IAOP HOLDS FIRST VIRTUAL FORUM FOCUSED ON IMPACT SOURCING


 

With the pandemic increasing the need to engage in sustainable and responsible hiring practices, impact sourcing has the potential to deliver even greater value and rewards to employees and organizations during these times.
Against this backdrop, IAOP will bring the SRO community together for its first virtual forum, IS20: Advancing Impact Sourcing and Socially Responsible Outsourcing on Dec. 8-11 with Avasant Foundation, an award-winning impact sourcing champion and influencer and leading BPO provider SYKES.

IS20 will explore how Impact Sourcing and SRO can help companies achieve their goals by creating economic inclusion and social impact through integrating poor and vulnerable populations into the workforce across global supply chains. 
The event includes four days of compelling keynotes, roundtable and panel discussions, and workshops that will not only inspire but lead to actionable steps organizations can take to advance their impact sourcing agendas.

Digital Talent Pools  

The opening day keynote session on Dec. 8 on Workforce of the Future: Developing Talent for the Digital Economy will feature a discussion led by Avasant and the Avasant Foundation with the Inter-American Development Bank Lab and HGS. 

Kevin Parikh, CEO and Chairman, Avasant will make the opening remarks. Chitra Rajeshwari, Executive Director, Avasant Foundation, will moderate the discussion with Vashtie Dookiesingh, Private Finance Operations Senior Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank Lab and Anand Biradar, SVP and Country Head, HGS. 

The session will explore the evolution of impact sourcing to create a digital talent pool in the emerging economies which has become core to workforce development of the future.  

IS20 attendees will learn from global leaders and speakers from a development agency for the Caribbean/Latin America, a service provider who creates job opportunities for deserving youths and an enterprise business who will show the value from the business perspective.

Among the other IS20 program highlights will be a presentation on Dec. 9 on Supporting Venezuelan Refugees in Colombia Through Impact Sourcing, featuring the work being done by Tent Partnership for Refugees and BPO companies in Colombia to employ Venezuelan refugees (see story) and help them integrate economically. 

The session will demonstrate the benefits BPO companies have realized from hiring significant numbers of Venezuelan refugees due to their work ethic, resilience, language abilities and professionalism. 

Power of Partnering Workshop 

A workshop on the Power of Partnering will offer IS20 participants an exciting learning experience on Dec. 11 conducted by Subhojit Roye, current Chair of the Steering Committee for the Global Impact Sourcing Coalition and Vice President, Business Process Services at Tech Mahindra.

“While we are all aware of the need for collaboration and that this is now becoming a business imperative, quite often we don’t know how to go about it,” said Roye. “This is especially true in newer areas like Impact Sourcing and in the intersection of the world of managed services and global outsourcing with what is called ‘good business’ or ‘business with a positive social impact.’ This workshop at IS20 will help demonstrate the real Power of Partnering, which is more important than ever.”

Workshop participants will gain a high-level understanding of alliances and partnerships, a set of to-do’s and guidelines as applied to the world of Impact Sourcing, and build greater competence in forming strategic partnerships.

In a round-table discussion, panelists will explore the potential conflicts and problems that buyers of services, larger providers of services, and impact sourcing service providers may face in collaborating. Through this interaction, participants will learn better strategies and approaches to achieve improved results.

The panel will be moderated by Ravi Madhavan, Professor of Business Administration and the Alcoa Foundation International Faculty Fellow at the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh.

Other Not-to-Be Missed IS20 Highlights 

• Power in Partnering, Buyer-to-Buyer Conversation, Dec. 8 – Leading Impact Sourcing buyers from the World Bank Group, Google, Sprint and Nielsen will share how they have forged strong, mutually beneficial partnerships that deliver both positive financial and social impact in their practices and their supply chain. 
• Tales from the Impact Sourcing Trailblazers, Dec. 8 – Hear innovative best practices from award-winning Impact Sourcing providers who are leading the way in doing well by doing good, including Sutherland, Digital Divide Data, Samasource and Teleperformance.
• Regional Roundtable: Building More Inclusive Global Supply Chains, Dec. 9 - Panelists from key regions where Impact Sourcing is making a difference – including Egypt, Vietnam, South Africa and India – will share information on factors like stability of the workforce, talent, competitive edge, as well as approaches for integrating and accelerating sustainable Impact Sourcing and SRO initiatives. Moderated by Jon Browning, CEO & Board Member, Global Mentorship Initiative (GMI), speakers are: Dhiraj Dolwani, CEO, B2R and Colin Blackwell, Founder, Enablecode.
• Making the Business Case for Socially Responsible Sourcing, Dec. 10 -- Everest Group analysts will discuss the business imperative for socially responsible sourcing; examples and benefits of Impact Sourcing in global services; the value of third-party certifications for CSR initiatives for both buyers and suppliers; and considerations for success in implementing a socially responsible sourcing program. Speakers are: Sakshi Garg, Vice President, Global Services, and Shirley Hung, Vice President, Business Process Services.
• Nearshore in the Post COVID World: The Rise of Digital Talent, Dec. 10 – Learn how the pandemic is impacting the Global Sourcing industry and shifting more work to nearshore locations, which are experiencing a rise in demand for digital and technology-enabled services. Speakers for the session are: Anupam Govil, Avasant Partner and Thought Leader; and Rejo Sam, Head of Caribbean, Avasant.
• Meeting the Needs of Today’s Youth and Building the Workforce of Tomorrow Through Impact Sourcing, Dec. 10 – Hear from Jon Browning, CEO & Board Member, GMI; Namita Datta, Program Head, Solutions for Youth Employment, The World Bank; Traci Freeman, Marketing & Growth, BPESA; and Jessica Custer, Manager, Inclusive Economy, BSR. 
• For the latest program updates, see IS20.