Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The BPO Story

You know how you get the inexplicable vibes, of western cultures crossing lines with the Indian ethnicity, encompassed in one bubble called a work space, when you say BPO. To be honest, that is precisely what the BPO I'm talking about here is. A cross between western influences over subtle Indian flavors. Ramalingam a.k.a Norman Lew from Chennai speaks flawless American English, resolving complexities faced by a very naive Sandra from New Jersey. Sandra is probably aware that Norman is possibly from one of the third world countries, but doesn't complain because she gets a resolution instantly. Norman on the other hand, is rewarded with some petty salary for his consistency in resolving issues, and he doesn't complain. This is the scene in every BPO today.  

But the real story is about how every BPO has changed the outlook of thousands of likes of Ramalingam. To  remain contended with whatever is at hand and never think beyond the comfort of the cushioned chair and a steady bank balance. The BPO industry has blown away standards of education into a mere option, take it or not, there's a job at hand. A school drop out walks into a BPO and is employed for a mere 10 thousand per month. He is assured that he may continue his college education through correspondence. Most of them enroll into a correspondence course, and then it's history. Imagine, what a 17 year old is thinking with 10 thousand in hand every month? I leave it to your imagination. 

Very recently, a BPO went through a massive management change. The entire crew of directors, senior managers and president left the company to start a competitor enterprise. And they took with them nearly 20% of the employee population in the first phase. Hundreds started moving to the new company every month. You'd think the employees were loyal to the old management and believed in their strengths. But the truth is, they were offered a 40% hike, if they left the present company and joined the new operations immediately without the necessary exit documents. The employees who shifted to the new company have no work experience certificates from the old employer, no documents that substantiate their career. The baseline you see here is employees in a BPO sector are lured into other companies for only want of a better pay. The BPO sector today relies on this aspect heavily while setting up business. They will draw 50% of employee force by merely projecting better pay scales. 

A BPO employee, comes with no specialization nor relevance to the business. They are trained for a particular job role by a well set up competency development team. If processes change, they are once again trained. The work therefore is more reliant on the training that is offered. However, a good knowledge in English speaking is always a plus in the BPO sector. That apart, no special skill or knowledge is required to get a job in a BPO. When a sector is so independent on the skill set of an employee, it becomes implausible to find an ideal employee for a fit. Anybody who can be trained is hired. 

The recruitment process in a BPO is like the process of stamping cows. They walk in as herds, show their documents to the HR executives, sit through some formalities and they are offered a job on the same day. Recruiters say that what they are looking for in an employee is whether he will sustain, but what they are actually doing is to fill up number of positions required in a given project so as to win clients. The biggest challenge for recruiters in the BPO sector  is to see through the fake projection of character and talent that the potential employee is putting forward. Sometimes the HR fails here leading to misfits joining the company. 

To be continued.... 

Transition may be?

For a long time now, I have been thinking that I should write on more serious topics like economics, politics to cite a few, instead of random rants about my life. I don't have a great command over magazine quality writing, but that shouldn't stop me from expressing my views I think.
I'll sample a few topics here, just for starters. If you are reading this, let me know what you think :)

From driving to Dancing.


Driving and I have a love-hate relationship. I can't live with it, and I can't live without it. I drive to every possible nook and corner of the city, even if it is just 200 meters away. (I'm scared of dogs, chain snatchers and the like)
I tell you, there is nothing more nerve wrecking than driving in Chennai. You have to watch out for the horrendous bus drivers, who I suspect are driving with the sole purpose of killing the rest of the commuters, the bikers who will wade through any possible gap, the autorickshaw anna who will sometimes only drive in the middle of the road and if you honk at him, he'll generously hurl abuses at you, the taxi drivers who will overtake you bringing you to a screeching halt and speed past as if we don't know how to drive and of course, the who's-who of the city, who with their sirens sounding loud will drive only on the opposite side of the road with their flags waving, as if mocking at our pity state. Amidst all this chaos, how am I to keep my cool and most importantly keep my car from scratches? But, this post is not about driving and the tribulations I face as a driver.

This post is about what I do in the car while driving. Yes, I shift gears and accelerate and brake, but I also play blaring music to shift my focus from thrashing the driver by my side to choreographing a song. Amusing no?

It's no surprise that my beautiful mind is an avid traveller. Travelling distant places, all at once. So while I'm working mechanically to make my car move, my mind is patiently instructing dancers on a show how to dance to the song that's playing on my system. I pray they design a device that can download thoughts into real. You'll be happy to see how well we all dance!
I imagine wearing pretty costumes, some awesome makeup and hairdos and I see the crowd going mad at our darn good steps. This happens every single day in my car.

Earlier on, I used to fall asleep while driving. Blame the distance and my inability to do anything else apart from driving! But after I started employing my mind into some productive work, I feel fresh and active after a drive. How weird is that? I love it! There have been weirder times, when I have taken a longer route to my house, so that I will have ample time to complete my dance. And all of this is happening inside my head!

I asked myself why I'm following this habit while driving. Seems like I love dancing. So obvious isn't it?
After about a month of imaginary dancing, I joined a dance school here and I'm thoroughly enjoying my time learning dance. You know, I should have joined earlier!
This doesn't mean, I stopped my imaginary dancing in the car. Now I have some distinct steps to apply to the songs. That's the difference :)

Happiness lies in giving

TBH that post title is totally unrelated to what I'm scribbling here. I have discovered the path to happiness and peace. Shutting off, ignoring and deleting. From my mind, virtual existence and everything else.
I know it doesn't make sense. But what I mean is, if I want to remain happy, I shut off anything that will lead me into unhappiness, I ignore things/people who will cause pain and I delete anything that will disrupt my peace.
Recently, I have been observing all the events taking shape in my life and I'm forced to draw a conclusion. And that conclusion is that everything that is happening in my life is trying to teach me something. Unless I learn what that lesson is, the scene perpetuates itself. If I start giving examples, I will have to sit and write here forever. But the underline is, I am learning. Something new, something shocking, something silly, something.
To do some justice to the title, yes, I have also learnt that happiness truly lies in giving. I am often dejected when people take something away from me and don't acknowledge it; knowledge, possessions and so on. But, I'd like to think, if that gave them happiness, then I was the reason. So be it!
And now, moving on to my shutting, ignoring, deleting mantra. I tell you, it really works. It has been working for me for the past few months. Come to think of it, I actually ignored this one person who constantly tried to pull me into a whirlpool of tension and pain. Soon enough, by God's will (I can't believe I'm thanking God!) I was no longer in her clutches. The mystical power of me not wanting her around me, actually took me away from her forever. At first, I did not realize what was happening. But later I came to understand and it completely blew me away. Whenever I was around her, I would always be in a state of irritation and frustration and yet continue to be drawn towards her, like a magnet. And then, one day, she was gone! (Not dead, but gone!)
I learnt that only if we want to be hurt, will we be hurt. What a lesson that was!
Another important lesson I learnt was to take the risk. Even if it costs what we think is very dear to us. For instance, my job was very dear to me. I was underpaid to unimaginable extremes, yet I loved my job. I was so comfortable in my job that it hardly occurred to be that I was losing my value in the job market and that I was actually being exploited. Then it only got worse. Soon, people wanted me to lose my principles and values, because they knew how much I loved doing that work that I was assigned to do.
But, I'm not the one to bend my rules and principles. I stood up for my right. It seemed to shock some people. As if, I was not supposed to speak. And then I walked out.
And I'm happy today! So happy because I'm a person of character. So happy that they also realized the same thing.


I think this post should have been titled lessons in life. Bah!