Fake it and you break it - The repercussions of faking facts on your resume

Sunder Ramachandran

You learnt early in life that lying was bad, but despite such early conditioning, adulthood has probably taught you to see things in slightly grayer tones. In a resume, everyone wants to present his or her experience in the most attractive light, but information cannot be fiction. Whether you're exaggerating job accomplishments or creating complete fabrications, lying is simply a bad idea....To read more visit http://in.rediff.com/getahead/2006/apr/17career.htm

Providing References 101

Sunder Ramachandran

 

The interview went very well: The panel was impressed with your skill sets and your work experience, and you answered the questions superbly. You were able to project yourself as a credible source of information before the interviewer and other members in the panel.

Despite the seemingly flawless recruitment process, you still didn't land the job. Why not? Everything went so well. What possibly could have gone wrong? To be honest, most job seekers are so busy polishing their cover letters and resumes that they pay little or no attention to the references they provide potential employers.

Ultimately, a stock of good professional references can elevate a suitable candidate to a top choice. So whether you're updating your CV or you're scrambling to find references at a prospective employer's request, here are some things you should know about dropping names on your resume.

Appropriate parties
You need to decide who would be the best person to offer as a reference. A high-profile leader in the company who has not worked with you may only be able to confirm dates you worked with them, but not provide details about your performance.

A department head may not be able to offer much more information either. However, a direct supervisor or colleague can give details on your past performance and contributions, and provide insight into the role you played in their organization. It is far more beneficial to use someone who is able to validate your abilities and skill sets at work rather than, say, a close friend or relative.

Getting permission

Always ask permission first. Once you have decided on the best person to offer as a reference, get in touch with them for permission to provide their contact information and to brief them on your current offer. You should also confirm their current phone number and e-mail address, as well as what contact time is preferred. Provide them with as many details as you can about your situation and the position that you have applied for.

Tell them about the new skill sets that you have acquired or your latest professional qualifications. This will ensure that they are able to give an astute description of your strengths and abilities rather than drawing a generic picture. Be open to the idea of hearing "No." And remember the SW-SW-SW-WN rule: Some will, some won't, so what, who's next?

Friends and family

Don't be a fool and try to pass your friend or uncle off as your last boss because you are likely to get busted. Also, avoid using colleagues of similar standing as references; they may not come across as credible sources of information to your prospective employers.

 

So how do you find references outside of your familial net-work? Here are a few categories of people that you should consider for professional references:

Educators

You could provide the name of your lecturer if you have recently completed a professional diploma or have taken some training program. The program studied would presumably be relevant to the position you are targeting, so your tutor could confirm your academic achievements and knowledge in this area.

Colleagues who have been promoted

If you are unable to locate a previous manager, you could also put forward the name of a colleague who has been promoted to a supervisory position. A supervisor would certainly be able to confirm your overall professionalism and experience within the workplace. You could also provide the name of your direct supervisor, or even a supervisor from another department who has had some dealings with you on a professional level.

Former clients/Customers

Lastly, you could contact a number of your former clients to see if they would be willing to act as references. Who better than a previous or existing customer to vouch for your commitment and work ethic? Be sure that such referrals are appropriate and stay away from using one-time customers as references.

Time frame

Occasionally, a candidate looks bad because his former HR department did not have the same job dates and title information in its file as he did on his resume. Data entry or communications errors are not unusual, so ensure that the records your reference has correspond to yours. Conflicting data will be perceived as a big negative to a prospective employer.

A reference also has to be recent and relevant. You may have demonstrated great team-building skills when you lead the basketball squad in high school, but if that was 15 years ago, it's "content out of context." Again, make sure that your reference is able to provide the prospective employer with an inventory of your current skill sets.

Anticipating references

Your references should positively and accurately reflect your work history and capabilities. You should be able to walk into any job interview with your head high and confident that no surprises could hurt your chances of securing that dream job.

A proactive approach will not only improve your chances of landing the job, but it could also save you heart burns toward the end. There are steps you can take in your current position to make asking for references in the future a lot easier. It is important to know what a potential employer may ask your references, so brief your contacts on potential questions they may be asked, such as:

Is the candidate open to feedback?
Is he a team player?
What are his key strengths?
Would you rehire the same candidate?
Any additional comments?

Obviously, you need to make sure that you don't burn bridges, so be sure to leave your old positions on a positive note. Employers will remember you as they last saw you. So if you did not add much value for two years but worked your back off for the last month, you're still leaving a positive impression.

Last but not the least; do not forget to send a "thank you" note to your references, as you may need them again. . Your ‘net- work’ is equivalent to your ‘net-worth’ so invest in long-term relationships and the benefits will be there to see

 

References and the real world

Gone are the days when the credentials on your resume alone could land you a dream job. The job market has evolved and you will have to change your strategies in order to stay employable. In the words of Charles Darwin: "It's not the strongest or the most intelligent but the ones most responsive to change that survive."

 

Sunder is a freelance business writer and can be reached at sunder.ramachandran@gmail.com

The Legend of a Trainer: The Changing Face of Training at Call Centers

Ashish Mishra

Training, a critial process for the BPO industry,demands a lot from the Trainers both in terms of possessing a charismatic personality and being versed in the Training content. Long working hours and constant pressure to deliver best results have given birth to greater competencies and more stringent parameters needing to be met consistently.

The journey of a trainee begins at the launching pad of the industry called the Culture and Communication Training. Time and again American customers demand to speak with someone located in the United States. The existence and operation of Call centers in India are not welcomed by the average American and so the moment he gets on the line with an Indian representative he tries to sound domineering and sometimes hurls insults including making charges of incompetence and inability to speak in English, neither of which is true or acceptable.

The Communication & Culture Training attempts to bridge this gap. The Voice & Accent Trainers put in their heart and soul to make the trainee listen, sound, think and respond like an average American. Intonation and modulation are some of the indispensable components of Accent Training. Vowel chants are recited ad nauseam and popular Hollywood movies and soaps are shown to the trainees. American accented nursery rhymes remind them that the wonder of childhood can always be revisited during accent training. Telephone etiquettes and soft skills educate them to sound polite and helpful when they’re actually fuming on the inside. The training atmosphere is made conducive to learning for the heterogeneous crowd of trainees coming from various backgrounds, cultures and work experiences. The trainees here are gradually moulded to adjust to the work culture and subsequently move on to Process Training.

With the memories of Communication and Culture Training still afresh in their minds the trainees now encounter the more disciplined and focused part of training which becomes more demanding of them with each progressing day. Product and service related download is given to them and role-plays are conducted to give them a feel of the real calls. Trainees are given verbatim and transitional phrases to facilitate their conversation with the customers and at the same time meet Client requirements. Now comes the transition where trainees are made to take calls for about a week or more for a few hours. This helps them get a hang of the call process.

Once on the Operations floor, the trained executives start taking calls and earn revenue for the company. But slowly they tend to forget the vowel and consonant sounds and drift towards their native accent.
The pressing demand to perform continually has now induced Call centers to hire Language experts on each program. These experts are known as Communication Coaches. The Communication Coaches evaluate the calls with a more panoramic vantage view of Communication and not merely English language. The Coaches keep track of the Communication of the agents on the floor by monitoring them and delivering regular feedback. A Coach ensures that agents work consistently to enhance their communication skills and achieve customer satisfaction. Coaches are excellent motivators and support various programs as permanent Resources.

A Trainer today needs to be both genial and winsome. The charisma and eloquence of the Trainer are the coalescing components that determine the success of the training batch. The trainees virtually fall in love with their Trainers and are willing to learn and perform better to get Trainer’s appreciation. Trainers use this as an opportunity to motivate and encourage the trainees and direct them towards making the maximum of the training sessions. Trainers use new strategies and incorporate new techniques to maximize learning. The ergonomics of the Training room includes the use of audio recordings, projectors, charts, visual clips etc that help cater to different kinds of learners to come up their learning curve with considerable celerity.

The role of a Trainer in the Call center industry today is not merely of education and information download but also posits a potential challenge to bridge the enormous cultural gap and make the team feel happy and cheerful. Titanic competition has now driven the market to formulate training seminars and other specialized training programs to meet the growing need of Trainers in this industry.

BPO buzz – Creating the leaders of the future.

