Mainstay Teleservices' Kevin Duffy: Learning to manage his money the 'Indian' way

Victoria Hickman is a Briton who works part-time as a training consultant for a couple of Indian business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, through a Pune-based recruitment agency, Next. She also works with an NGO, Shelter Associates, which rehabilitates slum dwellers. And when she isn't doing either, Hickman spends her time watching tigers at the Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh. "Watching tigers in the wild was a dream come true," says the 23-year-old, who came to India nearly 10 months ago. Hickman, who's also met Nobel laureate and the Tibetan leader-in-exile, the Dalai Lama, on one of her trips to the foothills of the Himalayas, feels it's necessary to integrate with the local community to take to the Indian culture.

But Hickman is atypical of perhaps hundreds of other Brits like Kenny Rooney, Kevin Duffy, Adrian Vaz and Andrew Copeland (who returned home last month after an year in GTL, Pune), who work full-time at BPOs across Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Gurgaon. For they, unlike Hickman, are not here for their obsession with tigers, culture or social work, but to get that all important work experience so that they get an edge in BPO careers back home. Another 30 are expected to arrive next month, courtesy Launch Offshore, a UK-based agency that recruits Brits for seven Indian BPOs, including GTL, HSBC in Hyderabad and Supersight in Chennai.

And, there is less and less of backpackers who land up as BPO's Brit recruits. "We do not have too many of these backpackers and most are experienced people with focussed goals in mind," says Anand Desai, General Manager (Human Resources), GTL.

"We offer a recruitment service wherein a (BPO) client pays us for sourcing, cultural training, and managing the recruit's travel and visa arrangements," says Tim Bond, Managing Director, Launch Offshore. "We also offer a consulting service where a client pays us a monthly fee for the people and we take care of all associated costs, including salary and accommodation."

Indian Salaries, Indian Values

"There is no difference between the wages offered to us and our Indian colleagues," says Rooney. After working as a team leader with GTL for five months at a salary of Rs 25,000 per month, he is currently working for one of the biggest BPOs headquartered in Bangalore. With no preferential salaries or perks for foreigners, no wonder most Brit BPO workers have also taken to changing jobs frequently, much like their Indian counterparts. Well, par salaries and lateral job opportunities for these Brits is also a sign of Indian BPO industry's equal-opportunity status, for what seems to matter to recruiters is experience, the colour of skin notwithstanding, well as long as they have a valid work visa.

Most British recruits, who initially landed up in an Indian job through Launch Offshore, have quickly moved on to better opportunities. Duffy, who came in as a Culture, Voice & Accent trainer for GTL seven months ago at Rs 18,000, is now making Rs 25,000 per month as project manager at Bangalore-based Mainstay Teleservices. He is even learning to manage his money the 'Indian' way, for a better-paying new job also means letting go GTL's free accommodation and travel. So, "no touristy things like eating out, going for beers and travelling around the country now" for him, as he needs to run a full household, rent and all.

The Takeaway

Kenny Rooney: It's about the all-important Indian work experience

"I have made so many friends here, (and that's) another reason to stay (in Pune) and not look for a job anywhere else," says Vaz, who works with Oceans Connect, a Pune-based BPO. Normally these Brits do an average stint of one to two years in India, before heading back home. Bond says that those who go back after an Indian BPO work experience take with them unique skills they have developed having worked abroad, and therefore it becomes easier for them to get managerial jobs with companies that offshore work to destinations such as India. As Copeland puts it: "Yes, the job market (in the UK) is very saturated and it's quite tough to get a job. But, it helps to have this experience in India."

And it seems to be a win-win situation with Indian employers singing praises of some of their British recruits. Desai says that Vaz, Rooney, Copeland and Duffy were motivated team leaders who, at one time, managed to turn around a team of 200 non-performers.

The lasting sentiment of this entire practice provides a nice culture change for all involved. "They do not appreciate a person's work as much in the uk as they do here," says Vaz, pointing out a major difference in the work culture of Britain and India. The friendliness of the Indians has also won the hearts of these Britons. "This experience has left me a far more developed and rounded person," says Rooney. What started out as a backpacker experiment has certainly become a professional trend now.

COUNSELLING
Help, Tarun!

I am 34 years old with 14 years of experience in the Army. During my tenure, I was extensively and comprehensively involved with the HR aspects of the organisation like recruitment, training and appraisal. I have also done my PGDHRM and am pursuing MBA (specialisation in HR). What are my prospects for middle and top management positions in the corporate sector?

Your chances of getting into middle management in a tier-II company are good. It will be tough getting a top slot in the corporate world unless the company is small and/or their hr is mainly administration. In a large company, you may have to decide on a particular portfolio to start with, say recruitment or training. This does not mean you cannot rotate to other functions. You have the option of applying to various companies now or waiting till you finish your MBA. If you decide to join a company now, then you might not get enough time to study. So, it might be advisable to finish your management studies first. Also, making a transition from the Army to the highly competitive corporate world may not be all that easy.

