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Only 3% of job applicants pass call centre muster

Savio G Pinto & Reeba Zachariah in Mumbai

Nasscom has projected that the call centre industry in India will create 2 million new jobs by the year 2008.

But if you think landing a job at a call centre is a piece of cake, think again.

Because, on an average less than three per cent of those applying for a job in these centres make the grade.

Despite the huge demand for call centre services operating out of India, the biggest problem being faced by recruiters for these centres - technically classified as IT enabled services - is getting the right people for the job.

Aniruddha Limaye, vice president, HR and training, Daksh E-services, one of the largest call centres operating in India, says: "We hire around one out of every 30 interviewed."

Adds Monica Doshi, vice-president, Karrox IT Enabled Services, " Our experience shows that less than three per cent of those applying for a job as a customer care representative actually qualify for the job. Depending on the time available for training of the individual, this ratio can be improved by a per cent or two."

"This is primarily because one has to deal with customers whose mother tongue is English and of a higher order than what is acceptable in India. This makes the available talent pool fairly limited," Limaye adds.

"Since the individual has to adhere to certain acceptable standards in spoken English, which include accents and grammar, the initial attrition rate especially in the first week of joining can be quite high largely due to frustration in not being able to cope with the rigours of the training process," Doshi says.

Typically, a customer service representative needs to have certain basic abilities including the ability for incisive questioning, active listening, attention and concentration and the ability to grasp accents and the actual problem faced by the customer, said Anwer Bagdadi, vice- president, ITES, Lawkim India, a part of the Godrej group.

"Additionally they should have the ability to make themselves comprehensible, diagnostic ability as well as the patience and resolve to go through the steps with the customer. Very few can actually meet these intangible attributes," he added.

Nasscom has predicted that the IT-Enabled Service sector would begin to account for over 40 per cent of our foreign exchange earnings, generating revenue to the tune of $24 billion by 2008.

This though would be easier said than done if one has to go by what the professionals in the industry have to say.

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