Topic > HR Strategies as Solutions Offered to the Challenges Faced in the Indian BPO Industry

IndexSummaryContext of the StudyScopePurpose StatementMotivationCareer DevelopmentRecruitment and Selection ProcessThese processes include:Induction, Orientation and TrainingEmployee EvaluationTraining and DevelopmentTraining methods include management of medical issues and Healthcare : Suggested Strategies to Improve Workforce Health and Well-Being Conclusion Executive Summary This report focuses on analyzing HR strategies as solutions offered to the challenges faced in BPO; Specifically, the Indian call center industry. the journey into the Indian BPO sector, a case study of the Indian call center sector. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The research discusses human resources as a strategic approach in managing the people working in an organization and how these strategies can be used and infused with organization strategies with the aim of achieving a higher level of productivity through correct management and satisfaction of the workforce. Background of the Study Call center jobs are one of the professions with a relatively high level of stress and pressure. Call handlers receive up to 350 calls in a five-hour shift repeating the same set of jobs over and over again, which makes the job less interesting and results in loss of enthusiasm and high attrition rates. Human resource strategies and planning are useful when dealing with human resources in organizations. Indian used to be at the top in the BPO industry but is now facing huge competition and will soon be overtaken by the Philippines. The culture, time zone, and most importantly, accent of Filipinos have given them an added competitive advantage as English speakers speak fluently with a neutral accent, have similar time zones, and embrace a culture as familiar as that of America. Compared to Indians who have always had a communication gap due to their accent which reflects poorly in spoken English and makes it quite difficult for its agents to be properly understood, a very distinct and different culture which they are not ready to compromise on . HR strategies are suggested on how Indian call centers can resolve labor issues that would reduce turnover, increase productivity level and help India gain greater competitive advantages in the BPO sector. ScopeThis research focuses on providing solutions to HR problems faced in call centers with specific to the Indian call center industry through the use of HR strategies. This study is conducted on the call center industry in India, researching various HR problems/challenges faced and how these problems can be solved using various HR strategies.Purpose StatementThe purpose of this research is to highlight various HR strategies and to effective retention strategies which include ;Introduction of motivational strategies to help increase employee morale which leads to job satisfaction. Effective recruitment and selection process from a pool of enthusiastic candidates. Setting up training and developing employee skills and abilities to improve work activity. Implementation of career advancement policies. Provision of health and safety. measuresAll these can be used by the Indian call center to reduce employee turnover and resolve the human resource related problems identified in the BPO sector in India.Literature ReviewBratton and Gold, (2007) define human resource management as a wayvital to manage business relationship supervision which emphasizes that the use of individual capabilities is crucial to gain an advantage among competitors, through a distinct arrangement of integrated work strategies, projects and practices. Its capabilities are organizing, coordinating, staffing, creating, eliciting, outlining, supervising connections, supervising change, and evaluating. Guest, (1997) developed a model of human resource management.resource management as defined by Bratton (2010), the process by which human resource functions are linked to the key objectives of the association keeping in mind the end goal to improve execution, while HR strategy is the form of choices with respect to HR practices that are used by management to configure work and select, motivate, prepare, create, evaluate and control the workforce. In an attempt to solve the Indian call center challenges, some HR strategies are recommended. These strategies include; Rationale The call center operates a mechanistic approach in its work design as the work is all about repetition. This should be replaced with a motivational approach, (Herzberg, 1968) has developed a motivational strategy which will be very effective in solving the loyalty problem in the Indian call center which is referred to as the two factor theory (motivator-hygiene) which is based on the assumption that motivation and hygiene needs are required by all employees. The motivating factors are related to the work itself, its presence brings job satisfaction to employees and its absence causes zero satisfaction. Hygiene factors are related to the conditions in which work is carried out, when these needs are met it eliminates dissatisfaction on the part of employees but its absence causes dissatisfaction. The presence of hygiene factors does not in any way determine job satisfaction, job satisfaction can only be achieved when motivating needs are satisfied. Herzberg (1974, 2017) stated that job satisfaction and commitment are critical to employee satisfaction as they increase employee performance, efficiency, and stability. workforce, which is why call centers should focus on motivating factors as a strategy to help retain agents. Career DevelopmentHelping employees in managing, developing and planning their careers is one of the factors that are lacking in the Indian call center. Career policies and flat organizational structure limit employee career growth within the industry. According to Robbins (2002) career management is the process through which workers are empowered and encouraged to develop their professional skills and interests and, furthermore, to use these aptitudes and interests within the organization and after leaving the 'organization. This can be done through career planning which involves setting career goals in line with individual values, identifying opportunities, activities and skills to achieve goals. Both the organization and the employees have a role to play in this. This can be done through providing career planning programs, improving career policies that benefit employees, organizing career teams and developing employee skills, etc. The manager of the Bank of Montreal's call center (the Master Card department) made suggestions to eliminate the organization's flat structure by providing call agentsthe opportunity to progress from call takers to other positions within the bank, starting from agents up to sales staff in