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The BPO industry has witnessed a phenomenal growth over the last few years and today is an industry of choice for many young professionals. The industry is now responsible for providing stable career paths to it's young workforce within the age group of 21-25 years. Retaining these young professionals and keeping them motivated and engaged is a challenge that is giving HR managers sleepless nights.
Companies are adopting multiple strategies to become the employer of choice and create long term career oppurtunities for their employees. Here is a look at the key skills that young professionals in the BPO domain acquire:
Communication skills: The ability to communicate effectively with global customers is critical. Accent neutralization, cultural awareness, empathy and judgment also play a vital role in ensuring smooth and seamless communication with global customers.
Several Communication training programs have been designed by BPOs as it is crucial that communication is free of first language influence that impedes comprehension, often referred to as 'Indianisms' in the industry parlance. Most BPOs subscribe to similar formats when it comes to modules on accent and culture training. After rigorous training in neutralizing accent, voice modulation, moderating the rate of speech, intonation and so on, call centre associates step into their new personas. That's where an Alok transforms into an Alex. While there are several aspects to communication training -- most training programs in BPOs focus on the following competencies.
Language: Employees are trained on speech orientation which includes basic training in grammar, vocabulary, speech and pronunciation. "This helps the agents to 'zap the gap' and be perceived as a credible source of information," says Mophin Massey, who works as a communication coach with a leading BPO.
Comprehension: Employees are trained in understanding the customer's query and being able to provide an appropriate solution/information. They are also trained in understanding different accents which exist within the U.S. Their ability to comprehend the customer is paramount in enhancing the quality of the customer experience.
Soft skills: The most important attribute in the course of a conversation between the customer and the agent is the ability to build a rapport by using appropriate tone, claiming ownership of the issue and listening attentively. This allows the employees to build positive relationships with the customer and provide a human touch to the discussion.
Project specific skills: This training is customized to the project that an employee is going to be associated with. It could range from learning about several financial products to technical skills. This enables the employees to build domain specific skill sets which could be leveraged across sectors in the long run. Employees also learn sales and customer service skills during this phase that could come in handy for jobs in the service industry at a later stage. "I used to sell credit cards over the phone and learnt the nuances of the credit card industry which helped me find a job with a local bank," says Rohit Ahluwalia an ex-BPO employee. By virtue of these skills, BPOs have become popular poaching grounds for the Airline and the hospitality industry.
Educational support: Companies sponsor executive education for employees. Premier management institutes like IIMs, NMIMS, XLRI, IMT etc. have tied up with leading BPOs and offer MBA programs. Employees are encouraged to apply for these courses which are generally sponsored by the company. Employees also have the option of pursuing technical certifications like MCSE, CCNA etc in order to gain domain specific skills in the technology sector.
Multi dimensional/Cross training: Employees are cross trained on multiple domains and are provided oppurtunities to work in various departments. Individual action plans are put in place based on the employee's aspirations and strengths. OD interventions are also arranged for on a need basis. Many BPOs have in-house counselling teams which asess the employees' skill sets and identify training needs. This results in astute career planning.
Fedback/Coaching mechanisms: BPOs have developed a unique one on one feedback and coaching framework which most companies subscribe to. This is again a unique practise as performance and behaviour based feedback is delivered to employees on a day to day basis. This helps the employees to reflect on themselves and strive for improvement.
Promotional/lateral oppurtunities: The industry offers a wide variety of jobs to young professionals in IT, Customer support, Human Resources, training, logistics etc. The industry actively encourages employees to move up the ladder or gain cross functionsl skill sets. Most companies fill their front end leadership roles from the talent pool available within the organisation. The industry acknowledges the aspirations of its young workforce and grooms them through its training programs. This aspect of employee development is unique and is being adopted by several other sectors.
"The Indian BPO industry attracted a lot of young talent by creating a perception that you can have "fun at work". The perception needs to change as the industry matures, since we want people to look at it as a serious career option and our training is aimed at creating that awareness and seriousness," says Savita Bradoo, Training manager with a leading BPO.
With all the training and employee engagement initiatives that the industry is taking, the possibilities for young employees end where their imagination does. The industry hopes to change its perception of being considered a transitional stop gap arrangement, to that of a long term career option.
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