The present day India now has a brighter face in the world's economic map. It is no longer known as a passive and a redundant economy. We are opening ourselves to the world with the introduction of policy measures like liberalization; globalization and increasing foreign direct investment. We are witnessing phenomenal changes in the development process our economy, with the strengthening of social and economic infrastructure, accelerated further by the growth of Information and Technology. For the world we are now a resurgent and a progressive economy. The present day scenario has a completely different face, with the Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) emerging as the core sector areas and driving our country to the epicenter of such a massive change.

India has grabbed a sizable chunk of BPO business from countries like U.S and U.K on the account of cheap labor force available here. There has been an exponential growth in the BPO sector as India is regarded as a good quality and low cost offshore location for the foreign companies as it would be expensive and cumbersome for such companies to handle their non-core business activities at their home country. Moreover we have a time zone advantage due to our unique geographical location and a large bulk of skilled, talented, efficient English-speaking workforce who can meet the expectations of these companies and these companies are able to earn huge amount of profits by delegating their non-core as well as some core businesses to us.

BPO sector is now regarded as a major employment-generating sector. According to a survey conducted by the National Association of Software Services and Companies, this sector is expected to provide employment to around 1.1 million Indians by the year 2008.

A BPO works through its various Call Centers that may be inbound as well as outbound, which further are dependent on the Information Technology Enabled Services. The work here includes

• Voice and non-voice based interactions with the clients, handling customer support, technical support and transaction processing, telemarketing, multilingual support, human resource management.
• High-end jobs of engineering designs and research outsourcing.
• Back end jobs in the field of processing of finance and accounting transactions, payroll processing and insurance claims, recovery of debts and approval of loans etc.

Here the working environment is quite congenial and target oriented but one has to work in shifts. The whole atmosphere being very friendly and comfortable makes it easier for the workers to work with their utmost efficiency and makes them better professionals. So this sector has a 'fun with work' image and has attracted the young generation who may begin here as Call Agents or Customer Care Executives who may need to attend both the inbound and outbound calls, which may be technical or non-technical in nature depending upon the expertise of the candidate. The call agents are given their own workstation, a computer and a telephone as their equipment to get their jobs done.

Fresh graduates in any discipline can join a BPO, as they do not require very high qualifications. Even the under-graduates sometimes get a job here. Recruitment here is mostly done on the basis of ones competency. To work in a BPO you need to be

• Proficient in good grammatical English or some other foreign languages
• Should have better communicative skills
• Good voice quality
• Managerial and Operational skills with leadership qualities.
• A proper discipline to regulate ones internal bio-clock, as one would have to work in shifts.
• Jobs, which need require, value added functions catering to technical and professional area would demand an M.B.A, an M.C.A, a C.A or C.F.A, lawyers, researchers etc.
• Knowledge of computers.
• Ability to convince people over the phone without getting irritated in difficult and tricky situations with a positive attitude.

Cool temperament and a pleasing personality Good communication skills, Positive attitude Organizational skills Leadership qualities Dynamism and stamina to work for long hours Ability to take judgments Analytical and a calculative mind Ability to handle critical situation without getting panicky Tactful and diplomatic attitude.

Call centers, themselves, many times, provide training to their newly recruited staff to hone their soft skills and provide them with better adaptability to the computers. Apart from this there are many reputed institutes, which provide training to enter a BPO.

These are:

• American Express Global Service Center, Mathura Road, New Delhi (www.americaexpress.com)
• Convergys, DLF Atria, DLF City, Gurgaon, Haryana (www.convergys.com)
• Daksh e-Services, DBS Business Centre, World Trade Tower, Barakhamba Lane, New Delhi. (www.daksh.com)
• GE Capital India, DLF Corporate Park, DLF Qutub Enclave, Gurgaon (www.gecapitalindia.com)
• HERO Mindmine (www.heromindmine.com)
• Hughes Software Systems (www.hss.hns.com)
• Mahindra BT (www.mahindrabt.com)
• Quadrangle, Sector-5, Noida (www.quadranglesearch.com)
• Reliance Infotech www.reliance.net.au
• Spectramind, Okhla Industrial Estate, New Delhi (www.spectramind.com)

One can pick up the call center according to the work environment which one likes and which suits ones qualification. The BPO industry is at its boom at present. Along with the opening of new call centers, the existing ones are spreading their branches across the country especially in the major cities like Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai. The job opportunities in this sector are burgeoning as this sector is increasingly providing more and more value added services like data analytics, legal process outsourcing, hi-tech manufacturing, healthcare, retail, energy, utilities and resource planning for global corporations. One would be able to see a newer kind of service know as Knowledge Process Outsourcing or KPO in coming times, which would generate all the more employment opportunities in the sector.

From a call agent or a customer care executive, one can move on to the ladder as ones experience and performance improves. One can be a team leader, project leader, project leader, project manager, trainer, training manager and so on.

One can start with a minimum salary, which ranges between Rs8000 to Rs15000 at entry level. A team leader can earn up to Rs26000 a month. Managers and Heads can get a pay package from Rs.5 lakh to Rs.8 lakh per annum. Other incentives besides the salary are:

• Performance based bonuses
• Pick and drop facility
• Shopping discounts
• Welfare facilities like gyms, health centers, subsidized loan schemes
• Health support and insurance covers covering parents and spouse and children.