Wipro Technologies Ltd has asked about 5,000 fresh engineering graduates selected by it from various campuses to join its business process outsourcing (BPO) division, Wipro BPO, instead. Disgruntled candidates quoted an e-mail they received from the Wipro management citing the current uncertain market environment as the reason behind the decision.  However, Pradeep Bahirwani, vice-president - talent acquisition, Wipro Technologies,  clarified, “Due to the current business scenario, we estimate delays in joining dates of some batches of recruits. We are providing them an option of a role in our BPO division. The objective is to let engineering graduates commence work without delay.”

Bahirwani did not say how many engineers would be sent to the BPO division. On whether the engineers would have to work for lesser salary, he said, “Compensation package is structured with the perspective of the new joinee gaining in totality.” The e-mail sent to the campus-selected engineers on November 25 offers to accommodate the candidates in the BPO division for about 18 months. An engineer who received the revised offer letter said, “Actually, we got selected for Wipro Technologies (the IT company) and we even received offer letters from them stating the cadre as that of a software engineer. But now they have betrayed us. They made us wait for nine months, only to get this shocking news. We could have applied to other companies if they had informed us of this before.”

Wipro officials though term the practice of moving people with specific competency between different business units ‘normal’. (more…)

President Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday said a business process outsourcing (BPO) company has denied reports that it had laid off hundreds of Filipino employees and was in fact looking for more workers to hire.

“We checked with that center, Advanced Contact Solutions (ACS), and they totally denied it,” she said in a speech at the launch of the UP-Ayala Land Techno Hub at the University of the Philippines on Friday. According to Ms Arroyo, ACS said it had been receiving calls from other call centers which expressed interest in hiring the laid-off workers.

“But ACS said we’re not laying off anyone, we’re looking for more,” she said. The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines called the attention of the Department of Labor and Employment to the supposed mass layoffs, urging the DOLE to redeploy the displaced workers to other BPOs.

According to TUCP president Ernesto Herrera, the layoffs were prompted by “declining business volumes” for ACS arising from the US recession. Despite forecasts of a gloomy holiday season, the President remained upbeat about the economy and was confident that Filipinos’ resilience would see them through. She said she was leaving for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting in Peru with optimism about the future. The President left yesterday for Los Angeles, where she will meet with the Filipino community, en route to Lima to attend the Apec summit on Nov. 22 and 23.

“We will express to the other leaders of Apec the hope of our people that in seeking common ground on ways to coordinate assistance to our economies, we must do so in a way that puts the interest of the poor and the dispossessed ahead of the rich and the powerful,” she said. (more…)

“We started operations here two years ago in October 2006. We now have over 600 staff in Derry and [the] announcement of 160 jobs will bring it up to around 800. The staff have done a phenomenal job over the last two years with the customer, and we have a very positive relationship with the customer,” said Shaun Harnett, a Firstsource manager.

The Indian-BPO attributes its hiring spree to a successful relationship with Sky.

“What’s working for us in this relationship is the ability to hit targets every month for the last two years. I do think there is a significant difference here. The people are very friendly and are committed to the job. We’ve had a lot of people coming to us and what we are looking for are people with an ability to talk - something the people in Derry are good at,” added Harnett.

Firstsource opened its first office in 2006 and employs 550 individuals in Belfast. The new positions will be filled in the Londonderry facility, which is staffed by more than 600 workers. An increasing number of Indian companies have chosen Northern Ireland as their European base, including HCL, Polaris, Pix Transmission and Tech Mahindra. (more…)

Tragedy struck at a seemingly harmless pastry eating competition at the office of Nokia Siemens Networking in Gurgaon.

In a freak accident, a 22-year old employee allegedly choked after eating three pastries in quick succession and died before he reached the hospital.

The incident took place in the company’s call centre on Wednesday afternoon during an informal office competition.

It’s not yet clear whether the employee had a medical history that made it dangerous for him to take part in the competition.

Police have taken the body into custody. A post-mortem will be carried out later today, which will determine whether the employee actually died after choking on the pastry. Source

Bpo Management announced the financial results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2008, the period ended September 30, 2008.

* BPOMS experienced significant acceleration of its Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) segment, including $5 million in annualized new business wins year-to-date (a 60% increase compared to the first nine months of 2007). Typically, the Company begins to recognize revenue following the migration, which can take up to six months, and $5 million in new business is scheduled to be migrated before the end of 2008. The Company experiences higher expense levels during migration, and a ramp in profit margins is typical once the project goes live.

* BPOMS has proposals in process for an additional $6 million in ITO projects, and the pipeline for new business is accelerating due to the pressure for corporations to reduce costs in the challenging economic environment. The Company’s Pearl River ITO facility is at approximately 50% capacity, providing significant room to expand without significant capital expenditures.

* BPOMS Enterprise Content Management (ECM) business experienced a temporary slowdown. Following a restructuring of management, the division is back on-track and October was a record month for the ECM segment.
* The Company also reorganized its HRO segment to reflect demand for a “Software as a Service” (SaaS) model. This adjustment is expected to result in improved performance in the fourth quarter and beyond.

* Management continues to anticipate $30 million in revenue for the full- year (2008) and expects to be EBITDA-positive as it enters 2009. Full news

A search for ‘outsourcing’ in Google News predictably yields many sob tales. Sample these: ‘Hiring slows for Indian IT services and call centres,’ announces PC World. ‘Nasscom positive about India’s outsourcing future despite Obama’s win. “India’s technology industry fears cuts in outsourcing from US,” says Voice of America.

