SSM - IT and Computer Services

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SSM: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTER SERVICES

INTRODUCTION
Given the advances made in technology, especially information sciences, the world has shrunk. This has resulted in a big business opportunity because companies can now outsource service requirements using technology and infrastructure to low cost centers. IT enabled services help companies to support information requirements, both internally and externally with the help of computers and telecom networks. With this, the logic of labor outsourcing has been stretched to the other extreme. Earlier, outsourcing was limited to raw materials only, now even services and support functions can be outsourced beyond geographical barriers. With IT enabled services any company can have 24-hour access and interaction with its customers anywhere in the world. In the past, outsourcing was limited because of physical barriers. Historically, manufacturing facilities, especially in labor-intensive areas, got transferred to low cost countries, like China, India, and rest of South East Asia. The advances in information sciences has resulted in outsourcing of services, which has created in its wake a new segment called IT enabled services. The adjective IT highlights the fact that IT infrastructure is the key to its growth. IT enabled services are the growth opportunities for the new millennium. Its rapid growth is an outcome of
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Declining charges for telecom infrastructure Declining unit cost of computing power Increasing tendency to outsource non-core competency areas.

The spectrum of IT enabled services includes call centers, medical transcription, back office operations, accounting and legal services, content development especially for the internet, payroll management, logistics management, GIS mapping, etc. The entire range of IT enabled services vary from pure and simple data entry to customer interaction, which is complex and requires intelligence. The said services can be externally contracted (by Company X to Company Y) or have internal division of a company in different area (like a division of Company X or its subsidiary in India, China, etc). What it does not involve is outsourcing of production, remote production, manufacturing units and virtual business on the net.

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The key drivers of IT enabled services are outsourcing and outlocation. Outsourcing means that some functions can be done more economically externally, something like "make or buy" decision in manufacturing. Effectively it means is that all activities like salary processing, call processing, credit cards processing, data mining, etc can be outsourced to a 3rd party at a cheaper rate, instead of building overheads in-house. Outlocation means that Company X has got a subsidiary or a division located in a low cost area to provide the same. This takes advantage of the lower cost of manpower to deliver the service over the telecom links. Call centers, financial accounting services, engineering design, animation are very good examples of the same. The prime industry targets for IT enabled services are banking, insurance, airline reservations, hospitals and utility billings. The IT enabled services would benefit from the growing popularity of the Internet. Internet will change the way the world looks at IT enabled services because allows 24 hour access to resources anywhere across the globe and lowers transaction costs. This means that proprietary networks need not be set up for implementing the services. The global market for IT enabled services is estimated to grow from about US$10bn to US$200bn by 2010. Category Human resources Customer interaction Finance & accounting Data search and analysis Remote education Animation Translation and localization Engineering design Network consulting and management Website services US$bn 50 42 20 20 19 2 1 6 8 7

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Market research

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ADVANTAGE INDIA
India can emerge as a leading IT enabled service provider because
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It has a pool of English speaking, technically qualified manpower Improving telecom infrastructure A 24-hour day with USA

COMPARATIVE MATRIX Country New Zealand Kuala Lumpur Japan Workforc Market e access 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 Local market Infrastructur Cosmopolita Cos e n t 2 2 3 2 2 3 3 2 1 2 3 2 2 2 3 2 1 3

Hong Kong 1 India UK 3 1

Source Nasscom, 1 low, 2 average, 3 high USA is the biggest market for IT enabled services. A 24-hour work day with USA would allow US companies to stay in touch with their customers all the time. High labor costs in USA especially in the night preclude such a possibility. Other countries where labor costs are high tend to outsource non-core competency areas to cheaper labor markets. The Indian government has taken steps to boost IT enabled services. The government has given fiscal incentives because it has recognized video, music, movies and data sourcing export income benefits under section 80. In addition, it is taking steps to improve the infrastructure

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bottlenecks by speedy clearances and permission to invest in private networks.

Focus on IT enabled services would yield benefits including
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Employment generation Valuable foreign exchange earnings

To set up IT enabled services, one requires good telecom infrastructure and a pool of English speaking people, unlike a manufacturing business. This is of great importance to a country like India as it can result in uniform development across the nation. It will reduce unemployment problems, the single cause for social conflict. In addition, it will help the company to earn valuable foreign exchange. This has the ability to generate an employment potential of over 1mn in the next decade. The total IT enabled services was estimated at US$262mn in FY99, which is expected to rise to US$275bn by 2010. Given the current rend of outsourcing to low cost centers, we expect IT enabled services to witness a rapid growth.

SKILL SETS REQUIRED FOR DIFFERENT SERVICES Segment Customer services Data processing Human resource Remote education Engineering design Translation & localization Medical transcription Animation Finance Skill set required Language, accent Computer literate HR skills, legal Domain knowledge Domain knowledge Language Computer literate, medical knowledge Creative, computer literate International/country specific accounting

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Web hosting Market Research Network consulting

Computer literate Knowledge of MR, statistics Computers, LAN

CALL CENTERS
INDUSTRY A call center is unit that has adequate telecom facilities, trained consultants, access to worldwide databases and helps to provide information support to customer using the 24-7-365 paradigm. Typically a customer calls a number, which is toll free and is assisted by the consultant. The operator can access the databases and gives the response. TYPICAL CUSTOMERS This is very useful feature in airline reservations, hotel reservations, banking services, technology solutions, etc. The areas, which are addressed by call centers, include sales support, airline/hotel reservations, technical queries, bank accounts, client services, receivables, tele-marketing, market research, etc. Potential customers for call centers are banks, insurance companies, airlines, financial services, technology companies, telecom companies, billing utilities, hotels, etc. Global majors like GE Capital, American Express, Lufthansa, British Airways, Singapore Airways, etc have already invested in IT enabled services in India. The specific services include transaction processing, call centers, billing, credit card processing, medical transcription, etc.

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WORKING AND ADMINISTRATION

Call Centers

Internal Mktg. External Mktg.

Employees at Companies Voice Call Centers & Technical Support

Interactive Mktg.

