PROBLEM FACED BY
CALL CENTERS IN
PAKISTAN
A PRESENTATION
BY
WHAT IS ACCO ?
• ACCO-ASSOCIATION OF CALL CENTER OPERATORS, IS A
NOT FOR PROFIT BODY, DEDICATED TOWARDS PROMOTION
OF CALL CENTERS IN & OUTSIDE PAKISTAN;
• ACCO HAS ITS OFFICES IN ALL MAJOR CITIES OF PAKISTAN,
AS WELL AS IN INDIA, UK, USA AND PHILIPPINES;
• ITS MEMBERS ARE OWNERS, OPERATORS, EXECUTIVES AND
TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATORS FROM CALL CENTER
INDUSTRY;
• LAST YEAR ACCO HAS WORKED CLOSELY TO SUPPORT
THREE MAJOR CONFERENCES, AND ESTABLISHMENT OF
TWO WORLD CLASS CALL CENTERS IN PAKISTAN;
• IT IS NOW PLANNING FOR A MAJOR IT /INTELLIGENT
BUILDING IN KARACHI WITH A LEADING BUSINESS HOUSE;
• IT IS ALSO PLANNING FOR A MAJOR INTERNATIONAL CALL
CENTER CONFERENCE IN JUNE 2006.
WHAT IS THIS BUZZ WORD
CALL CENTERS !!
CALL CENTER
• THE PHENOMENON WE ARE DISCUSSING IS ON THE
INTERNATIONAL ASPECT OF CALL CENTERS;
• THE PHENOMENON IS USE OF TECHNOLOGY TO
TRANSPORT OFFSHORE VOICE COMMUNICATION
FROM PLACES OF HIGH OPERATIONAL COST TO THE
PLACES OF LOW OPERATIONAL COST;
• BUT WITH OUT COMPROMISING ON QUALITY OF
DELIVERABLES.
-CONT• THIS VOICE TRAFFIC MIGHT CONSIST OF
TELEMARKETING COMMUNCATIONS, OR
CUSTOMER SUPPORT, ETC;
• END RESULT THE PROCESS HELPS TO
REDUCE THE OPERATIONAL AND
PROCESSING COST OF COMPANIES AT
HIGH COST REGIONS;
EXAMPLE
• OUR NEIGHBOUR INDIA, HAS BEEN UTILIZING THIS
TECHNOLOGY FOR LAST NUMBER OF YEARS;
• AND IS ABLE TO EARN MORE THAT $ 18 BILLION
EVERY YEAR, BY PROVIDING SUCH SERVICES;
• PAKISTAN HAS ALL THE TOOLS REQUIRED TO
CATCH UP TOO;
IT IS HERE & NOW !
• A $ 50 BILLION INDUTRY WITH 30% PER ANNUM
GROWTH RATE
• LINKED WITH $ 700 BILLION E-COMMERCE TRADE
WORLD-WIDE
• PAKISTAN IS NOW AN ALTERNATE TO THE WEST
FOR CALL CENTERS
• THAT IS THE THEME, WE WANT TO CATCH ON
WHY INDIA ?
• INDIA HAS EMERGED AS A MAJOR LOCATION FOR
IT-ENABLED SERVICES SUCH AS CALL CENTERS,
CUSTOMER SUPPORT CENTERS,
• RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT SUCH EXPORTS
COULD EXCEED $15 BILLION ANNUALLY BEFORE
THE END OF THE DECADE.
• LOWER INPUT COSTS, REASONABLY GOOD
INFRASTRUCTURE, A TRAINED ENGLISHSPEAKING WORKFORCE AND A FAVORABLE TIME
ZONE DIFFERENTIAL VIS-À-VIS THE US HAVE
SPURRED THE GROWTH OF THE CALL CENTER
INDUSTRY IN INDIA.
Prominent players in the call center and BPO market in
India (2005)
•
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Wipro Spectramind
Daksh eServices
WNS
Exl Service.com
OfficeTiger
HCL Technologies BPO..
ICICI OneSource
Hinduja TMT
MsourcE
Tracmail
Progeon
People Employed
5000
4,000
2,500
2,300
1,000
1,646
2,175
1,400
3,162
1,000
685
OPPORTUNITY FOR PAKISTAN !
• TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS SCENARIO, GOVT OF INDIA IS
ALL SET TO IMPOSE A INCOME TAX OF 36% ON ALL CALL
CENTERS OWNED BY FOREIGN COMPANIES;
• PLUS, A PROPOSAL IS UNDER CONSIDERATION IN NEW DELHI
TO TAX ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED OVER INTERNATIONAL
PRIVATE LEASED CONNECTIONS (IPLC) THAT CARRY INDIA'S
VOICE AND DATA TRAFFIC.