(Sunder Ramachandran highlights the critical value that BPO jobs are adding to young professionals)

The BPO industry has witnessed a phenomenal growth over the last few years and today is an industry of choice for many young professionals. The industry is now responsible for providing stable career paths to it’s young workforce within the age group of 21 -25 years. Retaining these young professionals and keeping them motivated and engaged is a challenge that is giving HR managers sleepless nights.

Companies are adopting multiple strategies to become the employer of choice and create long term career oppurtunities for their employees. Here is a look at the key skills that young professionals in the BPO domain acquire:

Communication skills: The ability to communicate effectively with global customers is critical. Accent neutralization, cultural awareness, empathy and judgment also play a vital role in ensuring smooth and seamless communication with global customers.

Several Communication training programs have been designed by BPOs as it is crucial that communication is free of first language influence that impedes comprehension, often referred to as ‘Indianisms’ in the industry parlance. Most BPOs subscribe to similar formats when it comes to modules on accent and culture training. After rigorous training in neutralizing accent, voice modulation, moderating the rate of speech, intonation and so on, call centre associates step into their new personas. That’s where an Alok transforms into an Alex. While there are several aspects to communication training – most training programs in BPOs focus on the following competencies.

Language: Employees are trained on speech orientation which includes basic training in grammar, vocabulary, speech and pronunciation. “This helps the agents to ‘zap the gap’ and be perceived as a credible source of information,” says Mophin Massey, who works as a communication coach with a leading BPO.

Comprehension: Employees are trained in understanding the customer’s query and being able to provide an appropriate solution/information. They are also trained in understanding different accents which exist within the U.S. Their ability to comprehend the customer is paramount in enhancing the quality of the customer experience.

Soft skills: The most important attribute in the course of a conversation between the customer and the agent is the ability to build a rapport by using appropriate tone, claiming ownership of the issue and listening attentively. This allows the employees to build positive relationships with the customer and provide a human touch to the discussion.

Project specific skills: This training is customized to the project that an employee is going to be associated with. It could range from learning about several financial products to technical skills. This enables the employees to build domain specific skill sets which could be leveraged across sectors in the long run. Employees also learn sales and customer service skills during this phase that could come in handy for jobs in the service industry at a later stage. “I used to sell credit cards over the phone and learnt the nuances of the credit card industry which helped me find a job with a local bank,” says Rohit Ahluwalia an ex-BPO employee. By virtue of these skills, BPOs have become popular poaching grounds for the Airline and the hospitality industry.

Educational support: Companies sponsor executive education for employees. Premier management institutes like IIMs, NMIMS, XLRI, IMT etc. have tied up with leading BPOs and offer MBA programs. Employees are encouraged to apply for these courses which are generally sponsored by the company. Employees also have the option of pursuing technical certifications like MCSE, CCNA etc in order to gain domain specific skills in the technology sector.

Multi dimensional/Cross training: Employees are cross trained on multiple domains and are provided oppurtunities to work in various departments. Individual action plans are put in place based on the employee’s aspirations and strengths. OD interventions are also arranged for on a need basis. Many BPOs have in-house counselling teams which asess the employees’ skill sets and identify training needs. This results in astute career planning.

Fedback/Coaching mechanisms: BPOs have developed a unique one on one feedback and coaching framework which most companies subscribe to. This is again a unique practise as performance and behaviour based feedback is delivered to employees on a day to day basis. This helps the employees to reflect on themselves and strive for improvement.

Promotional/lateral oppurtunities: The industry offers a wide variety of jobs to young professionals in IT, Customer support, Human Resources, training, logistics etc. The industry actively encourages employees to move up the ladder or gain cross functionsl skill sets. Most companies fill their front end leadership roles from the talent pool available within the organisation. The industry acknowledges the aspirations of its young workforce and grooms them through its training programs. This aspect of employee development is unique and is being adopted by several other sectors.

“The Indian BPO industry attracted a lot of young talent by creating a perception that you can have "fun at work". The perception needs to change as the industry matures, since we want people to look at it as a serious career option and our training is aimed at creating that awareness and seriousness,” says Savita Bradoo, Training manager with a leading BPO.

With all the training and employee engagement initiatives that the industry is taking, the possibilities for young employees end where their imagination does. The industry hopes to change its perception of being considered a transitional stop gap arrangement, to that of a long term career option.

(The writer works with a leading BPO. He can be reached at sunder.ramachandran@gmail.com. The views expressed are personal)

Haryana’s BPO blunder?

By Sanjay Arora

There seems to be no clear rationale behind the Haryana government’s decision preventing women from working late nights. The decision will adversely affect those who are comfortable while working in these conditions. It might also spell doom for the BPO sector in the state, especially in Gurgaon with its 150-odd call centres. Moreover, there’s no guarantee that this step will halt or reduce the number of crimes against women. If the government really wishes to reduce the crime rate against women, then it should attempt to make its administration and the police more active and efficient.

Are your Dashboards intelligent enough to bring performance culture?

Dashboards are all about bringing performance culture in the organization. The organizational energy is unleashed when it moves in sync mode environment which is collaborative and transparent, and where every employee knows what level of performance is expected from him and how much this expectation is being met by him on frequent basis. There is nothing more de-motivating than subjective performance feedback. The rewards must be fair and driven by factual information about performance rather than personal opinion. Performance Management Technology helps companies achieve these goals.

Performance Management Technology: The concept behind performance management is elegant in its simplicity and revolutionary in its ability, it promises to take technologies and human resources already in place and make them perform at optimal levels. This admirable feat is achieved by integrating data from diverse sources across the organization and converting it into easy to understandable unified metrics views at all levels from executives to agent in such a way that the metrics remains aligned with organizational strategy, goals and targets and could be measured and tracked over a period of time at any desired frequency. It uses Business Intelligence framework to deliver the results and it is deployed throughout the organization in the form of Scorecards and Dashboards.

Scorecards and Dashboards: According to Harvard Business Review, Balanced Scorecard concept is the most influential management idea in the past 75 years.

The performance of an organization is tracked against four key perspectives such as Finance, Customers, Internal Processes and finally Learning, Innovation and Growth. These perspectives are divided into multiple sets of Key Performance Indicators ( KPIs ) and grouped against these perspectives and further broken from top level to the employee level KPIs. World over companies are moving towards implementing enterprise wide organizational Balanced Scorecard.

Simplicity, personalization and empowerment are the keys while building Agent Dashboards. These goals are achieved through the application of Business Intelligence ( BI ) concepts. A contact center performance is an aggregation of every agent performance.

An Agent should be able to customize and get the unified view of the aggregated metrics and track them on daily basis. How much he has achieved with respect to target? How his performance benchmarked with respect to overall call center performance. Is there performance improvement over a period of time? He can drill down and see which particular KPI is bringing his overall score down and he can see how he has or has not been able to improve his performance over a period of time.

A Supervisor should be able to see how agents under him are performing. His Dashboard should show an aggregated score of all his agents and simultaneously showing tabular information of comparative scores of all agents working under him. He can drill down on agent score who are not performing well. He can see individual KPIs of agents and study whether there are improvements over a period of time under the respective KPI.

Manager would like to see dashboards of aggregated scores of supervisors on weekly basis rather than daily basis. He can drill down till agent’s individual KPI level if he desires. A manager could also drill down against different channels and see the performance of different supervisors under different channels.

Call Center head would like to see the aggregated performance of his senior managers and across channels and will be interested to track performance against KPIs on monthly basis. He can drill down from manager level right up to the agent level and their individual KPIs to see where the actual pains are located.

Quality Managers would like to see how agents are performing against quality related KPIs. He would further like to analyze poor performing KPIs against type of service requests, type of channel and may be against important set of clients so that specific training programs could be designed for specific sets of agents rather than a plane blanket approach where every one is trained for everything.

In all the performance metrics could be analyzed against multiple dimensions such as channels customers, type of services, location etc. Users down the line are empowered to analyze the data and able to get operational and strategic insights. Hundreds of variants of Dashboards and Reports could be created from a simple single user friendly interactive interface

All above could be simply achieved through web browser and single user interactive interface. Every person in the organization can personalize the dashboard or reports from this single user interface. The power of analysis is coupled into the reporting and dashboard. It is this Business Intelligence capability that creates the unique customer experience in getting the insights of business.