Earlier all call centers used to work on the "toll free" or the 1-800 concept. With sophisticated query handling services, nowadays the call center and the client share costs. There are some premium services like technical consulting where the caller has to pay the calling charges. Technologically speaking, call centers have advanced in the last ten years. Earlier, it was just a labor-intensive department trying to handle some customer queries. Now, it is supposed to be a vital cog in the entire process of marketing and improving customer interaction. Unlike an airline reservation where the queries are generally simple and easy to handle, requirements of a technology customer support are different and need technical knowledge. A pre requisite for any call handling

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person is extremely good customer relationship skills and command over language/ accent. The basic components of a call center are computers, interactive voice response systems, Electronic Private Automatic Branch Exchange (EPABX) and an automatic call router. The US experience shows that the earlier adopters of call centers were able to reduce the cost of sales, become more responsive to their customer requirements and thus, get a competitive edge. Interactive voice response (IVR) has been the most significant productivity gain. 70- 80% of calls can be handled without agent intervention, which helps reduce operating costs. Some extremely competitive markets like financial services, airlines, etc. IVR systems is a necessity. In the operation of the call centers that revolves around satisfying the needs of the customer and increasing the customer base, key issues to be kept in mind include •

Process integration means that the call center service flow should be closely integrated with the normal business process flow of the customer. This is extremely relevant for banks where a query can actually result to a transaction. Customer satisfaction is the ability to satisfy the customer needs the very first time. Response time is the time taken to handle a query or how long you are keeping the customer on hold. Quality standards like Customer Outsourcing Performance Center (COPC). Professional services, ie outsourced call center services should be better than client's in-house call centers. Training all the staff of the call centers on the client's business, role of the call center, nature of business, etc. Communication abilities should be tuned to requirements of the customer.













To approach the end customer directly is very difficult. It is better to go through an existing relationship. The other option is the "sub contract" model. The strategy here would be to use the Build Own Operate Transfer model.

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In future, e-mail can emerge as a potential threat to call centers. The reason why e-mail is becoming very popular is because it is inexpensive and requires no special hardware, software or people skills. People are slowly realizing that it is more convenient to send a mail and wait for response than to hold on a telephone and wait in queue and deal with transfer between agents. Also e-mail can be sent any time of the day, even midnight. Earlier people use to ignore emails. Now they are using e-mail seriously because of its potential. Email enabled call centers generally have multiple sources of e-mail traffic. They can get it directly to the response center or through their own website or through some 3rd party website such as financial sites, agent sites, etc. The future of call centers will be an interaction center, which transcends the call center and offers communication for all media including voice over net, e-mail, chat and may be video conferencing. It is all about communicating with the customer in the form they choose. The promoter of a call center should be prepared that voice may no longer be the only medium in the future. Hence, we believe that the business model would undergo a transformation into an interactive media center.

SERVICES Call Centers offers various services like Customer Service Help line, Sales Support Help line, Technical Support, Query handling, helpdesk services, on-line Credit and billing problems, Tele Marketing, Lead generation and follow up, Data Capture, Data Verification, Debt collection and Subscription Renewal, Email management, Web chat, Web call back, Web collaboration browsing. VOICE CALLS - Voice interaction is one of the core competencies at Call centers. We follow dedicated project based systems depending on nature and size of activity that is undertaken. We have a strong base in both Inbound and Outbound services. INBOUND SERVICES All incoming calls are received by the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and greeted with an appropriate project greeting. Using the Automatic Call Distribution (ACD), the call is then transferred to the Customer Service Associate. Optimum usage of technology enables us to monitor every stage of interaction between the Customer Service Associate and the customer. The services offered include:


Sales Support Helpline

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• • • • • •

Customer Service Helpline Technical Support Complaint Recording and Handling Credit and Billing Problems Advertising Responses Database Management Tele-selling and Order taking

OUTBOUND SERVICES Outbound calling is wherein the Customer Service Associates (CSA's) make calls to any specified destination with pre-approved database from the client. A report by the MIS personnel from the operations department is sent to the client. A quality assurance team is attached to operations to check the quality of the calls made by the CSA's wherein his/her communication skills, product knowledge, etiquettes, selling skills are judged. The feedback from the quality assurance team is forwarded to the respective Team Leader for corrective measures so that we do not deviate from the Service Level Agreements with the client. The outbound services that we offer are:
• • • • • •

Tele Marketing Tele Research Data Capture Data Verification Subscription Renewal Debt Collection

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UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS

1) INTANGIBILITY - This means that services provided by Call Centers is not felt or seen. In case of Call Centers the services provided by them are highly and mostly intangible e.g. voice calls, inbound and outbound services. To overcome this characteristic one has to concentrate on: • Visualization: This is very difficult to overcome in the call center industry but it can advertise in various industry journals which are popular with the type of clients that the call centers are trying to target. Association: Call centers basically being targeted at corporates usually do not go in for this option. Physical representations: This is one of the way which call centers usually try to differentiate from others based on their superior infrastructure, advantageous locations and most importantly by the gamut of state of the art technology used by them. Documentation and Facts and Figures: this is also one of the important ways to overcome the intangibility factor by publishing the statements of its success and profits.

• •



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2) PERISHABILITY: This is a significant constraint faced by the Call Centers; even a single hour or day of inoperation may cause the company to lose upon valuable revenue. Hence the co. should follow a very cautious approach not to lose upon this aspect. Ways of overcoming perishability: • Proper management of demand and supply should help the company to overcome the problem of perishability.

3) VARIABILITY: This is very important factor as this deals with the difference in thinking of individuals. People need t o be present as both customers and providers in order to make the transaction of the offerings possible. A thorough study of internal and external customers needs t be done. The varied backgrounds of the customers may slow down the working of the entire organization. Cultural differences play a major role in this segment. Ways to overcome variability: • Training for internal customers: requires technically qualified manpower to maintain the backbone and telecom infrastructure management skills. This global internal network allows access to world wide staff and ability to match languages, skills and resources. This is the first step towards a global virtual call center. Training all the staff of the call centers on the client's business, role of the call center, nature of business, etc.

4) INSEPERABILITY: As the word suggests the service provider and the customer can never be independent. Both the entities need to be present in order to satisfy the transaction. If the call center is not efficient in carrying out this activity, the whole objective and the value of the service will be lost. Ways to overcome inseperability: • Innovation in different methods of service provisions: The latest version of call center is a global intelligent network. You have a centralized database with advanced call handling facilities, managing a typical endto-end service. The network is spread across the globe with local resources tapping it. This requires technically qualified manpower to maintain the backbone and telecom
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infrastructure management skills. This global internal network allows access to worldwide staff and ability to match languages, skills and resources. This is the first step towards a global virtual call center

CLASSIFICATION

1) End User: The call center basically comes under the B2B gamut of services. The call center or the provider is the Call Center and the client is the company who seeks to outsource the back office. 2) Degree of Tangibility: It can be observed that services of call centers can be classified as highly intangible because the service is free from any product and it has got qualities of credence and reputation. 3) People based services: it includes both high contact and low contact. Low Intelligence, Low Customer Interaction
• • • • • •

Data entry Back office processing Medical transcription Insurance claims processing Salary processing Legal database

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• • •

Content development Call centers Customer service

High Intelligence, High Customer Interaction The key distinguishing features of IT enabled services are:


Provided from a country different from where the products are delivered Use of telecommunication and data networks



4) Expertise: Call centers require technically qualified manpower to maintain the backbone and telecom infrastructure management skills. This global internal network allows access to worldwide staff and ability to match languages, skills and resources. This is the first step towards a global virtual call center.

