The expansion drives are now more concentrated on the domestic shores. Many BPO firms in the Asia-Pacific region are looking at acquisitions in the domestic market. The projects that are outsourced to call center units in countries like India and the Philippines have increased in volume. Clients are also looking at getting the work done faster than it usually is. Before the downturn, they were willing to wait for long-term results. Now they have changed their strategy to short term gains. As a result, answering service agents are having a tough time coping with the work pressure. This has prompted the investors to acquire more onshore business outsourcing centers to get more hands doing the work.
Clients who are outsourcing work to the BPO firms also want innovations in technology. The traditional ways of doing call center business is not yielding much of a result anymore. Answering service firms realize that. When they are acquiescing new territories, they are making sure that they get the innovation that they need. Quality service is not the only criterion to stay afloat in the business these days. The business outsourcing firm also has to offer something different and something extra in terms of services. This drive towards domestic acquisition is another attempt of the bigger units to provide better call center services.
The rise of tobacco consumption in the BPO sector is on the rise. Multiple studies have pointed out that there was a cause of grave concern for employees who work in call center firms. Anthony Castle, an active member of one of the non-profits that conducted a survey among answering service employees, says, “The stress is to blame, no doubt. People grinding through graveyard shifts need to shed their baggage regularly and smoking seem to be the preferred way!” The studies also pointed out that the rise of smokers among the men was less than those among the women. This was another cause of alarm, because smoking can cause worse complications in a woman than in a man.
Stress is not the only reason why the denizens of the BPO world like to puff away happily. Peer pressure plays an important role in getting the number of smokers to shoot up. The theme for the World No Tobacco Day is “Gender and tobacco with an emphasis on marketing to women.” This rising number of women call center employees taking to tobacco is worrying WHO. High disposable income is another reason that these answering service employees are believed to be splurging on tobacco packs. Many business outsourcing employers are looking at healthier methods to help employees get rid of the stress.
The fact is that the life of a BPO employee is tough, is fraught with tension and is regulated to a large extent by peer pressure. In studies conducted across various call centers around the world, it was found that because of the high-stress work environment, the answering service agents are falling prey to bad habits. The main culprit that has put up its ugly head is smoking. Almost all studies pinned down on smoking as the single most prevalent among employees working in business outsourcing destinations. The startling fact in the study was that many of them were not even aware of the harmful effects of tobacco!
The reasons for this are varied. Some studies revealed that peer pressure among call center employees was responsible. Some claimed that high disposable income was a contributing factor as well. BPO employees have to find a way out of this. They have to move towards more of meditation and stress-relieving exercises. Roy Martin, a yoga instructor who has worked with various call center services, says, “Yoga can help you to a large extent. You can also try deep breathing.” Employers of answering service units are also trying to impart some training so that the workforce does not suffer from burnouts and other negative habits.
Almost all the elite BPO firms in India are eyeing the health sector in the USA. Obama’s health reform bill, which is being called ObamaCare rather sarcastically, will see millions of dollars injected into the health care sector of the country. The aim is to bring in 32 million more Americans into the purview of health care reforms. While the bill is audacious in itself, call center firms in India are on a spree to sew partnerships with American health care units to make the most of this watershed moment in the history of health reforms. Answering service giants like GenPact are among the forerunners to end up on the lucrative side of this initiative.
The BPO firms expect a lot of work being done in the health care department in the recent future. There will be tons of sensitive data to maintain, there will be medical transcription work and even telemarketing scopes to sell insurance and even the prospect of callers calling up for appointment settings. Because of this rather widespread area of call center opportunities, firms are rather interested in getting onto the bandwagon before the others move in. To keep in sync with the rising demand, many of these call center firms are hiring employees who have the experience of working in the field of insurance and health care. We will keep you updated on this. Stay with us, this will get interesting!
