BPO honchos playing musical chairs
While entry-level attrition is a big problem for BPO cos, the top-end job hopping is not any less a headache.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: There is a kind of musical chairs being played in the top managements of BPOs. Quite a few BPO top honchos have hopped from one back office to another. The latest on the list, according to sources, is Rakesh Chopra, country head, Convergys, who has just left to join Genpact as the head of Genpact-Wachovia process.
Not long back, Sujit Bakshi left Lehman BPO to join Tech Mahindra while Ravi Chandaran quit HP to head ANZ Grindlay’s back office. Kiran Shah, on the other hand, moved from Bank of America to join Goldman Sachs BPO. Similarly, Ravi Bhatia quit World Bank BPO to join Genpact. Then, there is Raja Gopalakrishnan who left ICICI OneSource for eFunds.
While agent-level attrition is a big problem for BPO companies, the top-end musical chairs is not any less a headache. In many cases, the average stint of a CEO is less than a year.
The BPO industry has been in existence for the past 7-8 years and the trend of CEO-level talent hopping jobs with alacrity could actually increase in the coming months. Industry experts say that with captive BPOs expanding aggressively, there is a new “pull factor for the third party top honchos”.
Obviously, the motivation now is more than money as top and middle level management experience is scarce in the BPO space. “The industry has become increasingly competitive and there is a need for dynamic leaders,” says Dennis Ross, V-P (client support), Convergys.
While Convergys has lost two country heads in the past 12 months with Jaswinder Ghumman and Rakesh Chopra leaving, for some BPO heads movement has become par for the course. Mr Chopra has travelled from Genpact to American Express, EXL, Convergys and back to Genpact. Sujit Bakshi has done a stint at HCL BPO, vCustomer, Lehman BPO and is now with the Mahindra Group.
When asked about this trend, Sunil Mehta, vice-president, Nasscom, told ET:“The industry is growing at 38-40% annually. Considering the growth, senior level movement is not surprising.”
Meanwhile, there are instances of top honchos in BPOs leaving to explore options in private equity. Sanjeev Agarwal leaving IBM Daksh for Helion Venture Partners and Akshay Bhargav leaving Progeon to join 3i are cases in point.
Not long back, Sujit Bakshi left Lehman BPO to join Tech Mahindra while Ravi Chandaran quit HP to head ANZ Grindlay’s back office. Kiran Shah, on the other hand, moved from Bank of America to join Goldman Sachs BPO. Similarly, Ravi Bhatia quit World Bank BPO to join Genpact. Then, there is Raja Gopalakrishnan who left ICICI OneSource for eFunds.
While agent-level attrition is a big problem for BPO companies, the top-end musical chairs is not any less a headache. In many cases, the average stint of a CEO is less than a year.
The BPO industry has been in existence for the past 7-8 years and the trend of CEO-level talent hopping jobs with alacrity could actually increase in the coming months. Industry experts say that with captive BPOs expanding aggressively, there is a new “pull factor for the third party top honchos”.
Obviously, the motivation now is more than money as top and middle level management experience is scarce in the BPO space. “The industry has become increasingly competitive and there is a need for dynamic leaders,” says Dennis Ross, V-P (client support), Convergys.
While Convergys has lost two country heads in the past 12 months with Jaswinder Ghumman and Rakesh Chopra leaving, for some BPO heads movement has become par for the course. Mr Chopra has travelled from Genpact to American Express, EXL, Convergys and back to Genpact. Sujit Bakshi has done a stint at HCL BPO, vCustomer, Lehman BPO and is now with the Mahindra Group.
ADVERTISEMENT
When asked about this trend, Sunil Mehta, vice-president, Nasscom, told ET:“The industry is growing at 38-40% annually. Considering the growth, senior level movement is not surprising.”
Meanwhile, there are instances of top honchos in BPOs leaving to explore options in private equity. Sanjeev Agarwal leaving IBM Daksh for Helion Venture Partners and Akshay Bhargav leaving Progeon to join 3i are cases in point.
Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