The Action Plan: The model is simple - it is based on goal alignment, performance feedback, training and development. The solution is built to provide the key components of performance management which are - Clear expectations that are aligned with business objectives- Frequent feedback - Fair and equitable reward and recognition - Personal training and development for employees.

A standard implementation takes about 12 weeks. The major steps are:- - Business mapping - alignment of business objectives with goals, targets, and employee objectives; - Technical integration - bring together all the required data from the disparate system and configuring for metric calculations; - System testing and data validation;- Training - at all levels from system administrators through to employees - Launch.

Article written by Mr. Sanjay Yadav, Director (Business Development) at TechAxes (www.techaxes.com), a pure play BI vendor specialized in Business Intelligence and Analytics products and solutions.

Are your outsourced operations secure???

ALKA SIRARI

There has been a steady increase among the enterprises to explore the outsourcing strategy, primarily to increase profitability by cutting costs. Interestingly, the attractive strategy comes with its inbuilt risks, which if not complemented with the mitigation strategy does create uncertainty for success in long run. The key question which all organizations, especially Banking and Insurance industry, face is -“How will the secure information be guided tightly preventing any free flow leading to any misuse?”

Information security raises concerns of – Privacy, Internal misuse of information, Intellectual property, Regulatory compliance, Industrial espionage etc. Adding to it are the IT security concerns of Virus attack, firewalls etc.

One of the earliest matters of Internal abuse came in 1995, where a system administrator hacked a bank’s user-ids and passwords to set up accounts with the leading banks involving transfer of millions of dollars. In light of such cases promptly regulations were drawn- Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, Gramm Leach Bliley Act, US Patriot Act, Bank Secrecy Act, HIPAA, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Computer Security Act etc.

Ensuring effective security methods require a combination of Integrity, Availability, and Confidentiality with robust Compliance framework and monitoring system. It needs consistent enforcement with reasonable oversight, awareness and continuous training on the part of the management. Information security is a journey not a destination. Compliance policies and procedures are the foundation of effective information security posture.

You are as strong as the weakest Link
Global sourcing model in a single process leverages the efficiencies across companies, geographies, workforce to deliver the optimum results in cost and quality. With the increase of risks associated with complexity of the delivery model and the process involves giving access to vital IP assets, security is a major concern.

The success of secure information dissemination within these units relies with the offshore management structure. The processes followed should be mature and well documented and should have strict adherence, which can be verified through “Surprise Audits”.

Leading outsourcing companies providing services to financial organization are getting reviewed and audited by OCC and OTS (US Federal agencies for Regulation and supervision of banks). This is a major step to ensure outsourced operations follow policies and procedures of clients and behave as an extended arm of its operations.

Tactical Guidelines
Information security is not an issue of technology but of governance. A comprehensive information security needs complete solution involving governance, technology and people.
It also requires defining a security behavior in the company for establishing confidence in security systems.

Governance
· Top management commitment
· Security architecture & design with policy framework involving Disaster Recovery, Business Continuity, Risk Mitigation, Business Process Workarounds
· Establish clear business objectives with realistic expectations
· Regular revision and training on active policies and procedures
· Rigorous and regular auditing (physical and electronic) and monitoring process
· Appropriate Backups with backup facilities provision
· Stringent standards for information storage and data disposal (electronic & physical)

Technology
· Appropriate firewalls/access protocols/restrictions defined and implemented for controlling access to the network, workstations and other equipment.
· Application-specific network access security measures, encryption
· Restricted Internet access and removable storage mediums like floppy, CD-ROM/ USB drives etc. disabled
· Monitoring system procedures and areas of risk, logging and reviewing events, clock synchronization, event logging process
· Screen Savers with Passwords, Power on passwords to ensure boot protection
· Restricted access based entry/exit, compulsory logging all the entries, incessant supervision round the clock by security personnel using CCTV cameras

People
· Frisking of Employees during entry/exit
· Appropriate training to security policies and procedures
· User authentication by means of a User ID and Password
· Compulsory reference and background checks for employees
· Dedicated resources approved by customers with Non disclosure and confidentiality agreement signed with each employee

The threat to security can be internal or external. External threat risk can be mitigated by ensuring redundant systems and highly strict security policy implementation. Companies lay down procedure and norms and follow then through the induction of an employee by taking through the privacy policies and conditions and following strictly through.

But what if a person decides to commit an act of fraud or theft. We have been seeing instances of such frauds which are not limited to just the outsourced service providers but happen within the company by the company’s own trusted employees. Is honesty still the best policy? Ultimately all the operations are handled by humans and human values play a far greater part in day-to-day behavior of an individual.

The Governing Mantra
“Swadharme nidhan shreya para dharmo bhayapaha” Bhagavad Gita says that it is better to die than give up ones own dharma.

Perhaps we may have to go down to the grass root of negative behavior, which lies in anger, greed or may be hatred etc. Human values and beliefs are the basis of Hindu philosophy of Dharma.

While pre-emptive security procedures and policies are essential to blunt the security concerns. The real litmus test of security deals with the integral part of an organization – “The Human factor”. How well we can address it, ensures the key to success of not only an organization but the macroeconomic effects of such behavior impacts the progress of the country as well.

The author manages Marketing for iSeva systems ltd., a leading financial BPO company. The views expressed here are her own and not of the company she works for. She can be contacted at alkasirari@gmail.com

BPOs draw Action Plan for employee security

The BPO industry in association with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Call Centre Association of India (CCAI), Delhi and Gurgaon Police and private security agencies drew up an action plan for employee security in a meeting organized by CII on the December 30 2005. This is further to an emergency meeting held by the CCAI with the police immediately after the Bangalore incident.

The emphasis was given to human security as a public private partnership effort, by synergysing the efforts of all stakeholders through a central agency like CII and CCAI.

Senior management of all leading BPOs and Call Centres like Genpact, Convergys, IBM Daksh, Hero ITES, Vertex, Keane Worldzen, E Value Serve, WNS, members of the CCAI, leading security agencies like, Group 4, Peregrine, Sentinels, Force Tech, Walson Securities, the Gurgaon and Delhi Police attended the meeting.

Mr Hanif Qureshi, SSP Gurgaon, accepted the paucity of PCR vans and motorcycle riders with the Gurgaon Police. CII promised to take up this issue with the Haryana Govt on an urgent baisis. Mr Qureshi, said that Gurgaon Police will take proactive action in increasing the police presence around BPOs, increase patrolling and spot checks. He accepted the need to complete the verification process within 4 - 6 weeks time. He also reassured the industry of the close liaison that existed between the police in the NCR

Some key points unanimously accepted were:

• Installation of speed Governors and vehicle tracking systems in all vehicles ferrying employees.
• Pre- employment screening of all third part service providers, including drivers by sharing digitized records with the police.
• Careful selection of routes.
• Display of important telephone numbers of the police control room and the individual company control rooms numbers in all cabs.
• Sharing of the radio frequency used by cabs with the police.
• Drive against rash and drunken driving.
• Mandatory training and certification of the cab drivers and other third party service providers.
• Providing self-defence aids and training to the lady employees.
• Sharing of best practices by regular interaction of stakeholders, through a central agency like CII and CCAI.
• Sharing of black listed third party vendors on a voluntary basis.
• Physical security of the infrastructure.
• Distinct markings for BPO employees ferrying vehicles.
• Procedures of the last employees dropped linking up with the company control room
• Patrolling of isolated routes at night by private security agencies assisted by a beat constable.
  

Participants also suggested the need of counseling, disaster management, emotional training to counter fear factor.

“Concept to Commissioning” –The road ahead for BPOs.

(BPOs could use Business intelligence tools (BI) to offer a wide spectrum of services to clients – Sunder Ramachandran & Kapil Murdia investigate)

The BPO industry has primarily developed an expertise in managing the voice segment of the outsourced market. There is a lot of debate about the rise of the KPO segment however there is enough opportunity to capitalize on the conventional voice based projects and turn them around into high impact business critical ventures. Here’s a look at the critical factors that give a bullish perspective on this paradigm shift:

Low end to Mission critical
BPOs in India have highly-rated process-management capabilities and also posses the “threshold” experience in key components of a process, viz. implementing pilots, ramping capacities and most importantly calibrating, tracking and measuring performance metrics. There is a tremendous opportunity for the BPO industry to leverage on these domain strengths. The conventional wisdom of outsourcing a small non-core area of business has the potential to evolve into a full-fledged strategic business extension. This provides the parent company with an offshore base along with access to a wide variety of divergent skill-sets. This jump from Business process outsourcing to “Re-engineering” the entire Business Process can deliver tremendous value in form of greater focus on quality and productivity and not just cost arbitrage that a plain vanilla BPO process brings. BPOs can leverage on an ever more knowledgeable and educated resource base in India and new enabling technologies that allow for the creation of platforms and solutions targeted at specific industries.