• ACCORDING TO LATEST GARTNER REPORT, INDIA WILL
LOOSE ITS 45% OF ITeS SHARE BY 2007, DUE TO SHORTAGE
OF MANPOWER AND LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE;
UPCOMING PROBLEMS IN INDIA
THE POSSIBLE CONSTRAINTS FOR GROWTH OF
INDIAN CALL CENTER INDUSTRY INCLUDE:
• IN THE CASE OF VOICE-BASED CALL CENTERS,
THE INDIAN ACCENT IS CONSIDERABLY
DIFFERENT FROM AN AMERICAN ACCENT;
• INFRASTRUCTURE PROBLEMS: TRANSPORTATION
FOR EMPLOYEES, POWER RELIABILITY, PHONE
RELIABILITY, ETC.;
• HIGH ATTRITION OF EMPLOYEES -- 35-40 PERCENT
ANNUAL EMPLOYEE TURNOVER IS TYPICAL;
SOME FOREIGN OWNED OPERATIONS
Examples of Captive Operations in India
GE Capital...............
American Express.........
Standard Chartered.......
EarthLink................
AOL Time Warner..........
Citibank.................
HSBC.....................
AXA......................
Willis...................
American Annuity Group...
Lufthansa................
World Bank...............
McKinsey.................
Customer service
Customer service
Back office admin
Customer service
Customer service
Back office admin
Back office admin
Insurance claims adjudication
Insurance claims adjudication
Insurance claims adjudication
Accounting, frequent flier programs
Payroll processing
Research
Pakistan offers comparative
advantages over India:
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Western experience:
Higher labor availability:
Good accents:
Fair comprehension skills:
Low cost talent pool:
Good Infrastructure :
SOME OF THE CAUSES !
• FOR ANY INTERNATIONAL CALL CENTER
OPERATIONS, THE NERVE IS TELECOM LINK;
• AND IN PAKISTAN THE WEAKEST SUPPORT ONE
HAS IS THE TELECOM LINK (PTCL);
• THE COST OF UTILITY IS SO HIGH THAT THE MORE
YOU USE THE MORE YOU PAY;
• THE PROCESS OF IMPORT IS VERY CUMBERSOME,
AND EXPENSIVE;
-CONT• VISA CONSTRAINTS ON INTERNATIONAL
EMPLOYEES AND INVESTORS
• SECURITY ISSUES
• A VERY HEAVY BUREAUCRATIC APPROACH
TOWARDS THE INDUSTRY
• LACK OF MASS AWARENESS OF THIS INDUSTRY
BY GOVT /PRIVATE MEDIA
• NO TRAINING SUBSIDIZATION BY GOVT
• LACK OF IT ENABLED INFRASTRUCTURE
-CONT• NO SUPPORT OR ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PAKISTANI
MISSIONS ABROAD;
• NON-COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR FROM OVERSEAS PAKISTANI
BUSINESS HOUSES TOWARDS CALL CENTER / BPO
INDUSTRY IN PAKISTAN;
• AVAILABILITY OF ABUNDANT BROKERS, TRYING TO MAKE
MONEY OUT OF PAKISTANI CALL CENTERS, BY OFFERING
FAILED SCHEMES;
• NO CHECK OF SUCH MIDDLEMEN AND THEN COMPANIES
ABOARD;
• NO FACILITATION FROM INVESTMENT BANKERS AND BANKS
ON FINANCING THE CALL CENTERS
WHAT ARE SUGGESTIONS ?
