Hr Strategies as Proffered Solutions to The Challenges Faced in The Indian Bpo Industry

Executive Summary

This report focuses on the analyses of HR strategies as proffered solutions to the challenges faced in the BPO; Indian call centre industry specifically. the journey in the Indian BPO industry, a case study of the Indian call centre industry.

The research discusses human resource as a strategic approach in managing individuals that work in an organization and how these strategies can be used and infused with the organization’s strategies with the aim of achieving higher level of productivity through proper management and satisfaction of the workforce.

Background Of The Study

Call centre jobs is one of the professions with a relatively high level of stress and pressure. Call handlers receive up to 350 calls on a five-hour shift repeating the same set of works continuously which makes the job less interesting and results to loss of enthusiasm and high attrition rate. HR strategies and planning come in handing when dealing with human resources in organizations. Indian used to be at the top in the BPO industry but is now facing great competition and soon to be outranked by the Philippines.

Culture, time zone and importantly accent of the Filipinos gave the which gave them an added and competitive advantage as they speak English language fluently with a neutral accent, have similar time-zones and embraced a familiar culture as that of Americans. Compared to Indians who have always had a communication gap as a result of their accent which reflects poorly in their spoken English and made it quite difficult for its agents to be properly understood, a very distinct and different culture which they aren’t ready to compromise. HR strategies are suggested on how the Indian call centers can resolve labour issues which would reduce turnover, increase the productivity level and help India gain more competitive advantages in the BPO industry.

Scope

This research focuses on proffering solutions to the HR problems faced in call centers with specifications to the Indian call center industry through the use of HR strategies. This study is carried out on call centre industry in India, researching about various HR problems/challenges faced and how these problems can be resolved using various human resource strategies.

Purpose Statement

The aim of this research is to highlight various HR and effective retention strategies which includes;

• Introducing motivational strategies to help boost the morale of employees which leads to the job satisfaction
• Effective recruitment and selection process from a pool of enthusiastic applicants
• Setting up training and development of the skills and abilities of employees to improve job task
• Implementation of career advancement policies
• Provision of health and safety measures

All of which can be used by the Indian call center to reduce employee turnover and solve HR issues identified within the BPO industry in India.

Literature review

Bratton and gold, (2007) defines human resource management as a vital way to deal with overseeing business relations which accentuates that utilizing individuals' capacities is basic to accomplishing an upper hand amongst competitors, through a distingush arrangement of incorporated work strategies, projects and practices. Its capacities are arranging, coordinating, staffing, creating, rousing, outlining, overseeing connections, overseeing change and assessing.

Guest, (1997) developed an HRM model.

Strategic human resource management as defined by Bratton, (2010the process through which the functions of human resource is connected with the key targets of the association keeping in mind the end goal to enhance execution, while human resource strategy is the form of choices with respect to HR practices that are utilised by administration to configuration work and select, motivate, prepare, create, assess, and control the work force.

In n the bid to resolve the Indian call center challenges some HR strategies are recommended.

These strategies include;

Motivation

The call centre runs a mechanistic approach in its job design as the work is centred around repetition. This should be replaced with a motivational approach, (Herzberg, 1968) developed a motivational strategy which will be quite effective in solving the retention problem in Indian call centre. This theory is referred to as the two-factor (motivator-hygiene) theory which is based on the assumptions motivator and hygiene needs are required by all employees.

Motivator factors are related with the job itself, its presence brings about job satisfaction in employees and absence causes zero satisfaction. Hygiene factors are related with the conditions in which the job is carried out, when these needs are met, it eliminates dissatisfaction from employees but its absence brings about dissatisfaction.

The presence of hygiene factors does not in any way bring about job satisfaction, job satisfaction can be attained only when the motivator needs are met.

Herzberg (1974, 2017) mentioned that job satisfaction and commitment which is key to satisfying employees as it increases performance, efficiency and stability of workforce, which is why call centres should concentrate on the motivating factors as a strategy to help retain agents.

