Indian BPO has gotten into a reflective mode. It’s looking into the mirror to do some real, stark crystal gazing having received both bouquets and brickbats. In an effort to put in proper perspective the status of country’s nascent but fast growing BPO sector, Nasscom has proposed a professional, landscape study.

The study, which proposes to elicit viewpoints of various stakeholders to get the big picture, inder order to take the sector forward and pave a roadmap, is expected to be ready in about six months time.

What next?

Briefing reporters, Nasscom President Kiran Karnik said, the study is being undertaken to understand where the BPO industry is today, what’s the emerging landscape and where the sector is headed. The idea, he said, was to capture the next surge of understanding about the sector as a whole and where the growth will come henceforth for the sector.

The study, he observed, will provide necessary template for the industry, the government and the stakeholders on what needs to be done to pitchfork the sunrise industry to its next level of maturity and how each can contribute, both collectively and individually to propel and prop its prospects in future.

Quattro Chairman & Managing Director Raman Roy said that Nasscom is partnering with Everest Research Institute to conduct the comprehensive survey.

Further, in another industry initiative to set the sector’s house in order through a self-regulation, Nasscom, he said, is also planning to come up with an ethics policy for the sector.

The idea, Mr Karnik said, was to raise the bar and set specific standards for the industry that could form the benchmark for the ITeS-BPO industry per se both domestically and globally as well. According to Nasscom ITeS-BPO Forum Chairman Pramod Bhasin the policy will codify and set up a policy template which the member companies will seek to voluntarily adhere to.

The policy framework will encompass wide range of issues and best practices such as employee friendly policies, safety and security of staff and data, hiring, corporate responsibility et al, he added.

Since customers demand unimpeachable credentials and unparalleled quality, third party verification will be done on adoption of these standards by the players, he noted.  This is also expected to address the larger talent attraction and retention and attrition problems that dogs the industry and help it maintain its leadership position, Nasscom said.