FOLLOWING THINGS ARE VITAL, FOR CALL CENTER
PROGRESS IN PAKISTAN
• GOOD IT ENABLED INFRASTRUCTURE
• GOOD HUMAN RESOURCE
• CREATING A VIBRANT IMAGE OF CALL CENTER
CAREER AMONG THE YOUTH;
• ENABLING FINANCIAL INSTITUTES TO
UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF CALL CENTERS
IT ENABLED INFRASTRUCTURE
• THIS IS MOST VITAL PART, AS THIS PLACE IS THE NERVE
CENTER FOR ALL ACTIVITIES
• THIS PLACE IS NORMALLY KNOWN AS INTELLIGENT
BUILDING OR IT PARK
• THIS PLACE HAS TO BE DECLARED AN EXPORT
PROCESSING ZONE
• ANY THING COMING IN SHOULD HAVE 0% DUTY
• THESE BUILDINGS SHOULD BE CREATED WITH PRIVATE
PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP;
• UTILITIES AND BANDWIDTH SHOULD BE MADE AVAILABLE
ON USAGE BASIS;
• REDUNDANCY SHOULD BE AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL;
HUMAN RESOURCE
• IMPORTING OF TRAINED CALL CENTER EXPERTS
PAKISTANIS/FOREIGN NATIONALS, BY GOVERNMENT
SECTOR FOR THE INDUSTRY
• INTRODUCTION OF CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING
MODULES WITH EMPHASIS ON ENGLISH SPOKEN &
COMPREHENSION IN BUSINESS SCHOOLS/HIGH SCHOOLS
BY HEC
• PROVIDING ON THE JOB TRAINING BY GOVERNMENT
SUBSIDIZED INITIATIVES AT DIFFERENT COMPANIES
(INTERNEE CONCEPT)
-CONT• SUBSIDY UPTO 75% ON CALL CENTER TRAINING
INSTITUTES, THAT ARE PROVIDING FOREIGN
TRAINED FACULTY TO STUDENTS;
• GOVT SPONSORED AFFILIATIONS WITH
INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED CALL CENTER
TRAINING INSTITUTES;
• MASS MEDIA AWARENESS OF THE CAREER PATH IN
CALL CENTER INDUSTRY;
• SERIES OF SEMINARS AND ROAD SHOWS BY
PRIVATE –PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS AT VARIOUS
LOCATIONS ON THE CALL CENTER PHENOMENON;
MASS AWARENESS IN YOUTH ?
• GOVT SHOULD PLAY ITS PART, BY APPROACHING PAKISTAN
BROADCASTER ASSOCIATION ALONG WITH ACCO, TO
PROMOTE THE CONCEPT OF ITES IMPORTANCE TOWARDS
NATIONAL GROWTH AND CREATING JOBS;
• GOVT AND PRIVATE TV CHANNELS SHOULD PROVIDE
SPECIAL SLOTS FOR THE INDUSTRY, AND DISCUSSION ON
CALL CENTERS AND BPO CONCEPT SHOULD BE MADE;
• INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES SHOULD BE HELD IN
PRIVATE-PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP, COST OF CONFERENCE
SHOULD BE SUBSIDIZED BY GOVERNMENT;
• GOVT SHOULD INVITE SPEAKERS OF INTERNATIONAL
REPUTE AS STATE GUESTS AND PROVIDE THEM PLATFORM
TO SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES AND OFFER SUPPORT
-CONT• KARACHI BEING A MAJOR INCUBATION CENTER FOR YOUTH
AS WELL AS FINANCIAL HUB FOR PAKISTAN CAN PLAY A
ROLE MODEL IN THIS;
• AT ACCO WE INVITE IT DEPARTMENT AND CITY
GOVERNMENT TO ENABLE INITIATIVES IN SPONSORING
INITIATIVES OF ACCO AND OTHER PLAYERS;
• IT DEPARTMENT SHOULD PROVIDE INCENTIVES TO
INVESTORS WHO WANT TO CREATE INTELLIGENT BUILDINGS
• CONDUCT WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS WITH “ACCO” AND
“PASHA” AT CHAMBER, FEDERATION AND ASSOCIATIONS OF
TRADE AND BUSINESSMEN COMMUNITY, OR HIGHLIGHTING
IMPORTANCE OF CALL CENTER BUSINESS;
RESULT
• ONCE THESE STEPS ARE TAKEN, AND EXISTING
CALL CENTERS ARE SUPPORTED;
• THEN THERE IS BOUND TO BE A WAVE OF NEW
INVESTORS & NEW EMPLOYEES COMING IN;
• THE MORE CALL CENTER OPERATIONAL SEATS IN
PAKISTAN THE MORE THE BUSINESS COMING IN.
• ON BEHALF OF ACCO , WE UNDERTAKE THE
FOLLOWING STATEMENT;
LAST WORD
• THERE IS SO MUCH BUSINESS AVAILABLE FOR PAKISTAN
INTERNATIONALLY, THAT EVEN IF 100 CALL CENTERS EACH
OF 100 SEATS ARE WORKING IN PAKISTAN, STILL THERE
WILL BE MORE BUSINESS COMING IN;
BUT KEY WORD IS
• WE WILL HAVE TO ADOPT THE RIGHT PRACTICES, RIGHT
PROCEDURES AND PROVIDE RIGHT INCENTIVES;
• MAKE OVERSEAS PAKISTANI, LOCAL INVESTMENT HOUSES,
& PTCL REALIZE AND LEARN THE TRUE POTENTIAL OF THIS
INDUSTRY;
• THEN THE WORLD IS ALL YOURS.