Situation: A company has an offshore operation with 10 engineers and a good General Manager. They will hire five more engineers in the next month. Their target billing rate is projected to be profitable when they reach 15 engineers. Their challenge is that they need to bear the investment loss to have an offshore capability, but are not sure that they’ll see a pay-off. How can you accelerate the offshore learning curve?

Advice from the CEOs:

• Given the current situation, give yourself a window of 60 to 90 days. Create a go/no go decision point and let the General Manager know this. It will provide motivation for the off-shore operation to come up to speed faster.
• Another company projected a 2 year break-even based on others’ experience in the geographic location.
  • They are nearing the 2-year point with the office up and running, on target with schedule, under a General Manager with proven experience.
  • They see payback on their initial investment at the 2.5 to 3 year point, and thereafter duplicating their payback every 6-12 months or better.
• It is important not to undercharge for off-shore work.
  • One company charges $125 for work done in India that they would have charged at $180 if done in the US – a 29% discount. This is for high billing rates, with spreads even better for lower billing rate work.
  • If a client pushes for offshore rates, bargain for a lower initial discount for off-shore work compared with US-based work, but combine this with an offer to generously share additional discounts as the offshore location improves productivity.
• Bottom Line: Stay the course. Long-term this investment will pay off.

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