Outsourcing is very important to the business world and helps many companies in a variety of aspects. Creating partnerships with outsourcing companies is vital for companies to survive in this day and age. It also saves a lot of money for many companies, which benefits them greatly. India’s business-process-outsourcing (BPO) companies are a $50 billion industry however has recently been experiencing problems. They have started to struggle to attract the right kind of people to work there. The image of a business-process-outsourcing used to be considered prestigious and financially beneficial, but that has changed. Now people rather work in traditional sectors. They have realized that to change people’s perception of the profession, rebranding would be needed to help with that. If BPO employees would feel loyalty toward and support their companies, it would send a good message of the industry to others. A study conducted, based on Gallup data, has shown that as long as the numbers are dropping, BPO companies will not be able to change people’s perception of them. This data shows that only 28% of employees intend to stay with their companies for the next few years and that they would promote their company to others. This low level of loyalty is why the business is experiencing so much turnover and lost productivity. Word of mouth in very important in society today, however in India it is vital for businesses to survive. Indians tend to rely on advice from other people, especially trusted people, when it comes to making big decisions. This is how the problem is arising, because people who would have normally gone into the BPO industry and being advised to pick other professions now.
The industry will not survive if business owners do not start taking care of their employees. In order for the BPO to turn around, business owners need to direct their focus on making sure that their employees are happy. If they do not succeed with this, then they will not be able to obtain new employees which is ultimately what they need. Employees need to feel important in what they do and like they are making a difference somehow. They have need to feel that they are learning and growing while at their job, because let’s face it; no one wants to stay at a dead end job where they are not actually getting anything from. Employees must feel empowered and engaged in what they do.
What do you think are other ways that the BPO can raise their workforce number? Should employers focus on their current employees in order to get new ones in the future? Or should getting new employees be their main focus instead?