DNA invited two very senior professionals in the Business Process Outsourcing industry to ascertain the changing trends in this industry, and the future it holds out to people who have begun to view this as an attractive employment opportunity.
Rahul Katariya, general manager, Human Resources, Stream Global Services and Ashfaq Ahad, vice president-Human Resources with Hutchinson 3 Global Services Pvt Ltd came over to the DNA office to discuss the opportunities and challenges confronting this industry. Also present was Shiny Abraham from Silgate Solutions.
Many people initially thought of BPO units as sweat shops.How do people view it today?
Ahad: First let us trace the growth of this industry.First, there was a need for developed nations to manage their pricing. They realised that they could save on as much as 60% of their costs by outsourcing. This was plain cost arbitrage. Then there was the realisation that India had a very large number of English speaking people. Thus it had both labour that was skilled which was available at very reasonable costs. Then, within this outsourcing business, there was a role for specialist outsourcing. So when it came to outsourcing manufacturing, many looked at China.
When it came to knowledge, they looked to India. Then from plain call services outsourcing, we moved to IT and then to KPO [Knowledge Process Outsourcing] and even to legal process outsourcing.
Yes, there were the two elements of cost and skill. Initially it was the most primary driver for the growth of this industry, but not any more.
So what are the basic skills you look for when people have to be recruited?
Katariya: We look for both communication and comprehension skills. And these skills are required not just for phone based jobs, but also for email, backoffice, web-based and documentation activities. If the ability to comprehend isn’t there, the person cannot be recruited.
And we look at recruitment through three different routes. One is the vendor channel, like we recruit people for our partners or principals. Then there is the direct channel, where an organisation recruits people directly for jobs it has outsourced from someone overseas. Finally, there are referral programmes. Almost 30% of the employees in this industry are through referral programmes, where a training center refers candidates to BPO units.
Lately, there is the fourth channel which has emerged.Direct recruitment from college campuses.
Ahad: In our case, 90% of the company has insource training option so we hire a candidate who is just about ok and put him through a significant training within my own company and I have created the training cell within the company. So, you have a company like Genpact which has an entire area which is focused on training. It is in-house.
So, if I meet a candidate with good English speaking capabilities, is willing to work on odd shifts and is flexible and also has high learning orientation, I get the guy in and I take the responsibility of coaching, grooming and building the skills and the career of the person.
Maybe, 5% of our recruitment would come through other training centers where the boy may have learnt some skills. But the numbers are insignificant.
Katariya: But what has helped our industry is the perception people have about it.
Earlier, if my son or daughter wanted to go to a call center we would have to fight a family issue on this industry.There was too much of a social pressure against this industry. But now there are more takers for this industry.
The second remarkable thing about this industry is that it does not need MBAs as employees. But there is an industry and educational partnership here. It encourages its employees to do an MBA while working with the BPO units.
The third remarkable thing about this industry is that people have begun looking at a career within this industry itself. When people think of joining this sector what they know is that it pays well. It also trains them to get a lot of international exposure for their communication skills till they become top of the line, and are brimming with confidence. You have a person sitting out of India selling to a guy in US and they are still selling over the phone and its a very tough job. So the amount of confidence these guys build over a period of time is phenomenal.
So how long does a person stick to his BPO job?
Ahad: It depends upon the person. He might stay for a long time or even 3-4 years.Nasscom puts the average at 18months and we at 22 months, even though we are one of the best pay-masters.
Has the average age of employees changed since 2000?
Katariya: If you look at the average tenure of a person, it has moved from 9 months or 10 months to around 18 months as Nasscom estimates. But the average age of employees hasn’t changed much, because by the time people attain the age of 30, if they have not grown significantly within the organisation itself, they start moving out of the industry.
Ahad: People have begun looking at this sector with a great deal of respect. In my case, I began working with one company, went over to another at a senior position, and then moved on to another to a still more senior position.A career means that you can grow.This industry has begun to provide them with many more such opportunities.
Earlier, people would come to this industry as a stop-gap arrangement.They would come and join the industry during their summer vacations. The idea was to hang around for three months and also earn Rs.15,000. So with Rs.45,000 he could buy a laptop and be happy.
That trend is actually reducing because they see that they can grow in this industry.
That has happened because the industry has done things that
nobody else has done for workers before, certainly not on such a large scale.
To retain employees, many BPO units have begun to both groom and promote talent internally.They encourage their employees to learn more while they work.
Abraham: In fact, I began as a junior, and have grown to head the HR in my company.
What about attrition rates?
Ahad: We have 20-30% people who leave us for higher education, and we are one of the few industries that have tied up with IMS or Symbiosis so that if an employee wants to do her MBA she does not have to quit the job. We actually fund their education.
Then there is another statistic which I find very interesting. During my dad’s days — he is 65 plus — if you had passed the X std, that was great. Later doing your graduation became the minimum expected education standard. Then the MBA. If you don’t have an MBA it was difficult to land a job. But this industry has turned this practice on its head. If you are a 10th pass, come and join.
Today the 10th pass has value if he has good communication and comprehension skills. Similarly the 12th pass has a value. Unfortunately not everywhere. I come from a very small place in Kashmir. There you can find hundreds of graduates who are jobless If there was a BPO industry out there, they would have a different economic profile, and even lifestyle.
And the 10th pass or the 12th pass can continue studying while working. Employees have begun to realise that it is good to provide them with the training required for promotion. It is a win-win for both the organisation and the employee.
Source:http://www.dnaindia.com/money/interview_the-bpo-industry-transforming-lives_1468245
