According to estimates, about a lakh people join the Indian outsourcing industry every year, of which 15-20 per cent leave in the first year itself.

This is changing. As the industry veers from predominantly voice-based services to more and more non-voice services, it is being increasingly looked upon as a long-term career.

“BPOs are looking beyond voice-based services towards more high-end services,” says Anish Zaveri, associate director, KPMG Advisory.

With this, the required skills have become higher, creating opportunities for a more specialised workforce to come into the sector.

According to analysts, the industry goes through three phases of transition starting with voice-based services and moving on to back office services to knowledge process outsourcing. The diminishing share of voice-based services is only a natural progression.

“This shift not only brings maturity to the field but also ensures stability,” says Venkatesh Roddam, chief executive officer, Nipuna BPO. Read more