Startup world’s little secret: Everyone’s using TaskUs but no one is talking
pandodaily.com
pandodaily.com
> Maddock claims his employees get paid “above average” salaries in the Philippines for business process outsourcing (known as BPO in the Philippines) work, but he didn’t want to reveal exact numbers. He’s concerned TaskUs employees might get disgruntled to see where their salary fits in the pecking order.
This is a weirdly written paragraph. I can't tell if he means that TaskUs doesn't want to reveal salary figures because he's afraid his employees would be mad if they found out what they were paid relative to each other, or relative to other workers in BPO in the Philippines. But either way, it's not encouraging -- if he was paying fair wages, you'd expect him to be trumpeting that fact, not hiding it. So he probably isn't...
> Without the numbers there’s no way to fact-check how these outsourced employees’ paychecks compare to cost of living. But the success of TaskUs seems to require that its employees are happy and fulfilled enough to do good work.
...Oh! So it turns out the numbers don't matter after all -- we can just assume from the fact the company exists that it pays its employees well.
I guess that's Journalism 2.0™.
Anytime you can give them something more interesting than a story about users or funding, it's more likely to be covered and more likely to resonate with readers, [edit: I think].
Over the years this gets really bothersome. It's usually the number one reason why people I've known at my job have found employment elsewhere. Every time I think about changing jobs, I think about the reasons why I would like to, and this is almost always the number one reason.
This is not to downplay the effect this coordination has had on your life. Rather this sort of thing requires deliberate planning and cognizance on the part of management / leadership / founders, not minimizing someones claims of hardship.
You just exposed the lens through which you view the world.
Um, no it doesn't. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. Your mileage may vary. It was this thinking that led to all sorts of idiotic outsourcing deals in the early 2000s where businesses discovered there are many scenarios where outsourcing increases costs.
We've gotten a lot smarter since then but statements like this make me bristle.
While the article might appear to be an obvious PR play, it really does underscore that TaskUs is taking a different messaging tack from their competitors. How many outsourcing companies eschew language like "leveraging strategic opportunities for enhanced efficiencies", and in place, cite specific examples of jobs that are being done? It's refreshing.
People (and the press) need to stop printing nonsense like this. You don't need money? Then don't take it. Any other path screams: We needed money and we're gonna insult your intelligence with a press statement.
To his specific point: The cost of funding would buy a whole lotta press. So cut the crap.