Technology, AI to change the face of outsourcing

Confident about continuing growth opportunities for the Indian job market, United States-based consultancy giant Korn Ferry Hay Group feels the outsourcing story is no more about cheap labour and the key drivers going forward will be value addition and technology. "There would continue to be opportunities for the Indian job market for sure. But substitution of certain jobs by technology would mean that the role of labour and labour arbitrage is not that important. "So I think the technology solutions to issues has an impact. I think technology is going to play a role in what those opportunities is going to be in the future," Korn Ferry Hay Group CEO Stephen D. Kaye told PTI in an interview. Kaye, who heads one of the world's largest management consultancies and was on a visit to India, said outsourcing was a response to a particular situation where companies were looking for cheap labour but the situation is now changing with the advent of technology and artificial intelligence. Many global leaders, including United States President Barack Obama and Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner in the presidential race, have voiced concerns about outsourcing in their bid to save local jobs. This has led to fears about loss of business for back-office service providers from India. Experts believe advances in the field of automation and robotics are expected to radically change the job market and to survive this period, employees are required to re-skill to remain relevant in the job market. With the increasing levels of sophistication and artificial intelligence, I don't think it is cheaper labour that is going to be the driver," Kaye said.