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No thrills: Employees say no to tier II city BPOs
By siliconindia
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Saturday, 19 July 2008, 16:21 IST
Bangalore: Now here is a new challenge cropping up for BPO companies who have either shifted to, or started new branches in the tier II and III cities. Many such companies finding it very difficult to hire talents as today's youth is sticking on to a metro living style with shopping and other entertainment in the weekends, which those new locations is lacking in those cities.
A Nasscom-A T Kearney assessment of 50 leading locations for IT-BPO sector had already pointed out that a lack of recreational facilities was a handicap for the tier-II and III cities. But the study on `location road map for IT-BPO growth', had predicted that the share of sectoral employment in the top seven locations will decline to around 60-75 percent over the next decade and that will subsequently result in the rise of tier II and tier III cities'.
"But that cannot be achieved by only installing physical infrastructure like power lines and mass-transport system in tier II and tier III cities. Efforts should also be made to create an ecosystem that comprises social infrastructure with the trappings of metropolitan life," said Saurine M Doshi, partner A T Kearney India.
The industry experts admits that the first mover advantage does no way help BPO companies attract skilled employees to these locations.
A BPO staff Nirup himself exemplifies the trend. When he was asked by his company to get ready for a stint in Hubli-Dharwad, he decided to hunt for a new job.
"What can I do in Hubli after office hours or during weekends? If I remain in Bangalore, I can spend time visiting shopping malls, multiplexes and pubs," he was quoted as saying by Business Standard.
There are currently two million direct employment provided by India's IT-BPO sector, and over 90 percent of which is captured by the seven leading cities of Bangalore, Mumbai, NCR, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata.
As youngsters prefer to enjoy modern lifestyle in Bangalore than lead a 'no-frills life' in places without that much recreational facilities, some of these companies are giving them a choice either to move to II tier location where companies want them or go for another job.
