CAREER IN DOMESTIC BPO – Training for Service Industry
Abhay Kumar has done his inter-final in 12th through UP board. He is a native of Baitalpur, UP. He is working as an ‘agent’ in RuralShores Business Services (RSBS) – a rural BPO at Baitalpur, UP.
Catch him during his office hours – dressed up in his office attire, coiffed hair and neat and clean appearance – it will be difficult for you to associate him with a rural set up. The training at RuralShores Skills Academy (RSA) helped him hone his soft skills and learn corporate etiquettes. This learning is reflected in his confidence, personality and good manners. He was very happy with the course curriculum and training. In his words, “it was 200% beneficial to him” and “the training gave him confidence to learn and grow”. It helped him come out of his hesitant shell and made him battle ready to face the world. Since then, he has never looked back.
Abhay already had clear goals towards working in the service industry. He wanted to work with RuralShores Business Services (RSBS) and he was aware of the fact that RSBS runs a BPO near his village.
Training Success at RSA
Abhay joined RSA and then could get placement in RSBS. In fact, his entire batch at RSA found a job in RSBS successfully with record 100% placements. He wants to work his way up within the BPO industry and rise through ranks and become a part of management. He found the atmosphere at RSA training center very friendly and preparative for service industry. He still remembers the trainers at RSA who he found to be very talented, accessible, communicative and helpful.
Career Planning and Growth
Planning his career in domestic BPO industry, Abhay says, “one of the most attractive things about BPO industry and most of the processes it runs is that they need only a basic 10+2 to enter the industry.” What they mainly seek among candidates is good communication skills and a willingness to learn. Most of the BPO companies hire candidates with basic qualifications and then train them. Many candidates move to KPOs (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) which are more interesting and pay more too. Queried about his own career growth in the domestic BPO industry, he reminisces, “I started as an agent which is the entry-level employee in a BPO unit. My first salary was Rs. 9000/- which has grown to Rs. 15000/-in two years. I am a top performer in my team. I am working my way towards getting promoted to team leader. I already have two years of experience and I am pursuing graduation alongside. Two more years of work experience in this process should make me eligible for applying to higher positions in the company. ”A potential employee can climb his way up from the post of Customer Care Executive to Team Leader to Assistant Manager to Manager.”
In a BPO unit, project manager is the highest level at which one is directly associated with processes in a company. Beyond that, the higher posts of Senior Manager, Centre Manager, Centre Head generally require a degree in MBA. It is important to take up training programmes that strengthen the skill set of an employee or acquire new skills. Additional skills and graduation degree also increase available career opportunities. Performance reviews are usually conducted every six months to gauge an employees’ progress. It is a way of evaluating an employee’s performance, skill set and the new job roles that can be assigned to him/her. When asked whether he plans to remain in BPO industry, he declares, “Yes, definitely. It is a very high growth industry. Given the vast cost-saving power of outsourcing and available potential in the country, the industry will continue to grow even through hard times like recession.”
It is an achievement and gratifying for RuralShores Skills Academy to have the opportunity and drive to hold the torch and lighten the pathway for students with potential to climb the heights of their dreams.