The chunk of high end work being done today revolves around “stand alone” processes. BPOs will have to look towards leveraging on close-synergies between their existing voice-base operations and high-end work like data analysis and data mining. By doing that, BPOs can broad base their offering from traditional operations (read mostly voice –based) to entire gamut of customer relationship management activities.

A forward looking approach
The generally accepted purpose of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is to enable organizations to better serve its customers through the introduction of reliable processes and procedures for interacting with those customers. Towards that end, a typical CRM application would collect all information in a central repository, analyze it, and make it available to all departments. In today's competitive business environment, a successful CRM strategy cannot be implemented by only installing and integrating a software package designed to support CRM processes. A holistic approach to CRM is vital for an effective and efficient CRM policy and more so because Fortune 500 companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on Customer relationship management and vendors who place a premium on this approach do merit in the eyes of the Global customers. This approach essentially includes a modification of business processes based on customers' needs and adoption of relevant IT-systems (including soft- and maybe hardware) and/or usage of IT-Services that enable the organization to follow its CRM strategy. That’s where BPOs can step in to provide comprehensive CRM solutions. A single BPO on an average makes thousands of “customer contacts” on a daily basis and this huge database can be effectively channelised into an integrated CRM solution.

Consider a rudimentary example-A call center may have a "screen pop", a small application that is connected to the phone system. This application, which is a CRM tool, produces a screen on the computer as soon as an agent answers a call. This screen could be populated with important information about the caller, such as what they have purchased in the past, what they are likely to buy in the future, and what products the company may have available that would go well with what the customer has already bought. This "screen pop”, which is made up of several bits of information could be integrated into different databases to ensure a two-way communication. It may draw on information from the accounting department to show the agent what their current balance may be; it could also send information to the sales department to show what has been purchased recently, and it may draw on information from the credit department to show the agent what terms can be offered.

This arrangement could not only enhance interaction with the customer but also help in coding and analyzing priceless information about the customer. An “integrator” (software which ties up information from different sources) can be used to combine information from two different processes. With the Fortune 500 market becoming increasingly clustered, BPOs are increasingly turning over to midsize companies. Even midsize companies can embrace CRM by using simple, off-the-shelf software such as contact managers and spreadsheets, and still have a very effective CRM system that can help them to serve customers in the best possible way, and to make relevant use of information that has been collected.

This kind of a collaborative approach creates a synergy between existing call-centre operations and proposed CRM. Most BPOs use specialized software solutions for different purposes from process calibration to tracking and measuring process metrics. Companies can “improvise” by utilizing these already existing “legacy” tools for “dual purpose”- to facilitate existing operations and to capture and analyze customer related information. This eliminates the need to build a new system translating into huge cost saving for the BPOs and their clients.

Few tools that could be worth a detailed examination

• Customizable Reporting Software: Customized reports allow management to easily monitor and effectively identify and correct call center inefficiencies. This call center software also helps maximize those things that are being done effectively. This tool is often used to analyze and measure various performance metrics. This tool could be used to give feedback to the product development team especially when service is suffering because of an apparent limitation in a product. It can keep track of customer preferences, buying habits, and demographics, and also agent performance simultaneously. This software could be used to automate some service requests, complaints, product returns, and information requests which could serve as valuable insight.
• Easy to Use Database Systems: Database systems allow management to better control their campaigns. Contacts can be selected by any available value, so as to maximize efficiency in targeting and delivery. By selecting a database system and call center software that is compatible with advanced.
• Databases such as Microsoft's SQL Server and Oracle, efficiency can be improved even more, and information formatting problems can be avoided. This tool can significantly aid in data-mining and analysis.
• Multimedia Interactive Systems: Multimedia interactive systems software allows for a number of different data values to be displayed while the agent is helping a contact. This allows the agent to receive new script changes, view pertinent info and be effective in helping the customer. This system could also be used to record the customer preferences and dislikes and other sales critical information about customer.
• Predictive Dialer Software: A predictive dialer processes potential contacts and identifies disconnected numbers, busy signals and unanswered calls and detects answering machines. Such calls can be avoided, scheduled for later contact, or pre-recorded messages can be left, allowing live agents to only deal with established connections that are directed to them. This software can also be used to get insights into possible demographic patterns of a particular cluster of Customers.
• Interactive Voice Response (IVR): Interactive Voice Response software can handle many tasks without the use of a live agent. The software can “talk” with the contact and recognize responses. Surveys can be given, appointments can be scheduled, sales and orders can be placed, and so much more with this versatile software.
• Automatic Call Center Distribution Software: Automatic Call Distribution allows established contacts, which may be in a call queue, to be directed most effectively. Calls can be directed to the next available agent, or by the level of their importance, or to agents with the highest performance statistics. This tool can also be used to separate loyal/ business customers from others.

Major areas of CRM focus could be service automated processes, personal information gathering and processing, and self-service. It attempts to integrate and automate the various customer serving processes within a company. Call centers could use CRM software to store all of their customer's details. When a customer calls, the system can be used to retrieve and store information relevant to the customer. Also by serving the customer quickly and efficiently and keeping all customer centric information in one place, a company can save cost, and also encourage repeat purchase.

CRM solutions can also be used to allow customers to perform their own service via a variety of communication channels. For example, you might be able to check your bank balance via your WAP phone without ever having to talk to a person, saving money for the company, and saving you time.

An integrated CRM solution can offer several potential benefits:

• Helps to identify potential problems quickly, before they occur.
• Provide a user-friendly mechanism for registering customer complaints (complaints that are not registered with the company cannot be resolved, and are a major source of customer dissatisfaction)
• Provides a fast mechanism for handling problems and complaints (complaints that are resolved quickly can increase customer satisfaction)
• Provides a fast mechanism for correcting service deficiencies (correct the problem before other customers experience the same dissatisfaction)
• Helps to identify how each individual customer defines quality, and then design a service strategy for each customer based on these individual requirements and expectations
• Helps to track customer interests and personalize product offerings accordingly
• Helps to engage in collaborative customization or real-time customization
• Provides a fast mechanism for managing and scheduling follow-up sales calls to assess post-purchase cognitive dissonance, repurchase probabilities, repurchase times, and repurchase frequencies.
• Provide a fast mechanism for managing and scheduling maintenance, repair, and on-going support (improve efficiency and effectiveness)
• Provide a mechanism to track all points of contact between a customer and the company, and do it in an integrated way so that all sources.
• and types of contact are included, and all users of the system see the same view of the customer (reduces confusion)

The CRM package can be integrated into other cross-functional systems and thereby provide accounting and production information to customers when they want it.

Improved customer relationships
CRM can significantly improve customer relationships. CRM technology can track customer interests, needs, and buying habits as they progress through their life cycles, and tailor the marketing effort accordingly. The technology can track product use as the product progresses through its life cycle, and tailor the service strategy accordingly. This enables the customers to get what they need as the product ages. In industrial markets, the technology can be used to micro-segment the buying centre and help coordinate the conflicting and changing purchase criteria of its members. When any of the technology driven improvements in customer service contributes to long-term customer satisfaction, they can ensure repeat purchases, improve customer relationships, increase customer loyalty, decrease customer turnover, decrease marketing costs (associated with customer acquisition and customer training), increase sales revenue, and thereby increase profit margins.

From data to information----Business Intelligence
A contact centre makes thousands of contact on a daily basis which generates huge amounts of data. Converting this data into useful information is the next big opportunity for the Indian BPOs. Business Intelligence tools can help a company translate vast amounts of data into intelligent insights to help further the business cause. The company can identify new customers and new market segments, conceptualize a new product for a particular market area or niche, optimize cross-selling practices by creating a consolidated view of the customer across all touch points, and offer the ability to react and plan with knowledge, insight, and confidence. This would also enable companies to proactively service customers, ensure customer loyalty, and retain them.

