Re: Out-sourcing

[Bill Downing <bdowning -at- CTHULHU -dot- CONTROL -dot- COM>]

> Every day I become more convinced that
> what technical communicators do is, in the medium to long run, bound to
> become a predominantly "out-sourced" activity.

> ** Five or six times in my last three in-house jobs I've had to rescue
>    projects that contractors bobbled.  In fact, I've been hired as an
>    in-house writer only because companies reluctantly realized a
>    contractor could't give them the quick response and thorough
>    understanding they needed.  Working from the inside myself, I've
>    found the same thing when trying to outsource overload.  You mean
>    elsewhere it's different?
> __________________________________________________________________________
> Mark L. Levinson, SEE Technologies, Box 544, Herzlia, Israel
> mark -at- matis -dot- ingr -dot- com | voice +972-9-584684, ext. 230 | fax +972-9-543917


My response to this is that they didn't look hard enough. I know
plenty of contractors who are extremely competent and can "hit he
ground running." One of the reasons companies use agencies is that
they either don't have the time or the inclination to thoroughly
conduct a search for the right person for the job. Unfortunately, the
ability of agencies to do same is variable at best.

Bill Downing, President         Email: bdowning -at- control -dot- com
DOWNING ASSOCIATES, INC.
8 Doyle Lane
Hopkinton, MA 01748             Voice: 508-435-4567