The fate of staff following a move to outsourcing can be a ticklish issue — especially in a unionized environment.
Hydro One Inc. CIO Hitesh Seth got an agreement from the union on staff movement issues when the Toronto-based utility outsourced information technology and business processes two
years ago to Cap Gemini in a 10-year contract.
Union talks culminated in the decision that Hydro One staff shifting to Cap Gemini “”enjoy career growth”” such as gaining experience working with multiple clients that was not possible through their original employer, Seth says. Over the course of the contract, Hydro One staff have been pulled from strategic functions — such as dealing with outages and desktop calls — and begun overseeing Cap Gemini as it directly handled these activities, a move that Seth describes as “”a little bit of a challenge and a mind shift.””