I am a 22-year-old computer science graduate planning to pursue MCA. My father runs an engineering workshop and wants me to take charge of it as soon as possible. The problem is that I don't have a sound business acumen and at this stage, am not interested in running the business. I don't know how to get through to my father, who seems to think that pursuing an MCA is a lost cause. What should I do?

You should convince your father that you can take care of the business once you finish your MCA. This way, you will have an additional qualification, learn new technology and bring in fresh ideas to the business and help expand it. In the meantime, develop your network of friends and range of ideas. Once you have completed your course, you can always rethink your career options. If you feel that it is the career for you, then you can talk it through with your father. Who knows, by then you might actually be interested in running your father's business. If possible, you can work part-time in your family business and see whether you want to pursue it full-time.

I am a 21-year-old history graduate planning to pursue a master's degree in international relations/politics. Thereafter, if possible, I plan to go abroad (the US or the UK) on a scholarship. My ultimate aim is to work for either the United Nations or one of its agencies, but I don't know how to go about it. What kind of educational qualifications/experience does one need in order to work for a world body like the UN?

There aren't too many good institutes in India that offer a degree in international relations. So, make sure you apply to the right one. Alternatively, as you plan to go abroad, you could explore the option of studying international relations at a foreign university. And it will be all the more worth your while if you get a scholarship. As regards the UN, it has many agencies and depending on your interest, the agency and the kind of vacancy they have, your qualifications could vary from social work to accounting to politics to medicine. Check out their website (www.un.org) for more details. They have internship programmes as well as careers for experienced professionals.

I am an English honours graduate, working for the last six months with an advertising agency as a trainee copywriter. I get easily bored with routine work and do not see myself pursuing a career in copywriting. I am, however, interested in social work. On weekends, I help out in whatever way I can in an old age home. I also teach our maid's two children. I want to have a stable career in social work. How do I go about it? Do I need to pursue a course in social work?

As you have an aptitude for social work and want to make a career of it, I suggest you pursue Master of Social Work (MSW). This way, you will get field experience and will specialise in a particular stream of social work, like children, youth and families or health/mental education. Once you have a degree, you can become a labour welfare officer, social worker or community organiser. However, you need to know that a little philanthropy here and there is not the same as being a professional social worker. Spending weekends at an old age home, for example, is not the same as being there day in and day out and being responsible for the elderly. You need to be totally committed to the cause.

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..

First Among Equals
Global private equity giant recruits only from IIM-C.

IIM-C: Global private equity majors, look no further

What is it about the Indian institute of management Calcutta that makes the bluest of blue chips in the global private equity-'The new kings of capitalism' as The Economist magazine recently called them-such as General Atlantic LLC (formerly General Atlantic Partners), recruit only from here amongst all six IIMs, starting last year? An equity investor like General Atlantic always looks for young talent, strong in quantitative skills with an aptitude in financial management. "And IIM-C students have been historically known to be extremely strong in quantitative skills and finance. That's possibly the reason why they only come to us," says Mrityunjoy Mohanty, member, IIM-C's placement committee.

General Atlantic is not alone. More than 80 other private equity majors, and some of them exclusively (such as Credit Suisse First Boston, Bloomberg and Rabobank) flocked to the IIM-C campus last month. Surprisingly, the institute itself is not too excited about General Atlantic coming to them alone for hiring people for the simple reason that it doesn't take in students in large numbers, "just two or three every year," says another placement coordinator. But to the two or three lucky ones, it does make a difference.

-Ritwik Mukherjee

Corner Room As Stepping Stone
Executive assistant jobs are back in fashion.

Wanted EAs! More and more companies are on the lookout

Remember the good old days when the much sought-after management trainee job at any business school campus was that of an executive assistant (EA) to the CEO (of top companies)? Well, the job is back in favour, right from the MBA rookie to even middle managers looking at adding a CEO-proximity catalyst to their career growth.

Whilst in old economy companies, much like the Tata Group, the ea has been a time-honoured tradition (Rata Tata has one), it is the companies in emerging sectors such as pharmaceutical, auto, retail and apparel that are now recruiting EAs with a vengeance. Madura Garments and Bharti Group's FieldFresh Foods are on the lookout for an ea for their CEOs, according to executive search firm sources. Even the EA's role is changing, from merely corporate planning to business development along with the CEO. With a bird's eye view of the company's operations inside out, and 24/7 access to the big man's ear, many EAs have travelled far and fast in their career much like Anand Mahindra's ex-ea, who now heads the company's Italian operations.

-Amanpreet Singh