ITeS-BPO Sector
The Indian BPO industry posted a strong rebound in growth during FY 2010-11 and is pegged to generate revenues worth US$ 76 bn this year, with a growth of over 19% over the previous year according to NASSCOM. However, a recent report by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) indicates that the sector is facing issues with attrition rate increasing sharply to 55% during December 2010–March 2011. Nonetheless, companies like vCustomer, Genpact and Aegis have set upon a range of initiatives and employee-centric policies to enhance the ‘feel-good’ factor among their workforce for curbing attrition and attracting talent.
Centre of Attention
vCustomer has put in place an employee relationship team to ensure that the employees have a healthy work-life balance. Organisational development teams ensure overall growth of the company’s employees, while internal communication teams ensure that there is proper redressal of HR related grievances. Further, to ensure employee satisfaction, corrective actions are introduced on the basis of an employee satisfaction survey conducted in-house twice a year. Similar measures were undertaken at Wipro to boost staff morale, like training and leadership programs and cross-border interactions between employees. The company also introduced measures specifically for its women employees – a sexual harassment committee provides safer working environment while maternity leave allowances ensure that the fairer sex gets its due.
Rural Path
Many companies are sourcing talent from rural India even as urban graduates chase higher pay, perks and designations. Wipro, Tech Mahindra and TCS have conducted placement drive with the help of Central Placement Cell (CPC) of Karnataka Vocational Training & Skill Development Corporation Ltd in first of its kind initiative. The interviews were conducted in five districts, besides Bengaluru with as many as 137 of 736 rural graduates bagging on-spot job offers. As against this, only 55 out of 737 candidates from Bengaluru were offered jobs. Companies believe that rural candidates are likely to stay with the company for a longer duration and are less demanding when it comes to remuneration and relocation.