Future of BPO Career in 2010
Even in the face of the ongoing US meltdown (see end of article for more details) the BPO industry provides some of the most lucrative job opportunities on the market today. But how do you get into this market? And, once there, what do you need to do to make the big bucks that people keep promising? We take a look at some of the answers.
Entry:
One of the most attractive things about some processes in the BPO industry is that they need only a basic 10+2 to enter. No international BPO unit hires an employee who is less than 18 years old, although domestic BPO outfits do (this isn’t a problem if you have a sneaky headhunter).
What is definitely required from a candidate is good communication skills and a willingness to learn. Many BPO companies hire candidates with basic qualifications and then train them. A company will pay a candidate more if s/he already possesses the necessary skills. Few companies will only hire employees who have had some kind of previous work experience.
High Attrition Industry:
Even after years of experience, the HR departments of BPO companies have to deal with huge attrition levels.
“Despite the fact that we offer starting salaries of Rs 12,000-15,000, much higher than the market rate for a job demanding the same qualifications, we’re experiencing annual attrition rates of 40-50 per cent,” says Bipin Chauhan, an HR manager at Pangea3, “It’s one of the biggest problems facing the industry.”
One of the reasons is the fact that many view the BPO industry as a short-term, lucrative careers option. The odd hours, routine nature of the work and the stress of constantly dealing with irate customers also take their toll on the workforce. These aren’t the only reasons though.
“Among those committed to the BPO industry, there are many reasons to leave a job,” says Lokesh Manu, who worked as a third person collection executive at 24/7. “A major one is that BPOs frequently poach each other’s employees, so you may get a better — that is, higher paying — job elsewhere. Also, many BPO employees move to Knowledge Process Outsourcing companies, which pay better and are also more interesting. And of course, some people, who enter the industry with the intention of staying, leave because they’re turned off by the hard partying lifestyle.”
Kinds of Work:
Other than the well-known call centres (called voice-based processes), there are many higher-end BPOs which handle value added functions like invoice processing and research.
Another trend which promises to prove to be huge is the emergence of Knowledge Process Outsourcing. These are companies that handle high-end back office transactions like data analysis, planning etc. Legal Process Outsourcing is an example of this trend. Such companies hire skilled workers: MBAs, lawyers etc and have attrition rates in single digits. They also pay much better than BPOs, since they require employees with CAs, PhDs etc.
Levels of Work:
An entry-level employee in a BPO unit is known, among other things, as an ‘agent’, ‘associate’ or ‘executive’. The entry-level positions exist for those with under two years of experience. At a voice-based BPO unit, the salary at entry level is roughly Rs 12,000-20,000 per month, depending on a person’s educational qualifications, experience and whether or not he or she has had any previous training, relieving the company of the need to train him or her.
At a non-voice based BPO unit, entry-level salaries vary from Rs 15,000-25,000. KPO units, requiring the high-level talent and qualifications that they do, pay Rs 18,000-30,000 per month.
BPO companies tend to have a relatively flat hierarchy. After three or four years of experience, an agent may be promoted to team leader. “We promote roughly a quarter of our employees in a given year,” says Bipin “This is because the industry — and the company — are expanding at breakneck speed, so there is plenty of space for an employee to take on new roles.”
A team leader in a voice-based BPO makes Rs 24,000-32,000 per month. A team leader in a non-voice BPO makes Rs 27,000-35,000 per month. A team leader in a KPO can rake in Rs 40,000+ a month.
The project manager is the highest level at which one is directly associated with processes in a company. A project manager at a voice-based BPO company makes between Rs 45,000-50,000 per month. A project manger at a non-voice BPO unit earns Rs 48,000-52,000 per month and a project manager at a KPO earns Rs 50,000 per month.
Training and Cross-Functionality :
BPO companies, on a scale and with willingness absent in other industries, encourage their employees to take up training programmes that strengthen their skills or help them develop new ones. Not only do they grant employees the leave required to take up these programmes but some even fund them.