MARKETING MIXES 1) PRODUCT: Quality Level is assessed as a significant parameter beat intangibility and can be monitored in the following way:


Call monitoring sessions conducted for the Customer Service Associates (CSA's) to ascertain and measure call quality Providing required feedback and coaching of CSA's to enhance their capabilities Tape monitoring and digital recording of calls for further reference and training purposes Quality Verification of each 'sale' achieved prior to forwarding to the client Coordination with the Operations Team and filtering of quality feedback to the CSA's Coordination with the Training Team for further training and refresher modules for the CSA's











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Recording and maintaining quality reports and files of each CSA for reference and performance analysis Designing Incentive plans to motivate CSA's with respect to quality



3) PRICE: The costing of the call depends on the value of the service provided by the call center. The international call centers will be driven by a globalization, increased competition, customer expectations and the fact that products are becoming more and more commoditized with improvement in computing and database management skills. The reason why international call centers are coming to India is because of staff costs which are almost 65% of total cost overseas, is about 50% or less in a country like India. It is not so easy to shift because of lower staff costs. Lower staff costs should be backed by a skill set which is language and cultural specific. The other things that impact operations of an international call center are real estate expenses and telecom expenses. The typical cost of setting up a call center with 100 people is about Rs.50mn. This will include premises, telecommunication infrastructure, computing equipment, regulatory requirements including DoT clearances. The DoT clearance ensures that the lines / infrastructure will be used only for servicing overseas customers and cannot be used for handling internal calls. In general, breaking into a client account is the most difficult thing. A typical call center contract lasts for 3-5 years.

3) PROMOTION: Call Centers being an outsourcing avenue for businesses it can be seen that the major component of the P- mix to be stressed upon is: • Personal selling in which the call center itself goes to potential clients and negotiates contracts with them. This is done through the call canters salespeople. Advertising in industry based journals and web portals, which play a significant role in arranging for negotiations and finalizing, contract between the Company and the Call Center. Public Relations includes news conferences, press conferences, news releases, friendly interviews, etc.





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4) PLACE: The advances made in telecom ensure that the person who is handling the call can be anywhere, provided that communication and interaction dimensions are handled properly. At times, call centers are set up for internal use also, specially in conglomerates where the demand of internal customers is very large. Call centers can be of different types. A regional call center implies that a center in America to handle America, Europe to handle Europe and a center in South East Asia and Australia to handle Asia. This enables some economies of scale but duplication of efforts can minimize operational efficiency. The other option is to have a global call center where all calls across the globe are handled. This results in tremendous economies of scale, which is really cost effective. Such a center cannot afford any downtime because of lack of back up. The latest version of call center is a global intelligent network. You have a centralized database with advanced call handling facilities, managing a typical end-to-end service. The network is spread across the globe with local resources tapping it. This requires technically qualified manpower to maintain the backbone and telecom infrastructure management skills. This global internal network allows access to worldwide staff and ability to match languages, skills and resources. This is the first step towards a global virtual call center 5) PEOPLE: Managing a call center is not as easy as it appears because it requires cultural sophistication. Customer interaction is required which means that the staff handling a call center should be intelligent and sensitized to the needs of the customer. These factors should be kept in mind before setting up a call center. The reason why call centers have become extremely popular in India is because of our English speaking and communication skills. This advantage offsets higher telecom access charges. The government is looking to solve this problem by giving substantial discounts to companies who generate foreign exchange using IT enabled services.

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TOTAL PRODUCT CONCEPT:

TOTAL PRODUCT CONCEPT
Online & Billing Problems Data Capture & Verification Email management Annuities Processing

Tele Marketing Debt Collection Help Desk Services Sales Support

Consultation Web Chat & Call Back

Process Outsourcing & Customer Service Helpline

e-CRM

Lead Generation & Follow Up

Technical Support

16 Subscription 24 hour Renewal Services

Claims processing

SSM: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTER SERVICES

Benefit Administration

Client Account Management

ABOUT "GLOBAL RESPONDEZ" CALL CENTER

ABOUT THE COMPANY Global Respondez Services Ltd. is a fully integrated Contact Center. A Company with an attitude that not just cuts across geographical boundaries by responding to a call, but adds to that human touch which delights the customer. Led by a team of experienced, serviceoriented, dynamic professionals from various walks of the industry, Global Respondez is a one-stop solution for multi-channel integrated services. Global Respondez operates with a capacity of 250 seats on a multi shift basis, 24x7, state-of-the-art, multi channel integrated contact center located in Mumbai, India. We are a group of dedicated people who are committed to outlive customer expectations. Motivated professionals who aim to achieve excellence through dedicated teamwork attend to every contact with zeal. We take pride in our ability to deliver efficient services at affordable prices.

VISION

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Global Respondez associates with customers worldwide to migrate their Business Processes to India. We are committed to customer delight through our dedicated services, organization values, quality improvement and latest technology.

FACILITES Global Respondez has an excellent international quality infrastructure and our strength lies in our tie-ups with leading Telecom and Networking Solution Providers in India who keep us updated on the latest technologies. A totally dedicated and motivated group, we are proud of being capable of delivering the best.

INFRASTRUCTURE Located in Mumbai, one of the major centers of the business world, Global Respondez takes pride in its state-of-the-art technical infrastructure, easy scalability and proven methodology which makes it a Call Center par excellence. The facility on level II is designed for integrated internet and voicebased support as per best international practices. The unique modular design of our workspace and dedicated infrastructure enables us to provide specifically demarcated space for each of our clients as also for our key functions like Human Resources, Learning and Development, Operations, Administration and Quality Control. Global Respondez with 250 seats, 24x7 capacity is a one-stop solution for multi-channel integrated services. This facility has a well-equipped recreation area and a cafeteria for all the employees. The facility is well protected by round-the-clock security guard protection, closed circuit security cameras, swipe card access to the various sections of the facility, well-defined fire exits and advanced fire-protection systems. We have a dedicated BSES Power Supply with American Power Corporation UPS and Powering diesel generators for a 100% power backup. We have the scalability to set up our second facility on level I that will accommodate 300 CSA's on a multi-shift basis.

