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....