Outsourcing: Interview with Harley Lippman, CEO of Genesis10 (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: And what scale operations are these?

Harley Lippman: It will vary at the time of the work. It could be anywhere from a few hundred to about 1,000 people.

SM: So you are one of the companies doing this. How big is the onshore outsourcing market for IT services right now?

HL: I don’t know if anyone could answer that. I am not sure how big it is, but I think it is evolving.

SM: I am sure that it is evolving. In 2000 there was a massive shift in the other direction. Everybody was going offshore, and jobs were being lost in the U.S. Now some of these jobs are coming back to the U.S. for reasons you mentioned. There has been a normalization at least to some degree, plus attached to that all the other reasons why people like to have workers close by. I am aware of the trend, but I am trying to quantify and get a feeling for where this is right now. Are there 100,000 people working in this sector, perhaps one million?

HL: I don’t know the answer to that.

SM: What is the source of your workforce? How do you find these people? There is also a tremendous shortage of technology workers in the U.S. right now.

HL: That is a great and debatable question. There is not really a shortage. We can find enough good quality people – if you are at the right location, have a good network, a good way of identifying talent, and can create a good opportunity for them. We have been very successful in finding good people. It hasn’t been a challenge for us. I heard that in certain locations, for example in Minneapolis, the unemployment rate for IT professionals is 2.5%. If that is correct, it would be an example of a market that is more of a challenge. There are other places that are close to Minneapolis, where you can find good talent. So, it depends.

In Michigan you have a higher unemployment rate, so you have more opportunity to find those people. I heard before that there is a shortage – it is a complicated issue. If I had to give you the bottom line, I don’t think there is a shortage. You can find the IT talent, but you have to be good and effective in finding these people and making it attractive for them. I think that is the challenge.

SM: How do you find people and how do you make it attractive for them?

HL: We are very good at that – that is our strength and our sweet spot. We have a very strong reputation in our marketplace – by word of mouth. I think that means something to people. We also take very good care of our people. They are paid well, and the benefits are attractive. People have an opportunity to have equity in the company. We are very effective in our ability to find them. We have our own unique sources and information on how to track people beyond the traditional social networking websites or job sites. We have our own way, which separates us from the competition.

This segment is part 3 in the series : Outsourcing: Interview with Harley Lippman, CEO of Genesis10
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