Using BI tools, organizations can get minute-level details about their customers. On a strategic level, firms will be in a better position to understand customer purchasing patterns for products and services across geographical and time boundaries. The true benefit arises as firms use this information on a customer-to-customer basis, allowing firms to retain profitable customers while screening those that do not directly add value to the company's top line. A contact centre is best positioned to effectively tap and analyze information at source on a customer-to-customer basis.

How BI tools work
BI uses a well-organized source of information from where it can draw out intelligent responses for business users. A range of technologies and products are used to generate BI. The most common tools are simple query and reporting, Online Analytical Processing (OLAP), statistical analysis, Decision Support Systems (DSS), and data mining. These tools are used in a variety of ways.

Architecture of a typical BI tool
Data is stored in an organization in separate OLTP systems like ERP, CRM, SCM, financial packages, HR packages, and even legacy systems. These are the primary sources of data and can be called 'primary systems.’ Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) tools are run on these systems and organized data is stored in a data warehouse. The data warehouse can be called 'secondary systems.' The 'Extract' process reads data from the various sources. The 'Transform' process converts the extracted data into a scripted and defined format, which is fit for the warehouse. The process standardizes the various data structures so they can be accessed and analyzed with high accuracy. This is done with the use of rules, lookup tables, and by combining the data with other data.

The 'Load' process writes the data into the warehouse. The efficiency and performance of a BI solution mostly depends on the effectiveness of the ETL tools. The idea is to provide a rich and aggregated source of data.

Intelligent information is now delivered to the users or 'information consumers' throughout the organization to help in analysis, strategy, and forecasting. If users are located in remote locations, a Web server can be deployed on the warehouse.

Thus with some due diligence and effective use of Business Intelligence, the possibilities for BPOs end where their imagination does. So we could prolong the dream run that the industry has enjoyed so far and create more value for the end customer.

(Sunder works as a Trainer with a global BPO and Kapil is a Researcher with Kornferry – an executive search firm. They can be reached at sunder.ramachandran@gmail.com & kapil.murdia@gmail.com )

How to make outsourcing work???

ALKA SIRARI

To outsource or not?. Outsourcing is the “buzz word” of the New Economy. Companies facing an environment of increased competition in a slowly mending economy are seeking outsourcing for its operational activities to help them to realize service improvement and cost containment goals. Many enterprises struggle with deciding whether to outsource its operations using a captive service approach or to selectively outsource to one or more third party Outsourcing Service Providers (OSPs).

As outsourcing business in the new economy increases, it is more important than ever to understand the considerations for outsourcing decisions and the drivers beyond the financial impact and how to make it a continuous success for everyone.

In this Outsourcing business spotlight, we look at outsourcing from different angle helping the companies use OSPs to benefit from increased focus on the core competencies and reaping benefits of process improvements.

We see the outsourced operations as microcosm of overall operations of the company, which need to work harmoniously with the existing operations and tightly connected to help the company move forward.

The continued growth in company’s service portfolio of outsourced operations will rely on the fortitude to think beyond the cost and labor arbitrage, see beyond the horizon.

OSPs have to synchronize the outsourced operations of the company with their existing operations to ensure the deliverables are not governed as per practices emerging from the Service level management but are driving synchronized operations. Such practice ensures maximum productivity and helps the companies maintain competitive edge in the market.

Synchronized outsourcing is about managing the customer relationships with the operations management required to maintain the competitive edge of the company. The OSPs need to understand the client business, its competition, and the important role is played by current operations in the entire service / product life cycle. e.g. An OSP providing sales services to the company via telemarketing has to see it as a first step in closing sales for the company rather than daily sales numbers and targets defined in the service level agreement. Telemarketing for any company has every aspect of marketing activity, which has a budget allocated to ensure a constant inflow of customer contact to customer order fulfillment with closing deals. This requires managing. It is more than getting sales leads. This is a complete cycle from sourcing the sales leads to creating a custom built product/services package for customer, delivering at right time and then servicing the customer and retaining it. This involves constant interaction between the outsourced services provider and the company, updating the critical aspects of sales and customer information making sure that each customer is given due attention with its needs and fulfilling it.

Synchronizing operations at a global scale will require rethinking out strategies far away from the traditional thinking. This is more of day-to-day collaboration on each event and laying the combined business goals with the open and smooth working relationship of all players.

Synchronized outsourcing is more a day-to-day phenomenon than concept, which is built on 3-T-pillars -- Teamwork, Time, and Trust.

Let’s take a case in Healthcare outsourcing; Claims adjudication takes 80% time and effort of the Insurance carrier, TPA and the patient in any healthcare insurance claim. The process in healthcare industry is traditionally complex and highly critical. A large part of it can be outsourced to OSPs and the benefits of cost reduction, staffing shortages and ensuring standard workflow can be achieved through synchronized outsourcing.

The OSPs and Healthcare company function as one entity for the customer, the whole process of claims adjudication is synchronized to ensure that operationally the benefits of low cost and excellent process delivery are followed which ensures customer retention and delight.

This high-level strategy will help allay any fears around loss of control, and spiraling costs, which the Healthcare Company may have. Both entities have to jointly identify the business goals and monitor the gaps if may present and ensure quick closure. They should have dedicated point of contact that has the mandate and the power to make the outsourcing work.

A delighted customer is the true Brand Ambassador of the company to spread its goodwill and increase the customer base.

The prime requirement of synchronized outsourcing is the long-term commitment from both the buyer and seller. While it gives the OSP a stable relationship and repetitive business, it gives the Insurance carrier the benefit of surviving in a competitive market by focusing on introducing more products.

The success of outsourcing relies on the mutual satisfaction between buyers, sellers with long-term perspective of the relationship leading to achieve:

· Business Process Improvement

· Cycle Time Reduction

· Benchmarking Service Quality

· Cost Containment

· Maximum Efficiencies

· Increased speed to market

· Enhanced customer service

Opening doors for globalization has made the buyer and seller enter into a symbiotic relationship where each flourishes due to other.

Synchronized outsourcing gives streamlined workflow and gives a market advantage. Using Market Intelligence will help you devise right products for customers ahead of the competition. Trusting each other’s delivery capability and ability to keep business goals, as targets will make a flexible process to deliver and compete.

(The author Manages Marketing at iSeva Systems Ltd., a leading BPO company and can be reached at alka.sirari@gmail.com)

Genpact launches Campus Training Program in partnership with Kanoria College, Jaipur

Plans to extend the facility to six other campuses in Rajasthan

Company Release

Genpact, a pioneer and global leader in high-quality Business Services and Technology Solutions and Kanoria PG Mahila Mahavidyalaya, a leading college in Jaipur for graduate and post-graduate studies have announced the launch of a Center for Communications Training and Development program at the JLN Marg Campus, of Kanoria College.

In the inaugural training class 14 students from different streams have been selected to undergo an exhaustive training on English language communication for one month. The training is being conducted by Genpact authorized trainers and is designed to provide international level communication skills to the students.

The students trained through this program will have the opportunity to take advantage of the large number of career opportunities available at the Genpact Jaipur Center. Genpact has also set up a Career Desk at the Kanoria campus to advise all students on different career options available in Finance, Banking, Insurance, IT, Customer Service and Collections related processes.

Prof. Rashmi Chaturvedi, Principal Kanoria College said, “This is an excellent facility for our students and will open the doors for emerging career opportunities in the BPO industry. Our endeavor at Kanoria College is to provide students with a sound academic foundation, which will enable them, achieve their career objectives. Our partnership with Genpact will provide a great opportunity for students to pursue an international career in Jaipur itself. We are extremely happy that Genpact has agreed to train some of our faculties also as Communications Trainers. After they are trained the faculties can provide communications training to all our students.”

According to Mr. Ashok Tyagi, Sr Vice President, Enabling Services, Genpact, “We are happy to partner with the State Government of Rajasthan in their Education Initiative and will be setting up a new 3-acre facility at JLN Marg in the heart of Jaipur. We remain committed to harnessing the vast talent pool from the state through continuous investment in training and development by providing world class training courses in Finance, Communications and IT Services. We are glad that Kanoria College, has taken the lead in partnering with Genpact to offer training programs on campus. We hope to start similar initiatives with other colleges in Jaipur, Ajmer, Udaipur and Kota.”