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Leading Telecom and Networking Solution Providers in India, provide the latest technological infrastructure, which enhances the growth of the Company. We believe that learning and development go together, need based training is an integral part of our growth plans. Our Customer Service Associates are highly motivated with excellent interpersonal and analytical abilities; web-savvy, English speaking graduates with outstanding communication skills, all working towards providing an exceptional interaction experience to our customers. TECHNOLOGY Global Respondez has deployed some of world's finest technologies for offering superlative call center services. The technologies that have been selected have been duly verified and testified for call center performance. The following points elaborate on our technology capabilities:


Associate companies are leading Telecom and Networking solution providers in India. PBX - Meridian switch from Nortel Networks Symposium Call Center software from Nortel Networks. Predictive Dialer and CTI from Divine (Melita from E-share). Bandwidth Managers from NewBridge (Alcatel) in redundant configuration. Routers and Data Switches from Cisco with built in redundancies. Servers from Compaq in redundant configuration. Software from Microsoft, Talisma. Call recording solutions based on Intel's Dialogic platform. Redundant Local Area Network Certified by Avaya. Desktops from Compaq. Software from Microsoft. UPS from American Power Corporation. International Private Leased Circuit on submarine Fiber Cable Atlantic SEMEWE3. Carriers MCI WorldCom and VSNL .

• • • •

• •

• • • • • •



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• •

Data Leased Line with ISDN backup for Internet Connectivity. Plan for IPLC redundancy through the Pacific on SAFE.

SERVICES Global Respondez offers various services like Customer Service Help line, Sales Support Help line, Technical Support, Query handling, helpdesk services, on-line Credit and billing problems, Tele Marketing, Lead generation and follow up, Data Capture, Data Verification, Debt collection and Subscription Renewal, Email management, Web chat, Web call back, Web collaboration browsing.

VOICE CALLS Voice interaction is one of the core competencies at Global Respondez. We follow dedicated project based systems depending on nature and size of activity that is undertaken. We have a strong base in both Inbound and Outbound services. INBOUND SERVICES All incoming calls are received by the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and greeted with an appropriate project greeting. Using the Automatic Call Distribution (ACD), the call is then transferred to the Customer Service Associate. Optimum usage of technology enables us to monitor every stage of interaction between the Customer Service Associate and the customer. The services offered include:
• • • • • • •

Sales Support Helpline Customer Service Helpline Technical Support Complaint Recording and Handling Credit and Billing Problems Advertising Responses Database Management Tele-selling and Order taking

OUTBOUND SERVICES Outbound calling is wherein the Customer Service Associates (CSA's)

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make calls to any specified destination with pre-approved database from the client. A report by the MIS personnel from the operations department is sent to the client. A quality assurance team is attached to operations to check the quality of the calls made by the CSA's wherein his/her communication skills, product knowledge, etiquettes, selling skills are judged. The feedback from the quality assurance team is forwarded to the respective Team Leader for corrective measures so that we do not deviate from the Service Level Agreements with the client. The outbound services that we offer are:
• • • • • •

Tele Marketing Tele Research Data Capture Data Verification Subscription Renewal Debt Collection

OPERATIONS With the mushrooming call centres in India we at Respondez have come up with a satisfaction strategy to improved productivity as well as customer satisfaction The Satisfaction Strategy Before Calls At the beginning of any project, a project manager is identified and sent to the client to understand the business needs. A script is prepared in the lines of the product / domain knowledge obtained from the client. After the approval from the client's end, it is further passed on to the CSA along with full product knowledge. Test Calling Once the script is decided upon there is an in-house test on the product. Objection handlers and FAQ's are handed over to the agents for effective result oriented calling to the customers. Mock calls are taken before the CSA go live. It is only after satisfactory mocks will any agent go live on calls. Call Monitoring - During Calls The quality department monitors the calls being made. These calls are further verified and cross checked by the team leaders. The team

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leaders do a thorough floor monitoring by sitting along with the agents. Remote call barging is done by the team leaders without the agent's knowledge. These checks are carried out so that the training needs for the agents can be identified. Call Analysis At the end of every call it is analyzed to understand the response to the calls made. This would help in restructuring the sales strategy, if required. This also helps in identifying the skill sets of the agent. TRAINING Global Respondez is a staunch believer in the importance of training, learning and benchmarking for achievement of outstanding quality standards. Training inputs are imparted to every CSA on a ongoing basis to maintain enhanced performance levels and individual growth. Since Learning and development is a continuous process meticulous attention is paid to the requirements of the candidates in terms of knowledge, skills and attitude.

The following programs and workshop are mandatory for all Associates joining our call center:
• • • • • • •

Selling skills Listening Skills Telephone etiquettes Customer relationship management Accent Neutralisation Team Building Time Management

Global Respondez is a staunch believer in the importance of training, learning and benchmarking for achievement of outstanding quality standards. Training inputs are imparted to every CSA on a ongoing basis to maintain enhanced performance levels and individual growth.

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Since Learning and development is a continuous process meticulous attention is paid to the requirements of the candidates in terms of knowledge, skills and attitude. The following programs and workshop are mandatory for all Associates joining our call center:
• • • • • • •

Selling skills Listening Skills Telephone etiquettes Customer relationship management Accent Neutralisation Team Building Time Management

QUALITY ASSURANCE We at Global Respondez believe that Quality is to be better than the best; it is the enhancement of the inner self, which leads to the highest possible growth. The mission of the Quality Assurance (QA) team is to enhance and extend current quality practices, and to educate by sharing its learnings and perceptions. The role of the Quality Assurance (QA) team at Global Respondez is to provide assistance and give ongoing feedback to the associate regarding their individual performance while processing calls. Feedback includes appreciation on strong areas of performance as well as guidance to improve areas of concern. The Quality Assurance team plays a key role in the operations through the following functions:


Call monitoring sessions conducted for the Customer Service Associates (CSA's) to ascertain and measure call quality Providing required feedback and coaching of CSA's to enhance their capabilities



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Tape monitoring and digital recording of calls for further reference and training purposes Quality Verification of each 'sale' achieved prior to forwarding to the client Coordination with the Operations Team and filtering of quality feedback to the CSA's Coordination with the Training Team for further training and refresher modules for the CSA's Recording and maintaining quality reports and files of each CSA for reference and performance analysis Designing Incentive plans to motivate CSA's with respect to quality











QUALITY PROCESS The Quality Assurance Agent (QAA) monitors the calls on the basis of the parameters laid down in conjunction with the client apart from the soft skills, selling skills and other mandatory requirements. The following are the basic procedures followed:  Each CSA is monitored at least thrice a week Every QAA is dedicated to one team or fixed number of CSA's. These CSA's are monitored at least thrice a week. Depending on the earlier weekly scores the agent will CSA's are prioritized for call monitoring sessions. Each CSA is provided feedback at least twice a week Every QAA has to make sure that agents in their team should be provided feedback at least twice in a week. The feedback is based on the calls monitored and comments noted thereof. Each CSA is expected to achieve a quality grade above 85% Cooperation is extended to the agent to achieve a minimum quality score of 85%. This is a laid benchmark for an agent to be considered as good.





