<<< back Customer Hostility To Offshoring Forces Shift In Strategy [17 Oct 2006] Hostility from customers and the public at large to offshoring has forced a shift in the Bank’s approach to transferring jobs to India. The focus has switched from offshoring those roles involving direct contact with customers to back office and processing jobs. This has enabled the Bank to continue transferring handling of customers’ financial arrangements abroad whilst concealing the fact from customers. Over recent months the Bank’s Telephony and Insurance functions have indicated they have no plans for to transfer further telephony roles abroad. Yet Group Operations, Human Resources, Scottish Widows and C&G are all still steaming ahead with offshoring back office and processing roles to India in the hope that customers won’t notice. It is hardly surprising that the Bank is at long last taking note of customer hostility to its offshoring strategy. That is because evidence of opposition to offshoring is overwhelming: * Since Lloyds TSB first began offshoring jobs to India it has lost market share to competitors - such as RBS - who have said they are committed to operating only from the UK. * Over 400,000 customers have signed LTU’s Petition, registering opposition to having their financial arrangements handled abroad. * Research carried out for the company last year found that 51% of customers were ‘appalled’ by call centres based abroad and 87% said they were bad for the UK economy. * Results of a YouGov survey published earlier this year found that 80% of customers were unhappy to have their accounts serviced overseas. 88% said they experienced ‘problems associated with language, culture and general understanding’ when dealing with overseas staff. Faced with these facts, it is hardly surprising that the Bank is now recognising the dangers of forcing customers to deal with overseas call centre staff. It is now time the Bank considered returning call centre jobs to the UK. <<< back

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