Office On Demand

Tom Quirk, in a certain way, is a typical visitor to India. Defined by his India Survival Kit in which mineral water tops the priority list, ahead of the laptop, he knows little about the sub-continent. Except, that it has a huge middle-class and as the president of Asia-Pacific division of ABC Inc. ( not the real name), he wants to grab a piece of the action for his firm.

The ideal man to help him out could be Kamal Meattle, 54, director, Paharpur Business Centre (PBC). Meattle, has over the last five years established a well-oiled machine for the Tom Quirks of this world. PBC has been concieved as an incubator, a one-stop shop for multinationals planning a foray into the Indian market.

 

The idea is to provide non mission-critical services to MNCs while they are still finding their feet. While testing waters, if the firm does not want to commit large resources, it could become a member of PBC, source all its requirements, staff support, travel management, etc.

So, as soon as Quirk lands in the country, he can take a mail box at PBC where he can receive his mail. Further, Meattle can put him in touch with market research firms and bureaucrats who could acquaint him a little more about the nuances of doing business in India. And should he decide to set up shop, PBC then brings in its consultants who can help ABC Inc. get on the right side of FIPB.

Many companies have found this proposition alluring today. Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, GEC-Althsom, Mobil, Rolls Royce, to name a few, began their innings in India operating out of PBC.

But for Kamal Meatle, it all began on very shaky grounds. The idea of instant-serviced office as Arjun Dosaj, general manager, business development, PBC, puts it, occured to Meattle in the early eighties. Over a decade of experience in his family business made him realise the difficulties of running an office. (PBC is part of Paharpur Group which is into making cooling towers, corrugated boxes and aroma fixatives.)

The MIT graduate often found himself on the wrong side of establishment as he tried to uphold certain basic ethics. One of the first problems that any firm runs into is communication. Getting telephone connections is a time consuming process. If it was so difficult for an Indian to run an office, imagine how difficult it would be for an MNC with no prior experience in the country, he says. (So while the construction was going on, Meattle was busy getting as many connections as possible. Today he has 300 lines with over 60 ISDN lines).

Now, if he could figure out a way of providing hassle-free services to others, it could be a good business opportunity. But when Meattle proposed the incubator concept for start-up operations, he got a sceptical response from his family (The family owned commercial land in Nehru Place which it neither wanted to rent out or sell). He also approached Rajiv Gandhi, the then prime minister and his classmate from Doon School, to grant PBC a export-oriented unit (EOU) status which would have helped him import some sophisticated ....equipment without paying duties. The idea was tshot down as it was thought to be too futuristic.

Interestingly though, Biki Oberoi of Oberoi Hotels and Yogi Deveshwar of ITC appreciated the concept. But that was all. Worse, a reserach study done by MARG showed that the whole thing will be flop as there was no market for such high-end services.

Nevertheless, Meattle was convinced about the viability of the idea, and went ahead with his plans. We can always use it as our own office, he told his family. The risk was lower as we were a zero-debt company and owned the land. The only investment that could go down the drain was that in hiring and training people, he explains.

Once he got the building in place, the next big hurdle was marketing. How does a small firm like PBC market itself to a clientele spread all over the world? It did not have the option of advertising as it was too expensive. At this stage, Meattles contacts came in handy. His network of friends in foriegn consulates, membership in various trade bodies etc helped him spread the word about this innovative concept.

He had made friends with Thomas Pickering who, at that time, was the US ambassador to India. He was also Meattles neighbour. Meattle had organised a farewell party when Pickering was leaving. As it happened, the venue had to be changed as it was raining that day and there wasnt enough space for the guests inside the house. So the party was switched to the newly built PBC. Offended, some guests didnt turn up. But Pickering did come, and he came with a large contingent of American officers. And they were impressed. That was the best publicity I could have hoped for as most firms, when they are entering a new country, seek their consulates advice on where to base themselves, he recounts. No wonder, a large number of his clients are from the US.

Initially, the services came in form of help-desks but Meattle soon realised that it was difficult to maintain quality while outsourcing the services. Hiring competent secretaries was a problem. Hence came TEMPS, an in-house division which hires and trains secretaries and deputes them to different clients as and when they need one. But the secretaries remain on PBC payrolls. Werent good secretaries available outside? They were. But only those with 8-10 years of experienced matched our clients profile. What we did by rigorous training was get the fresh secretaries to be as good as the experienced one, says Charu Tewari, manager, PBC TEMPS. And the business centre also provides a back-up in the form of helpline for these secretaries, just in case they have a problem where they need help.

Delivering quality service meant hiring quality people. Meattle discovered that the PBCs policy of restricting services to its clientele was a barrier to talented people wanting to take charge of the new divisions which handled training for secretaries, tours and travels services, garden maintainence etc. There are 11 such divisions in PBC today. They wanted to grow, so why not let them grow, thought Meattle. Therefore, over the last two years, PBC is marketing its services to companies outside the business centre.

Also, as it expanded the range of services to offer to its clients, it had to look beyond companies operating in PBC to get adequate return on investment. For instance, when the big travel agencies refused to set up a Gallileo terminal at PBC. So PBC Tour And travels went on its own. But the only way to justfy that sort of investment was to seek business ouside. But the focus still remains the same - the MNCs and executives of blue chip Indian firms. Its important not to loose focus, warns Meattle.

But satisfying a highly demanding clientele hasnt been easy. The success depends almost entirely on delivering what he was promising, consistently. How does one ensure that in a largely people-driven business? Meattle is a systems man to the core. In this business, people are important and genuine talent wasnt coming, initially, he says. So we started by documenting the processes and putting systems in place to ensure that those processes are adhered to. Whatever we were delivering, we wanted to make sure that it was consistent, he adds.

Keeping your promise is crucial, he says. So when an attendant failed to deliver the cellular phone in five minutes as he had promised, circulars flew all over PBC from Meattles office highlighting the incident stating clearly: Dont promise what you cant deliver.

The most significant difference, according to Dosaj, is the attitude. Most Indian firms first seek business and then invest in support systems as the volumes materialise. We do it the other way round, make the investment first and then seek business. There is a time lag in recovering the investment but we are willing to live with it, he claims.

With Rs 6 crore in profits on a Rs 20-crore business, that shouldnt worry his boss.