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Around a year back Kushal Sethi, a second year student of Delhi University, was content to do his summer job in a well known BPO. However, this year, he didnt go for the BPO option. Reason? Certainly not career related. While some of the organizations he approached were not hiring at all, the others were offering him substantially less than what he was expecting.

His example, in a way, becomes highly symbolic of the BPO industry. The year 2009 was replete with examples that a BPO career has not only become less lucrative but it also has become highly uncertain. Not unlike the IT industrypay cuts, layoffs and downsizing were regular features of the BPO industry.

What did come as a saving grace however was the fact that the attrition hit BPO industry saw some stability as more people stuck to their jobs, thereby bringing down the attrition rate significantly. But more importantly, 2009 saw the BPO industry not only heading decisively towards maturity but also proving its mettle beyond doubt. Yes, there was a downturn, business es were affected, and decision making got slower than ever. Even though, and quite contrary to the predictions of the doomsday for the Indian outsourcing being around the corner, the Indian BPO industry proved that it is here to stay, and grow.

And it did grow, even if at a slackened pace. In a way the slowdown became more of an eye opener than an eye-washer, that the boom times proved to be for the outsourcing sector.

As many as 9 of the 20 companies lost ground, whereas only three gained, that too marginally. This is a sharp contrast to last year when 6 companies gained majorly. The biggest surprises are IBM Daksh and Knoah. Knoah slipped 4 points this year after being the biggest gainer last year. So many slips also indicate higher participation this year

Its not just a stop-gap job any more, people are sticking to their BPO jobs and the age distribution is getting leveled down. There is a sharp decline in number of people within the 20-25 age bracket. And the older population is gradually increasing. Its age no bar for the BPO now! Or is it BPO no bar for age?

Although there was lesser money, the focus became process efficiency and diversification, something that the industry was missing up to now.

Meanwhile, more and more people became dissatisfied with their salaries and appraisals, and 2009 brought a sharp dip in the percentage of people who joined the BPO industry lured by the zeroes on their offer letters. While in 2008 close to 30% people entered the industry based on salary, this year the figure was only 24%. What is interesting to note is that overall job satisfaction hovered around the same figure, as against 2008 when it witnessed a commendable nine point jump. One plausible reason for this can be that employee expectations and satisfaction from the BPO industry are moving beyond purely money oriented goals, as has been the case so far.

Although overall satisfaction remained pretty much equal to last year, the order has undergone a good shuffling. e4e and Knoah have suffered the most, whereas the highlight is Genpacts 6 rank jump. The other company that has done very well in overall satisfaction is Hero ITeS. Of the biggies, IBM has improved, whereas TCS hovers around the bottom rung	Its the ugly face of the slowdown, as 8 out of the 20 companies surveyed have negative hiring figures. While it might indicate layoffs or downsizing for some, for the likes of HCL it is process efficiency. However, go slow was the theme for the rest. TCSs exponential employee growth is because it acquired Citi Group Global Services

And this year too, work culture became the single most important concern for people who walked on the BPO runway. Seems like movies like Outsourced and Chetans Bhagats writings are indeed tilting decisions in favor of the outsourcing industry. And its not only the young who are feeling the magnetic pull, the middle aged and even the old are giving the industry a look, even though through cynicism tinted glasses!

Yes, the erratic working hours, the sleeping disorders and the digestive problems all remainbut what has certainly changed, and for the better, is that a call-center job (and even that definition is changing now) is no longer frowned or looked down upon. Its as much a job to be proud of as any other, and our BPO going population is certainly not abashed to sit in their cabs at all hours and catch up on their sleep on the way to the office!

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