My research on outsourcing revealed that unfortunately there are specialized (or not) labor service providers that engage in unethical billing practices by charging their clients for ghost workers. These are workers who, in reality, do not contribute any labor or value to the project at hand. This behavior not only inflates the operational costs for companies relying on these outsourced services, but also introduces significant inaccuracies in workforce reporting and project management. The implications of such practices are far-reaching, affecting not just the financial bottom line of businesses, but also potentially compromising the quality of work produced and the integrity of the labor market as a whole. This issue underscores the critical need for thorough due diligence, transparency, and ethical conduct in the outsourcing industry.
More specifically, buyers could receive invoices for services offered by:
• Employees that aren’t even aware of the service being charged;
• Former employees, whose data is still kept in the system for the provider’s convenience;
• People who have never worked for the company;
• Dead people (employees or not);
among other ghost worker cases.
To avoid being victims of identity thieves, buyers could recur to making video calls. Not only to introduce themselves, but also for subsequent meetings meant to verify that the workers are still involved in the service.
Research available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VR7WYL6/
