Letters from India...

[brollygoodshow]

Hello again,
well been a little while since my last post, but I thought I would contribute what's been happening in my world, to give you a view from the other side of the fence, or just to keep you entertained if you like. As you may remember, I work in a very similar position to you all (and am also ex-L&G and so have a very keen interest in the situation) with one of the main TCS rivals - although as far as I can tell they all seem to be pretty much interlinked over in India.

Anyway, I'm sure you'll be familiar with the situation - vital job role is identified as having expensive UK asset in place so must be replaced. Indian worker flies over on 6 month visa to shadow. The usual KT takes place, with me reluctantly passing across knowledge, the Indian resource taking in none of it. "Glazing over" is again the most apt phrase here! After 6 months a meeting is called with his managers where it is decided that he has not absorbed enough knowledge, so the 6 month stay becomes 12 months (obviously the govt gives out the visa!) at which point he returns to India.

3 months later, my time is almost up, and the handover is scheduled to take place. When conferring with the resource, now back in Bangalore, it becomes apparent that there are problems, when he claims not to have heard of 50% of the system, and to have received no KT on it. Now everyone knows this is untrue, as there was the 12 month stay, the documented proof, etc., but you have to understand how these things work. As I said before, they don't get fired over there, if they can't do the job they usually get promoted (check my previous posts) and the most common phrase you will hear amongst the Indians is that they have received KT and are fully confident on taking over. However if you push this a little, they will qualify it as "I am fully confident to take over - until there is a problem.

Then I am not so confident." Now laugh if you must, but this is the god's honest truth of the way they work. So, back to my story. With just over one month before my contract ends, it is now panic stations. As the Indians say - what to do? The answer, it is up to muggins here to fly to Bangalore for a month, to re-train the Indian (again) plus not one, but two backups in case he can not do the job! Ludicrous I know, to send a contractor on a one month expenses jolly, (and bear in mind I did have a whopping lunch allowance of £1 per day!) but there you go, that is the state of things. So I arrive over there to find a huge, glistening building of 3000 employees, with a second neighbouring one of 5000 being built, on the outskirts of the city in a new technology park (in the middle of a field!) Lots of computers, pods, dedicated individuals, plasma screens, gym, cafeteria, etc., which must have cost a fortune to build, complete with the requisite dogs running around the building (they didn't need security passes) and cows ambling along, and of course my colleague, eager to see me.

Now like many of you, I had by this time had enough, and wanted to leave, so I did my KT, planned for a month. It lasted just over a week, by which time they were "full!" It didn't help that his two colleagues came from different disciplines, one from unix, one from sql, because they were "available". At the end of each day there was a recap session, where what I had passed on was somehow mangled and disfigured before being passed on to the other Indians. This is not going well I thought to myself. But on I go until the month is up. It occurred to me one day to mention to my colleague that I thought the KT wasn't going well, and to enquire what he thought. His reply surprised me a little. "I come in to the office every day to see my friends. I have paid off my house in 2 years, and I own a car, and my wife has food on the table. This is enough for me, I do not need to go any further and I am not interested in learning any more." Well, very honest, and I think accurately represents the feelings of many over there, but does not help us back in the UK.

To cut a long story short, on returning to the UK, and finishing my contract, I still receive emails and phone calls every day, asking how to do things, and alerting me to various problems - "the system is down, how do we fix it? - which I now ignore. But I'm just glad I don't have shares in the company! As Fraser would say in Dad's Army - "We're doomed!"

If anyone would like to know more about the situation over there, or has any particular questions - please ask.

[guest]

A very timely post from brollygoodshow as some of the ex-L&G staff are shortly to fly out to Bangalore to give further KT to the offshore ex-pats, just as you have described, because they have not acquired sufficient knowledge/experience of the systems.

So Managers have been asking for volunteers. But most who have shown an interest are waiting to see if they are to be placed on the "At Risk" list before making a decision. Can you blame them?

L&G systems are complex beasts and the decision to develop the code offshore is all very well until ... there is a problem. Most contractors have already left and TCS are about to shed 130 ex-L&G staff, so it can only get worse.

Maybe brollygoodshow can jot down a few survival hints and tips for those shortly to embark on a stint of KT in Bangalore. What can the Brits expect when they get there and what is there to outside the Office? Apparently the volunteers are staying in local TCS accommodation. No expense spared there then.

[guest]

brollygoodshow you are a real racconteur ! If it weren't for the gravity of our situation I would say I really enjoyed your post as it really provides and insight into what is going on. You have a talent to become a journalist, and I believe there is a lot of interest out there to understand what the outsourcing process is . Keep on posting and give us your insights, I hope L&G is reading this.

