India is one of the most favored markets for outsourcing business processes. This industry has evolved from voice-based processes to a specialized suite of services to address the dynamic and changing marketplace thus emerging as the global nerve center for business outsourcing activities.
With increasing functions that are being included in the outsourcing businesses, BPM sectoral careers have evolved and progressed with manynew roles and opportunities being added. BPOs now do not only provide vertical specific services but have also shifted to horizontal service expertise such as HR, recruitment, legal processes, and supply chain to drive its next phase of growth. Business transformation has led to closely align with customers, undertaking increasingly complex work and taking responsibility for the business outcomes of its services. This industry has significantly risen up the value chain, managing end to end businesses processes as opposed to handling piecemeal procedures.
Cost, people and technology are the key driving factors of this industry. The focus is on integrating the contributions of people and technology in a way that will not only fulfill commercial and brand objectives but also match and exceed customer expectations by understanding the behavior and motivational factor for customers and staff alike. Therefore, the focus is always on investing in training and development, job design and the work environment for the employees. The job of each individual demands certain functional and soft skill sets that are developed through 'on the job' training sessions. Training is always provided to each new entrant, however the extra knowledge that a person has is always beneficial.
The demand for people in this industry is ever growing. Skill development is one of the most lucrative benefits to offer, sometimes even giving opportunities to work with international clients. BPO is entering into new sectors; prefer to recruit people with domain specialisations in so that better service can be provided to each customer. These days functional expertise or industry knowledge is an asset in this industry.
There is enough opportunity for each individual to groom for higher or better opportunities. Skill sets and aspirations are driving people to choose this field, as it not only gives one the opportunity to contribute more towards each process but also enhances their career growth.The job descriptions have become broader. Now it is not just about being able to tackle customers on the phone, but having more empowered customer service professionals with decision-making abilities that lead to quick and easy resolution of customer's queries. This has given a rise to BPO's wanting to employ people who have special knowledge in those fields, capable of providing instant logical solutions to customers and train their team members. This industry has now started appreciating and wanting people from operations, finance, tech, management and so on. BPM has great opportunities for HR as most business units within the BPM have dedicated HR resources. In such roles, one will have a chance to carry out practically all facets of HR. Further one can also specialize in areas of Compensation, Learning & Development and HR Automation.
The kinds of roles within the industry include Agents, Team Leader, Team Managers, Quality Analysts, and Trainers amongst others. Data analytics professionals too have a great scope as various clients have started asking to optimize on the use of data for decision making and therefore data analysis, data mining skills are much in demand. There are also career options for professionals from industries like Hospitality, Retail, Healthcare, and Banking. Their expertise in these fields is definitely an added asset.
Graduation is now the formal education qualification preferable in this industry. Also the salaries have bypassed those of other organisations. Career opportunities exist both, within the centres and other divisions within the firm. For example, Technology is the backbone of BPO Operations Management and hence most BPOs have large IT teams where opportunities across Service Delivery, Business Continuity, Information Security and Digitisation could be available. In addition, BPOs that have IT clients also offer opportunities in Operations for members with an IT background.
The comfort of enrichment potential in terms of career growth has considerably risen that people now choose BPM as a career choice after finishing education. The hiring pattern has also changed. BPOs now hire qualified people such as Chartered Accountants, engineers, lawyers and PhD holders as consultants. The salary structure varies with the level of expertise that the person brings to the table.
People doing M.Tech, MBA have started looking at this industry with high expectations in terms of opportunities to offer. Outsourcing has now become a trend, and BPO's are spreading their wings towards more services and better opportunities to clients as well as employees. The IT-BPO industry has emerged as one of the most exciting and challenging places for young people to begin and grow their careers. 'Young People Big Jobs' has been the mantra of this industry. The industry is now poised for greater growth and innovation. Leading this growth and innovation will be people like you who are about to embark on their careers. The opportunities are immense, and it is up to you to arm yourself with your educational and professional skills and seize them.
Manuel D'Souza
He is the Director, Human Resources at Serco's Global Services Division. With over 26 years of experience in HR, Manuel has contributed to multiple facets of the HR function including people management, organization capability building and process management. Manuel holds a Master's degree in Human Resource from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies and is also equipped with a Master's degree in Finance.
.png){kind=logo}