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MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION
Medical transcription is accurate and swift conversion of medical records dictated by doctors or other medical professionals into electronic form. This includes - patient history, reports, clinical notes, office notes, operation reports, medical recommendations, letters, psychiatric relations, laboratory reports, etc. It begins with receiving the dictation by tape or digitized form and then converted into a word/ text document. Nowadays, the doctor leaves his message in a toll free number that is converted and recorded in a dedicated server. The transcription unit logs in to that server and downloads the dictation material. It is then converted into word/text document using earphones and keyboards. The specialized word processing packages which are used for medical transcription includes a medical dictionary so that the person converting does not have face any problems. Elaborate dictation is 2-3 pages long and which would take about 6-10 minutes. The person doing the transcription should understand accents, dialects, various dictation speeds and medical terminology. Good knowledge of English is extremely necessary. Training is

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extremely critical because you are taught English, typing, computers and a rudimentary knowledge of clinical terms. The customer for any medical transcription unit is a hospital, a medical unit, or a doctor. The potential is enormous as all doctors have a reputation for bad handwriting and dictation is definitely a productivity tool. The basic problem is to get an entry into any hospital or medical unit. Personal relationships matter a lot in generating this business. The cost per line of transcription in USA is between 15-20 cents. In India, it is approximately 8-12 cents. More US companies are shifting base to India to take full advantage of labor cost advantages. The total market is estimated of US$20bn and is currently serviced by casual transcriptionist to formal medical transcription companies. The transcription unit has to promise low down time and extremely high reliability/ accuracy of the transcription because patient's life might depends on it. The legal cost for mistakes will be tremendously high. The main components of a medical transcription unit are office space, servers, computers, telecom infrastructure and medical transcription programs. For a center of 50 people, working on a shift basis, total capital investment would be about Rs7.5mn. Working capital requirements will be mainly salaries for 50 people for 4 months, which would be about Rs5mn. So within Rs1.25mn, a medical transcription unit can be set up. The problem is not with set up costs but tonsure contracts, which are difficult. A typical contract lasts for 15-24 months. The most difficult thing in this business is to get an order from one of the hospitals. Since it is difficult to obtain, the logic of sub contracting is relevant because one can tie up with an existing medical transcription company and become a sub contractor. The idea is to gain experience, build a team and then contact the end user directly. Economies of scale are the key to success, all other things being same. A remote threat is improvement in voice recognition systems so that the doctor can directly convert it with human beings doing only QC and accuracy tests. The response time in medical transcription is generally 24 hours and accuracy is about 98.5%. The government needs to take some steps and because the customer in USA wants a 24 hours response time. Medical transcription should be made into an essential services otherwise problems like leave, religious holidays, ladies working in night shifts, etc would create disruptions which cannot be afforded. Other areas to be strengthened are infrastructure like power and telecom.

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Marketing is critical for success in this business. As mentioned earlier end user contracts are difficult to obtain, hence tie-ups with any American transcription company is a way to surmount the problem. The other risk in this business is quality. If the transcription unit can ensure high quality, better prices can be negotiated. In medical transcription business, there is a consolidation happening. There are a number of companies in USA who are setting up a base in India. This is driven primarily by need for economies of scale. In addition, it is extremely difficult for small units in India to talk to end users directly in USA and other developed countries. Sub contracting is the way out. Successful examples of this model include electronic Equipment promoted by Mr Veer Sagar (earlier with DCM Data Products). They also offer training services to medical transcription aspirants. There are some companies (both Indian and USA) who offer consultancy services to people/ entrepreneur swilling to invest in medical transcription facilities. This is something similar to the franchise model in IT training business. Over a period of time, a hub would emerge catering to a number of entrepreneurs having 30-50 people per node.

CASE STUDY: ABOUT MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION INDUSTRY

THE

Medical Transcription is a peculiar American industry worth more than $9 billion and growing at a rate of 12 % per annum. American Bureau of Labour Statistics has estimated that there are 350,000 skilled workers employed in this industry. Workload of this entire labour force of 350,000 can be potentially transferred to developing countries with educated work force and good knowledge of English. As a major portion of the medicare bills are paid by the insurance companies, every health care process has to be carefully documented. As 95% of the Medicare bills are paid by the insurance companies, every health care process has to be carefully documented. Conversion of voice reports dictated by the doctor-in-charge on various stages of treatment of a patient in a hospital, into written format is called

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Medical Transcription. Such documentation is also essential for the doctors to protect themselves against any legal claims of malpractice / negligence complaints. Further, medical history has become an important part of the health care procedure. As such, the heavy cost of Medical Transcription is found to be absolutely necessary and justified. Doctors are the most expensive manpower in USA. As such, they cannot afford to sit in front of a computer and prepare a detailed report. They dictate their reports into a computer where it is processed into digitized audio. The digitized signals are transferred to a medical transcription facility where operators retrieve them and convert the voice file into text. The report prepared as per the format is transferred back through state-of-art communication channels. In the hospitals, hard copies are made and doctors sign them to make them official Medical Records. The situation has brought a golden opportunity for the Indian entrepreneurs. American healthcare industry is desperately seeking low cost service providers, if only they can assure that the quality benchmark will be maintained. Though, quite a few amateurishly implemented projects have hurt the credibility of the Indian Companies, there are equally successful companies serving the American healthcare industry proving that there is nothing wrong with India, it is only a few short-sighted entrepreneurs who have failed to deliver quality service. India has exported more that Rs.500 crore worth of healthcare services last year and it is expected to grow at a cumulative rate of 70% every year. Still, with this rate of growth, at the end of 2008, India’s share will be less than 6% of the demand – as per Mac kinsky research commissioned by Nasscom. 8000 new enterprises are needed to keep up with the demand. Medical Transcription is only an entry point for larger opportunity of Healthcare Management. Any entrepreneur who proves his commitment to quality and capacity to deliver can be assured of entry into other areas of healthcare industry. Understanding the American quality culture and establishing credibility through the lowest skill set of MT is absolutely necessary before planning any venture into other areas pf healthcare industry. Medical transcription is a $6 billion industry in the USA, employing 270,000-350,000 transcriptionists. Currently medical transcription services in India are roughly estimated to employ 5,000-8,000 people and have a revenue base of US$ 25m50m. More US companies are shifting base to India to take full advantage of labor cost savings, while maintaining quality and accuracy. The total market is estimated at US$ 20 bn and is currently

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serviced by casual transcriptionists and formal medical transcription companies. WORKING OF
THE

M.T INDUSTRY &

ITS

CUSTOMERS.

