List of Articles

BPO FAQs
By - Sandeep Tapaswi


In the current scenario, how should one look at the opportunities in the ITES /BPO sector. This series of articles will provide information on this sector and will also address questions from the readers in an interactive manner. The current article will cover aspects related to a call centre executive’s job.

What is the ITES / BPO sector all about?
Business Process Outsourcing is the outsourcing of processes in a foreign country with a high content of Information Technology or enabled because of Information Technology. ITES stands for Information Technology Enabled Services whereas BPO stands for Business Process Outsourcing.

What are the key segments of the ITES segment
The key segment of the ITES sector are

  • Call centres
  • Back Offices
  • Medical Transcription
  • Remote Network Management
  • Content Management

    Key HR considerations when selecting a Call centre career / job
    1. Excellent entry level salaries
      Call centres offers excellent entry level salaries for young graduates. Not just are the entry level salaries attractive, due to the paucity of trained professionals in the middle management, salaries up the corporate ladder are equally attractive.
    2. Energetic fast paced work culture
      A call centre provides a fun filled environment with a very low average age and a typical western working environment. Variable Salary structures prevailing in a call centre are extremely rewarding for the good performers. Call centres boast of open and apolitical environment - ideal to start work care
    3. Excellent stop gap arrangement before further studies
      Many graduates can use a Call center job as a stepping stone to further their own career goals. Eg. a Commerce graduate may be planning to do ICWA or CA or MBA. Or an Engineer might be preparing for studying abroad. All these students should definitely explore the Call centre opportunity for the following reasons:
      1. Augment the economic resources to pay for entrance exams, tuition classes, fees for post graduation etc.
      2. A call centre job provides fixed 8 hour working shift, unlike a normal office job which can have overtime, travel etc. which can disturb your preparation for future studies / entrance exams.
      3. A call centre job provides a lot of exposure in diverse domains namely Finance, Engineering, Insurance etc.. in addition to exposing you to an International environment. This information is useful for candidates preparing for MBA entrance as well as the GRE / GMAT exams
    4. Monotonous job
      The call centre job is fairly monotonous. In addition to being monotonous, one has to sit glued to the computer and the seat for the entire shift. One is not allowed to just move around here and there and infact even if one has to go the toilet, one has to log out otherwise a call can be transferred to the workstation.
    5. Stress & Ability to Working in shifts
      Call centre executives have a lot of stress due to constant interaction with nagging customers (most of the time) and also the fact that they have to usually work in the night shifts. The body clock takes time to adjust to the shifts and when the body clock adjusts the customer takes over.
    What is the role for engineers in the Call centre industry?
    Currently many call centres are not recruiting Engineers, as they feel either engineers are over qualifies for the job or that they will not stick with a call centre for a long time. But there are many call centres which recruit technical help desk representatives, where engineers are not only preferred but become mandatory. Engineers should decide whether they want to make a long term career or use it as a sop gap arrangement. In case you ar e not getting jobs in your preferred sector, you should look at these openings with a positive approach.

    The author, Mr. Sandeep Tapaswi CEO, Fands Infonet Pvt. Ltd. and can be reached at response@fandsindia.com