BPO [Business process outsourcing], an indian prospective

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is the contracting of a specific business task, such as payroll, to a third-party service provider. Usually, BPO is implemented as a cost-saving measure for tasks that a company requires but does not depend upon to maintain its position in the marketplace. BPO is often divided into two categories: back office outsourcing, which includes internal business functions such as billing or purchasing, and front office outsourcing, which includes customer-related services such as marketing or tech support.BPO that is contracted outside a company’s own country is sometimes called offshore outsourcing. BPO that is contracted to a company’s neighboring country is sometimes called nearshore outsourcing, and BPO that is contracted within the company’s own country is sometimes called onshore outsourcing.The most common examples of BPO are call centers, human resources, accounting and payroll outsourcing.Use of a BPO as opposed to an application service provider (ASP) usually also means that a certain amount of risk is transferred to the company that is running the process elements on behalf of the outsourcer. BPO includes the software, the process management, and the people to operate the service, while a typical ASP model includes only the provision of access to functionalities and features provided or ’served up’ through the use of software, usually via web browser to the customer. BPO is a part of the Outsourcing Industry. It is dependent on Information Technology, hence it is also referred to as Information Technology Enabled Services or ITES. Knowledge Process Outsourcing, or Legal Process Outsourcing are some of the sub sets of Business Process Outsourcing.Industry Size India has revenues of 6.4 billion USD[2] from offshore BPO and 36 billion USD from IT and total BPO. India thus has some 5-6 % share of the total BPO Industry, but a commanding 63% share of the offshore component. This 63% is a drop from the 70% offshore share that India enjoyed last year, despite the industry growing 38% in India last year, other locations like South Africa, Philippines and Eastern Europe have emerged to take a share of the market. China too is trying to grow from a very small base in this industry, though the industry is expected to continue to grow in India. Its market share of the offshore piece is expected to reduce.Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a broad term referring to outsourcing in all fields. A BPO differentiates itself by either putting in new technology or applying existing technology in a new way to improve a process.Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is the delegation of one or more IT-intensive business processes to an external provider that in turn owns, administers and manages the selected process based on defined and measurable performance criteria. Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is one of the fastest growing segments of the Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) industry.Few of the motivation factors as to why BPO is gaining ground are:- Factor Cost Advantage- Economy of Scale-Business Risk Mitigation-Superior Competency-Utilization ImprovementGenerally outsourcing can be defined as - An organization entering into a contract with another organization to operate and manage one or more of its business processes.Different Types of Services Being Offered By BPO’sCustomer Support ServicesOur customer service offerings create a virtual customer service center to manage customer concerns and queries through multiple channels including voice, e-mail and chat on a 24/7 and 365 days basis.Service Example: Customers calling to check on their order status, customers calling to check for information on products and services, customers calling to verify their account status, customers calling to check their reservation status etc.
Technical Support ServicesOur technical support offerings include round-the-clock technical support and problem resolution for OEM customers and computer hardware, software, peripherals and Internet infrastructure manufacturing companies. These include installation and product support, up & running support, troubleshooting and Usage support.Service Example: Customers calling to resolve a problem with their home PC, customers calling to understand how to dial up to their ISP, customers calling with a problem with their software or hardware.
Telemarketing ServicesOur telesales and telemarketing outsourcing services target interaction with potential customers for ‘prospecting’ like either for generating interest in products and services, or to up-sell / promte and cross sell to an existing customer base or to complete the sales process online.Service Example: Outbound calling to sell wireless services for a telecom provider, outbound calling to retail households to sell leisure holidays, outbound calling to existing customers to sell a new rate card for a mobile service provider or outbound calling to sell credit or debit cards etc.
Employee IT Help-desk ServicesOur employee IT help-desk services provide technical problem resolution and support for corporate employees.Service Example: of this service include level 1 and 2 multi-channel support across a wide range of shrink wrapped and LOB applications, system problem resolutions related to desktop, notebooks, OS, connectivity etc., office productivity tools support including browsers and mail, new service requests, IT operational issues, product usage queries, routing specific requests to designated contacts and remote diagnostics etc.
Insurance ProcessingOur insurance processing services provide specialized solutions to the insurance sector and support critical business processes applicable to the industry right from new business acquisition to policy maintenance to claims processing.Service Example:New Business / Promotion: Inbound/outbound sales, Initial Setup, Case Management, Underwriting, Risk assessment, Policy issuance etc.Policy Maintenance / Management:Record Changes like Name, Beneficiary, Nominee, Address; Collateral verification, Surrender Audits Accounts Receivable, Accounting, Claim Overpayment, Customer care service via voice/email etc.
Data Entry Services / Data Processing ServicesService Example:Data entry from Paper/Books with highest accuracy and fast turn around time (TAT)Data entry from Image file in any formatBusiness Transaction Data entry like sales / purchase / payroll.Data entry of E-Books / Electronic BooksData Entry : Yellow Pages / White Pages KeyingData Entry and compilation from Web siteData Capture / CollectionBusiness Card Data Entry into any FormatData Entry from hardcopy/Printed Material into text or required formatData Entry into Software Program and applicationReceipt and Bill Data EntryCatalog Data Entry.Data Entry for Mailing List/Mailing Label.Manuscripting typing in to wordTaped Transcription in to word.Copy, Paste, Editing, Sorting, Indexing Data into required format etc.