Genpact Jaipur, currently employs over 1000 people and is expected to increase employee strength to 2500 in the next two years. It is the fastest growing site across the globe for Genpact, which has centers across India as well as in China, Hungary, Romania, and Mexico.

Ask Sunder: Faster Isn’t Always Better

Are you thinking about a career in BPOs? Are you worried about the future prospects of the industry or do you have some industry specific questions? If you have a question, we have the answer.

Q. I work with a recruitment company and we used agent simulation software to hire candidates for call centers, but we are no longer using them as they are time consuming. Our clients want us to hire more candidates faster. I personally thought agent simulation tests gave us better quality candidates. What are your thoughts? - Preeti
A. Simulation tests can give you accuracy and detailed skill measure for an applicant. Although time consuming, a simulation offers better quality against the quick results of a simple selection test. It’s simple, if you are looking for a high quality dining experience, would you consider fast food? Absolutely not! It is unfortunate that pre-employment testing has trended towards convenience with little regards for quality. Avoid indigestion (i.e.: low performance, high turnover, poor morale) that “fast-food” selection tests can cause; choose simulation.

Q. Are there any benchmarks for the number of calls that one should monitor for quality assurance? - George
A. I am afraid, there is no specific number that I can recommend George, but you could consider the following before deciding the number:

• The number of quality evaluators you have on board.
• The kind of calls that you handle (Sales, service, support or complaints etc) and the average handle time
• The kind of evaluation tools available to get performance statistics.

Finally look for the effectiveness & efficiency with which you can provide feedbacks rather than just the number of calls that can be monitored.

Q. We witness a lot of agent absenteeism which in turn hits our schedule adherence. What kind of strategies are call centers using to counter this? - Shantanu
A. Hello Shantanu, Employee absenteeism has always been a beast for our industry often figuring next to attrition. All of us look for schedule adherence which includes all forms of absenteeism & also ensuring that all forms of break schedules are followed without deviations. There are no easy answers on this one but a lot of call centers pay attendance incentives which help to a certain extent. You could also set the expectations with the agents by informing them of what is acceptable & what is not, those who abuse it should be ready to face the consequences. Excessive absenteeism regardless of the reason does affect the performance of the process.

About Sunder: Sunder works as a Trainer with a leading global BPO and has trained BPO employees on customer service, sales, communication and coaching & training skills. He currently writes regular features for TCP BPO and Training & Management. If you have any questions, write in to sunder_trg@hotmail.com

Who let the Boss out ??

Challenges faced by young supervisors in BPOs

SUNDER RAMACHANDRAN

The BPO industry is notoriously famous for placing a premium on performance and promoting talent in-house. Most front line supervisors are employees who have risen up the ranks and were front line agents themselves some time back. The lack of a robust middle management is a beast that the industry has been trying to fight for a very long time now.

Most agents complain of their managers adopting a hierarchical command and control mentality. As these supervisors are themselves very young, the challenge is to groom them for leadership roles as they impact agent satisfaction and retention, the two most important performance drivers in BPOs. The need is to transition these young supervisors from the traditional managerial mindset to effective coaching & feedback. This requires them to learn more than just a few management techniques in order to adapt to the challenges of leading a team of young employees. It also requires us to change the way we think about our roles and the outcomes we intend to achieve with people.

The key question is – Why is it so important to groom these young leaders at such a deep level? Shouldn’t business stay out of the personal arena? Why can’t we just pick our best frontline performers and promote them as leaders. The fact is that for a young agent, the personal aspects of their lives do not stay out of the business arena. Every agent brings to work the entire array of his or her personality, thoughts, attitudes, behaviors, habits, needs, wants, fears, desires, roles and conditioning.

Transformational coaching does not bring the personal arena into work situations. It simply acknowledges that the personal element is a part of work and provides a framework for dealing effectively with young professionals.

Let’s put on our self-introspective caps and analyze the different aspects of becoming a Boss.

Becoming a Boss:
Be honest, now. If you have had authority over others, haven’t you found it compelling? Didn’t you at times feel powerful and strong? It is easy to see how even well intentioned managers can enjoy the power trip of being the Boss. Most of us possess at least some of the shortcomings that make us prey to this mentality:

• Our egos become too big for the roles we play and in the trappings of our authority.
• We fear change and letting go of control. We fear failing in the eyes of the world.
• We develop habits of behaving and thinking that reinforce the “correctness” of the “Boss” approach.

Add to this list the fact that most of our role models at work are Bosses and that the human system of which we are a part of does not accept changes to long established roles very easily, and there you have it: A Boss in the making.

The vicious circle of beliefs and the results:
This illustrates the inevitability of this mindset. The key to stopping the cycle is in understanding it. Let’s begin with beliefs. Our beliefs have a great influence over the ways in which we interact with people. What you believe tends to determine how you behave towards others. Your behavior tends to influence the quality of the relationship you have with others, which in turn affects their behavior. This, of course, influences the results you obtain from these people. In turn, the results usually re-enforce your belief in the correctness of your approach.

For ex: If you believe that a manager is supposed to be strict and unbending with the rules, you may be tough and punish those who break the rules. In turn, your direct reports may become guarded and may stop taking risks. As a result, your team may do all right, but turn-over may be high and other teams may be winning awards from the top management for innovative and creative solutions to business problems. In frustration, you may hold even more tightly to your belief in the need for control and adherence to the rules. This cycle is self-reinforcing and self-perpetuating.

On the other hand, if you believe that collaboration between people leads to better results, you might be open with your thoughts and encourage others to be open in sharing their needs and ideas for solutions. Relationships become more open and trusting; the people you lead are more willing to take risks with presenting ideas, and you get better results. The easiest place to break the power of the Results cycle is starting with one’s beliefs.

Here’s a short list of the comparative mindsets:

• Bosses believe that their job is to push people or drive them; Coaches believe that they are there to lift and support people.
• Bosses believe that they should be telling, directing and lecturing; Coaches believe in engaging in dialogue with people by asking, requesting and listening.
• Bosses believe in controlling others through the decisions they make; Coaches believe in facilitating decision making and empowering employees to implement their own ideas.
• Bosses believe they know the answers; Coaches believe they must seek the answers.
• A Boss triggers insecurity through administering a healthy dose of fear as an effective way to achieve compliance; a Coach believes in using purpose to inspire commitment and stimulate creativity.
• Bosses believe that their job is to point out errors; Coaches believe that their job is to celebrate learning.
• A Boss believes in delegating responsibility; Coaches believe in modeling accountability.
• A Boss believes in solving problems and making decisions; Coaches believe in facilitating problem solving and decision making.
• Bosses believe in creating structures and procedures for people to follow; Coaches promote flexibility through values as the guidelines of behavior.
• Bosses believe that their power lies in their authority; Coaches believe that their power lies in their knowledge.
• Bosses believe in focusing on the outcome while Coaches believe in establishing the framework and the processes that would lead to the outcome.

In the words of TS Lin “There are no bad employees, only bad managers”. So if we could train our young leaders on these lines, we could have more supervisors and managers subscribing to the Coach mindset rather than enjoying the power trip of “Being the Boss”. We must remember that there is more intellect than emotion in modern day management and we must strive to strike a balance between the two.

(Sunder works as a Trainer with a global BPO. He can be reached at sunder_trg@hotmail.com)

Accenture Delivery Centres in India Receives ISO 27001 Certification

COMPANY RELEASE

Accenture’s delivery centres for technology solutions in India have been awarded ISO 27001 certification by the British Standards Institute (BSI), becoming among the first company in the world to earn the highest certification from one of the world’s leading management systems registrars. ISO 27001 is the only international standard where an organization can receive a truly independent assessment of their information security management system (ISMS).

ISO27001 is the new industry standard for information security management system (ISMS). It was formalized in October 2005 and replaces the previous BS7799 standard.

The new standard is designed to ensure the selection of adequate and proportionate security controls that protect information assets and give confidence to interested parties including an organization’s customers.

“The ISO 27001 certification is an indicator of the quality of our information management systems and a testament to the security controls we have put in place to protect our client’s information assets,” said Chet Kamat, head – India Delivery Centre Network, Accenture. “Our focus on information security through use of consistent processes, metrics and methodologies enables us to provide a secure environment for delivering high-quality services to our customers.”

About Accenture: Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. With more than 123,000 people in 48 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$15.55 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2005. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

Stop the Discrimination!!