The changing economic scenario and the unprecedented restructuring in global financial services sector are raising concerns about the impact of a potential recession on the global outsourcing industry, concedes Mr Kumar Parakala, Global Chief Operating Officer and Global Head of Sourcing, IT Advisory, KPMG Advisory Services.

As corporations across the world put expansion plans and discretionary spending temporarily on hold, large transformational outsourcing contracts may be postponed for at least six to nine months, he foresees, during the course of a recent email interaction with Business Line. However, there can be a silver lining in the dark clouds. For, changes in the business landscape are likely to bring in some real growth opportunities in the short run, feels Mr Parakala.

“There will be increased opportunities for longer term growth in 12-36 months within the IT-BPO sector, as more companies impacted by the financial crisis will be looking at cutting costs and improving efficiencies,” he reasons. Full News

The University of Pune is planning to churn out 50,000 business process outsourcing (BPO) professionals every year through a ‘distance learning’ training programme it has launched in association with Cisco and the newly-formed firm Global Talent Track (GTT). The management reasons that employment opportunities through conventional streams are few and this new optional course will help students get jobs in the BPO sector.

Initiated by university vice-chancellor and economist Narendra Jadhav, the programme will enrol teachers and students from 100 affiliated colleges in Pune, Ahmednagar and Nashik districts. Colleges participating in the programme would take care of the infrastructure and connectivity required for the programme. GTT will design and develop content, training modules and a help-desk for participants; Cisco would be responsible for interconnectivity and upgrade of connectivity required at colleges.

“The training modules have been designed so that students will have an option to select modules of their interest and liking. The ever-growing BPO sector needs employable graduates, which the current educational system is unable to provide. This programme will provide vocational education to students during their graduation years so that they immediately find a job in a BPO firm. The course is not mandatory,” said Jadhav. Full News

The Indian outsourcing industry has no cause for concern from the landslide victory of Barack Obama in the Presidential polls as the Democrats are unlikely to come in the way of the global offshoring process, says Nasscom President Ganesh Natarajan. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, the Nasscom chief has said that “We should not worry about any ban on outsourcing; it is just not going to happen. If at all, he might give incentives to job creation in America which we support and I don’t think that is going to add any adverse impact on Indian outsourcing.”

Natarajan said he was a firm believer of the fact that Wall Street would have a crucial role to play in deciding on the merits of outsourcing. Barack Obama wants to put jobs back into the US, but that does not necessarily mean stopping the trend of outsourcing because the main thrust is to revive the economy.

“Most of us were doing work forIT and BPO companies for Fortune 500 and are very integral to the value chain. So, he will do nothing that will disturb the success of these companies. At the same time, all of us have to realize that job creation must happen in United States and there will be different measures to take that up. I do not think anybody sensible like Obama will come in the way of current outsourcing,” he said in the interview. (more…)

The  information technology and business process outsourcing (BPO) industry of India believes the election of Barak Obama as the U.S. President would open up new opportunities for them and that the economic and business cooperation between two nations would only grow.

Indian IT and BPO industry earns revenues of over $40 billion from its software and services exports, of which over 60 per cent comes from the U.S. So, when Mr. Obama spoke about stopping tax breaks to the U.S. companies shipping jobs away and giving incentives to those investing in the country during his election campaign, many eyebrows were raised in India.

“I don’t see any negative impact of this victory on Indian IT-BPO industry. What I see is more opportunities for us as Mr. Obama’s priority is to bring the US economy back on track. Indian IT and BPO industry will play a crucial role in it,” said National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) President Som Mittal.

“It is a globalised world. It is not just that Indian companies are operating in the U.S. or are getting outsourced jobs. Many leading Indian companies and professionals have helped transform big U.S. companies. Many studies have showed and people in U,S, also know that outsourcing has rather helped protect their jobs then lose them by improving their competitiveness and productivity,” he explained. Source

With the opening of Teletech Customer Care Management Philippines BPO in San Fernando, Pampanga employment opportunities will soon be available to some 2,000 residents of Pampanga and other provinces in Region III. Expected to assist the President in the ribbon-cutting ceremony of Teletech’s BPO center are Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila, Cabinet Officer for Region III Secretary Edgardo Pamintuan, Teletech General Manager and Senior Vice President Maulik Parekh and Pampanga local officials.

Teletech has started the groundwork for hiring 1,446 employees for its 1,720-seat Delivery Center in San Fernando. The Center’s total employment roll is expected to reach 1,950 by the end of the year. Teletech currently employs 18,500 workers in its 12 customer management centers in Fort Bonifacio, Pasay, Novaliches, Cainta, Dumaguete, Bacolod, Lipa, Cebu, Bacoor, Iloilo, Pampanga, and Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

Starting with only 5,000 employees in 2005, Teletech now leads the pack as the fastest growing BPO company in the country. During their meeting in Davos, Switzerland on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Feb. 2007, Teletech President Kenneth Tuchman outlined to President Arroyo his company’s expansion plans for its Philippine operations. Tuchman was visibly impressed with the President’s vision for the BPO industry and the world-class Filipino workforce that he has decided to increase Teletech’s workforce in the Philippines to 25,000 in 2009. Source