Data Conversion ServicesService Example:Conversion of data across various databases on different platformsData Conversion via Input / Output for various media.Data Conversion for databases, word processors, spreadsheets, and many other standard and custom-made software packages as per requirement.Conversion from Page maker to PDF format.Conversion from Ms-Word to HTML formatConversion from Text to Word Perfect.Conversion from Text to Word to HTML and AcrobatConvert Raw Data into required MS Office formats.Text to PDF and PDF to Word / Text / DocData Compilation in PDF from Several Sources.E-Book Conversion etc.
Scanning, OCR with Editing & Indexing ServicesService Example:High speed Image-Scanning and Data capture servicesHigh speed large volume scanningOCR Data From Scanned page / imageScan & OCR paper Book in to CD.ADOBE PDF Conversion Services.Conversion from paper or e-file to various formats
Book Keeping and Accounting ServicesService Example:General LedgerAccounts Receivables and Accounts PayableFinancial StatementsBank ReconciliationAssets / Equipment Ledgers etc.
Form Processing Services:Service Example:Insurance claim formMedical Form / Medical billingOnline Form ProcessingPayrol Processing etc.
Internet / Online / Web ResearchService Example:Internet Search, Product Research, Market Research, Survey, Analysis.Web and Mailing list research etc.
Challenges for a HR Professional in BPOBrand equity: People still consider BPO to be “low brow”, thus making it difficult to attract the best talent.
Standard pre-job training: Again, due to the wide variety of the jobs, lack of general clarity on skill sets, etc, there is no standard curriculum, which could be designed and followed.
Benchmarks: There are hardly any benchmarks for compensation and benefits, performance or HR policies. Everyone is charting their own course.
Customer-companies tend to demand better results from outsourcing partners than what they could actually expect from their own departments. “When the job is being done 10,000 miles away, demands on parameters such as quality, turn around timeliness, information security, business continuity and disaster recovery, etc, are far higher than at home. So, how to be more efficient than the original?
Lack of focused training and certificationsGiven this background, the recruiting and compensation challenges of HR departments are only understandable.Key To successThe key to success in ramping up talent in a BPO environment is a rapid training module. The training component has to be seen as an important sub-process, requiring constant re-engineering.Business Process Outsourcing: The Top RankersWNS has emerged as the top BPO in India, pushing Wipro Spectramind to the second position, according to a survey done by NASSCOM . The basis of ranking is the revenues generated by the BPO companies in 2003-04, as per US GAAP. A list of top fifteen BPO companies in India is given below.WNS GroupWipro SpectramindDaksh e-ServicesConvergysHCL TechnologiesZentaICICI OnesourceMphasiSEXLTracmailGTL Ltd.vCustomerHTMT24/7 CustomerSutherland TechnologiesThe parameters for the survey was: Employee Size (Operation level executives), Percentage of last salary hike, Cost to company , Overall Satisfaction Score, Composite Satisfaction, Company Culture, Job Content / Growth, Training , Salary and Compensation , Appraisal System, People, Preferred Company: (Percentage of respondents of a company who named their own company as the preferred one), Dream Company: (Percentage of respondents in the total sample who preferred a particular company).Employee Benefits Provided By Majoriy Of the BPO CompaniesProvident Fund: As per the statutory guidelines, the employee is required to contribute a percentage of his basic salary and DA to a common fund. The employer for this fund contributes as well. The employee can use the amount deposited in this fund for various personal purposes such as purchase of a new house, marriage etc.Gratuity: Gratuity is one of the retrial benefits given to the employee in which the employer every year contributes a particular amount. The fund created can be used by the employee for the purpose of long-term investment in various things such as a house etc.Group Mediclaim Insurance Scheme: This insurance scheme is to provide adequate insurance coverage of employees for expenses related to hospitalization due to illness, disease or injury or pregnancy in case of female employees or spouse of male employees. All employees and their dependent family members are eligible. Dependent family members include spouse, non-earning parents and children above three monthsPersonal Accident Insurance Scheme: This scheme is to provide adequate insurance coverage for Hospitalization expenses arising out of injuries sustained in an accident. It is applicable to all the employees of JFWTC and covers total / partial disablement / death due to accident and due to accidents.Subsidized Food and Transportation: The organizations provides transportation facility to all the employees from home till office at subsidized rates. The lunch provided is also subsidized.Company Leased Accommodation: Some of the companies provides shared accommodation for all the out station employees, in fact some of the BPO companies also undertakes to pay electricity/ water bills as well as the Society charges for the shared accommodation. The purpose is to provide to the employees to lead a more comfortable work life balance.Recreation, Cafeteria, ATM and Concierge facilities: The recreation facilities include pool tables, chess tables and coffee bars. Companies also have well equipped gyms, personal trainers and showers at facilities.Corporate Credit Card: The main purpose of the corporate credit card is enable the timely and efficient payment of official expenses which the employees undertake for purposes such as travel related expenses like Hotel bills, Air tickets etcCellular Phone / Laptop: Cellular phone and / or Laptop is provided to the employees on the basis of business need. The employee is responsible for the maintenance and safeguarding of the asset.Personal Health Care (Regular medical check-ups): Some of the BPO’S