BPOs call business schools to train junior staff
BPOs dial business schools not only to arrest attrition levels but also train the junior staff to the next level
The BPO sector employs about 700,000 people. By 2012, the number is expected to touch two million. A Nasscom-Everest India study pegs the current size of the BPO industry at $11 billion. While the BPO growth story paints a bright picture, growing attrition levels have been a cause for concern for the employers. Many top-level and mid-level employees (including assistant managers and team-leaders) have started hopping as many 2-3 companies in a year. Nasscom estimates that the attrition rates are between 30 and 50 per cent. Further, according to industry estimates, only 5 out of 150 employees become team leaders in a year.
This is leading to leadership vacuum at the junior level. The general shortage of skilled manpower and the growing competition between companies means that training and re-skilling are increasingly becoming a critical factor for the employer as well as the employee.
To face this challenge, the BPO industry is actively encouraging junior employees to move up the ladder or gain cross-functional skill sets.
Most companies are filling their front-end leadership roles from the talent pool available within the organization. Acknowledging the aspirations of its young workforce, the BPO industry is grooming and training the junior staff to climb up the ladder by offering them management courses in tie up with business schools. B-schools which have tied up with BPOs are preparing the junior staff in the areas other than just “soft” skills. The core philosophy of this learning and development initiative is to build leaders from within the organization, make employees proactive through all inclusive learning.
Welingkar Institute of Management, Bengaluru, is one such institute that has tied up with Infosys to offer a management course called Junior Management Leadership Program to provide a broad-based management education to the employees so as to equip them to move into the next layer of management and also provide a broader view of the business. The 18-month program is specifically designed to help employees move up their careers and prepare them proactively for their next role. Designed to benefit, the corporate and employee, the tailor-made course will have inherent features of an MBA programme. The programs ensure exposure in the areas of Management and business related subjects with special focus in the industry.
Says Prof. Dr. Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, Welingkar Institute of Management, “As competition in the BPO world becomes increasingly fierce, the need for employees to separate themselves from their peers becomes accentuated. Standing out from the crowd is tougher today than ever before. So far, BPOs offer training programs in tie up with business and management schools only at top or middle management level. But for juniors who contribute to the bottom line of the organization, very few training programs or diplomas or degrees are available.” He further states that the management course will not only develop leadership skills but also help arrest attrition levels and increase retention levels.
Website:www.welingkar.org
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Vivek Kangath
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