'The BPO industry can absorb 1 lakh people overnight'

Earlier this week, we featured Careers360's listing of the top 25 BPO companies in the country. In the second part of this series, Careers360 speaks to senior members of the industry about what it takes to make it big here.

The BPO sector in India owes its presence to Raman Roy, who pioneered the outsourcing revolution in India.

Quattro BPO Solutions is his fourth successful venture after stints in GECIS, Spectramind and Wipro. The chairman and managing director of Quattro, speaks to Urmila Rao, shredding the callous perception that people harbour of the BPO sector, the inability of Tier II cities to join the fray and the prediction of captive BPOs among other things.

What is the minimum level of technical knowledge and soft skills required to get employed in Quattro?

There is no one size that fits all. We use PhDs in Econometrics; we look for accountants for accounting work. Multiple opportunities get created when people specialise in different things.

We allow lateral movement. It helps employees actualise their skills sets and become well-rounded.

BPO has primarily been seen as a stopgap option. Is that perception changing?

Somewhat. There is still some distance to be covered. If you look at the history of IT and software companies, which are now mature but in their infancy, they were also treated as stopgap arrangements. At that time, parents didn't want their kids to join these sectors. But as the industry matured and the next generation came in, parents got an idea as to what those industries are.

Today IT is a career option for people. BPO will become a career option. Actually BPO is a big misnomer. Banking, is that a career option for people in this country? 60 per cent of what we do is BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance). If people think that USD 13 billion per annum doesn't offer a career then they would really struggle to find something that will form a career for them.

Will the high attrition levels in the industry stabilise in the near future?

No, it will not because we have a shortage of people. The appetite of this industry is so huge that it can absorb another 100,000 people overnight. We are only about 750,000 people.

Attrition is a symptom, the disease is shortage of manpower. No one leaves a job to join another for the same salary. The core of the problem is that there is no supply. What are we doing about it? If we as a country want our branding to say that we are the world's back office, we are the top-most in customer service then we have to bring our policies, procedures and education systems in line with the requirements.

What is the BPO industry doing to overcome the shortage?

The BPO industry today runs more classes than the largest university in this country. This building (of Quattro in Gurgaon) runs 20 classrooms of which 15 run in three shifts. We hire and train people. Is there any other option?

I compete with countries which hire people that are deployable and revenue generating within six weeks. In India, at times it takes six months to train people.

The BPO industry carries a certain harsh image in the minds of people, for example, it's a high-pressure job, it's only for the young crowd, the car drivers are reckless...

The understanding of what is BPO is driven largely by the media and the media is not necessarily kind. If today the bulb was discovered, the media in India would report is as the death of the candle industry rather than a great invention. They try to sensationalise things. This industry is not sensational.

To say that the impression is only negative will be erroneous because today due to this industry, the youth has an opportunity to get a job. Ten years ago when I started, there were unemployed female colleagues sitting at home, waiting to be packed off in marriage.

Is it not a demanding job with tough productivity norms?

We don't have norms of productivity that are higher than what is expected of an international workforce. If a human being in the US can do 100 transactions in a day, to ask a human being in India to do 100 transactions a day is not high pressure.

In India where fathers are used to working only three hours for the government of India, compared to that, yes, it is a very high-pressure job!

Why are we creating a culture that believes we can get away with lower standards than their global counterparts? If we are able to generate enough revenue to be able to pay a decent salary, we pay a decent salary. As an industry we are more than fair to an employee, we treat them as co-participants.

These youngsters don't have much liability. They are able to buy big cars and homes. So what? We have given them the ability to dream and be able to actualise their dreams. This industry offers jobs not just to youngsters. I have been employed with this industry for more than 15 years.

The other fact is that we have to transport people and yes, car drivers can be reckless. What about the blue-line bus drivers in Delhi?

It is said that due to shortcomings here, business will shift to other countries like the Philippines and Malaysia?

It has already gone there. We are losing our edge, only our base is much larger but the rate of growth of the Philippines and other countries is much higher compared to India.

Somebody should be really worried. There are facts and statistics to prove it. Customer servicing jobs don't come to India.

How are Tier II cities faring in the BPO boom?

Not very well. Setting up a building there is like setting up an oasis in the desert. The middle management people have to be imported. And they are not willing to go there with the absence of proper schools, hospitals, entertainment, roads and other necessary infrastructure that are essential.

China puts these systems in place and then they get the people to run the business.

What is your prediction for domestic BPOs?

It is a booming industry, we have hardly penetrated. Do you transact with SBI? Is there a number where you can call to get details? Yes. Is there a number for the Indian Railways where you can call up and get information? Yes. You have a problem with your LIC policy, do you have some one who you can approach?

These are all examples of a robust growth of domestic BPOs.

What is the career potential of the KPO (knowledge process outsourcing) industry for the Indian workforce? Is the future promising?

Dr Alok Aggarwal, chairman and co-founder of Evalueserve, a leading KPO firm in Delhi-Gurgaon, discusses jobs profiles, remuneration and more, with Urmila Rao.

