Poor HRD in Indian Call Centres: Study

Chennai, Jul 13: India can be termed as one of the most richest county in terms of Human Resources but sadly the 'development' part is missing. Although, India is known for its customer services, but when it comes to Human Resources Development, there is a lag. According to a recent study on Asian contact industry, there is a high level of absenteeism in Indian call centres. For instance, in a call centre consisting 600 people, a person had a maximum tenure of one year with a 20 per cent attrition rate.

However, the study says that Thailand tops the attrition rate list with 23 percent when the attrition rate in Asian countries is just 14 per cent.

The Aspect Contact Centre Index Asia was produced in collaboration with callcentres.net, a leading independent market research consultancy.

Singapore and Korea, according to bi-annual study, were mature markets. Malaysia and Thailand were relatively new entrants in the field. India and Philippines had high level of outsourced contact centres.

Dr Catriona Wallace, Director of callcentres.net, told the above assessment was done after rating 200 Asian centres, of which 31 were in India, on parameters of customer service, human resources, revenue, operations and technology in various sectors of finance, telecommunications, government outsourcing, professional services, manufacturing and retail.

Also, the study says that India and Philippines are the best in terms of revenue generation, with 58 per cent of centres reporting increased revenue in the last six months. In operations, India was assessed as 'quite efficient' with India and South Korea reporting the highest percentage of centres where the cost per voice call had decreased.

The study also tells that almost half of contact centres in Asia reported an increase in profitability since January 2006 with 0.7 percent reporting a decrease. India with 64 percent along with Philippines and Malaysia reported the highest percentage of centres with an increased profitability.

The study has put forth some suggestions for India to improve its HRD management. It tells India should focus on training, better remuneration and implement the latest technology and flexible work conditions. While the average wage level for a call centre employee stands at US$ 3,000 per annum, in Singapore and Korea it is between US$ 12,000-6,000, with wages ranging from US$ 25,000-30,000 per annum in the US.

OneIndia News