Career Development

Assisting employees in managing, developing and planning their career is one of the factors the Indian call centre lacks. The career policies and flat organizational structure restricts employees’ careers from growing within the industry. According to Robbins (2002) career management is the process through which workers are empowered and encouraged to build up their career abilities and interests, what's more, to utilize these aptitudes and interests inside the organization and after they’ve left the organization. This can be done through career planning which involves the setting career objectives in line with individual values, identifying opportunities, activities and skills towards attainment of goals. Both the organization and employees have roles to play in this. This can be done through

• Provision of career planning programs
• Improving the career policies to employees’ advantage
• Organizing career teams and developing skills of employees etc.

Suggestions were made by the call centre manager of Bank of Montreal, (the master card department), to eliminate the flat structure of the organization by providing call-agents with the opportunity to progress from call handlers to other positions in the bank, starting out from agents to sales personnel in card business with an advantage of learning new skills such as negotiation and communication skills which will open more job opportunities and positions for them (Icmrindia, 2002).

Recruitment And Selection Process

According to (Robbin and coulter, 2002) these two processes work hand in hand as they are not mutually exclusive. Recruitment can be sourced for internally (within the organization in form of promotion, transfers, referrals etc.) or externally (outside the organization). In the Indian call center’s case, external recruitment is recommended preferably campus recruitments and from a pool of back -to- work mothers and housewives. A due process has to be followed when recruiting.

These Processes Include:

Job opening: Recruitment can commence only when there is an opening or vacant position within an organization which can be sourced for using one of the mentioned sources which is dependent on the open position. With the high labor turnover, there is always need to recruit at the call center.

The call center should put into consideration, the reason for this opening and what led to the previous occupant of the position leaving or resigning the position which is a result of not being satisfied with the job and if so, is this fixed? If not, call centers are advised to recruit externally from of pool of fresh high school and university graduates, Housewives and mothers who are want to get back to work,

Specification of job: entails the description of the job. Applicants should be made aware of the tasks and responsibilities that comes with the position they are applying for as well as the criteria that should be met before applying for the position which include (Educational backgrounds and qualifications, personal skills/training acquired previously, communication skills, Individual persona etc. Through submitted applicants CV, the HR team should be able to decipher if an applicant is capable of taking on the task. These descriptions can also be used to draw up questions which would be asked when interviewing the applicant.

Attracting the right applicants for the job: It’s important to understand that it’s not about having a pool of applicants apply for a position but the potential of the applicants is what matters. In attracting the right applicant for the job, focus should on the source of recruitment that should be considered which could be internal or external source. Organizations should put its current employees’ best interest at heart before sourcing externally, it should be confirmed that the opening cannot be filled internally if not could reduce the enthusiasm of existing staffs for their jobs which would affect the productivity level of the organization on the long run. Either ways, both sources have its pros and cons and all options should be properly weighed. When recruiting new agents, its best to source externally, except if there’s an opening for a higher position.

Filtering applicants – The purpose of this is to reduce the pool of applicants into a selected minimum most capable of the job which can be done through unexpected phone call interview, job descriptions can also be used at this point (selecting CVs that best fits into description of job), Aptitude tests,

The Interview- both the interviewer and interviewee should be composed and ready for the for the interview. The most used style of interviewing popularly referred to as ‘’the WASP approach (Welcome, acquire information, supply information and Part ways) helps the interviewer in making sure that the interview is coordinated properly. This process respectively involves ensuring the interviewee is settled in properly and received in a professional yet warm way, gathering enough data from the interviewee, permit and answer questions asked by the interviewee and give in-depth clarification on the task, obligations and remuneration accompanied with the position, and finally, ending the interview on a good note and briefing the interviewee on the next selection steps to be taken, asking permission if references will be contacted and specifying a timespan for feedback.

Selection and appointment-Sometimes interviews aren’t good enough to justify who would fit best into the position. Asides from meeting all required criteria, candidates should also be assessed based on their knowledge, attitude, aptitude and skills acquired using selection test (instrument used to settle on a choice about a prospective employee) and interviewers should be as objective as they can possibly be during the selection process after which the most appropriate individual for the job is selected and notified of his/her appointment, then appointment procedures begin.

Induction, Orientation And Training

This stage involves introducing new staffs into the company, other employees and their new responsibilities. New recruits are orientated about the values, policies and structures of the company and trained on how to go about their jobs. This training does not stop at the induction stage as it is a continuous process.