the card sector with the benefit of learning new skills such as negotiation and communication skills which will open up more opportunities of work and positions for them (Icmrindia, 2002). Recruitment and selection process According to (Robbin and Coulter, 2002) these two processes work hand in hand as they are not mutually exclusive. Recruitment can occur internally (within the organization in the form of promotions, transfers, referrals, etc.) or externally (outside the organization). In the case of the Indian call center, external recruitment is recommended, preferably on campuses and from a pool of mothers and housewives returning to work. A fair process must be followed while recruiting. These processes include: Job Opening: Recruitment can only begin when there is an open or vacant position within an organization which can be sourced using any of the mentioned sources which depends on the open position. With the high turnover of the staff, there is always a need to hire at the call center. The call center should consider the reason for this opening and what led to the previous occupant of the position leaving or resigning from the position as a result of not being satisfied with the job and, if so, has the issue been resolved? Otherwise, call centers are advised to recruit externally from the pool of recent graduates, school leavers, housewives and mothers who want to re-enter the world of work. Job specification: This involves the job description. Applicants must be informed of the duties and responsibilities arising from the position for which they are applying, as well as the criteria that should be met before applying for the position, which include (educational background and qualifications, previously acquired personal skills/training, communication skills, individual person etc. Through the submitted candidate CVs, the HR team should be able to decipher whether a candidate is capable of taking on the job. These descriptions can also be used to craft questions that would be asked during the interview with the candidate candidates right for the job: It is important to understand that it is not about having a pool of candidates applying for a position, but the potential of the candidates is what matters To attract the right candidate for the job, you need to focus on the source of recruitment to consider which could be an internal or external source. Organizations should have the best interests of their current employees at heart before sourcing externally, it should be confirmed that the opening cannot be filled internally otherwise it may reduce existing staff's enthusiasm for their work, which would affect the. level of productivity of the organization in the long term. In any case, both sources have their pros and cons and all options should be properly weighed. When recruiting new agents, it is best to look externally unless there is an opening for a higher position. Filtering of candidates: the aim is to reduce the candidate pool to a selected minimum most capable of the job that can be carried out through unexpected telephone interview, job descriptions can be used at this point (selecting the CVs that best suit the job description ), aptitude tests, the interview: both the interviewer and the interviewee should be composed and ready for the interview. The most used interview style, popularly referred to as the "WASP approach" (welcoming, acquisition ofinformation, provision of information and ways of separation) helps the interviewer ensure that the interview is coordinated correctly. This process respectively involves ensuring that the interviewee is accommodated properly and received in a professional yet warm manner, collecting sufficient data from the interviewee, allowing and answering questions asked by the interviewee, and providing thorough clarifications on the task, obligations and remuneration accompanied by the position and, finally, end the interview in a positive way and inform the interviewee about the next selection steps to take, asking permission if references will be contacted and specifying a time period for feedback. Selection and appointment: Sometimes the interviews are not good enough to justify who would best suit the position. In addition to meeting all the required criteria, candidates should also be assessed on their knowledge, aptitude, aptitude and skills acquired using the selection test (tool used to decide on a potential employee) and interviewers should be as objective as possible . during the selection process, after which the most suitable person for the job is selected and informed of his appointment, then the appointment procedures begin. Onboarding, Orientation and Training This phase involves the introduction of new staff to the company, other employees and their new responsibilities. New hires are oriented to the company's values, policies and structures and trained in how to do their jobs. This training does not stop at the onboarding phase as it is a continuous process. Employee Evaluation After the appointment of new agents, they are evaluated through monitoring their performance, this may be daily, weekly or monthly until the end of the employee's probationary period after which an evaluation takes place to identify strengths and weakness of the worker. Training and Development Training and development of workers is not a matter of choice for organizations as adequate training and development programs on and off the job should be organized regularly for all employees. which standardizes both the requirements of the call center and of the employees (agents). According to (Dessler, 2011), training involves providing opportunities for current and new staff to acquire and improve the skills needed to perform various jobs/tasks. Dessler also mentioned five processes for staff training and development, this process includes; (Robbins and Coulter, 2002), the mentioned employees should be trained based on these three skill classifications; technical, interpersonal and problem solving skills. Indian call centers mainly focus on training new employees on technical skills, excluding existing employees in the training process, but call agents require their skills to be improved and updated from time to time as change is inevitable and evolves in line with technology and other factors. Training methods include on-the-job training: easy to perform and generally reasonable, however it can disrupt the work environment and cause an increase in errors during the training process. types include Shadowing/understudy method - the process by which an employee is placed under a colleague or senior employee whose attitude, knowledge and individual characteristics can be influenced on the intern Apprenticeship method - This is a procedure by which people they train to become experts, mostly through a mix of formal learning and extensive preparation.