Even The Pandemic Cannot Rattle Vietnam’s Outsourcing Strengths
21/05/2021 - Outsourcing
As the world seeks to learn from communities and cultures that have effectively managed the pandemic, protecting both lives and livelihoods, Vietnam is emerging as a shining example of social resilience and tech fortitude.
As of late June, Vietnam was the world’s largest country by population (over 96 million citizens) without any Covid-19 deaths and less than 400 cases. Its IT outsourcing industry has remained a steady force of productivity despite the dual health and economic crises pummeling much of the globe and crippling nearby offshoring epicenters like India and the Philippines.
Two years ago, I wrote about why Vietnam was a small but mighty tech outsourcing force to be reckoned with in Asia-Pacific. Those factors that have helped elevate Vietnam as a fast-growing technology epicenter are also now helping the country endure and emerge from the pandemic with stability and strength while other regions struggle. How has this small Southeast Asian nation remained so stable, operationally efficient and digitally formidable despite wide-reaching turmoil? The answer is in its stringent loyalty, its commitment to planning ahead and its ability to adapt.
Stringent Loyalty
In 2018, I wrote about how cultural rigidity shapes key aspects of the Vietnamese workforce, specifically loyalty. Most employees are loyal to their workplaces in ways that reflect wider cultural loyalty to family and community. That idea of loyalty to people and place can be seen in the widespread acceptance and success of the Covid-19 lockdown and mitigation strategies in Vietnam.
By January 2020, Vietnam was already temperature-screening passengers from China, and by the end of the month, it began closing its borders to Chinese tourists. As cases were detected from its widespread testing programs, targeted lockdowns of regions and zones inside the country were quickly put in place, and people entering the country went into mandatory quarantines. The virus was never allowed to spread widely.
Swift and strict, the approach from the government was significantly embraced across Vietnam. My colleagues in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City exemplified community loyalty and spirit, working together against the virus.
That communal loyalty has Vietnam back to the physical workplace and its children back to school after a three-month hiatus. Temperature checks and tracing protocols have remained in place. Knowing the virus is tightly contained and rigorously tracked has unburdened most of the workforce from a great deal of worry and stress. The tens of thousands of high-skilled Vietnamese tech workers that support businesses worldwide with offshore services have been able to maintain service and meet demands. This early, decisive action has meant a strong return to business productivity and tech advancement in Vietnam, making it one of the only countries in the world to forecast economic growth in 2020.
Planning From Experience
Outbreaks and natural disasters that can disrupt work and life are not new to Vietnam. A country that endured SARS in 2003 and H1N1 in 2009, Vietnam is also vulnerable to typhoons; it sees several of these major storms annually, along with the resulting floods and landslides. Knowing how these challenges can wreak havoc on the health and economy of a country, many Vietnamese businesses were prepared with business continuity plans informed by recent history. When the government began to take action on Covid-19, a good number of businesses were able to turn to preestablished plans to reshape operations to meet quarantine and work-from-home requirements.
For Vietnamese outsourcing organizations, the transition to quarantine and remote work was not a black swan event as it was in so many other IT departments around the world. For example, at NashTech, Harvey Nash’s global outsourcing division, our Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi offshoring centers transitioned to remote work in less than 30 days following the pandemic protocol of the Business Continuity Plan. By February 24, NashTech was managing client workloads to 90% capacity and hit 100% capacity by March 1.
Based on my experience working with our teams in Vietnam, the No. 1 thing companies in the U.S. can do to maintain business continuity and the appropriate level of customer support is to implement an effective plan that allows employees to nimbly work from home. This means they get quick access to all the company information they need and the right communication tools such as fast internet access, mobile devices and Wi-Fi hubs. You also will need to make cultural changes to support remote or hybrid workplace models by providing employees with the appropriate social platforms to maintain collaboration and connectivity with co-workers.
Resilient Business Environment
While rules abound in Vietnam, so does openness to transformation. Impressive business, education and infrastructure investments across Vietnam over the last two decades have helped the country transform its economy and establish Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing middle class. Widespread education investments, from primary school to universities, have yielded a skilled workforce that is fueling the flourishing tech sector and resilient enough to endure the challenges wrought by the pandemic. In fact, strategic advisory firm Tholons rated Vietnam as the world’s eighth leading provider of IT services and products as a result of the country’s successful growth trajectory, and the country continues to serve as a valued outsourcing destination for global tech giants such as Google, Apple and Microsoft.
From its lockdown to its swift reopening, Vietnam has remained a steady technology support, services and manufacturing partner to a world in crisis. The virus may have stymied the world, but in Vietnam, loyalty, planning and flexibility have been essential to stopping the virus, stabilizing the economy and quickly rekindling tech innovation.