Conversion of voice reports dictated by the doctor-in-charge on various stages of treatment of a patient in a hospital, into written format is called “Medical Transcription”. Such documentation is also essential for the doctors to protect themselves against any legal claims of malpractice/negligence complaints. Further, medical history has become an importance part of the health care procedure. As such, the heavy cost of Medical Transcription is found to be absolutely necessary and justified. Medical transcription is accurate and swift conversion of medical records dictated by doctors or other medical professionals into electronic form. This includes - patient history, reports, clinical notes, office notes, operation reports, medical recommendations, letters, psychiatric relations, laboratory reports, etc. It begins with receiving the dictation by tape or digitized form and then converted into a word/ text document. Nowadays, the doctor leaves his message in a toll free number that is converted and recorded in a dedicated server. The transcription unit logs in to that server and downloads the dictation material. It is then converted into word/text document using earphones and keyboards. The specialized word processing packages which are used for medical transcription includes a medical dictionary so that the person converting does not have face any problems. Elaborate dictation is 2-3 pages long and which would take about 6-10 minutes. The person doing the transcription should understand accents, dialects, various dictation speeds and medical terminology. Good knowledge of English is extremely necessary. Training is extremely critical because you are taught English, typing, computers and a rudimentary knowledge of clinical terms. The customer for any medical transcription unit is a hospital, a medical unit, or a doctor. The potential is enormous as all doctors have a reputation for bad handwriting and dictation is definitely a productivity tool. The basic problem is to get an entry into any hospital or medical unit. Personal relationships matter a lot in generating this business. The cost per line of transcription in USA is between 15-20 cents. In India, it is approximately 8-12 cents. More US companies are shifting base to India to take full advantage of labour cost advantages. The

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total market is estimated of US$20bn and is currently serviced by casual transcriptionist to formal medical transcription companies. The transcription unit has to promise low down time and extremely high reliability/ accuracy of the transcription because patient's life might depends on it. The legal cost for mistakes will be tremendously high. MTs require excellent word processing skills in addition to familiarity with drug names, spellings, medical terminology; medical procedures and protocols; etc. Word processing goes beyond typing and allows complex manipulation of text once it has been entered. MTs need to be adept at using a word-processor and macros (small programs used to repeat actions) to perform transcription quickly, accurately and more efficiently. 1. Indian vendor will be paid at the rate of 6 cents a line which is the normal price received by an Indian Company. 2. American Company gets a price ranging from 12 to 20 cents a line. For projection purpose, the selling price is fixed at 12 cents a line. 3. Marketing executives are paid a commission of 10% of the billing. 4. Proofing in American office is required only for the first few months, that too as a precautionary measure. An extra layer of QA will be in place for 2 to 3 months wherever a new vendor is signed up or a new batch of MTs starts production. 5. Sales projections are based on the Indian production center of 100 MTs who produce 400 lines each per day and work for 25 days a month. 6. The projection of the profitability is based on the in-house production of first batch. With the addition of every batch, the profitability will more than double. The recurring expenditure per unit will reduce substantially. Proofing cist estimated at $ 108,000 a year will be eliminated within 6 months of starting production. This amount will be added to the profitability. Various cost factors taken into consideration while calculating project cost are: o Capital Expenditure o Recurring Expenditure o Working Capital for Quality Assurance. o Operational cost per month.

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SERVICES OFFERED Besides the basic services of medical transcription, medical coding and bill processing and hospital data warehousing are the other services offered by the MT’s. MEDICAL CODING
AND

BILL PROCESSING

In the USA, 99% of the hospital bills are paid by the Insurance companies. Till 80’s, the Insurance Companies used to pay the bills submitted by the hospitals routinely. But, since 80’s Healthcare bills started growing abnormally and a lot of frauds were also discovered. Insurance Companies reacted by scrutinizing the bills meticulously. Insurance Companies do not employ doctors to scrutinize the bills. It is almost impossible to verify the diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and the cost. Further, the sheer number of bills - more than 250 million bills a year - make this task gigantic and unmanageable. Over the years, a system was developed by the Insurance Companies. Every diagnosis, treatment and process done in the hospital was codified. There are millions of codes relating to every small process. When these codes are fed into a computer, the program arrives at the correct bill or very nearly to the amount which can be approved. Converting the medical bills into codes and processing the same to realize the bills from Insurance Companies has become a multi billion dollar industry. It is a massive, labour intensive process. Value addition in this service is higher than in Medical Transcription, but at the same time, investment in HRD is higher. Already a couple of projects have become operational in India. HOSPITAL DATA WAREHOUSING (HDW) Hospital Data Warehousing is another service provided by MTs. Each hospital maintains medical records of individuals from birth to death and even after death for any future investigation. Every person accumulates records of several gigabytes and they have to be properly catalogued. Further, every research work done by a hospital has to be maintained in order, so that it can be accessed any time. This is like maintenance of a library with billions of books and constantly adding new one everyday.
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To facilitate the research, every patient, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis have to be clustered, indexed, and cross-indexed. The doctors and researchers should be able to access the information easily. Also, there are restrictions on some information on some people. All these tasks need a massive programming and also labour intensive data management. Medical Bill Processing and HDW are high value services and there is a lot of room for value addition. Due to shortage of software professionals, the US industry operates on relatively obsolete technology. With the availability of plenty of affordable software development centres in India, the industry can be upgraded qualitatively to a great extent. Though, there are billions of health records stored all over the US, scientists and doctors find it extremely difficult to collect and assimilate data on similar conditions. With better technology, this bottleneck in research and treatment can be overcome. Though the American health-care industry is prepared to pay a decent price for this service, an average American company does not find the opportunity interesting, due to the high cost of IT manpower in the USA. In India, it is a great opportunity.

UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS


OF THE

SERVICE OFFERINGS

INTANGIBILITY: Services are said to be intangible. This can cause a
lack of confidence on part of the consumer. In the case of a MT service the infrastructure and set-up of the MT facility, and the qualification of its employees and it’s past industry performance record help rectify this. Even the actual service provided is highly tangiblised. The output of the service is a tangible product i.e. a textual transcription.

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INSEPARABILITY: Services are produced and consumed at the same time, unlike goods which may be manufactured, then stored for later distribution. This means that the service provider becomes an integral part of the service itself. The client also participates to some extent in the service, and can affect the outcome of the service. Like in all service offerings, in MT the service provider is an integral part of the service itself. The medical transcriptionist is directly involved in the delivery of the service. HETEROGENEITY: Because a service is produced and consumed simultaneously, and because individual people make up part of the service offering, it can be argued that a service is always unique; it only exists once and is never repeated. In case of MT’s, the employees undergo rigorous training and are expected to provide the transactions in a pre-defined format. This ensures homogeneity in the service provided. However the format may be modified according to the requirements of different customers, hence there is a certain level of customization of the offering.



