Friday, December 19, 2008
Don’t Insult BPO Workers -Report
I’m a little tired of people equating BPO with the slave trade, and BPO workers with coolies. Take this article, for instance, which cites “the first major study of labour practices in Indian call centres,” and compares them with “Roman slave ships.” That is a ridiculous analogy, and it insults the people who work in BPO companies, who do so out of their own free will. They are not forced into taking up those jobs, and they do so presumably because they find it better than all the alternatives. They are aware of the working conditions that will be offered to them, and they can check out any time they want. Are these critics implying that BPO workers have made the wrong choices, and that they know better? This kind of condescending, self-righteous mindset is, sadly, rather too prevalent these days.When I was in college, in the early 1990s, it was unheard of for a graduate to get a job without having any additional qualifications. Today, an English-speaking graduate in any major city of India can easily find employment, contrary to a decade ago. The choices for young people have expanded, and that is a fantastic thing. It is a pity that there are still regressive people around who, instead of wanting to expand those choices further, bemoan the improvements that have taken place. Ivory towers are a perfect environment for self-delusion.
BPO companies show the sector has been quite well in its performances
The latest quarterly results of the BPO companies show the sector has been quite resilient in the face of multiple challenges: strengthening rupee, subprime problems and a possible demand slowdown in the US. However, high attrition rates, in excess of 50% in some cases, continue to be a serious concern for the industry. The listed BPOs that are delivering services primarily from India — Genpact, WNS, EXL and Firstsource — have notched up good sequential and year-on-year growth in revenue.
The bottom line, too, has grown well except in the case of WNS, which has taken a one-time hit due to its client mortgage lender First Magnus Financial Corporation going bankrupt. The BPO companies have managed to contain the currency risks largely through hedging. Genpact, for instance, is substantially hedged for its rupee costs for 2008 and 2009.
Geographical diversification has helped as well. Firstsource now has a better revenue split with the share of the US and UK coming down to 45% and 42% respectively, and that of India going up sharply to 13.2%. Most companies in the sector have even managed to improve operating margins.
The bottom line, too, has grown well except in the case of WNS, which has taken a one-time hit due to its client mortgage lender First Magnus Financial Corporation going bankrupt. The BPO companies have managed to contain the currency risks largely through hedging. Genpact, for instance, is substantially hedged for its rupee costs for 2008 and 2009.
Geographical diversification has helped as well. Firstsource now has a better revenue split with the share of the US and UK coming down to 45% and 42% respectively, and that of India going up sharply to 13.2%. Most companies in the sector have even managed to improve operating margins.
50% BPO staffers smoke regularly- Report
A stressed-out youngster who works odd hours and is addicted to his cigarette. If that's your image of a BPO employee, it may not be too way off. "Smoking is common in BPOs," say doctors from cancer hub, Tata Memorial Hospital, who have recently launched an ambitious study to track the tobacco consumption patterns in four BPOs in the city.
The two-year-long study was launched in August 2007 and preliminary findings showed that more than 50% of employees turned to cigarettes during work hours.Their concerns coincide with the growing emphasis on creating smoke-freenvironments, especially to keep youngsters away from passive smoke, which was the focus of the World Cancer Day observed on Monday.
While the BPOs in the study were no-smoking precincts, nothing stopped workers from taking a puff in their breaks, every two hours. So also, hookah bars nearby were also to blame for the addictive habit."Through the study, we are trying to understand why youngsters in BPOs who are generally educated and fall into the high income earning bracket take up smoking," said Dr Gauravi Mishra, consultant in preventive oncology at Tata Hospital.
As part of the study, doctors would also be initiating employees into behaviour therapy, pharmaco-therapy, education material and conducting focused group discussions to help workers kick the habit.But it's not just youngsters in BPOs we need to worry about. Head of Tata Hospital's preventive oncology, Dr S Shastri pointed out how school children, too, were being initiated into tobacco, many being just passive smokers. This was an area of concern as cancer is already among India's leading killers with 8 lakh Indians being diagnosed with cancer every year. "We should have zero-tolerance when it comes to tobacco exposure for school children. Passive smoking is particularly harmful to the metabolism of children and pregnant women," he said.
The statistics were alarming. The Global Youth Tobacco Survey showed that a stunning 13% of school children were using tobacco in some form and one in three students lived in homes where someone smoked. Another doctor pointed out how children were more harmed as they inhaled more air and in turn more carcinogens.Filmmaker and cancer survivor Anurag Basu joined the Tata doctors and Salaam Bombay Foundation in a smoke-free childhood campaign. He said, "When I was young, I thought it was macho to smoke. But looking back, I think one should be taught about the harmful effects of tobacco just as one is taught traffic rules, in school itself," he said. Basu was forced to quit smoking when he landed up in Tata hospital, years ago.
The two-year-long study was launched in August 2007 and preliminary findings showed that more than 50% of employees turned to cigarettes during work hours.Their concerns coincide with the growing emphasis on creating smoke-freenvironments, especially to keep youngsters away from passive smoke, which was the focus of the World Cancer Day observed on Monday.