These programmes vary from those that teach agents to communicate more effectively with customers to MBAs in certain disciplines for managers. The key to progress in a BPO is to acquire new skills. Since the structure of the organisation does not change very often, it is easy to evaluate what skills — and, by extension, courses — are needed and what impact they will have on your career.
BPO units reward a person who has the ability — and will — to acquire new skills. A crucial component of one’s career is internal job rotation: swapping job roles within the company itself, thus building a skillset that cuts across functions.
“This is very important as it sends out a very strong signal about the person and his work ethic.” says Lokesh, “Companies want someone who can take on new challenges. I’ve had many friends who have been re-hired — at good salaries — by companies they’ve left who want to use the skills that the employees have gained while working for another company.”
Employees will receive performance reviews every six months — in some company’s, every three — which serve to gauge an employees’ progress. At this point, new roles are assigned and training programmes recommended. This mobility is the key to success in the BPO sector, where talent is always short and good, enterprising employees are the most sought after commodity on the market.
Recession?:
With the US economy sagging and appearing ready to go into recession, BPO units are set to take a hit. However “It’s still a very high growth industry,” says Lokesh, “The cost-saving power of outsourcing is so powerful — and potential so vast — the industry will continue to grow even through hard times. The growth will be slowed down, and raises and promotions severely hit, but it’s still one of the best options available to a young professional.”
By http://www.targetseo.com - provides search engine optimization and search marketing services for BPO, KPO and Offshore Outsourcing Development firm across the world.
Your Search for the Right Corporate Gift ends at Infibeam.com
Infibeam.com launches its all exclusive collection of a wide array of gift items which promises to cater gift requirements of the corporate world. Occasions may be numerous and variety of gifts fewer, Infibeam.com has come up with innovative ideas for presenting just the right gift to business-partners, clients, customers and employees.
Speaking at its launch the founder and CEO Mr. Vishal Mehta said “A thank you note or a token of appreciation, gifts have become synonymous with celebrations in the corporate world”. He also added “in the recent past the novelty in the gifts presented has seen an upsurge and we at Infibeam.com have come up with novel ideas and a wide array of gifts to cater to the requirement”
Corporate gifts are generally exchanged between business partners, customers, clients and employees especially during festive occasions like Diwali, Christmas and New Year. The corporate gifts include electronics, crockery, silver and gold coins, sweets, cakes, dry fruits, flowers, combos, gift vouchers and curios to list a few.
There may be several reasons that necessitate exchange of gifts - appreciation for work well done, festivals, anniversaries and birthdays are however the principal occasions. Infibeam.com has an elite assortment of corporate gifts for Diwali as well.
The online retail giant is confident of meeting the client requirements with the wide range of gift items mentioned above. Online shopping is by far the easiest as it involves a few minutes of search and a series of simple clicks to buy. Infibeam.com can enhance the gifts program with their comprehensive range or customized products as per personal choices.
http://www.infibeam.com/static/corporate-program.html
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IIM Student’s Case Study on Rambhai Tea Maker (Chaiwala)
A humble chaiwala who inspired a website has been honoured with a case study at IIM-A on his business that has all the ingredients that go into a successful venture.
For the past 25 years, Ram Attar Kori has been selling student favourites such as tea, biscuits, egg bhujiya, buns, paan and cigarettes on the footpath outside the campus of the premier business school which has recognised him by “opening” a window through the border wall which allows easier access.
Today, Rambhai, 51, was in the classroom as an “observer”, listening to three management experts who presented a case study on his business model, which, as one of them said, was a humbling lesson on the untold success stories that abound on India’s dusty and bustling streets.
He keenly listened to the discussion on the case study presented by the three: Umesh Neelakantan of the DCMAT School of Media and Business, Kerala, Jaspreet Ahluwalia, assistant professor at the Centre for Management Training and Research, Mohali, and Sonal Katewa, assistant professor, Asia Pacific Institute of Management, Jaipur.
