Surviving the BPO backlash

BANGALORE: George W Bush Jr''sre-election to the Presidency may not hang on the issue of ''offshoring''(exporting jobs to offshore countries such as India where to avail of skilledlabour,) but the job loss has definitely been raising a lot of political dust.Indiana canceling TCS contract is a case in point. The moot question, however,is will this dampen the BPO sector in India?The stake for India is quite high. ITES and BPO(which forms bulk of the offshoring) businesses are growing at a break-neckspeed. It is likely to reach $ 2 to 3 billion by March 2004 and grow at a rateof 100 per cent for 2004-05 and subsequently growing at a lesser rate of 50 percent through March 2008 to reach $18 billion.Some analysts withinthe US believe that this will also pass. Their argument is the search forcheaper labour will not only take US firms to India but also beyond to placeslike Philippines. Thus hinting that India isenjoying a particular phase where it is patronized for its "low cost"infrastructure -- an evolutionary phase that happened in the case ofmanufacturing.A union of Washington Alliance of Technology workersand Communication Workers of Americas (Washtech) has been vociferous in itsfight against offshoring. Recently, a congregation of anti-offshoring group washeld in the Seattle Community Hall to deliberate on the issue. Suchcongregations are becoming common.For a country which is dependingon BPO to contribute almost 36 per cent of its national target of $50 billion by2008 (Nasscom estimates), the backlash on offshoring sends out a chill down itsspine. Many do not agree and Prakash Gurbaxani, CEO of Transworks feels, "beinganti-offshoring is fashionable." Yet the sentiments of the public which has lostjobs either to H1B Visa holders or to offshoring is palpable. "What is reallyhappening in the high-tech industry in this country is that a once high-wageindustry is now becoming a low wage industry," Washtech said quoting. AlanTonelson, a research fellow at the US Business and Industry EducationalFoundation.That the anti-offshoring sentiments are strong isconfirmed by the extra-ordinary precautions taken by MNCs about shifting theirsupport jobs to India. IBM, HP and Dell are not the only to fight shy to speakanything to do with offshoring, all MNC communications lines have frozen on thisone.What can one do under such circumstances? One cannot take on anaggrieved population to the sermon. They have to find alternative jobs to findtheir solution. "We are sitting on a huge opportunity of $40 billion businessover the next 10 years. It''s only up to us to mess it," says Gurbaxani. He ishinting at quality and customer experience issues such as the one that promptedDell to recall part of its product support back to US.