Global citizens: Sabeera Akhtar (L) from Jorhat, Assam, and Rajiv Ranjan from Dhanbad, Jharkhand, have been hired by EXL and Wipro Spectramind, respectively

Some of them have been practising their Neil Diamond accents for months. Some of them just need to finance a big city lifestyle. But they're coming. All around from across the land, and in droves, they're coming to America-or at least that outsourced slice of America to be had at business process outsourcing (BPO) units.

Just where, geographically, are these BPO employees coming from?

Everywhere. That's the first answer from BPO recruiters. And to a large extent, that's true. A random face taken from any call centre could be from just about anywhere in India-doing to Call Centre India what the Railways did decades ago, accustomising Indians from one place to Indians of another. "There is great value-add due to diversity," exults Nandita Gurjar, Vice President (hr), Progeon.

And now that Benedict Arnold isn't troubling the industry any longer, the BPO boom is projected to go on for a while yet. Says Umesh Vyas, Consulting Partner, QAI (a software process improvement firm): "There are three lakh people working in this industry, and in the last year the BPO industry generated jobs for over one lakh."

Cubicle Specific

Diverse recruitment sounds nice. But as with any cubicle farm, some parts of India contribute more than others to its make up. The immediate catchment zones around India's big bpo centres-Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Pune-are supply areas for reasons of proximity. Then there's the accent factor, Punjabi-English being the preferred one. But that doesn't seem to be holding out much longer. Moreover, it's now the north-eastern region that seems to have taken to the BPO business with special enthusiasm. Northern dominance is over.

A nationwide spread makes the most sense, according to Wipro Spectramind, which has 13,300 employees at five locations in India: Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Mumbai and Chennai. This helps keep overall attrition low while providing a buffer for any region-specific crisis. For recruitment, the company is looking even wider. Says Rakesh Sharma, Vice President (Strategic Sourcing and Recruitment) at Spectramind, "Spectramind is hunting and farming in 38 locations and adding around 2,500 people in the next 12 months."

The current job seekers' surge, as Spectramind is experiencing it, is strongest in the catchment area of Kolkata-Orissa, North-East India and Jharkhand. "People from the East work much harder, because they have fewer opportunities," says Rajiv Ranjan, a 24-year-old supervisor at Spectramind Kolkata, originally from Dhanbad in Jharkhand. "People in the East may not be readymade in terms of accent," he hastens to claim, "but they have better grammar."

Readymade? It's a term used to indicate how ready a recruit is, by way of accent, to be put on the phone with people overseas. According to Sharma, just 20 per cent of BPO prospects interviewed are readymade, 60 per cent are trainable and the rest untrainable. The trainable have to be put through a 'funnelling' process, the conversion rate for which, in Spectramind's experience, is around 15 per cent for North recruits and about 5 per cent for South recruits.

Blending 'Em In

"The BPO industry had a distinctly North Indian bias," admits Deepak Dhawan, VP (HR), EXL, "but that is changing." Voice and number-crunching jobs form a 60:40 ratio at EXL, and in Dhawan's experience, the best accounting profiles tend to be hired from Lucknow, and the best voice profiles from Delhi, Kolkata and Pune. The technical jobs are best handled by recruits from cities such as Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Yet, increasingly, more and more people are being hired from the North-East. Sabeera Akhtar, 27, was a school teacher in Jorhat, Assam, before she joined EXL. "People from the North-East are soft spoken, and I was asked to be more assertive and not overly polite," she laughs.

At Progeon, Infosys' BPO arm in Bangalore, the non-voice: voice ratio is 70:30, and the voice jobs tend to be taken by people of North Indian origin who studied in Bangalore. At icici OneSource, "the transformation of 22-23 year olds into global citizens" is the emphasis. "Today's youth is extremely cosmopolitan" to begin with, avers Aashu Calapa, VP (HR) at ICICI OneSource. In any case, the big cities draw youngsters from all across the country. "People who do not have opportunities in their own state tend to migrate," agrees Mohammed Zia Mirza, 24, a call centre executive who fondly recalls the wonder on a Tibetan associate's face on seeing the operations.

Several call centres prefer to house their recruits on the premises. As with boarding schools, all accents could eventually blend themselves into whatever gets across best. Over time, then, BPO recruitment will actually become a pan-Indian affair. "It is about being able to solve the customer's problem," shrugs Dhawan, "they don't care which accent you do it in."

Wedding Design's Mohan: Laying it out

SPOTLIGHT
Wedding Planners

Got great organisational and people skills and a creative bent of mind to match? consider a career as a wedding planner. It takes logistical expertise, sure, getting everything in place from flower arrangements to the bride's trousseau. But it's that subtle imaginative touch of personalisation that makes for memorability (and eventual reputation). Also, staying calm under stress to be able to handle high-strung relatives is a big plus, says Vandana Mohan, CEO, The Wedding Design Company. An events or design background, or hospitality experience would be good too. And the scope for earnings? A start-up planner could earn some Rs 30,000 per wedding function, with the money shooting up as word of your expertise spreads.

-Priyanka Sangani

COUNSELLING
Help, Tarun!

I am a 19-year-old final year BBA student doing my specialisation in marketing. I want to do an MBA in international business or in advertising and communication after I graduate. However, I am unable to decide whether to pursue the MBA right after graduation or work for a couple of years, since most institutes prefer students with work experience. If I choose the first option, which of the two specialisations would be better in the long run in terms of job prospects? In case I decide to work, which companies should I target and how much salary should I expect?