The trio are part of a batch of 38 business management teachers who are doing a faculty development programme at IIM.
“The reason why we chose Rambhai as our case study is that we noticed he had a huge clientele among the students. We learnt that he has been doing business at the same place for the last 25 years. As we have to do a case study as a part of our curriculum, we decided that instead of going to any corporate house, why not study this man who has blended various principles of management without undergoing any formal management training,” said Katewa.
Language was no barrier as Rambhai listened to the presentation on him and his business model.
“I was not supposed to say anything as I was there as a guest and observer,” said the man who had turned out for his big moment shorn of his patent stubble and smartly attired in a new olive green shirt and cream trousers.
Much like Pramod-da of Calcutta’s Presidency College and Arun-da of St Xavier’s, who has “retired”, Rambhai is a legend on campus. He has even inspired a website www.rambhai.com, which is a platform for free exchange of views, similar to the kiosk he runs where many ideas have been born.
The son of an agriculture labourer from Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh, Rambhai came to Ahmedabad at the age of four. After doing odd jobs, he started his teashop in the early eighties and has not looked back since.
And like any savvy entrepreneur, he isn’t willing to let out the numbers. “Let me say that I earn well enough to look after my needy relatives and educate my 20-year-old daughter, a student of fine arts at CN Vidyalaya,” he said, adding that the IIM experts had promised to help him expand his business. But students say his daily sale would be “at least” Rs 2,000.
Neelakantan said the rationale for doing a case study on the man was to show that “even an institute like IIM-A can learn a lesson from a street vendor”.
“Generally, street vendors are perceived to be tough and ill- mannered guys, but here is a man who is simple, loveable, light-hearted and yet has been successfully doing business outside an elite institute, stationing himself in one place for the last 25 years and maintaining a long-term customer relationship,” said Neelakantan.
Ahluwalia pointed out that even without formal management training, Rambhai was “practically executing all management principles”.
“Like every entrepreneur, he first saw an opportunity to start his own business outside the IIM-A campus, developed a strategy and maintained a system which ensured he got repeat customers,” said Ahluwalia.
Katewa said Rambhai mastered the concept of good customer relations: a popular management concept considered a cornerstone of success for any consumer product. “He has been observing customers. He realised the importance of location, right outside the IIM-A gate,” said Katewa.
Source : http://www.telegraphindia.com
Lap-up the best ‘Deal of the Day’ at Infibeam.com
The online retail giant Infibeam.com introduces a ‘Deal of the Day‘ concept for a wide range of products. Everyday, at midnight a new deal of the day is announced. Each deal has a limited quantity and customers will receive the product on first come first serve basis.
Speaking at its launch the founder and CEO, Mr. Vishal Mehta said “We are glad to announce the new Deal of the Day scheme, launches new products at a stroke of the midnight hour”. He stated “technology has paved way for shopping online through the night and our store caters to the customers’ needs even at midnight”
The deal of the day gets updated every midnight on a daily basis and shoppers who decide quickly and accurately are bound to avail the benefits. Customers and visitors can have several reasons to go in for the eye-catching deal, one of them being cost effective purchase. The Deal of the Day offer at Infibeam.com is time specific and on till stocks last. Other discounted items at the site include jewellery, and assorted gift items.
Infibeam.com has stores dedicated to gifts, jewelry, electronics, lifestyle, home furnishings and automobiles. Infibeam.com has the reputation of exceeding customer satisfaction with its diligent service. Free shipping is done across India. It has never been easier to gift items to friends and family in India. Overseas customers and visitors can avail the best deals at the site and have a whole new shopping experience.
About Infibeam.com:
Infibeam.com is a wonderful and exciting new destination online. We focus on selling a variety of products via the internet, which includes exciting new and used cars and bikes, mobiles, books, cameras, watches, health equipments, gifts, and a lot more at guaranteed lowest prices.
Choose a product of your choice and leave the rest to us! Our team is dedicated to provide you with the lowest prices, best selection, and a really cool experience you will find nowhere else online.