provides the facility for extensive health check-up. For employees with above 40 years of age, the medical check-up can be done once a year.Loans: Many BPO companies provides loan facility on three different occasions: Employees are provided with financial assistance in case of a medical emergency. Employees are also provided with financial assistance at the time of their wedding. And, The new recruits are provided with interest free loans to assist them in their initial settlement at the work location.Educational Benefits: Many BPO companies have this policy to develop the personality and knowledge level of their employees and hence reimburses the expenses incurred towards tuition fees, examination fees, and purchase of books subject, for pursuing MBA, and/or other management qualification at India’s top most Business Schools.Performance based incentives: In many BPO companies they have plans for , performance based incentive scheme. The parameters for calculation are process performance i.e. speed, accuracy and productivity of each process. The Pay for Performance can be as much as 22% of the salary.Flexi-time: The main objective of the flextime policy is to provide opportunity to employees to work with flexible work schedules and set out conditions for availing this provision. Flexible work schedules are initiated by employees and approved by management to meet business commitments while supporting employee personal life needs .The factors on which Flexi time is allowed to an employee include: Child or Parent care, Health situation, Maternity, Formal education programFlexible Salary Benefits: Its main objective is to provide flexibility to the employees to plan a tax-effective compensation structure by balancing the monthly net income, yearly benefits and income tax payable. It is applicable of all the employees of the organization. The Salary consists of Basic, DA and Conveyance Allowance. The Flexible Benefit Plan consists of: House Rent Allowance, Leave Travel Assistance, Medical Reimbursement, Special AllowanceRegular Get together and other cultural programs: The companies organizes cultural program as and when possible but most of the times, once in a quarter, in which all the employees are given an opportunity to display their talents in dramatics, singing, acting, dancing etc. Apart from that the organizations also conduct various sports programs such as Cricket, football, etc and regularly play matches with the teams of other organizations and colleges.Wedding Day Gift: Employee is given a gift voucher of Rs. 2000/- to Rs. 7000/- based on their level in the organization.Employee Referral Scheme: In several companies employee referral scheme is implemented to encourage employees to refer friends and relatives for employment in the organization.Paid Days OffMaternity LeaveEmployee Stock Option PlanInspite of all these benefits, the attrition rate in BPO industry is very high, why?. What is the reason for an employee to leave? These and many more are the questions that need immediate attention from the industrial gurus.Why people prefer to join BPO’s?In general a person with any graduation can join any of the BPO. Some BPO’s like to take people with MBA but then again the specialization are of an individual hardly makes any difference. Again, this is the industry, where there is no reference checks and very often people don’t even specify there exact age. Lets me share with you some of the reasons as why people prefer to join a BPO:Did not get a better job.Find nothing better to do.Education level doesn’t matterGood work environmentGood BenefitsFlexibility of timeAttractive life styleTransport facilityWhy people leave the BPO’s?When there are so many benefits associated with BPO industry….when there are so many privileges for the BPO employees than what makes them to change the company/industry? ? Is it only MONEY that matters or anything else as well?? Here are some of the reasons for a BPO professional to change his/her job.No growth opportunity/ lack of promotionFor higher SalaryFor Higher educationMisguidance by the companyPolicies and procedures are not conduciveNo personal lifePhysical strainsUneasy relationship with peers or managers
the youth Prospective…
There are many a things about the BPO’s which is much demanded among the prospective youth.But the lack of information is creating an illusion about the BPO’s. Few cases wherein the CAB drivers ill deeds like kidnapping or Rape of a BPO Employee brings attention of the general public and this single bad news about the BPO’s just harms teh good chap image of the BPO’s in india.Still a higher percentage of youth who is looking for a career is avoiding BPO’s and this happens because of lack of information.But the actual truth is different. They have reasons too for this.There can be issues like
the odd shift timingApart form the domestic processes wherein the indian customers are served the rest of teh BPO’s serve te developed nations and global companies in US,UK,Australia etc.And as compared to the domestic BPO’ the percentage of International BPO’s is too high. The shift timings are generally odd in international BPO’s. Manisha Solanki,who worked in TELEPERFORMANCE which supports a firm’s Uk customers for Internet Broadband Support left her job because of the reason that she had a shift timing which started at 2.00 am upto 12 noon. Shift timings becomes the main obstacle for Girls and people who are having part time courses or people who are in the sam eindustry for more then 2 years and for people whoe are plaaning to get married.
Physical inabilitythere are lot many issues wherein peple working in BPO’s that to night shifts get affected by soem psychic diseases lke dizziness, continuos headache, loss of weight,irregullar diet issues,low eyeside etc…
External threatLike the cab drivers inhuman acts like molestation,rape,loot etc… this is the biggest concern for the call center management as this is the case wherein people are getting away from them.
there are other issues as well which forbids parents and prospective applicants to get away from BPO’s.
(N.B - Part of the article is from a document published in a Newspaper)