[Discuss] core competency

[invalid at pizzashack.org (Derek Martin)]

On Thu, Jan 24, 2013 at 05:54:42PM +0000, Edward Ned Harvey (blu) wrote:
> > From: discuss-bounces+blu=nedharvey.com at blu.org [mailto:discuss-
> > bounces+blu=nedharvey.com at blu.org] On Behalf Of Dan Ritter
> > 
> > Will they live or die over whether an engineer is inspired and
> > dedicated and works overnight fixing a problem or implementing a feature?
> > 
> > If so, then it is a mistake to outsource that function.
> 
> I'm going to have to disagree with this logic.  Because having an
> internal employee versus outsourcing is just a relationship
> difference between your Corp and the Employee.  

What you say is true.  It isn't necessarily so, and you will see
talented people working for an IT staffing firm.  Sometimes.

But, how do firms to which you outsource technology make it cheaper to
provide that to you than paying for your own employees?  The most
obvious way is for them to pay their employees less than you would
(though this is certainly not the only way).  If they're paying less,
they're going to attract less talented help.  Talented people usually
know their value and seek out higher rewards.  But not always.

> As a consultant/employee/outsource provider for myself, I have to
> say, the main difference between internal employee positions versus
> the outsource model, is a finance/management structure.  

I'd say there are two broad categories of tech work that gets
outsourced: rock star, and bubble gum.  As with anything it's hard to
draw lines, and there are shades of grey.  But in general, your rock
stars are your well-paid consultants, whom you bring in to solve a
short-term problem requiring significant expertise; the ubble gum
types are underpaid techs that do routine maintenance that you could
just about train a monkey to do.  One of these groups has a lot more
to gain by doing above-average work than the other...

-- 
Derek D. Martin    http://www.pizzashack.org/   GPG Key ID: 0xDFBEAD02
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