BPO industry is booming, says Kiran Karnik

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Tremors from global mergers and buyouts are being felt in Gurgaon and other BPO hubs. The recent buyout of AT&T by SBC Communications led to very uncertain times for some 200 employees of Convergys, which was handling the AT&T calls. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Timesofindia.com</span><span style="" font-style:="" italic=""> spoke to </span><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Kiran Karnik</span><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">, President, NASSCOM (National Associations of Software and Service Companies) on the impact of these global mergers on the Indian BPO industry and the challenges ahead of it.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">What is the impact of global buyouts and mergers on Indian BPO industry? </span><br /><br />Mergers and acquisitions do have an impact on the BPOs but the impact is greater at the managerial level and not the employee level. <br /><br />A company cannot have two managing directors, so the major changes occur only at the senior levels. The tremors are also felt at the lower levels but the situation is easy to cope with. <br /><br />This whole process of buyouts and mergers will go on for a while. Take the example of IBM Daksh and Wipro Spectramind, nothing is new to the market. In fact, in the coming days we might get to hear about one BPO buying another. <br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">How do should employees deal with the uncertainties surrounding their work, considering that a merger could leave them jobless or displaced? </span><br /><br />The concept of job security doesn''t exist anymore. Employees have to change their mindsets and should be ready for such shakeouts. Today the game is performance-based. <br /><br />The Indian BPO industry is booming and is continuously recruiting people. There are jobs looking for people, instead of people looking for jobs. Open any classified section, BPO jobs dominate the market.<br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">What are the major challenges faced by the Indian BPO industry?</span><br /><br />According to me there are three major challenges facing the Indian BPO industry:<br /><br />Firstly, the problem of human resources is of a huge concern. We need to have the right quality of people in the right quantity. The job induction programmes are challenging for both the employees as well as the organization. <br /><br />Secondly, the problem of infrastructure has also caused us concern. Transportation is posing a huge problem. <br /><br />The major call centres are located on the outskirts of the city. <br /><br />Long travelling hours result in high frustration levels among employees which could ultimately lead to them opting for a 9-5 job which is closer to their homes.<br /><br />The problem is adding to attrition. However, the BPO''s are working out mass transportation programmes. <br /><br />Maybe, after the Delhi metro is fully functional, the condition would improve. Delhi still has an option, Bangalore - the IT hub does not even have a metro plan.<br /><br />Power problems in the cities are also causing us worry.<br /><br />Lastly, there are problems of government regulations on tax. A considerable debate has been going on since the last few months over taxability of foreign companies, which have outsourced business processes to Indian BPO units.</div> </div>