While the BPOs in the study were no-smoking precincts, nothing stopped workers from taking a puff in their breaks, every two hours. So also, hookah bars nearby were also to blame for the addictive habit."Through the study, we are trying to understand why youngsters in BPOs who are generally educated and fall into the high income earning bracket take up smoking," said Dr Gauravi Mishra, consultant in preventive oncology at Tata Hospital.
As part of the study, doctors would also be initiating employees into behaviour therapy, pharmaco-therapy, education material and conducting focused group discussions to help workers kick the habit.But it's not just youngsters in BPOs we need to worry about. Head of Tata Hospital's preventive oncology, Dr S Shastri pointed out how school children, too, were being initiated into tobacco, many being just passive smokers. This was an area of concern as cancer is already among India's leading killers with 8 lakh Indians being diagnosed with cancer every year. "We should have zero-tolerance when it comes to tobacco exposure for school children. Passive smoking is particularly harmful to the metabolism of children and pregnant women," he said.
The statistics were alarming. The Global Youth Tobacco Survey showed that a stunning 13% of school children were using tobacco in some form and one in three students lived in homes where someone smoked. Another doctor pointed out how children were more harmed as they inhaled more air and in turn more carcinogens.Filmmaker and cancer survivor Anurag Basu joined the Tata doctors and Salaam Bombay Foundation in a smoke-free childhood campaign. He said, "When I was young, I thought it was macho to smoke. But looking back, I think one should be taught about the harmful effects of tobacco just as one is taught traffic rules, in school itself," he said. Basu was forced to quit smoking when he landed up in Tata hospital, years ago.
Call centers and business process outsourcing at now a days
Call centers and business process outsourcing providers are among industry sectors in India that are likely to cut more than 25% of their staffing soon, according to a report by a trade body.The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) said on Wednesday that companies in those sectors were faced with shrinking margins.
The prediction comes as the Diwali festival in India draws to a close. Companies postponed layoffs until the festival was over on humanitarian grounds, ASSOCHAM said.
Earlier this month, top Indian outsourcers like Infosys, Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services reported slower revenue and profit growth in the quarter to Sept. 30. These companies get most of their revenue from the U.S. and Europe, with a large number of their customers in the troubled banking and financial services sectors. (Listen to a podcast asking whether outsourcers can survive the down economy.)India's economy is also slowing down. The country's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, last week cut its estimate for the country's gross domestic product growth for the fiscal year ending next March 31 to a range of 7.5% to 8%, from an earlier forecast of 8%.New hiring by India's IT and services outsourcing industry has slowed down, but companies are not yet considering large-scale cuts, according to analysts.
The prediction comes as the Diwali festival in India draws to a close. Companies postponed layoffs until the festival was over on humanitarian grounds, ASSOCHAM said.
Earlier this month, top Indian outsourcers like Infosys, Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services reported slower revenue and profit growth in the quarter to Sept. 30. These companies get most of their revenue from the U.S. and Europe, with a large number of their customers in the troubled banking and financial services sectors. (Listen to a podcast asking whether outsourcers can survive the down economy.)India's economy is also slowing down. The country's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, last week cut its estimate for the country's gross domestic product growth for the fiscal year ending next March 31 to a range of 7.5% to 8%, from an earlier forecast of 8%.New hiring by India's IT and services outsourcing industry has slowed down, but companies are not yet considering large-scale cuts, according to analysts.
BPO opportunity seen in UK due to UK shortage because of " knowledged workers"
The current shortage of "knowledge workers" in the United Kingdom is good news for the country's outsourcing push in Europe.
A recent report from The Work Foundation, a London-based research and consultancy firm, said that the UK will need to attract more highly skilled workers from overseas for its high technology and "'knowledge intensive" industries.
The report's author noted that numbers are "relatively low," with only 167,000 high skilled workers in the country.
Reached for comment, Stephanie Weber, European IT Services Center (EITSC) business development manager, said UK companies have been suffering from the skills shortage for some time now.
According to the report, Filipinos are the third largest group of highly-skilled migrant workers, with a population of around 10,000. Indian nationals are by far the largest group with more than 45,000 followed by about 25,000 workers from the United States.
Next to the Philippines is South Africa (8,000) and Australia (6,500).
Under the previous work permit regime in the UK, 24 percent of highly skilled migrants were ICT professionals, 13 per cent were service managers and almost 10 percent in the healthcare sector.
A recent report from The Work Foundation, a London-based research and consultancy firm, said that the UK will need to attract more highly skilled workers from overseas for its high technology and "'knowledge intensive" industries.
The report's author noted that numbers are "relatively low," with only 167,000 high skilled workers in the country.
Reached for comment, Stephanie Weber, European IT Services Center (EITSC) business development manager, said UK companies have been suffering from the skills shortage for some time now.
According to the report, Filipinos are the third largest group of highly-skilled migrant workers, with a population of around 10,000. Indian nationals are by far the largest group with more than 45,000 followed by about 25,000 workers from the United States.
Next to the Philippines is South Africa (8,000) and Australia (6,500).
Under the previous work permit regime in the UK, 24 percent of highly skilled migrants were ICT professionals, 13 per cent were service managers and almost 10 percent in the healthcare sector.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
