Dataquest : Top Stories : Grumbling Workers Anxious Boss

Grumbling Workers Anxious Boss

Continued from page: 1

Bhaswati Chakravorty

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Factors That Matter
Statement	Correlation Coefficient
The culture of the company is such that it creates a very positive work environment	0.73
I believe that the company's leadership is doing what is required for its growth	0.68
I feel a sense of belonging in this company	0.67
I have exciting growth opportunities in this company	0.66
The company is very open to ideas and suggestions given by employees	0.66
The company's infrastructure is good and makes my work easier	0.66
I am paid enough for the work I do in this company	0.65
The company conducts its business in a fair manner	0.65
The company behaves in a very professional manner with employees, suppliers and customers	0.65
This company has high standards of corporate governance	0.64
Note: Correlation coefficient implies the relation between employee satisfaction and the above mentioned parameters. For example, 'the culture of the company is such that it creates a positive work environment' has the strongest bearing on satisfaction.

In the same vein, the intent of getting a majority of organizations to develop an informal "no poaching" agreement is another retention strategy being deliberated, requiring collaborative effort of the industry. However, industry experts agree that a more viable model in the short-term is the signing of bilateral agreements between companies, as industry-wide agreements may require a longer time frame to materialize.

In keeping with the strategy of positioning the BPO industry as a serious career option, service-providers have entered into exclusive tie-ups with educational institutes to provide professional degree courses to their employees. This allows employees to pursue their academic interests while employed.

In addition, performance-linked remuneration, transparent recognition schemes, cross-training etc are other practices being adopted by a majority of the survey participants.

Reinventing Recruitment
In addition to pursuing innovative retention strategies, the focus is steadily shifting to ensuring that recruitment processes are aligned with retention strategies. The effectiveness of any system depends on the quality of the inputs, in this case the new employees. A few of the participants to the survey have realized this, and correspondingly made a paradigm shift in their hiring process by focusing on competency frameworks and other selection instruments. HR managers and management at the BPOs are taking an active interest in the recruitment process. An interesting strategy being adopted by a few companies includes recruiting employees belonging to an older age bracket, for want of a higher degree of employee stability and commitment.

Dream Company
Rank	Company	% of respondents	Rank	Company	% of respondents
1	Infosys	12.6	11	Accenture	2.2
2	Microsoft	6.8	12	American Express	2.1
3	TCS	6.8	13	HP	2.0
4	IBM	5.2	14	ICICI One Source	1.8
5	Wipro	4.4	15	AXA	1.7
6	e4e	3.6	16	Google	1.7
7	vCustomer	3.5	17	Ajuba solution	1.4
8	Genpact	3.5	18	Goldman Sachs	1.3
9	JP Morgan Chase	2.7	19	Convergys	1.1
10	HCL	2.3	20	Cisco System	1.1
11	Dell	2.3	21	WNS	1.0
Respondents were asked to name their dream company. Dream company can be any company irrespective of any sector; it can also be his/her present company where he/she is currently working.
Base: 1,896�� Source: DQ-IDC BPO E-SAT SURVEY 2006

It is estimated that by the year 2008, India would have approximately 5 mn people employed by the ITeS industry. Says Piyush Mehta, senior VP & HR leader, Genpact, "The absence of quality manpower is a big challenge in addition to attrition." In order to ensure a consistent flow of trained manpower in the future, the industry is exploring the possibility of working with the government to introduce courses at a school and college level, in line with the requirements of the ITeS-BPO industry of India.

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