UK businesses rush to mitigate impact of India lockdown
UK businesses are scrambling to deal with the fallout from India’s lockdown which risks key functions, such as call centres, going offline.
India’s three-week lockdown is having an impact on businesses that have outsourced crucial IT functions over the last two decades.
Leadership consultancy New Street Group said many UK firms are scrambling teams to “re-shore” work from India to the UK.
Indian workers are unable to work because of a lack of infrastructure and established working practices.
The outsourcing crisis has reportedly resulted in a surge in demand for hiring professionals to help steer the ship.
Andrew McIntee, managing director at New Street Group, said: “[There has been] a surge in demand for the hiring of professionals like business change specialists who can help redirect work from India back to the UK where companies have greater flexibility in both workforce and workplace strategy.”
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As such, the demand for senior UK staff to manage the outsourcing crisis adds to the list of hires businesses are making following the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Firms across a range of sectors, notably finance, outsource to India to provide services far faster and more cost-effectively.
New Street Group said inquiries in relation to specialist roles have risen by a fifth over the last two weeks.
Among the roles is a head of business continuity, a specialist role to oversee operations and systems in a disaster or crisis situation.
Inquiries into restructuring roles have also increased as companies assess how to sustain profitability or reduce losses during this period of uncertainty.
McIntee added: “The businesses that onboard crisis management specialists and more resources for finance, operations and customer management teams are likely to be the ones that pull through the coronavirus crisis in better shape.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi placed the country on lockdown three days ago. It followed warnings from health researchers that more than a million people could be infected with the coronavirus by mid-May.
India currently has 843 confirmed coronavirus cases and the death toll stands at 20, according to Johns Hopkins university data.
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