Indian call center attrition nearing U.K. levels

By agencies   |   Monday, 09 May 2005, 19:30 IST
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LONDON: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) of U.K. has found that the staff turnover (staff attrition) at Indian call centers was approaching that in the U.K., and that managers were demanding comparable wages to their U.K. counterparts. But the city watchdog has warned that overseas calls centers posed "a material risk'' to its goals of cutting financial crime, protecting consumers and retaining confidence in Britain's financial markets. Despite the warning, the FSA conceded that most companies had put in place "appropriate governance frameworks, risk management systems and controls'' that could identify and cut the risks from off shoring. It also said service standards were generally good. The study, conducted by the FSA into the impact of the increasing numbers of financial companies that have moved call centers to lower-cost economies, primarily India, says that the growing number of U.K. companies setting up centers in cities such as Mumbai and Bangalore was creating intense competition for staff, making them unlikely to stay with a company for more than a few months and forcing up wages. The research also claims that retaining women was particularly difficult because they were often prevented from working when they married. spokesman for Lloyd's TSB, which is facing protests against its move to transfer jobs from its Newcastle call center to India, said: "We welcome the report's acknowledgement that the caliber of staff offshore is high and service is impressive. "Our operation in Mumbai has handled over two million calls now and customer satisfaction is high.'' The FSA said it planned to keep the issue under review and could repeat the study if concerns were raised.