One night at a call center - II

Back after a one week holiday :-D
Continuing my previous post....

The Attrition rate in Call centers is high because -
As I mentioned , the profession itself is not regarded "Permanent" nor is a call center professional respected. Infact there is a common perception of them being overgrown and otherwise unemployable students.

Why do people quit call-centers ?
Lets think....
The personal reasons are -

1. Higher Education - many pros view employment in a call center as a way to spend time and earn a few quick bucks while waiting for admission or preparing for a competitive exam such as GRE,CAT etc.. So obviously they quit once the admission date comes.
2. Other Jobs - Most Pros actively job hunt for other more "acceptable" jobs even as they work in the call-centers.
3. Marriage - Typically applicable only to women (who consist a HUGE chunk of call-center employees.) The late nights demanded by the work profile is definitely NOT in harmony with the indian concept of "family life"

An increasing number of people also quit because -

1. Health concerns - The chronic stress involved in the job burns out most people. Complaints of headaches, backaches, indigestion are commonplace.
2. Job profile- The manpower intensiveness of the job means that the scope for career advancement is limited within a call-canter. The frustration of doing the same thing over and over can be frustrating for most people.

All said and done...the industry itself is here to stay.
It will face huge churning of manpower and there will be a inevitable shakeout which will separate the men from the boys , but the long term for this sector looks bright and rosy.

This isn't a fad by any length of imagination. Companies have experienced REAL and TANGIBLE gains through outsourcing their backroom work to India. They cannot afford to neglect or ignore the outsourcing wave if they want to stay competitive.
India' s large manpower pool and fluency in language will ensure that the lead India has got in this field will not be lost in the , maybe, twenty years.

Career growth in this field is good right now...because of the rapid pace at which call centers are hiring. One may become a "Floor walker" or a "Team Lead" (Hope I got these Designations right !) after 3 or so years. However this may taper off.

There are only three credible threats to this industry as of now-

1. Rising costs - In an attempt to keep attrition low, call centres have lavished pay hikes on their employees , who of course accept them happily. This however has eroded (in a small way) the margins in the business. Continued pay-hikes may not be affordable for companies in the future because of the rate the industry is absorbing manpower and is growing. A strengthening rupee is not helping matters at all on this front.
2. Competition from other countries - Philippines has an edge because of the Filipinos apparently can be understood better by the Americans :-? It lags because of its small manpower pool. Mexico shares a common time zone with the US but lags on the language fluency front. China has a HUGE labor pool and is even cheaper than India. However it lags on the fluency front too. These disadvantages may be quickly overcome though
3. Government policy and inaction - Major Indian cities have horrible infrastructure. They force the call centers to invest in vehicles and cabs to transport employees etc (which do not bring in any profits at all.) Further the calling costs in India are one of the highest in the world. The real whammy comes from the governments policy. A recent ruling by the state government of Haryana requires call-centers not to employ women during the night hours !!!