A couple of recent, little publicized events at the San Francisco Chronicle got me thinking about outsourcing and why it's such a bad idea. It's not just the loss of jobs, it's the loss of control.
Here's what got me thinking (Hey, something has to):
First, the Chronicle informed employees of its finance department that their work will be outsourced: transfered to Houston and/or North Carolina next spring. Many of the 30-40 people affected do have some Guild protections against being laid off. But they will face tough decisions about whether to move with their jobs, take buyouts or find work in other departments at the Chronicle. And the bottom line is that those are jobs that are being lost in San Francisco.
The second event was the subject of a tiny article in the newspaper but a much more expansive report on a local TV station, KGO, Channel 7. Apparently, an independent contractor who handles newspaper deliveries in Contra Costa County tossed into a dumpster paper records of vacationing subscribers who wanted their papers stopped. Some shrewd criminally minded types figured that out (Hmmmmmmmmmm...) and started dumpster diving, grabbing the records and breaking into houses while Chronicle readers were on vacation.
Clearly, the blame here belongs to the criminals and the sloppy habits of the independent contractor. But it's also the Chronicle's fault for outsourcing the work. When a company outsources work, it not only sheds costs, it loses control; it loses direct supervision; and it loses employees who have pride in their work and loyalty to their employer.
Yet, the outsourcing continues. How long will it take before employers begin to realize what it's really costing them?
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2 comments:
I would extend these thoughts to the use of freelance writers. We recently received reader feedback about a freelance piece that indicated that the writer had not been entirely forthcoming with us. I think it's only a matter of time before the paper's ever-increasing use of freelancers (without which, frankly, we would not be able to fill the understaffed Home&Garden section) ends up costing more money in a lawsuit than it's saving in salary.
All right -- my first comment. And you're absolutely right Susan. It's the same thing. Using freelancers instead of staff writers is outsourcing, and will probably cost the Chronicle in the end.
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