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Is the C-Suite Adding Yet Another Seat at the Table?
Does your company have a vice president for globalization or perhaps a chief globalization officer? It could be in the (business) cards. An increasing number of large corporations are creating full-time positions to oversee companywide offshoring and outsourcing, according to experts in the field. San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco Systems grabbed the attention of the outsourcing world in December when the company appointed its first chief globalization officer. And though such a C-suite position is still rare in the corporate world, there are a growing number of vice presidents for globalization, according to Michael Jannsen, chief of research for the Hackett Group, a global strategic advisory firm based in Atlanta. And Stan Lepeak, managing director of research for Houston-based EquaTerra, which advises companies on HR outsourcing, has also seen a growth in similar positions -- with a variety of titles. "A lot of companies are placing people in these roles, even if they don't call it [chief globalization officer]," he says. What the companies have in common is a desire to have consistent policies and practices -- "a shared skill set" -- in dealing with foreign-based operations, whether outsourced or internal, says Jannsen. The use of low-cost labor overseas, which began with IT and has since spread to other corporate functions, continues to accelerate, says Jannsen. And for companies that are expanding their foreign operations, a companywide globalization officer can help guide the process. "For companies struggling to implement, or that are decentralized, it's more important to have this position," says Jannsen. "At one level, it's symbolic of a larger trend, but at another level, it's real -- somebody needs to gather information on how we execute," he says. Cisco's new chief globalization officer, Wim Elfrink, will play a somewhat different role, according to Marc Musgrove, the company's global public relations manager. Cisco, which creates computer networks for companies, employs computer experts around the world to build and maintain those networks. Elfrink is now putting together a new operation, based in India, that will consolidate all those overseas workers, says Musgrove. "This goes beyond the outsourcing and offshoring model," says Musgrove. The operation will replicate headquarters functions such as HR, finance and marketing. Elfrink has a C-suite position, and reports directly to company CEO John Chambers. Elfrink does not oversee the bulk of the U.S. operation's outsourced functions. But as the company expands its foreign operations, he may take on more of that role, says Musgrove. As outsourcing becomes more common in the corporate world, says Lepeak, it will become more common to have a single person in charge. Companies, he says, are realizing that they need to have someone with an overview who can ask, "For the company as whole, is outsourcing really working? Are we really getting the value we want? "There is a strategic risk for the company," he says, "if it's not fully aware of what it's doing."
July 1, 2007 Copyright 2007© LRP Publications |
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