ‘other person’s’ wages that are two high

Curious that the ‘manager’ (and thank God you didn’t use the term ‘leader’ which is de rigueur these days when, mostly, you wouldn’t follow these people to the pub) to whom you refer can’t see a business case to off-shore their own position

You, on the one hand suggest Australian wages are two high and, on the other, refer to the cost of living crisis. Irony

Perhaps if we tried to raise ourselves instead of beat others down we might all be better off. The thing I find most frustrating about Australian management - especially in large corporations - is the complete lack of vision, imagination & leadership. They are mostly one-trick ponys whose only strategy is cost reduction - not innovation, agility etc etc

You can promise the lowest prices but I choose on quality and other factors like the Company’s reported treatment of its staff, place of manufacture and so on . I understand many don’t enjoy that luxury but given that I do, I choose to vote with my wallet. These decisions by Coles & Qantas will influence my purchase choices

Not perfect, for sure, but you do what you can

 

[Melburnian1]

You can promise the lowest prices but I choose on quality and other factors like the Company’s reported treatment of its staff, place of manufacture and so on . I understand many don’t enjoy that luxury but given that I do, I choose to vote with my wallet. These decisions by Coles & Qantas will influence my purchase choices

The majority of consumers, including for air travel, are heavily influenced primarily by price.

You (and many on AFF) are an important market but we are in a minority.

This is why QF (and many other companies) need to focus on cost reduction. Difficult when Australian costs in some instances (such as construction) can be the highest worldwide, or very close to that.

And government taxes and overall 'take' as a percentage of total economic activity have risen. Company tax rates are higher than in many other jurisdictions.

 

[Viridis]

The majority of consumers, including for air travel, are heavily influenced primarily by price.

You (and many on AFF) are an important market but we are in a minority.

This is why QF (and many other companies) need to focus on cost reduction. Difficult when Australian costs in some instances (such as construction) can be the highest worldwide, or very close to that.

And government taxes and overall 'take' as a percentage of total economic activity have risen. Company tax rates are higher than in many other jurisdictions.

As I said, I understand that I have the privilege of choice and I’m very grateful for the ability to exercise it.

But cost is only one of the ways in which a Company can compete but it is not the only one. It may be appropriate for Coles and its target market (based on the Tesco business model I understand) and Jetstar but it’s not appropriate for Qantas. The Qantas brand positions itself as premium and as such customers should expect a premium interaction.

EK & SQ are good examples of premium carriers charging premium prices offering a premium product and succeeding.

I am yet to witness an Australian company confront its Executive Team with the challenges of their particular circumstance (eg geography, Aussie wage structure - bearing in mind this supports other services like Medicare etc - in Qantas’ case) and be offered a response/solution anything more innovative that “off-shore/outsource”. It is, frankly, just indolent and does not merit the excessive remuneration reported..

If one follows off-shoring to its logical conclusion Companies will not employ any staff in Australia and nobody will have any money with which to buy their products and services; therefore there will be no reason to employ the middle & senior managers who sacked all of the staff. And so on, …. and on

Strategically I find it extremely concerning having regard to the skills deficit with which Australia will soon be confronted.

I am not denying the Government’s culpability in this matter but industry bears some responsibility

And, as previously stated, I shall continue to express my displeasure at the choices made by companies by directing my spending elsewhere. I am aware that this will have no discernible impact (although wouldn’t it be terrific if everyone that could afford to did likewise) but I sleep well at night.