International business is totally different from advertising or communication. There is no comparison between the two streams. To get a fair idea about which one is better for you, you would do well to work with an ad agency, an event management company or an export house for a year or two and then make your decision. However, do not expect a high salary at the start. Instead focus on gaining experience and building your knowledge base. This would go a long way in helping you find out where your interest and aptitude lies.

I am a 22-year-old BSc (Agriculture) student, simultaneously working as a junior research fellow with the research institute where I am studying. I have heard that there is a lot of scope for biotechnology these days. I have about two years of hands-on experience in plant breeding and new agricultural practices like creating high-yielding variety of seeds. Is there any scope for fresh graduates in biotechnology and if there is, which biotech companies should I target at this stage? What kind of remuneration do such companies offer? Do I need to go in for an MSc to improve my prospects?

You are right about the diverse and growing field of biotechnology and its prospects. Today, there are several companies in India in both human and agri sciences. But with your agriculture background and HYV experience, companies like Monsanto India would be a good choice. However, you would need an MSC degree to better your prospects. The fields of biotech and related life sciences are highly R&D intensive and you should focus on research and development as well as higher qualifications for future growth.

I am a 26-year-old senior transaction-processing associate with a reputed BPO firm. I have been working here for the past four years with a good record. In fact, my promotion to the manager's post is due soon. Recently I came across an ad for a day job in a domestic BPO. Night shifts have always been a problem, but earlier there was no choice. Now I am contemplating a switch. However, I am in doubt over the future of the domestic BPO, though the company behind it is one of the best IT services firm in the industry, and is offering a much better pay package than my present employer. What should I do?

Your dilemma is quite common. However, it is important to take a strategic decision rather than a tactical one. If night shifts are bothersome, you are better off with the domestic company. But remember, there may be a trade off here: a reputed name versus a domestic start-up. The domestic parent, as you say, has a good standing and is offering a handsome package. Plus, in the ITEs industry, you will not be associated with a single organisation all your life. You can always move back to an international firm after a few years, since the industry is in constant churn.

I am a 24-year-old postgraduate in commerce with an MBA in finance from a tier two college. I am in a dilemma whether to join a company in a finance position or prepare for a bank job or a PSU one, since I have great interest in banking. Is there any scope for doing both simultaneously? Alternatively, do I need to sign up for an additional course in banking to better my prospects? Please advise.

If you have an interest in the field of banking, that is where you should focus. For this you need to apply for jobs in banks and organisations present in the financial services sector. Simultaneously, keep your options open and also apply for a finance job in a company just in case the bank doesn't work out. However, despite the growing demand in the sector your qualifications may not be adequate to land you a job with a top-notch bank. You could enhance your capabilities once you are working by choosing an area of specialisation and doing a course pertaining to that field.

Answers to your career concerns are contributed by Tarun Sheth (Senior Consultant) and Shilpa Sheth (Managing Partner, US practice) of HR firm, Shilputsi Consultants. Write to Help,Tarun! c/o Business Today, Videocon Tower, Fifth Floor, E-1, Jhandewalan Extn., New Delhi-110055.

Outsourced Publishing
More literary than verbal? BPO jobs beckon.

Giant clicking sound: Desktop publishing move in

If the set of skills you prize for yourself weighs more towards the literary than verbal (or more literary than technical, for that matter), do not despair. The BPO industry isn't closed for you. In fact, India is emerging as the world's favourite destination for outsourced publishing work. Back-end news-wire jobs have been flying into Bangalore, courtesy Reuters, for some time now. But the rest of the world's book publishing industry has not exactly been inactive either.

Dorling-Kindersley, Prentice Hall, Pearson, McGraw Hill and Cambridge University Press are just some of the publishers that have started sending deskwork to India. Content development, editing, layouts and design are the main areas of operation. Primary desktop and sub-editing skills can fetch jobs that pay up to Rs 20,000 a month, even as more accomplished skill sets get larger sums. According to Sanjay Jindal, Founder and Director, Netsutra, the industry is looking for good language skills, computer adaptability and creativity. Best of all, says Ranjit Singh, CEO, TechBooks, the industry's demand is still greater than the supply. So expect opportunities and pay scales to rise.

-Priyanka Sangani

Biometrics At Work
Have your head-or rather, iris-examined.

Big bother, small cost: Iris scans for office security

If Bhanu Prakash, country head, Bartronics India Limited, is to be believed, then "buddy punching" (the punch-card equivalent of proxy attendance) in offices is on its way out. The new security framework is being defined by biometrics. This means fingerprint reading and iris scanning, before your bonafides are digitally verified. Fingers and eyeballs are not easily left at home, borrowed or stolen (unless you're an ace 'pre-cog' from Minority Report). "Besides ensuring that the right people access the right areas, it also helps in maintaining discipline," reasons Prakash.

At Mahindra & Mahindra, for instance, employees must have their index finger scans match their input codes. ABN Amro, Tata Motors, IDBI and BSE are some others that have adopted biometrics. The calculation: the costs of data theft or misuse far outweigh the costs of biometrics. A system can be installed for under Rs 1,20,000, though the bill could depend on assorted factors. And how are employees reacting? "We have an ongoing awareness programme for our employees, who understand the need for data security," explains Arvind Tawde, Chief Information Officer, M&M.

-Supriya Shrinate