CLASSIFICATION OF MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION SERVICE: There are number of ways of classifying service activity, and there is inevitably some degree of overlap between the methods available. From the information available this service industry can be classified as: PEOPLE-BASED SERVICE:

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LOW-CONTACT: This is said so because here the service is provided via computer i.e. the service is devolved through an electronic device to its customers –the doctors and insurance industries for clearing off various medical bills. NON-PROFESSIONAL: It can also be termed as a non-professional service as the provider need not be an expert in the medical field but effective training is given to him for providing the service. Conversion of voice reports dictated by the doctor-in-charge on various stages of treatment of a patient in a hospital, into written format is called “Medical Transcription”. Such documentation is also essential for the doctors to protect themselves against any legal claims of malpractice/negligence complaints. Further, medical history has become an importance part of the health care procedure. As such, the heavy cost of Medical Transcription is found to be absolutely necessary and justified. Medical transcription is accurate and swift conversion of medical records dictated by doctors or other medical professionals into electronic form. This includes - patient history, reports, clinical notes, office notes, operation reports, medical recommendations, letters, psychiatric relations, laboratory reports, etc. It begins with receiving the dictation by tape or digitized formant then converted into a word/ text document. Nowadays, the doctor leaves his message in a toll free number that is converted and recorded in a dedicated server. The transcription unit logs in to that server and downloads the dictation material. It is then converted into word/text document using earphones and key boards. The specialized word processing packages which are used for medical transcription includes a medical dictionary so that the person converting does not have face any problems. The customer for any medical transcription unit is a hospital, a medical unit, or a doctor.

SERVICE MARKETING TRIANGLE

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SSM: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTER SERVICES

EXTERNAL MARKETING The most difficult thing in this business is to get an order from one of the hospitals. Since it is difficult to obtain, the logic of sub contracting is relevant because one can tie up with an existing medical transcription company and become a sub contractor. The idea is to gain experience, build a team and then contact the end user directly. Economies of scale is the key to success, all other things being same On the other hand, American end-users are hesitant to contract their work directly to the Indian Companies. There is a cultural and credibility gap. American hospitals feel more comfortable to deal with an American MT Company. They are willing to pay a higher price for that comfort. Even when the American clients are aware of the fact that the job is done in India, they feel more relaxed because an American Company has taken the responsibility. It is highly desirable for the Indian MT Company to set up a front office in the US which looks, behaves, and runs like any other American company. All the executives in the front have to be American. Only the behind the scene programmers and owners are Indians.

INTERNAL MARKETING Human Resources Development is the most critical factor in the success of any software industry especially Medical Transcription. Any

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compromise in HRD will have disastrous effects on the success of the project. In the first stage, the selection of the candidates has to be done scientifically. Wide publicity with a clear offer of an attractive stipend during the training period has to be launched. Awareness has to be created among intelligent youngsters about the bright career prospects in this industry. Only an American MT trainer can teach the fine nuances of this industry since nearly all of the MT business comes from customers in the US. Along with the American trainer as head of training, a few good Indian trainers have to be hired to conduct the training classes. The training has to be done at the project site. Change of work environment has to be avoided. Above all, the latest training tools and materials have to be used. INTER-ACTIVE MARKETING This is that part of the service transaction where the customer directly deals with the service provider. In this case it is the M.T. employee and the hospital or the medical professional. This is where the actual service takes place

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THE MARKETING MIX PRODUCT: In the medical transcription industry the quality of the service provided is directly propotional to the company’s chances of survival. The very fact that majority of the business of these MT’s come from the united states emphasies the importance of maintaining high quality standards. Since the price, promotion, and place factors are more or less standard in the industry, the MTs differentiate their offering on the basis of superior quality and value added service and a highly trained and efficient workforce. The MTs could improve the desirer ability of their service by offering guarantees with regard to the turn over rate of the service and improving employee productivity by training etc. PRICE: MT work done in India gets a high value addition in the U.S. Indian MT Companies get just about 6 cents a line whereas American Companies sourcing from India charge 12 to 20 cents a line to their clients. Of course, there is a lot of overheads to be covered at the American end. The Price factor is one of the main attractions for Business outsourcers to this region. Flexibility is a major component to price and the MT’s should use this tool beat competition. A good idea would be to offer different prices for different services. This means that MT should expand their range of product offerings in order to target a larger share of the customers. Offering discounts and allowances can also help in beating competition. PROMOTION:   Setting up systems for day to day operations. Arranging the market tie–up with an American MT Company. Marketing is critical for success in this business. As mentioned earlier end user contracts are difficult to obtain, hence tie ups with any American transcription company is a way to surmount the problem. Negotiation and completion of market tie up is part of the package of services we offer. It is our responsibility to identify an American Transcription Company and negotiate a long term contract. You need only one contract and that is part of the services we offer. Setting up plans and procedures for strategic growth.



PEOPLE:
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SSM: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTER SERVICES

Human Resources Development is the most critical factor in the success of any software industry especially Medical Transcription. Any compromise in HRD will have disastrous effects on the success of the project. In the first stage, the selection of the candidates has to be done scientifically. Wide publicity with a clear offer of an attractive stipend during the training period has to be launched. Awareness has to be created among intelligent youngsters about the bright career prospects in this industry. Further, only an American MT trainer can teach the fine nuances of this industry. Along with the American trainer as head of training, a few good Indian trainers have to be hired to conduct the training classes. The training has to be done at the project site. Change of work environment has to be avoided.

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BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING ABOUT "PROGEON" INOSYS's BPO ARM Progeon,(Managing Processes in the Global Era (eon)) founded and incorporated in April 2002, offers best-in-class Business Process Management (BPM) services to organizations who wish to outsource their business processes. Headquartered in Bangalore, India's capital for IT related services, Progeon is a subsidiary of Infosys Technologies Limited, a world leader in consulting and information technology services. Progeon operates out of Infosys' state-of-the-art facilities which are comparable to the best in the world. Progeon and Infosys work closely together to provide a complete service to the client, by addressing the client’s technology as well as process outsourcing needs. The frameworks developed for the Business Process Management (BPM) offering are based on the Infosys Influx methodology which enable client processes to be transitioned and executed smoothly. BPM services from Progeon leverage Infosys' excellence in delivering offshore services through the Global Delivery Model to achieve superior quality, rapid time to market and cost effective solutions.

