To make a pun about an “elephant in the room,” one cannot discuss technical writing these days without involving India. It is a particularly touchy subject, especially to American writers, but I will hazard a few observations.
The quality of writing coming from India in the early days showed that it was in the early stages of development. A good technical editor could smooth out much of the (somewhat stilted) British language, but the English-language-speakers in India created the market. When companies first started hiring technical writers in India, it cost between 20-25% of the cost of a writer in the US. The last I heard, the ratio was about 33-50% which is applying pressures on companies to look elsewhere. This is particularly true of other functions where use of the English language is not as critical, and India is now feeling the pressure of less expensive costs elsewhere, but I want to focus this blog entry on India.
Most assignments to Indian writers were mature projects that needed documentation maintenance; cutting-edge and new writing projects were trusted to the more experience writers in US-based offices. However, as the technical writing industry in India has matured, companies have found the economics involved too difficult to ignore.
So what is happening to the technical writing profession in the US? The good news is that it is not disappearing, but the bad news is obvious: fewer technical writing jobs will be available for technical writers in the US.
What I hope American corporations will begin to recognize is that globalization need not equate to off-shoring, nor is off-shoring the best way to create value. While it does cost more to distribute a global workforce, there are definite benefits and value from having culturally diverse and geographically local employees.
When I became director of a global staff of writers, I obtained funding to bring the writing team together for a summit. I understand that sometimes these meetings are considered boondoggles, but there was a palpable change between the before and after dynamics of the team. Before, we had several centers of writing activity; after, we had a cohesive organization that collaborated on matters that concerned our craft and business. The writers from India were apprehensive about meeting their American counterparts, knowing that corporate economies applied pressure in their favor because of their lower costs. Coming eyeball-to-eyeball helped each to recognize colleagues - in a personal way - as talented professionals and not disconnected persons halfway around the world.
I have developed close friendships with several of my colleagues from India – highly motivated and talented folks who are earning a living at what they love to do – and I love working with them!
A global company needs a culturally diverse workforce to more effectively respond to the needs of their local customers. Further, the “cross-pollination” of culture and talent creates and broadens value that is greater than the sum of its individual parts.
Mark Metcalfe
www.linkedin.com/in/MarkMetcalfe