Working for US project doesn’t mean you’re in US
Globalisation is no longer a buzzword or a new term….it’s already here for good. US manager and US client but Malaysia team. US client but China manufacturer. Japan designer, China manufacturer part A, Malaysia manufacturer part B and Vietnam manufacturer part C.
Well, you get the picture.
With the looming economy depression, more global projects will reach Malaysia. Pros n cons. We get more job opportunities + more frustration. These 2 come in pair.
Let me share with you some interesting behaviors:
- A friend of mine used to be a team leader for a US project. He was not supposed to be on shift but he helped the US folks to work till 10pm our time. Guess what, he got screwed the next morning because he did not reply to his manager’s email. The manager sent the email at 3am our time saying “Please call me back”.
- The other day, a UK colleague sent an email to me, asking me to switch on my SKYPE. It was 5am UK time and 12pm our time. I didn’t reply because that was our lunch time. I apologized and explained to him. He said it’s ok and he repeated that the following day.
- Tuesday, received an email to do A but no other information was given. Replied on the same day to seek for more clarification. Wednesday, received a big impolite email saying that the team in Malaysia is trying to delay the project and not willing to use common sense. =_= They forgot that by giving more info, they can help everyone considering the fact that US and Malaysia are 12 hours apart.
- And today, I heard from my friend who was working for a UK project. His project manager from UK sent an email at 6pm our time, requesting for an urgent meeting when most of the team members have already gone back home. The same manager told them to test something at 4.30pm our time, and must complete by end of the day but UK time.
All the above are OK if you’re prepared to do such things, such as shift or overtime work. But if you’re not…you’ll end up tired very very fast. A tired employee is an unhappy employee. And an unhappy employee will not last in a company for long.
Ah well, we shouldn’t complain so much. At least, we still have jobs and we’re not under tremendous pressure to perform….unlike in US or UK where retrenchment is becoming a normal thing.
Such problems are a sign that the client is not used to dealing with offshore contractors. Easily solved by having the lead consultant on each side set project communication KPIs rather than leaving it to the working level to sort out.
The hard reality of outsourcing is that the client pays for results. They are not obliged to care about whether the subcontractors go to sleep or not. All the more reason why the project directors should first clear the path for communications.
@ Damien
I think the right expectations should be set beforehand. Communication shld b done regularly and not at last minute when the fire is becoming too big to handle
Since the clients time is different, you can advise to change your work schedule. Instead of working in morning, you could start working during your client’s working time.
ivys last blog post..Incredibly Messy House
@ ivy
That will depend on company policy and also the salary package given. Those working based on UK hour need to be compensated accordingly. And there’s also the issue of client since you might not always work for UK client…you might require to change your working time quite regularly, which is not a good thing.