THE SERVICE MARKETING TRIANGLE

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COMPANY- Infosys decides to provide Business Process Management (BPM) services to organizations who wish to outsource their business processes. For this infosys starts a subsidiary known as “PROGEON”. Infosys does all the internal marketing which includes training and facilities provided to provider. PROVIDER- PROGEON interacts directly with the customers there by satisfying the needs, wants and desires of the clients. The providers are last in the chain of service distribution .The customers interact with them and not the company. INTERACTIVE MARKETING: Business Model of Progeon Our business model revolves around creating long-term relationships with our clients. Business with our clients is evolved in a de-risked manner, powered by client focused competent people. Some of the salient points of our model include: • Establishing a vision and a roadmap for every relationship • • Client focused execution structure A dedicated EPOC (Extended Process Operations Center) parallels client side teams and operations; it is a seamless extension with time, cost, and service level benefits. EPOC teams dedicated to a client, imbibe client culture, their mode of operation and establish knowledge bases around client specific operations. • De-risked Growth with evolving benefits • We work jointly with our clients to plan the outsourcing engagement, bringing in best practices and lessons learnt by us in other outsourcing engagements. Adequate controls are established to minimize the risks involved with outsourcing activities. • The benefits measured initially are along predictable lines of cost. STRONG PREDICTABILITY • All operations are executed with high levels of quality and reliability. • As a company, Infosys has embraced measurability of the processes, adopted for nearly 10 years, which will be extended

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SSM: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTER SERVICES

to Progeon. A strong measurability and improvement focus helps to collect and review execution data to constantly improve and provide better service levels (doing things faster and better) and be more efficient (lesser cost). QUALITY Strong maturity in execution is meant to ensure that the client gets quality service on time within cost. Regular audits, adoption of industry standards and periodic customer feedback help assess and reset operations. Regular audits of the transactions ensure that the defined process is adhered to. Percentage sampling for the audit adopts criteria like stage of the process (pilot stage has 100% audit), criticality of the transaction, experience profile/aptitude of process executive, etc. Customer Feedback is a critical component in improving their processes. Customer Feedback is collected quarterly through the relationship management team and annually though an external customer satisfaction survey. An escalation channel is provided to every client that can be exercised anytime. Customer interaction is specifically handled as a process in business continuity management. All impacted clients are immediately informed about any disasters that impact their projects. They are kept abreast of all developments in an open manner, starting with the extent of impact, as soon as the information is available. CUSTOMERS GreenPoint Mortgage headquartered in Novato, California, is a subsidiary of GreenPoint Financial Corp., a leading national specialty housing finance company, which has two principal businesses. GreenPoint Mortgage is a leading national lender in non-conforming residential mortgages, specializing in “Alternative A” mortgage loans. GreenPoint Bank, a New York State chartered savings bank, is the second largest thrift depository in the Greater New York area with $11 billion in deposits in 74 branches serving more than 400,000 households. Progeon Ltd, an Infosys subsidiary, has entered into an agreement with GreenPoint Mortgage (GreenPoint), the sixth largest U.S. wholesale mortgage lender, to provide business process management services. Under the agreement, Progeon will provide GreenPoint with certain mortgage back office functions such as financial accounts, investor

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reporting and customer services. . Progeon will now manage the optimized processes from India, which will result in significant growth opportunities and cost benefits to GreenPoint.

SERVICE OFFERINGS: Progeon partners with clients to define the roadmap for outsourcing business processes and also executes the outsourced processes efficiently. Establishing the right outsourcing strategy, devising a plan to implement the strategy and de-risking the plan to ensure success are key areas Progeon helps its customers with. Progeon has identified processes based on industry segmentation. We provide managed services for both industry specific processes and cross-industry processes. Industry vertical services Banking Credit/ Debit Card services Check processing Mortgage Loan Servicing Collections Customer Account Management Treasury Operations Management Policy Owner services Claims processing Transaction & Re-insurance Accounting Statutory reporting Annuities Processing Benefit Administration Client Account Management Corporate Actions

Insurance and Health Care

Security Cross Industry Services Customer Relationship Management

Customer support: Email Customer Service Product Support Technical Help Desk Chat Monitoring

Finance and Accounting
42

Accounts Receivables

SSM: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTER SERVICES

Accounts Payable Tax Processing Administration Benefits Processing Sales Order processing Quote through cash processes UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF PROGEON: We are aware of the four key characteristics which impact on the marketing programmes, and they are as follows: • • • • Intangibility Inseparability Variability Perishability

Lets consider the above factors one after the, first starting with Intangibility. INTANGIBILITY: This means that services provided by progeon is not felt, seen or tested or even sampled for that matter. In Progeon’s case they provide services like Banking, Insurance and Healthcare Security, CRS, Finance and Accounting. Under each one of the above services there are various subofferings like credit and debit card services, check processing, policy owner services, none of the above can be owned by the customers, thus making them purely intangible. The satisfaction is felt only during the transaction. Progeon may use a few tools to overcome this factor: • Visualisation: the Co. can advertise as much as possible on the internet. Like they already have a website which provides the customers with the necessary information about Progeon’s offerings. They should try and bombard their clients with many visuals of the their services, of the infrastructure, etc in order to make it all look very attractive and successful. A few brochures could be printed giving out details about the contact numbers of the people concerned, through which there is easy access to all the services.
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Association: Progeon can use some well known personalities to further improve the already reputed name of Infosys. Physical representation: They use a logo which gives them a separate identity all together.



PERISHABILITY: As services cannot be stored unlike goods they need to be consumed as they are being offered to the clients. This is one area where Progeon needs to keep a vigil on the market. Due to the excessive competition today in the world market Progeon needs to look for ways to overcome this vicious factor. A ‘ lost revenue’ is something no marketer wants or will accept. There is one solution to this problem faced by the marketer. It is ‘over –marketing’. Progeon can use its skilled and extroverted marketers to evaluate the capacity of their service offerings, in order to extract the best outcome from its services given to their clients. Probably Progeon can capture a few of their clients and make them agree to a few conditions, and tell them how good the service is for them. At the same time a rise in prices for the services will also have a negative affect on the external customers. Managing demand and supply are another key aspects for the marketer to overcome perishability. If effectively done then the marketer can clearly gauge the needs of its clients. This will involve costs; therefore keeping the costs down will also be major criteria for Progeon. VARIABILITY: This is very important factor as this deals with the difference in thinking of individuals. People need t o be present as both customers and providers in order to make the transaction of the offerings possible. A thorough study of internal and external customers needs t be done. The varied backgrounds of the

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customers may slow down the working of the entire organization. Cultural differences play a major role in this segment. There are a few solutions to this problem and they are as follows: To provide training to the internal customers. Progeon need to invest in designing a program to develop their already skilled employees into more adaptable employees who will then need to face their varied clients. An external will be satisfied only if the Progeon employee is able to answer all his queries. This training could also be a continuous process, through his career in order to keep in touch with the frequent changes. Training the external customers is another very crucial aspect of this factor. Any new service provided by Progeon must have the necessary and appropriate guidelines for its maximum utility.

-

INSEPARABILITY: As the word suggests the service provider and the customer can never be independent. Both the entities need to be present in order to satisfy the transaction. If Progeon is not efficient in carrying out this activity, the whole objective and the value of the service will be lost. One important feature of this mode of service is that, the Progeon as a co. need not be present at all times during the purchase of any of their products. In the case of services Progeon and the consumer have to be present during the transaction. There are of course some ways Progeon can overcome the problems involved. -Firstly training the internal customers is of at most importance, because Skilled personnel can increase for his quality of his service. -There can also be room for innovation in different methods of service Provision.

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