[Anon Sicky]

Have to say that, in my L&G/TCS handover period experience, whenever any of the Indian contingent were subject to any kind of pressure that is part and parcel of a normal project, they reacted badly to that pressure. Never tried to work through it, invariably threw a sickie.

That'll be fun when the whole thing goes offshore. ;D

[brollygoodshow]

Ah, thank you for the nice comments. The BrollyGoodShow guide to Bangalore? Well why not; it may help some of you heading out that way, or provide a few minutes distraction from the impending doom of redundancy for the rest.

Well Bangalore is a nice place, very un-Indian in many ways. Cooler, less crowded, and much more western in feel. For those of you who have ever landed at Delhi or Calcutta, and left the air-conditioning of the arrivals hall - to be catapulted into the utter chaos of the forecourt, where both you and your bags are hurled at light speed from porter to porter, each requiring a tip, into the nearest taxi which you never asked for, that speeds off in the wrong direction with the driver facing you not the road, while babbling incoherently about your hotel, which he doesn't know tha name of, being full and your booking not valid, but don't worry he knows a much nicer one... - will be much surprised by Bangalore. It is the total opposite. Taxis stand politely in ranks, drivers don't hassle you, and no-one expects a tip. It's almost civilised.

Bangalore airport is one of the most convenient in India, right in the city centre, and just a few minutes journey from everything. Of course you won't land here, since some bright spark decided this was far too helpful, and so they have built a brand new airport outside of the city. Way outside! In fact it would be quicker to walk from Heathrow. Expect a journey of 2-3 hours to your accommodation! But fear not, there is a brand new, super smooth expressway to glide you serenely at 60mph on the journey.

Unfortunately, much along the lines of the knowledge transfers, the Indians building this road got bored halfway, leaving their building tools in mid-dig! Don't be surprised when 6 lanes of traffic screech to a juddering halt and start to weave at 5mph around giant potholes, pylons, and piles of rubble which even Hannibal would baulk at!

Eventually however, you will enter Bangalore. Wide, tree-lined avenues, glistening skyscrapers, and world renowned hotels evoking memories of bygone days, such as the Taj and the Oberoi. My advice here is to press your face against the glass of the taxi window and look longingly while drooling a little, as this is the last you will see of this part of the city until you leave! Who do you think you work for, Accenture?

Another 20 minutes down the road(!) as the surroundings become more and more lugubrious, and you are wondering what you have let yourself in for, you suddenly come upon one of the most beautiful sights in India - the Leela! No mere hotel this, rather a palace - vast, imperious and imposing! The kind of place where even Clive himself would wipe his feet, and the Raj would wonder if they had dressed correctly for dinner! The perfect place to stay, and discuss business while reclined on silk cushions under the stars, cocktail in hand, with the mostly business guests from IBM, SAP, Oracle, Accenture, etc.

Your accommodation is just behind this wonder, you should be able to see it from your window. Most likely in a back street in an area amusingly termed the Diamond District, you will find your home from home. Actually it's not too bad. Designed by Aeroflot, it's fine for the budget traveller, as long as you can survive without luxuries, such as taps, floor tiles, and windows. You do get breakfast however. It's optional, but adviseable, as if you refuse it, it will still be there waiting for you the next day!

Everything in Bangalore is a short, terrifying taxi ride away. Walking is impossible as what pavements there are, are either totally impassable (a flyover between you and the building next door), or are used by the vehicles to escape the queues.

The office however, will be quite nice (compared to your apartment), much like a giant version of Kingswood, only infinitely more pleasant to work. Facilities are modern, connections good, and air-conditioned. It is adviseable to take your own coffee however, as there is usually only the one coffee machine per giant floor, and it can take half an hour to reach it. And even then you can't figure it out - I would describe it as a cross between a milking machine, and Robbie the Robot from Forbidden Planet. Best to steer clear. The toilets are also clean and pleasant, however remember your torch - power cuts are frequent.

Well that's part 1 - the country. I'll continue with part 2 - the work, after a coffee.

[brollygoodshow]

For anyone going across to India, the Indians take every aspect of their work very seriously, well except the work itself that is. The Indian office is a neat place. They all dress well, they all turn up on time, and all work long hours. Usually 12pm - 9pm to match UK or European hours. Fortunately they haven't got into the crazy UK method of having meetings every five minutes, called by managers who think that makes them look like they have an idea what is going on. There are many meeting rooms in India, but all empty. Of course these days, there is a recession on, your manager will explain to you before departing (in case you hadn't noticed!) therefore would you mind flying economy class? This can't be imposed on you, but they try to sweeten it by saying if you do, the company will be very grateful, and you will not have to go in to work the same day as landing. If you fly business class however (frown!) you will be expected to go in the same day.

