Real-time services have never been more real before. With significant strides being made in geo-political and economic stability in the LATAM region, there is a distinct preference being shown by our clients to avail this service. And yes, even nearshore centers need to be a bit far away hence we selected Buenos Aires which is a very comfortable 11 hours flight from New York. On a serious note. Argentina offers several advantages apart from similar time zone. Argentina has one of the fastest growing economies in the region, sound IT and telecom infrastructure, increasing Govt support for IT, one of the lowest wages in the region, good bilingual IT talent pool and high literacy rate.
It has been quite a change in many ways while adapting to the new culture, language and outlook towards life. My stint elsewhere in the world did help but each region has its own nuances. The initial few days were one of tremendous excitement, fun and trepidation. Spanish, a new language for us also did its bit to liven things up. We had gone for meeting a partner and on enquiring the location of the office at the gate we were told that it is “Quatro Piso”. We had heard some stories about corruption in Argentina and in the excitement, we thought that the security personnel is asking for four pesos (Quatro Peso). We actually took the money out only to face a very bewildered person in front.
We also have a few associates who have traveled from India to be part of the seed team for the projects that we are executing out of this center. We have laid out a comprehensive cultural alignment and induction program for all folks coming from outside of Argentina. In addition, the very warm and friendly local employees have really gone out of their way to help us settle down and embrace the local culture.
My personal goal is to come out stronger as a Global Manager, to better appreciate things as they are and not necessarily what it should be. This is, apart from enjoying the passion that permeates everyday life here in Argentina. To quote Mr. R. Viswanathan, Indian Ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay “here tango becomes life or …….life becomes tango”
