India Call Center Developments

Indian Call Center developments
 
In previous blogs we mentioned that the Philippines was neck and neck with India for call center revenues, but I read an article posted on Dec 6th 2010 in the Global Nation Inquirer stating that the Philippines has become the call center capital of the world.  I saw this coming.  Filipino call center employees get statistically more done per hour than in India and have a better command of American English as well as a good level of cultural affinity with the U.S.  Even some Indian companies set up call centers in the Philippines to benefit from their cultural links to the West.
 
My personal feeling is that India excels at intelligent tasks, and that cultural skills are just a matter of learning.  India has no shortage of people who can learn anything.  With a population of 1.1 billion, there will be many who can master every type of skill known to mankind, even if they don’t have a head start.  Indian education emphasizes math and science, and when Indian kids come to America to go to college, they are years ahead of the Americans.  Its just a question of emphasis.  Culture is easier to master than trigonometry, its just a matter of learning it.  Accents can be learned and mastered too, at least to the point of being acceptable for business use.
 
If an Indian call center employee has some Indian accent, that is okay, just as long as they are clear, helpful, and know all of our American faux pas.  But, many could master even regional accents through a good  educational program.  Some businesses put an emphasis on training and mastery while others accept mediocracy.  With the types of prices Indian call centers are charging these days, there is no room for second rate service.  Prices have skyrocketed recently, so quality of service, not price competition need to be the primary focus.
 
Tata Consultancy Service is a multi-billion dollar Indian company famous for cars, dams, and other services.  They have just opened a BPO operation in Manila instead of in their motherland.  It is a sad state of affairs when Indians are outsourcing their tasks outside of India.  The tide has shifted.  Overall outsourcing revenues are still by far the highest in India, but China is catching up fast, and the Philippines with its far smaller overall market share is also gaining… at least in the call center industry.
 
To end this short blog with a joke.  Did you hear about the new car models from 2005?
There was the Ford Hurricane and the Tata Tsunami.