Some have been headhunted for their unique skills/experiences in much in-demand areas such as hospitality.
Others are here because they can only thrive if they have the flexibility to pursue outside interests such as education or launching their music caeer, etc. Still many more just want to finish their entire work week in four continuous 12-hour shifts so that they can spend the rest of their time in leisure.
These are just some of a plethora of stories from the new breed of knowledge workers typical to one of Sri Lanka's fastest growing job markets - the Back Process Outsourcing (BPO) or Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) sector.
Virtually the only thing those interviewed have in common is that they all work at Colombo-based HelloCorp, an organisation that claims to be Sri Lanka's most diversified BPO operation.
Started in 2002, HelloCorp initially operated using a voice and data (or call centre) model with 120 employees servicing clients such as America Online (AOL) and Microsoft. However, this model proved to be unprofitable and HelloCorp significantly scaled down operations and re-focused resources into a hybrid call centre / back office operation with finance, accounting and hospitality clients. The result: HelloCorp now earns significantly greater revenues with only four 12 to 15 member teams (60 personnel in total) offering more specialised and valuable functions, such as finance and accounting, legal services, etc.
According to HelloCorp's Chief Executive Officer, Omar Fatharally, to truly understand what motivates this new breed of knowledge worker, one must first gain a deeper sense of what attracts them to a career in the BPO sector. He notes that the main draw for employees is not the salary, as one might usually expect, as it is often only slightly higher than salaries offered in a more conventional career. In fact, the most attractive feature actually proves to be the greater flexibility offered by BPO companies. For example, HelloCorp finds that offering workers a choice between two very flexible working arrangements to be their best recourse. They can either work shifts of six days of eight hours each or four days of 12 hours each.
This coupled with workers being allowed to choose their own time to start which gives them even greater flexibility, the only proviso being that once they start they must work their entire full shift. In addition, increased benefits such as paid study leave with a further option to take no paid leave have been proven more attractive to HelloCorp workers.
Meanwhile, according to Mr. Fatharally, staffers also relish the fact that HelloCorp is a very easy going workplace which also takes great efforts to offer extra perks such as free meals, staff trips to India, etc. Also, an open door policy, a flat organisational culture and the belief that experience is valued has helped maintain staff morale throughout. Employees also benefit from experience gained from working with international accounting policies, etc. Further, they appreciate being able to use their qualifications in international settings. They have also expressed positive comments about the great deal of training they receive in areas such as soft skills (customer service, phone etiquette, etc.), client specific protocols (to adhere with client policies/systems) and continuous improvement / quality assurance training.
Flexibility, international experience and training are particularly important, say Mr. Fatharally, because most HelloCorp employees are on average only 23 years old. With this younger, more dynamic group, there is a preference towards career growth and learning/studying opportunities instead of the more traditional job security considerations with older professionals. In his view, realising this is a fundamental difference and catering to it has garnered greater success for HelloCorp compared to other Sri Lankan BPO companies.
However, does Mr. Fatharally's staff really feel this way? Kasun Pasqual, who has worked with HelloCorp for 10 months, indicated that he had worked with several BPO companies in Sri Lanka already. Whereas he had earlier worked in telemarketing, he now works providing 'inbound' technical support and back office processing for a Fortune-500 company specialised in Semiconductor Manufacturing based in U.S.A. His preference for BPO jobs stems from their convenience and flexibility. He hopes that this added flexibility allows him to embark on a music career later on, but, for now, it gives him "plenty of time to do my own thing". He also recommends working at a BPO to anyone, saying he feels it is particularly good if one is studying or engaged in other projects. He anticipates staying with this field for a while; earning promotions to team leader status or even setting up his own small-scale BPO.
A specialist in the hospitality industry who has worked with HelloCorp for one year, Dhinal Perera, remembers being actively headhunted for his current position because of his many years of experience with luxury hotels.
He remembers that he first had doubts about leaving his more traditional job at a five-star hotel in Colombo, but ultimately decided it was a good opportunity after researching HelloCorp's credentials and being offered better pay. Now he thinks that there was very little difference between his previous career and his current one, basically just a lack of face-to-face contact with the outside world.
However, he admits that he has learned more, taken on greater responsibility and had to be more flexible while at HelloCorp so the experience has been positive. His long-term goal is to go abroad and work at a hotel and he feels his current job helps with that because it allows him to gain international experience and learn other country’s processes, products, policies and protocols. He added that he also knows of a few people who were recruited from HelloCorp to join the client he works for; a leading luxury resort chain headquartered in Singapore.
So why delve so much into understanding just one sector? It is important to note that HelloCorp is just one of an estimated 30 BPO operations in Sri Lanka, only a third of which function as call centres. One reason why this purportedly fast-growing industry should be watched is the ambitious plan it has outlined for growth; a plan which might ultimately result in this sector overtaking many traditional avenues in terms of growth. Proposing a level of consistent industry growth which will eventually encompass over 100,000 people and generate revenues in excess of US$2.5 billion by 2012, there can be no doubt that BPO companies are slowly becoming the employer of choice for many students straight out of university.
It is also worthwhile considering that "currently, over 50,000 are employed in the IT and BPO industry in Colombo and the workforce is growing at over 20% year-on-year. The workforce is stable with very low attrition rates ranging from 10-15%" notes the Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka website. In addition, a recent World Bank study has noted that the local labour costs were the lowest when compared to other major global outsourcing centres, sometimes as much as 30% less.
All of which points to the industry’s potential for tremendous growth in the future. Something that seems already to have been noticed since the country has already been identified as a 'global IT/BPO destination of choice' with rankings among the 'Top 50 Global Outsourcing destinations' by A.T. Kearney and 'Top 20 Emerging Cities' by Global Services Magazine. |
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