Bangladesh has an estimated population of 15 billion. This gives her 8th position of the most populated country with a share of about 2.19% of the total world population. Nearly one-third of the population is youth, aged between 18 to 35 years. The country’s unemployment rate is almost 5%, and the youth unemployment rate is 8%. In other words, around 6.3 million youths are unemployed. Although it is said that Bangladesh has improved and developed her economy, but there is still limited job opportunity. Immense competition prevails in the job market.
The vast population is an untapped resource for Bangladesh. We need to open up new opportunities for them. The people of Bangladesh have immense possibilities. They have energy, creativity, motivation, and dreams to prosper. Today on the whole citizens are better educated than previous generations. They are much more concerned about familiarity, and skill with technology. People have already proved their potential in Garments, abroad, employment, self-employment, and ICT sector. They possess promising business ideas. Put their ingenuity to open new income opportunities and business horizons. We can give an example of expanding online social marketing, Freelancing, Business promotion, etc.
Moreover, an ample supply of labor gives local organizations the scope to offer low remuneration. Although people have potential, talent, and capacity, they are forced to work at a lower price for scarce employment. So, among the employed people, there is a growing demand for part-time work. More and more people are coming forward to do freelancing and part-time jobs. So, Bangladesh is becoming with other countries’ top outsourcing landing place.
Online outsourcing can be defined as a practice of lending a particular kind of task outside the company instead of having it done by in-house departments or employees. The work can be outsourced to individuals or corporations. Outsourcing can be of different types, e.g., IT outsourcing, Marketing outsourcing, services outsourcing, financial outsourcing, and much more. Of all those types, the IT outsourcing industry is expanding each year. The global outsourcing market size has gradually increased from USD 45.6 billion to nearly USD 83 billion. Global outsourcing industry revenue was USD 82.9. This is possibly because-
Time and Cost Efficiency – IT outsourcing is cost and time-saving. The company who wants to outsource their part of IT task has just published their requirement in online marketplaces like Upwork.com, freelancer.com, in reply joints or individuals who wish to extend their service in that particular advertisement submit their credentials if selected gets the job over the net. This whole process may take one or two days and, in some cases, a couple of hours.
Delivery of the product ends the contract – When advertising a task, the advertiser also publishes the job completion deadline. On the other hand, the interested party who wants to complete the task in that stipulated time submits his credentials after selecting supplier, money transfer, and successful submission of the assignment at the end of the contract. There is no other sub-clause; rules are involved. There is no obligation for the advertiser to give the new job to the same supplier or the contractor has liberty, whether or not to take the same advertiser’s primary responsibility.
Least direct contact – Another essential feature of IT outsourcing is minimal direct contact involved in the whole process, beginning with a section of supplier for the supply of the finished product. So, there is a higher chance of being selected for the supplier.
Less effort to handle – Most IT outsourcing works are virtual. So, there is no need to feel it physically. The task description and finished product are supplied online. Therefore, transportation, shipping, or courier is required.
There are many folds outsourcing sectors. Call center outsourcing, Knowledge process outsourcing (KPO), Data entry outsourcing, IT sector outsourcing, Health sector outsourcing, financial sector outsourcing, Engineering services outsourcing, Marketing sector outsourcing. Both experts in the respective areas and newcomers with moderate knowledge can obtain benefits from these areas. The extent of income may vary from the US $ 500 to the US $ 20,000 or more depending on the task’s volume and complexity. This amount may be promising for those who are searching for jobs or part-time.
Next, we can discuss outsourcing marketplaces. The most popular markets are odesk.com and freelancer.com. These two sites are the most reliable mediator for both employer and supplier. Their strict rules and regulations prohibit the employer from giving service charges after receiving the product or the provider from not supplying the finished product on time. All rights and confidentiality of both parties are maintained with priority. If the employer is not satisfied with the contractor’s service, he gets compensation from the contractor by submitting specific faults of the product to the mediator (odesk.com or freelancer.com). As well as the contractor enjoys a prompt payment policy ensured by the above ombudsman.
While discussing new horizons of IT outsourcing to Bangladesh, some ethical issues should be mentioned so that individuals who want to enter this world can flourish with integrity.
The quality of work: The topmost priority given by the employer is the quality of work. Individuals or companies should render the best quality service to satisfy the employer. The best quality product supplied by companies will bring goodwill for that company and uplifts the nation’s honor.
Choosing the right work: Work should be selected as per the ability of the individual. Failure to complete the task as per the employer’s requirement may result in permanent rustication of the market.
Security policy: Security and privacy of employer’s data should be maintained. It is the expectation of the employer. Both parties should understand what kind of security measures should be taken in handling the data.
Culture: There is a vast difference between western culture and eastern culture. As most outsourced providers are based in western countries, their religion, values, and linguistics should be gathered. During the conversation with the employer over email or video chatting, words should be selected carefully.
Identity falsification: This is the most important ethical issue. When receiving a task from the employer, information about the contractor must be presented as accurately as possible. Any false data will result in drastic consequences.
Freelancing is becoming a promising opportunity for both employed and unemployed entrepreneurs who have little capital. Bangladesh is a likely landing place for companies who want to outsource because of the significant number of educated unemployed labor; People are keen on technology, Government open policy for IT, Low labor cost, and Time zone difference. In the end, we can say, “Avail the opportunity that the Bangladeshi IT market can offer.” And Prospects of online outsourcing in Bangladesh mounting massively.