With thousands of girls working in the BPO sector including call centres at night, states like Haryana have been invoking archaic laws requiring companies to seek special permissions to employ girls at night. Not only is it an unnecessary hassle, it also raises certain critical questions: Why should there be discrimination against girls working when there are none for boys? Why can’t the state provide adequate security? Will girls, who cannot work at night in BPOs, be provided alternatesources of income by the state?

AJAY JAIN

When TCP asked companies about the impact of such a law, the general reaction was that it is not as bad as it may sound, and getting exemptions for girls working at night is just a formality. But that is the official word. Clearly, bureaucrats in this country are a worried lot as business is getting lesser dependent on their offices due to a more liberalized regime. Hence the need to find a stick to threaten companies with.

Says a senior BPO official, on condition of anonymity, “Yes, there is an element of blackmail out there. While we do get permissions, but usually not without some favours being extended to the powers that be.”

But there are bigger issues that we need to address as a society. Clearly, women in this country are not fully emancipated. By law yes, but not in spirit. So if some of them are overcoming social barriers and are willing to work, they should be encouraged by creating a more enabling environment for them. They need to lauded, not be made victims of any law that might take away their right to work.

And if this law denies work to any girls, will the state step in and provide for an alternate source of income?

If security for night workers is an issue, it is the job of the state to make adequate arrangements for those generating wealth for the country. The Haryana government, or any other authority for that matter, cannot abdicate its responsibility to companies by asking the latter to provide suitable guarantees. What are governments elected for? What are bureaucrats and the police being paid for? Where is tax-payer money being utilized? And is it only girls who are at risk at night?

One might argue that this law has really not affected anyone as exemptions are granted as a matter of routine, but it is a matter of principle. Why have this law at all? Why should companies be held to ransom? If any undesirable incident against a girl happens, why does the government want to be able to pass the blame onto companies when policing is the former’s job? Why should one send wrong signals to both domestic and overseas investors?

These and other questions need to be answered by none other than those who make and implement policies. For once we have a chance for a better life; let not the corrupt and incompetent take it away from us.

Why the outrage?
BPO companies in Haryana, primarily in Gurgaon, are required to seek special permission to employ girls, comprising about 40 per cent of the workforce, at night as per a 1958 law. Notices were sent to companies like Convergys who apparently had not got these permissions renewed.

And by a strange twisted logic, the Haryana Government had exempted technology and software companies in 2000 from these provisions, but not BPO, as these are ITES and not IT companies.

The process behind outsourcing

ASHISH TANEJA

The idea of outsourcing has its roots in the ‘competitive advantage’ theory propagated by Adam Smith in his book ‘The Wealth of Nations’ which was published in 1776. Over the years, the meaning of the term ‘outsourcing’ has undergone a sea-change. What started off as the shifting of manufacturing to countries providing cheap labour during the Industrial Revolution has taken on a new connotation in today’s scenario.

In a world where IT has become the backbone of businesses worldwide, ‘outsourcing’ is the process through which one company hands over part of its work to another company, making it responsible for the design and implementation of the business process under strict guidelines regarding requirements and specifications from the outsourcing company. This process is beneficial to both the outsourcing company and the service provider, as it enables the outsourcer to reduce costs and increase quality in non core areas of business and utilize his expertise and competencies to the maximum. And now we can see the benefit to the service companies in India as they mature, prosper and build core capabilities beyond what would generally be possible by the outsourcing company.

The process by which this happens is very important and it reflects the seriousness of the work done by this industry.

The ITES or BPO industry is a young sector in India and has been in existence for a little more than five years. Despite its recent arrival on the Indian scene, the industry has grown phenomenally. It initially began as an activity confined to multinational companies, but today it has developed into a broad based business platform backed by leading Indian IT software and services organizations and other third party service providers.

To understand the potential of this industry it is important that one knows about the process by which businesses decide on their offshore service providers.

1. Analyze Requirements: This step starts after the business is reasonably confident that the management is bought into the concept of outsourcing. The Management has to identify organizational goals and understand its “core competencies”. Once this is done, the next step is to do some measurements vis-à-vis these activities in order to compare the cost of running these in-house against outsourcing. Also one needs to do a self audit and find out what processes need to be outsourced.

2. Identify Suppliers: After having a fix on the processes/ activities or functions that need to be outsourced, the next step is creating an RFP (or a Request for Proposal). RFP as a structured tool is really effective to facilitate assessment, comparison and selection of suppliers. Always tailor made to a project, a good RFP should always be S.M.A.R.T. (Specific Measurable Analytical Realistic and Time bound).

3. Negotiate Pricing: This stage evaluates how the business house needs to be billed, models range from per hour, per day, per month, per transaction, and percentages to name a few. It is important to clearly draft tenures, financial payments and bonus payments after establishing the governing parameters and signup.

4. Implement Pilot: The benefits of a pilot project far outweigh the extra time and effort required for implementation. The pilot is the first real process working out of its original boundaries and will generate data that is understood, documented, and is realistically value adding. It replicates the process on a much smaller scale and tests it for robustness. It also points out gaps that should be plugged before production is ramped up.

5. Accelerate Production: After successful implementation of a pilot it is time to increase production/service. This requires hiring and training additional resources and keeping a keen eye on the post pilot metrics.

6. Track & Measure Metrics: Measurements are always good to ensure stability of a process. Reporting processes need to be in place on a periodic basis to check whether work is proceeding as expected after the pilot.

This is a basic structure followed by most businesses. However, it is not as easy as it seems. There are a host of activities linked with each stage and sometimes transitioning a business process can take upto 8-10 months.

What is important to understand from this process is that outsourcing is becoming an important and integral part of companies’ business delivery models. The outsourcing industry is one of the key drivers in making a company profitable; hence this industry is treated with great respect. With time the outsourcing industry are being seen as trusted advisors who help transform businesses. The concerted efforts of outsourcing providers are helping to strengthen and augment the industry’s image and prestige.

The writer is VP Projects, Vertex India, a leading BPO company in the country.

Never Say DIE

AJAY JAIN

The Tsunami of last year may have become another synonym for disaster, pain and suffering, but it may yet be another reminder of what the human spirit is all about. TCP visited some of worst affected areas in Tamil Nadu nearly a year after Tsunami struck to see people re-building their lives. Those affected still have a long way to go in the re-building of what was lost, even as some scars may never be healed. But what was striking was a total lack of self-pity and helplessness. One saw orphaned children, widowed women and unsupported senior citizens left behind, but they have refused to stop living. They are resolute, trying to be happy and are telling the world just one thing: We will never say die.

A trip through the affected areas, with the team at Plan India, a NGO that has done a lot of work for people here, is an eye-opener. The pictures here tell a good part of the story.

Children behind, and in front of, the camera
The children in these photos, part of a group of four from the worst affected villages of Nagapattinam, put together a film on other children reflecting upon their lives following the Tsunami. Initiated by Plan India, the project was guided by film maker Govind Nihalani but the film was shot entirely by these children.

And what did one see? It shows how children, through clubs set up for them, feel they can collectively contribute to the development of their society. Optimism is what comes out as they talk about the benefits of temporary shelters built for them, even as they are being consulted on the design of the permanent ones. What concerns them is the possible rise in child labour as earning hands are fewer than before, thus hampering their education.

To school we go…
Plan India created what was probably needed by kids the most: temporary child care centres and schools, ensuring education is disturbed to a minimum, and the orphans of Tsunami do not feel they are alone lest the scars of such a tragedy create permanent scars on their psyche. And fortunately these kids have responded most cheerfully (as much as possible under the circumstances) to psychosocial tools for counseling and to interactive activities like theatre, dance, songs, story telling and games. With nutritious food, educational and recreational materials and lessons in hygiene for the kids, tragedy may have brought about a betterment in these aspects at least. Provided of course that this is sustained.

First the water, then the fire
This one is an ironic case of a reversal of order of things. The ladies in this picture, receiving relief material from Plan India executive director Bhagyashree Dengle, suffered loss of family and property in the Tsunami. And recently, just when life was getting pieced together, a fire ravaged their homes leaving behind what is seen in the other picture. But a chat with them, through interpreters, does not find them down and out as one would have expected. Currently sheltered with neighbours and relatives, these women are putting their lives together once again as if tragedy is something to be taken head-on, not to be moaned about. Even when relief material is given to them, they take it with a sense of pride about their lives as they are not necessarily dependent on anyone’s alms.

