At the End of the Line
Content
At the end of the line
Next time you phone a call centre , your customer service adviser could be talking to you
from India . Helen Taylor looks at how companies are increasingly farming out their
operations abroad , all in the name of cost cutting .
The chief executive of HSBC bank , Sir Keith Whitson , caused uproar recently when he
said he would rather use call centre workers in India than those in Britain . He claimed
that workers in Asia are smartly dressed , enthusiastic , more efficient and are often
graduates . of course , he may also have been persuaded by the fact that wages in India
are about 4$ a day , which is more like the hourly rate over here .
The bank already has 3,100 call centre staff in Asia answering calls from British
customers , and it expects to increase that to 4,500 by the end of the year . With wages so
low , the additional cost of redirecting phone calls to India is easily met . And HSBC isn't
the only company to be looking East . British Airways , Zurich Insurance , GE and others
have all sent their call centre services overseas.
The public service workers' union , UNISON , is concerned by Thames Water's recent
decision to export its call centre services , probably to India, in an attempt to reduce its
overall costs . The company plans to cut 150 jobs initially , adding that a possible 1000
staff could be affected in some way in the future . " The proposal to transfer these jobs
out of the UK is very worrying indeed " said UNISON regional officer , Ron Harley . "
This is a slap in the face for our members who have worked tirelessly to improve services
to customer over many years”
ut in spite of job losses in the industry , with BT alone axing more than two thousand
posts earlier this year , call centres remain a major employer in Britain . One job in 50 in
Britain is currently in a call centre , which is expected to rise to one in 30 in the next five
or six years . And that is in spite of serious concerns about working conditions in the
industry , with complaints about stress , bullying and unreasonable workloads.
In India , however , call centre work is seen as highly desirable . With school teachers
earning just 50$ a month , call centre wages of double that are seen as attractive . This
means the industry attracts the young , well-educated , middle classes who are eager to
work in a clean and modern environment . A recent BBC Radio 4 programme , India
Calling , how may I help ?, described the great lengths that would-be employees in India
have to go to in order to work in a British call centre . Many pay a massive 200$ for a
three week training course on the finer points of British culture , such as which Spice Girl
married David Beckham and the plot of East Enders. They are also taught how to
'neutralize' their accents to suit a British audience and some adopt English names.
Next time you phone a call centre , your customer service adviser could be talking to you
from India . Helen Taylor looks at how companies are increasingly farming out their
operations abroad , all in the name of cost cutting .
The chief executive of HSBC bank , Sir Keith Whitson , caused uproar recently when he
said he would rather use call centre workers in India than those in Britain . He claimed
that workers in Asia are smartly dressed , enthusiastic , more efficient and are often
graduates . of course , he may also have been persuaded by the fact that wages in India
are about 4$ a day , which is more like the hourly rate over here .
The bank already has 3,100 call centre staff in Asia answering calls from British
customers , and it expects to increase that to 4,500 by the end of the year . With wages so
low , the additional cost of redirecting phone calls to India is easily met . And HSBC isn't
the only company to be looking East . British Airways , Zurich Insurance , GE and others
have all sent their call centre services overseas.
The public service workers' union , UNISON , is concerned by Thames Water's recent
decision to export its call centre services , probably to India, in an attempt to reduce its
overall costs . The company plans to cut 150 jobs initially , adding that a possible 1000
staff could be affected in some way in the future . " The proposal to transfer these jobs
out of the UK is very worrying indeed " said UNISON regional officer , Ron Harley . "
This is a slap in the face for our members who have worked tirelessly to improve services
to customer over many years”
ut in spite of job losses in the industry , with BT alone axing more than two thousand
posts earlier this year , call centres remain a major employer in Britain . One job in 50 in
Britain is currently in a call centre , which is expected to rise to one in 30 in the next five
or six years . And that is in spite of serious concerns about working conditions in the
industry , with complaints about stress , bullying and unreasonable workloads.
In India , however , call centre work is seen as highly desirable . With school teachers
earning just 50$ a month , call centre wages of double that are seen as attractive . This
means the industry attracts the young , well-educated , middle classes who are eager to
work in a clean and modern environment . A recent BBC Radio 4 programme , India
Calling , how may I help ?, described the great lengths that would-be employees in India
have to go to in order to work in a British call centre . Many pay a massive 200$ for a
three week training course on the finer points of British culture , such as which Spice Girl
married David Beckham and the plot of East Enders. They are also taught how to
'neutralize' their accents to suit a British audience and some adopt English names.
