'Outsourcing will continue'

Work will always move to areas where it is done cheaply, according to Hanneke Frese who feels that outsourcing of work from manufacturing to research and development will continue across the globe in spite of protective government policies.

Frese, an independent consultant, is active in the field of 'think-tank' research to create a better understanding of the trends that shape the future of work, leadership, the employee value proposition and similar topics.

Earlier, she worked as a chief human resources officer of ZurichRe, a reinsurance company of Zurich Financial Services. She also held senior human resources positions in Citibank.

Delivering a lecture on 'HR in Knowledge Based Industry' at the CEO forum of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) here on Wednesday, the Dutch national said that offshoring, in fact, has a positive impact on world peace as it would contribute to people understanding each other.

She said that in future, education levels would define the competitive edge between countries. While English would be the dominant global business language, knowledge content would increase continually and individuals need to become lifelong learners.

Stating that gap between technology haves and have-nots would increase, she said that faster productivity would lead to more prosperity.

Data storage would improve so rapidly that the cost of keeping everything would be cheaper than the cost of deciding what to keep leading to increased data protection concerns.

With attrition levels picking up in many markets, Frese said that even motivation to work was becoming a global issue. The continued evolution of technology would have a central impact on everything a company does or how a workplace works. Employees and customers would demand higher levels of e-interaction, real time self-service, etc.

"Focus on these trends or lose your competitive edge," Frese told human resources and line managers pointing out the need for promoting an organisational culture that attracts competent employees.