Nasscom BPO summit ends on postive note

BANGALORE: Nasscom, the apex industry association of software and service companies in India, on the closing day of the ITES-BPO strategy summit, stressed the need for the industry to adopt best practices in HR to address people challenges. The two-day summit witnessed an overwhelming participation of over 650 delegates including Indian ITES-BPO vendors, government officials, international customers and consultants.

Speaking on the success of the summit, Mr. Kiran Karnik, President, Nasscom, "We are pleased that the objective of the summit in terms of providing valuable business oriented content and strategic direction to the industry has been successfully met. It is encouraging that the industry has converged to address the challenges, adopt best practices and focused on improving its global competitiveness."

"The event also highlighted the contribution and commitment of the Government of Karnataka which has emerged as one of the key destinations for ITES-BPO sector in India", he added.

At an interactive meeting held during the event, HR managers from leading ITES-BPO companies addressed various issues related to HR such as poaching, manpower recruitment and retention and also reinforcing ITES-BPO as a robust career opportunity.

Speaking on the issue of poaching between companies, Mr. Suren Singh Rasaily, Senior Vice President, NIIT Ltd. and Head Plantworkz, said, "It will not be possible for the industry to arrive at a blanket agreement on poaching but bilateral agreements between companies are being signed. Basic norms are being put in place and code of ethics is being stressed upon by industry players within the sector with respect to HR practices. We are encouraging companies to adopt responsible behavior in order to ensure that the industry does not become a victim of its own actions. Industry needs to go aggressive but not cannibalistic."

Mr. G.V. Giridhar, General Manager - Human Resources, 24/7 Customer, said, "We are on track in terms of supply of manpower but we need to expand our reach to second tier B&C class towns. In order to ensure a consistent flow in the future, the industry needs to work with the government to introduce courses at a school and college level, which are in line with the requirements of the ITES-BPO industry."

Aadesh Goyal, Executive Vice President & GM, Hughes BPO Services, " Career growth in the industry is robust and there is a long-term opportunity. The great growth momentum that the industry is witnessing is creating both vertical and lateral career opportunities. There also exists enough growth opportunities in the middle-management and supervisory level within the industry".

Mr. Prashant Sankaran, Head - Contact Centre Business Unit, Digital Globalsoft said, "India has one of the largest pool of English speaking graduate workforce. The challenge for the industry is not in employment but employability. The industry is also hiring professionals from outside the industry in order to meet its steady supply of manpower."

Mr. Ashu Calapa, Vice President - Human Resources, ICICI Onesource, said, "The current average rate of attrition faced by the industry is between 30-35%. Also if you compare attrition rates for a Voice and Non-voice process, then attrition rates are significantly lower in a non-voice process. As the industry moves up the value chain and becomes a full-scale BPO player, attrition rates will further decrease."

Mr. Arjun Vaznaik, COO, Tracmail- "Training is a very important aspect of the ITeS-BPO industry and Nasscom is giving a lot of impetus and encouraging training companies to work with the industry. Also training in India of English language in schools needs to focus more from the communication perspective rather than just literary knowledge.

Nasscom ITeS-BPO forum has identified HR as one of the key challenges of the ITES-BPO industry and has formed a special task force to address short-term challenges such as Attrition and also long-term challenges such as ensuring availability of a skilled talent pool.