BPO industry in trouble in India: Gallup

A Gallup analysis of 75,000 respondents across eight BPO organisations over a two-year period indicates 28% of employees (fewer than one in three) agree that they intend to stay with their organisation for the next two years and the same number strongly agree that they would recommend their organisation to friends/family.

Why it’s a bad thing
When fewer than one in three employees strongly believe in the BPO company they work for, it is unlikely that young aspirants looking to embark on a career will meet mentors or advisors who would urge them to pursue a job with a BPO organisation. This is true in any industry, but is especially true in India: Indians typically rely on advice from people in their social networks, especially when it comes to big decisions such as choosing a school, a neighborhood, or a profession.

What can be done
The first step in reshaping the BPO sector’s image is to focus on existing BPO professionals’ needs.

How
Gallup investigated the difference between extremely loyal advocates of the industry and the opposite. It found two factors that separated the groups:

• how an employee’s job contributes to the mission/purpose of the organisation 
   
• the opportunities each employee has to learn and grow on the job

Three of every five employees do not understand their role in fulfiling their organisation’s mission and are unclear on how they will grow in their organisation. The critical goal for leaders is to connect their employee base with the vision of the company and to explain to employees how to achieve this vision and what the path will look like.