BPO is the Long Term Contracting of a Company’s business processes to an outside service provider. “Outsourcing” in the broadest sense of the term, enables a corporation to BUY instead of MAKE.
Alternate phrases are used for BPO, viz. :
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)
Shared Services
I.T. Enabled Services (ITES)
Remote Services
In today’s wired and wireless world, since the main vehicle of business processes is the computer, virtually all business processes that need a PC, paper (images), and a phone, and do not require face to face interaction, can be outsourced to any part of the world.
Such routine operational services include third party manufacturing, processing of payroll, movement of inventory and goods, management of data centers, etc.
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2) Why do companies outsource?
The value proposition of BPO service providers is creating value from scale and skill. BPO Companies are more efficient and operate at a lower cost due to their size and technology.
Gartner has broken up the BPO space as follows :
Supply Chain Management
• Warehouse / Inventory
• Direct Procurement
• Transportation / Logistics
Operations
• R&D
• Contract Manufacturing
• Analysis / Quality Control
Business Administration
• Administration
• Finance & Accounts
• HR
• Billing
• Indirect Procurement
• Payment Services
Sales, Marketing, Customer Care
• Customer selection
• Customer acquisition
• Customer retention
• Customer extension
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BPO is one of the most rapidly growing businesses in India. The world market for I.T. Enabled Services (as defined by McKinsey) in 2008, is estimated by them to total around $142 billion. Of the above market, Nasscom McKinsey report has estimated that India will export between $21-24 billion (i.e. over Rs.100,000 crores) per annum in 2008.
The Gartner India forecast for Global BPO market from 244.6 billion in 2000 to $599.9 billion in 2005, segment-wise, is given below :
Industry Segment 2000 2005
H.R. 31.09 85.76
Finance & Accounts 9.26 24.86
Payment Services 20.90 53.00
M. Business Admin. 30.60 75.10
Operations 118.10 261.48
Supply Chain Management 20.90 53.60
Sales, Mktg & Customer Care 13.80 46.10
TOTAL 244.65 599.90
According to an article in the McKinsey Quarterly (2003) the BPO industry in 2002 was worth $32 –35 billion, just 1% of the $3 trillion worth of business functions that could be performed remotely. The market, according to them, is projected to grow by 30-40% annually over the next five years.
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4) Will there be shift working?
Yes. Since our clients are overseas based, due to the time difference, shift working is required at times to meet clients requirements. We have the following shift timings:
General shift 9:30 am to 5:30 pm
1st shift 7:00 am to 3:00 pm
2nd shift 3:00 pm to 11:00 pm
The major portion of our work currently is done in the first 2 shifts & the General Shift. TOP
5) What is our Selection process?
At junior levels, we recruit graduates & post graduates from all disciplines for our BPO divisions. Our BPO division recruits graduate from other disciplines such as arts, commerce, science, etc.
This selection depends on the requirement of different projects, for e.g. some projects strong written English skills are required and for others knowledge of taxation may be required, for some abstracting skills may be essential. The selection procedure involves interviews & written tests and reference checks or recommendations. We are an equal-opportunity employer.
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6) Would I be trained for these skills?
Yes. All new recruits have to go through our induction program. We have excellent training facilities, a separate training department with dedicated internal faculty. We provide general training for all our different processes and we also have project specific training. We also have refresher or advanced training courses to continuously update skills of our employees. Besides technical training, there is also soft skills/ behavioral training in areas such as leadership, team building, etc.
In addition to this formal training, there are several professional development courses provided to DTL staff to groom them into world-class professionals.
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7) What are my chances of going abroad?
For deserving professionals, there are several opportunities to go abroad. As we have our own offices in many countries, there are many projects from time to time. Usually, employees are sent after the first 12 months of service. This gives enough time to understand the organization and our processes. After this, depending on projects, you get a chance to prove your mettle in overseas projects.
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8) Can I move to different projects/ departments?
Yes. We have a practice called internal job watch where all the vacancies are declared internally. So if any employee is interested in other functions, he / she can apply for that position along with other candidates. The internal employee would be given preference and if found suitable would be transferred within departments. Besides this there is systematic rotation within projects. This system helps employees get cross-trained which increases his skills inventory.
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9) What are the different career paths we offer?
Further steps of growth could be in the position of a trainer or human resource personnel