Video conferencing comes of age at Reliance WebWorld

Reliance WebWorld (RWW), the 105-city national chain of 240 retail stores for digital entertainment and communication and a one-stop shop for all Reliance Infocomm products and services, is now offering India’s first and only multiple location video conferencing service that allows participants from various locations to “Connect Everybody, Everywhere” in the world.

Claiming seamless connectivity for participants across all RWW locations, one can even can take part from the comfort of their offices in any part of the world through a standards based ISDN VC facility. Participants without access to Video Conferencing facilities can connect over any telephone (including mobile) as audio-only participants in the VC.1110 cities in 40 countries worldwide through partnerships with VC Rooms and service providers globally.

Video Conferencing at RWW is conducted at full 25 fps (frames per second), providing a far superior experience over current 128 kbps ISDN based systems. The experience is further enhanced by a top-of-the-line Digital Theatre system, complete with a 42 inch Plasma to give a near real life like experience of face-to-face visual communications in the comfort of a standard VC Room in each RWW.

Why Video Conferencing
Some of the innovative uses of the Video Conferencing platform are as follows:

Enterprise Applications:
- Sales Communication and Review Process
- Interactive discussions and meeting
- Training
- Sales Demos
- Recruitment
- Corporate / CEO Broadcast
- Product Roll Out and Launch Events
- Power Point Presentations / Internet / Data PCollaboration
- Product Demo / Export Import
- Promotions

Other Non Enterprise Applications:
- Distance Education
- Legal Proceedings
- Remote participation in a Seminar
- Remote Trouble Shooting

Key Value Proposition
- Corporate travel, time and costs
- Conduct several meetings in one day instead of travelling to attend just one – improves productivity and efficiency of the organization
- Enables easy Corporate Communication, Training and Recruitment – applications impacts all functions of the Enterprise, viz HR, Marketing, Sales, Finance, IT
- Employees get more time to finish their work and hence spend time with their family instead of travelling
- Huge pan India footprint (240 RWW’s in 105 cities) with global reach
- The ability to deliver audio video and data across on one single connection allows users to do almost everything that they could physically such as make a presentation, discuss issues, show and audio visual etc. except the proverbial handshake.

FEATURE
- Multi-location Video Conferencing
- Interoperability with ISDN end points
- Audio participants can connect from any telephone (including mobile)
- Point to Point VC conducted at 768 kbps on IP, Multi-point at 384 kbps
- Point to Multi-point mode for Training and Broadcasts
- Multi-point, Continuous Presence Mode for Interactive VC's
- Voice Activated Video Switching
- Speed Matching with external ISDN end points
- Make PowerPoint presentations along with the Video Conference
- Show audio visuals in your Video Conference
- VC recording
- Internet access on your Video Conference table

BENEFIT
- Can scale up to 40 VC locations with 5 participants per location in camera view
- RWW's IP based VC end points can connect with any standards based end point on ISDN and even a telephone as an audio only participant
- Participate in a VC by dialing in from anywhere in the world
- 6 times better quality than commonly used 128 kbps systems for point to point VCs
- All locations see only the speaker location, speaker location sees all the participant locations
- Every location, sees each of the other remote locations
- Location that is active (speaking), gets highlighted in the video
- Locations with different and lower bandwidth seamlessly participate in the conference
- Conduct training and presentations to multiple locations all at once
- Useful for New Product launches and events through VCs
- People who missed the VC can actually view the recording
- Get the information you require from the web or from your public email id, for viewing or discussions with all the locations during the Video Conference

Achievers Unlimited

Pallab Roy
Head of Program, 24/7 Customer


Just 24 years old, and Head of Program at 24/7 Customer in a career spanning a mere four years. Today he heads two programs at 24/7 Customer – leading close to 200 people handling customer facing processes for two large global credit card organizations.

Straight out of his graduation at St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore, Pallab opted for a career in the then fledgling BPO industry. His plans to pursue a MBA after some work experience took a back seat as he found himself in the middle of action in the BPO sector.

Pallab’s growth within 24/7 Customer has been meteoric. In less than a year after he joined he had moved up the ladder to become a team leader with the responsibility for a 15 member team. Soon, with the company growing by leaps and bounds, he was inducted into a group that was launching a new program. Besides leading a 20 member team, this assignment also involved a special focus on monitoring productivity of the program. Just over two years after joining the company he made it to manager and eight months later to head of program.

According to Pallab, the two ingredients for his success have been strong commitment and the drive to learn – traits that have helped him scale peaks that most professionals in other industries take at least a decade to reach. He feels it is a career option that he would recommend to young graduates. “A BPO career is extremely challenging and global in nature, while being an interesting mix of seriousness and fun,” he says.











Abhishek Duggal
Subject Matter Expert (Insurance & Accounting), EXL


Abhishek joined EXL in January 2004 on the first process of a new client relationship in Insurance and Accounting vertical. He was selected Subject Matter Expert of the process by virtue of his performance during training. In addition to his usual process responsibilities, he has been imparting core training to associates joining other processes in this client relationship. Till date he has trained more than 100 associates out of the 300 present on this client account.

He went beyond the call of duty to identify couple of process improvements in other processes thereby improving their Time Service and Productivity. Abhishek thus has been instrumental in making sure that his process exceeds all the KPIs and has also helped other processes in improving their key deliverables.

He has been the backbone of the entire client account in resolving client related system issues and is also acting as SPOC for frequent weekend system testing conducted by the client. Abhishek was also chosen as “Most Admired Person on the Floor” in a secret Ballot.

That's Life!!

SANGEETA POOJARI

LIFE BEFORE BPO

Monday
Alarm goes off at 8.00 am, still lingering in bed till 8.30 am. Yawn, yawn, yawn, wake up, morning ritual with a sleepy disposition, leisurely shower and by the time I get ready for office its 9.30. I call up office to let them know I am on my way, nobody cares as long as the work gets done. Reach office, chat on the phone, keep in touch with the girlfriends, know what they’ve been doing, then there is lunch with colleagues and catching up with office gossip. Back to work, keep glancing at the watch to see if its 5.00 pm yet. As soon as the watch hits the target, BAM! I am outta there. Get back home, change and then hit the usual hangout where you meet regular friends and generally have a good time, dinner and then some TV (you know the usual soap and stuff, a girl need to keep in touch with the emotions). Hells-bells n’ alls well, now its Time for sweet dreams.

Saturday
Wake up at 11.30 am, ok ok 12.00, have a late brunch with ma, play with dogs, go to a movie, hit a discotheque, come back late, hit the bed.

Sunday
Ok, ditto.

Fact of the Matter: Life is one big party, no pressure, no tensions, no hassles…

LIFE AFTER BPO

Monday
Alarm goes off at 5.30 am, up in a jiffy, don’t wanna miss the train, have my manager make a case out of my unpunctuality, get to the office around 8.45, I am not even in and my colleague say hi with a big smile. The news about the metrics is in and I have the lowest score again. Well I will show them this week, I am all fired up to go, the day starts with a rush of energy, lunch is a solitary ritual, spending quality time with myself, eating horrible food at the cafeteria and at the end of the day (which is not the time my shift ends, way too late) go home, too tired to go out, eat and then sleep.

And so the story goes for the week…

Fact of the Matter: As Thomas Hughes said: “Life isn’t all beer and skittles”. I have learnt discipline and started appreciating the direction which my life is taking, opportunities, and challenges offered to me everyday, to prove my worth is prize unto itself. And hey after every party, you are the one who have to clear up the trash.

But I would certainly love to kill the next person who goes, “BPO!!! Why don’t you find a real job.” Don’t they know that a new landscape of global services is emerging due to BPO industries? In FY 2004-05, BPO accounted for the creation of over 73,500 new jobs, and is expected to add another 94,500 jobs in the current fiscal. Revenues from BPO grew from USD 2.5 bn in FY2002-3 to USD 3.6 bn in FY 2003-04 (44%). Well do I need say more… well gotta go, don’t wanna be late for work.

Sangeeta Poojari was the runners-up in a writing competition organised by Integreon for its employees. She was the proud winner of a Sony VCD player. The competition was co-sponsored by TCP BPO.