'S'pore BPOs' pay triple that of Indian BPOs'

Call centre employees in Singapore command at least three times higher wages than their counterparts in India, a news report said today.

A survey by a recruitment firm in Singapore showed that call centres in the island republic were recruiting employees at a faster pace than the regional average, and high wages did not seem to pose a deterrence.

Recruitment firm Kelly Services found entry level and experienced Singapore call centre operators were, on an average, paid $12,668 and $16,782 per annum respectively, Singapore's The Straits Times said.

The survey, considered to be the first of its kind of the booming Asian call centre industry showed that call centre staff in Thailand were the lowest paid, at $ 2,616 a year for entry-level staff, and $ 3,051 a year for experienced staff, (with a two year working experience).

The survey covered 57 call centres across nine countries hiring more than 23,000 staff. Among these, 11 centres are found in Singapore, 19 in Malaysia and 8 each in India and the Philippines.

It also found that in Asia, percentage of new recruits - those hired in the last six months - was 6.5% of total staff strength.

In Singapore, the percentage was higher at 7%, but still lower than India (12.5%) and Malaysia (7.3%), the paper said.

Industries most keen on hiring Singapore call-centre operators were involved in manufacturing, financial services, hospitality and tourism, as well as those in IT and outsourcing, the paper quoted the survey as saying.

Data Courtesy - Business Standard & Press Trust of India / New Delhi July 3, 2006

The multitasking trap

It's not really news that so-called multitasking can actually make people less effective at their jobs. One detailed study five years ago by psychologists at the University of Michigan demonstrated that, because the human brain needs time to shift gears between tasks, the more switching back and forth you have to do -- between, say, talking on the phone, reading e-mail, and thinking about your next meeting, all while scarfing down a sandwich at your desk -- the less proficiently you will tackle any of it (except maybe the sandwich).The "time cost" of refocusing your attention may be only a few seconds with each switch, but the researchers found that, over time, it reduced people's total efficiency by 20% to 40%.Article Courtesy CNN Money

No women at night in Haryana BPOs

Here’s a case of killing a $5.2-billion golden goose with a stick made in 1958. The Haryana government has sent notices to Gurgaon-based call centres asking them not to allow women employees on night shifts. As women comprise an estimated 40% of the workforce, the notice can spell disaster for the off shoring business. The instrument being used to enforce ‘discipline’ is a little-known section of the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishment Act of 1958, which forbids women from working night shifts. Notices have been sent by the Haryana labour department to BPOs, including Convergys and Saffron Global, threatening ‘‘strict action’’ against them. The very nature of the outsourcing business requires most work to be transacted at night. BPO experts say Gurgaon generates around 70% of India’s off-shoring revenues. Nasscom predicts the sector would employ 1.2 million by 2008. The archaic provision that’s being invoked to threaten all this is Section 30 of the 1958 Act. According to it, ‘‘No woman shall be required or allowed to work whether as an employee or otherwise in any establishment during night.’’ Until now, call centres have sought exemption from this clause from the labour commissioner. But, G S Thakur, labour officer-cum conciliation officer of the circle under which BPOs like Convergys and Saffron Global fall, said: ‘‘These call centres were found violating employment conditions and hence they have not been granted any further exemption. We'll take strict action.’’ Any destabilisation of BPO business in Gurgaon, with about 150 call centres, would hurt Haryana the most.


All this has been done to control the rapid growing crime rate in Haryana and increase safety for women...but is it right?


Is The Haryana government running away from Performing its duty Properly?
Is this step going to make any difference?

What is your Opinion?

Introduction

WHAT IS BPO

Business Process Outsourcing is the long-term contracting out of non-core business processes to an outside provider to help achieve increased shareholder value.Many IT professionals are familiar with the term business process outsourcing (BPO), but knowing how to distinguish it from other types of outsourcing requires some scrutiny.
Though some forms of BPO may include both IT management and business operations, the approach is primarily about turning over functions such as payroll, accounting, billing or even real estate management to a third party. Though these business processes may depend on IT, they are separate functions from core IT operations, such as data center activities or network management.

OUTSOURCING

Outsourcing is the delegation of tasks or jobs from internal production to an external entity (such as a subcontractor). Most recently, it has come to mean the elimination of native staff to staff overseas, where salaries are markedly lower.

About This Blog

ALL those who are a part of Indian BPO Industry in a way or the other can use this as an platform wherein we all come together to form a Community.
The Objective is to Collect your Opinion about the BPO Sector as a part of Corporate World and the things happening around it.