Evaluation Of Employees

After the appointment of new agents, they are evaluated through monitoring of their performance, this could be daily, weekly or monthly till the end of the employee’s probation period after which an appraisal takes place to pinpoints the worker’s strengths and weakness.

Training And Development

Training and development of workers is not a matter of choice for organizations as proper on-and off-the- work training and development programmes should be arranged for all employees regularly which evens out both the call centre and employee(agents) requirement.

According to (Dessler, 2011), Training involves offering the opportunity for present and new staffs to acquire and improve skills required to perform their various work/task. Dessler further mentioned five process to training and developing staffs, this process includes;

(Robbins and coulter, 2002), mentioned employees should be trained based on these three classifications of skills; technical, interpersonal and problem-solving skill. The Indian call centre mostly focus on training new employees on technical skills, excluding existing employees in the training process but call agents require their skills to be improved and updated from time to time as change is inevitable and evolves in line with technology and other factors.

Methods For Training Include

On the job training - easy to execute and typically reasonable yet can upset the working environment and result to increment in mistakes during the training process. types include

• Shadowing/understudy method- the process whereby an employee is placed under a colleague or senior employee whose attitude, knowledge and individual characteristics can be impacted on the trainee
• Apprenticeship method- This is a procedure by which individuals train to become experts, for the most part through a mix of formal learning and long haul at work preparing.
• Computer-based training- This involves the usage of computer-based or DVD systems in increasing an individual’s knowledge and skills.

Off the job training- expensive but effective and reduces the chance of errors occurring at work place, usually conducted outside the parameters of the workplace and work time

• Case study method- This involves giving a trainee a composed depiction of an association's concern, the individual investigates the case, analyse the issue and exhibits discoveries and arrangements in a discourse with other trainees.
• Seminars- this involves employees attending conferences and seminars arranged by the company outside the confines of the organization.

Managing Medical And Health Issues:

health issues attached to being an agent which comes about as a result of pressure, stress etc. can be resolve through management of health and wellness. In the bid to enhance the well-being in call centres, HSE (2003) recommended for call centres to improve the job design of agents by giving them more freedom in going about their tasks based on the skills they possess. Although, this could pose as an issue to call centres but, it will reduce the level of stress on agents which in turn will minimize the rate of health issues in the Indian call centre. (Bratton, 2007) wellbeing and health administration involves the outlining and preservation of a workplace that promotes the goals of an organization, designs and establish a secure and healthy working condition and puts the well-being of staffs into constant consideration.

Suggested Strategies To Improve Work Force Health And Wellness

• Design- call centre Job designs should be improved and developed in a way that reduces the risk of health issues in the industry and develop safety heath measures.
• Exhibit commitment – managers carry the responsibilities of ensuring that employees (agents) works are carried out under safe and healthy working environment and condition. Committing to this responsibility can be done through meeting-up with agents frequently to talk about the degree of stress
• Inspect the workplace – Call centres should monitor the work place for health and safety hazards e.g. inspecting the work place for factors leading to stress and to ensure agents are under minimal stress and pressure.
• Establish procedures and controls through for dealing with health, wellness and safety risks
• Promote strategy-for wellness in workplace through improved communications between agents and managers about employee’s well-being
• Develop training programmes for agents to improve agent’s knowledge about safety policies, work behaviours and regulations.
• Set up wellbeing, health and security committee
• Monitor policy-supervise wellbeing, health, and safety strategies and projects
• Integrate- to shape a far-reaching health framework that supports the methodology
• Draw up- call centres should take control of the situation by developing an action plan and checklist.

Conclusion

It is very important that in solving the In this article, the importance of communication management for project success has been discussed. The analysis of 2 methodological frameworks for project management [PMBoK and Prince2] has been carried out with the focus on recommendations and best practices in the area of managing project communication. Key tools and techniques for communication management such as communication plan and communication strategy have been presented as well as pros and cons of project management techniques. Based on the literature analysis and real project cases, the key challenges for managing communication have been discussed: communication in virtual teams, organization of effective project meetings as well as managing communication in dynamic development environments such as agile. The above mentioned trends are also interesting topics for further research into project communication management.