How is KPO different from BPO?

A KPO firm requires substantially more domain expertise. A typical KPO firm lies somewhere between a BPO firm and a consulting firm.

Are KPOs hiring at the same pace as they were in pre-downturn times?

In 2007-08, the industry grew by approximately 40 per cent worldwide, which caused overheating in the market, thereby leading to significant employee attrition and extremely high wage inflation.

We believe this industry will grow globally at approximately 24 per cent annually.

What do KPOs look for in candidates while hiring?

The person must be innovative, an excellent problem-solver, a good communicator and a team player.

Because of the nature of the work involved, soft skills are significantly more important in the KPO industry; these include good presentation skills with respect to speaking/ writing, good leadership and good project management skills.

Are companies hiring across all the verticals and job functions?

Yes. The three sub-sectors -- BFSI Research and Analytics Services, Legal Research and Legal Process Services, and Offshore Outsourcing of Publishing Services -- seemed to have grown the fastest.

Which other jobs will a KPO-experienced candidate fit in?

After five to six years of work experience in the KPO sector, an employee can work in the front office of a bank, private equity group or become a part of a strategy or operational consulting firm, accounting firm, or a law-firm.

He or she can also become part of the strategy group and/or market research and analytics group in a large or medium-sized corporation.

What are the entry-level salaries for a KPO employee?

Entry-level salaries are approximately Rs 3 lakhs to Rs 4.5 lakhs depending on the experience and educational qualification of the person who is joining the KPO firm. These salaries tend to be approximately one-third higher than similar salaries in BPO firms.

How do you see the KPO sector panning out in two-three years?

Going forward, the future of the KPO industry looks reasonably bright; especially if the United States and other developed economies can avoid a double-dip recession.

Vivek Menon dismantles the popular misconception that legal support work is repetitive. The director of HR at Integreon speaks to Urmila Rao.

What kind of background is required for an LPO (legal process outsourcing) job?

Professionals typically possess a law degree, strong domain knowledge and excellent English. A perfect candidate would be analytical and detail-oriented, work well in teams, thrive on deadlines and respect client confidentiality.

What are the verticals in an LPO?

The support services can be generally categorised as: e-discovery, document review, legal and business research, regulatory compliance, intellectual property and business support services among others.

What are the salary levels?

On an average, salaries can range from Rs 3 lakh per annum to Rs 15 lakh per annum and even higher, depending on the position, experience and skills of the individual.

What are the typical issues that an employee faces?

Legal support services require employees to be adept at interacting with clients in different time zones. Those who thrive on in-person interaction with clients may find this difficult. Clients are often located around the globe, meetings and calls can sometimes occur early in the morning or late at night.

The urgent nature of many client requests necessitates meeting of strict delivery deadlines while satisfying the client's needs.

Piyush Mehta, senior vice president - HR, Genpact, answers Urmila Rao's queries on why Genpact remains one of the most popular BPOs for young Indian workforce.

On qualities Genpact looks for during hiring:

We have two types of requirements from the skills perspective -- people with domain knowledge and people with commercial skills. For example, if we are hiring anyone for analytics, then we need people who know analytics, statistical methods, research methods and modelling skills, among others.

If we are hiring someone in the finance and accounting business, then at the entry level, we would require basic commercial skills. The person could be a BCom or even BA with commercial skills. Then, as we go up, we have requirements of a more sophisticated nature, so we hire chartered accountants.

On other requirements for recruiting:

We hire people of all types and qualifications, even undergraduates. In our call centre work, we require English speaking skills; we test empathy skills and the ability of the candidate to deal with customers.

However, on a broader level, we look for a certain level of integrity in candidates, people who have right attitude from learning perspective and who are able to work in a team.

Later it is performance and potential of the individual that decides how that individual grows. We have many people who joined us 10 years back as graduates, who are now vice presidents.

On training given to fresh recruits:

For fresh employees of the call center, the training period is typically 6-8 weeks. We introduce them to the customer's business, his would-be role in dealing with that business, the laws of the country in which he will be operating, the dos and don'ts. For example, what makes a good collector, what makes a good customer service person, how can or cannot the employee can talk to a US customer, the way of addressing the customer, what can and cannot be done on the phone, and similar aspects.

We take the recruits through mock calls; tell them how to create an update on the system they are working on. For instance, if a call is being made to collect money, how that database can be accessed?

On future recruitments and quality of workforce:

There is a challenge there in general because the industry is growing. We produce hundreds of graduates but there are talent supply issues.

We train recruits on basic commercial skills, tell them how to run operations. Ideally if we could get people who are trained in these areas and get them at the rate that we want, it would be great. We could then focus on growth and delivering value to our customers and doing work we are good at.

On the negative image of BPO:

This is not the first industry that works at night. The airlinea, hospitality, media works at night. Traditionally, people could think of only conventional jobs of doctors, engineers, CA.

The outsourcing industry has changed the employment landscape. This industry transports hundreds and thousands of people back and forth everyday. We give training to employees because we don't get trained people. In order to convince the parents we even invite them here to show how processes function!