Well sod that, I flew first, and after 5 minutes instructing my personal stewardess - Kareena was her name - that on no occasion should she approach me without a dry martini in her
hand, and at no more than 15 minute intervals, for the entire flight, there was absolutely no way I was making it in the same day! Or the next! All company loyalty went out the window when they insisted I went on this ludicrous mission!

Working in India is a challenge in many ways, but mostly in patience. There are usually only two ways to do something, either rush at it head first without thinking, or avoid it altogether! You will have had tastes of both these approaches from your visiting colleagues. It's important to understand the number one goal set by all managers in India for their team: if an issue arrives on your queue, solve it immediately! Sadly the word 'solve' doesn't really translate to the Indian office. Instead it can have a few different meaning, the most common of which is 'pass it on to someone else'. The happy employee then proudly reports back that the issue has been solved. Employee happy, manager happy. If the issue comes back, as usually happens (after doing the rounds first of course) then it is treated as a new issue, and the employee claims he has never seen it before!

The second most common solution is to just close the issue. Again, you will all be familiar with this. The Indian makes no more than a cursory examination of the problem, and closes it as problem no longer occurring, or similar. Sadly, this is almost never the case, but a more in-depth reason is not required to keep the management happy. I can not recount the number of times my colleague closed an issue because 'it looked like a previous issue' which was resolved, but didn't bother to check whether the conditions were the same.

And so on, and so on. However all these things are multiplied in India. For example, I received an issue saying a file had not been received on the system and the users were waiting for it. It came from SAP, who said they had sent it. Ok, first thing, check it's really not there, in case they are mistaken, check it isn't incorrectly named..... But no! My Indian colleague has sprinted off like Shergar after a sugar cube to grab a SAP colleague! Doesn't matter which one, whoever is passing is fine. He then gives the chap a full explanation of the issue: "SAP problem!" followed by a hand wave and a head shake! Does the beleaguered colleague say hold on old chap, a touch more info might help, what? Of course not, because he's equally as keen as mustard and dives straight in, without having the faintest clue what system he's looking at! Witches at a cauldron anyone?

Meanwhile I'm sitting there, trying not to pull out my remaining hairs, staring at this ever growing melee, all pointing and jabbering at the screen, not a single one of them knowing what he's looking at, until the manager comes by to see what the trouble is. Finally, I think, now we'll get some sense. Inquiring as to the problem, he gets the same reply: "SAP problem!" gesture, gesture, shake, shake, only this time from about five of them.

"Solve it!" comes the command! No problem, it is swiftly pushed off to the SAP team, conveniently another offshore operation, this time in Malaysia. It will be a while before it comes back from there! Excellent work says the manager, and they all disappear for lunch!

I'm still sat there, unable to speak.

The managers are very hands-on in India, but this never helps, unless you get a really good one. Sadly in that case he is completely hampered by those above. A perfect example of this happened when I was out there. After doing my KT, an important part had to be passed on from my UK colleague, so this was to be done by videoconference. It was also the most crucial part, and the part which would require the most practice afterwards. It was therefore scheduled for my final day there! I explained to my Indian manager that this was ludicrous, but he said to me that he spoke to his superiors about it but was told that he had requested a day of KT from the UK, and had got a day! And to the Indian higher management KT was that simple - it had to be passed across, and that was it!

Even on a very, very simple system, that is not true. On something like FPF..... well you know the answer.

Needless to say, that very little knowledge is transferred, and that is usually instantly forgotten. On my return to the UK, I tidied up my affairs, and myself and my colleague were
summarily dismissed, as now the Indians were 'fully confident' of taking over! My UK manager got a pat on the back and was bundled off to another position, with congratulations for handling the offshoring so well. My poor Indian manager was fuming as he was left in at the deep end, with three barely trained employees who were not capable of solving a crossword, and knowing that he would be blamed if the offshoring didn't work. I meanwhile, am still receiving emails and calls from India on a daily basis for help and advice, which being the lovely chap I am, give them free of charge.

Not saying it's necessarily the correct advice of course, but it is the most amusing.....

[subsubsubsubsubcontractor]

"it is swiftly pushed off to the SAP team, conveniently another offshore operation, this time in Malaysia. It will be a while before it comes back from there! "

Some splendid insights there, brollygoodshow. Keep them coming!

The point you touched on above is maybe worth expanding on; namely that Bangalore-based companies have so much outsourcing work coming their way that they look to sub-contract as much of the work as they can get away with to places like Malaysia and The Philipines in order to cut costs to the bone. You can imagine what the end product looks like in terms of quality by the time it finally finds its way back to the end client

[brollygoodshow]

Kind of like this you mean? ;D

www.dilbert.com/fast/2003-08-03/