Source: sify.com
Can an average Indian still aspire to a BPO career?

Over the past decade, the Indian BPO segment has witnessed significant transformation. Starting with basic data entry tasks, the industry graduated to a high proportion of voice-based services and a range of back-office processing activities. The last 3-4 years has seen the scope of services expanding from rule-based decision making to include increasingly complex processes involving research services requiring informed individual judgment. Today, a career in this sector offers the best in class compensation, in addition to being a long-term career option. With the industry’s transition to higher value-added activities, including feature rich and non-voice transactions such as invoice processing, exciting opportunities will be generated by this knowledge-based industry. As India moves ahead as the leading, high-end destination for BPOs, it will create platforms and opportunities for professionals like MBAs, CAs, lawyers, doctors and PhDs with specific domain knowledge.

But, haven’t the skill requirements changed?

At a basic level, a graduate from any field can be a likely candidate for a job in a BPO if he/she has the right skill sets. For more specialised BPO services such as legal process outsourcing, HRO, accounting etc, companies are hiring professionals with degrees in law, accountancy, at very competitive salaries.

But the basic skill sets good communication abilities, logical thinking, team work skills and computer skills - have remained the same.

How is the ITeS-BPO sector in India different from the ITeS-BPO sector anywhere else in the world?

Over the last 4-5 years, India has strengthened its leadership position as the premier offshore BPO destination and now has an estimated share of 46 per cent of global BPO industry.

India’s young demographic profile is an inherent advantage complemented by an academic infrastructure that generates a large pool of English- speaking talent. Talent suitability concerns are being addressed through a combination of government, academia and industry-led initiatives.

India has a strong track record of delivering a significant cost advantage, with clients regularly reporting savings of 25-50 per cent over the original cost base. The ability to achieve such high levels of cost advantage by sourcing services from India is driven primarily by the ability to access highly-skilled talent at significantly lower wage costs.

Stakeholders of Indian BPOs recognise foolproof security as an indispensable element of global service delivery. Individual firm level efforts are complemented by a comprehensive policy framework established by Indian authorities, which has built a strong foundation for an ‘info-secure’ environment in the country. These include strengthening the regulatory framework through proposed amendments to further strengthen the IT Act 2000, NASSCOM’s cyber lab initiative, scaling up the National Skills Registry (NSR) and establishing a self-regulatory organisation.

The enabling policy environment in India was instrumental in catalysing the early phases of growth in this sector. Policymakers in India have laid special emphasis on encouraging foreign participation in most sectors of the economy, recognising its importance not only as a source of financial capital but also as a facilitator of knowledge and technology transfer.

The Indian ITes-BPO sector is facing stiff competition from China and the Philippines. How should the BPOs gear up?

Comparison of India vis-à-vis key locations reveal that cost of BPO is 4-185 per cent lower in India than the popularly cited alternatives, as is evident from a detailed comparison across eastern Europe, Philippines, Mexico, China and South Africa. On the basis of comparing full-time employee (FTE) costs for like processes, Indian operations remain more cost-effective across a range of popular ‘alternate’ locations.

With retail, manufacturing and other sectors booming, will BPOs still be a major contributor to the Indian economy?

Till date, India’s offshoring industries have played a major role in transforming India from a slow-growth economy with recurring balance of payments problems to a fast-growth economy generating ample foreign exchange surpluses. Much more lies ahead.

By 2010, IT-BPO industries would generate $60 billion in export revenues, account for 17 per cent of incremental GDP growth, pay for a massive infrastructure build-out, and sustain around nine million jobs. The BPO sector alone would provide employment to about 1.4 million people.