BPO, a road much traveled but less known

Written in Feb2009, while working with Infosys BPO.....posting today
I have been working in a very reputed BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) firm in Bangalore for the last six years. Today, during our tea break, the question, "Why we work for a BPO?" was raised. Post break I came back to my work station with my thoughts lingering about what we had discussed. Most of us in my group joined because we were either graduates or post graduates and not every one of us could get into management (or) technical trade. In the beginning, all of us felt it’s a 'no other go' scenario and found it difficult to explain to people what we do.
But with time our attitude has changed. We no more work for a mere money earning profile. It is nice to know our conversations are better these days as compared to a few years back. Most of us are now in middle management posts, having joined as executives. The journey so far has taught us ways to handle our job, be it from basics like customer service, client calls to people management, account reviews, presentations, client visits and process excellence. The learning process goes a step forward with meeting different people at all levels and from all countries. It’s all about learning and growing with values. It is also about how to improve and gain expertise than judging what industry you work in.
BPO is not all about attending a few calls or talking to customers pretending to be a foreigner. It is much more and vast than what is being portrayed. Chetan Bhagat’s One night at a Call Center was able to capture most of the things the way they are. I was surprised he was able to cover all of it through a story line. Although there are many more aspects to the BPO industry. It is also how the people working in a BPO or a Call Center take it and portray it to people outside, so that this job, too, is accepted with dignity.
A couple of my team members have taken up MBA courses supported by my company, which is a great value-add while working. Many of them will walk out, not only experienced, but also with an additional diploma.
Today, we feel proud to be in a BPO and realized how much we have grown with experience. The crux of the matter is about being content and setting a good example for others in the industry. I am happy that attitudes have changed and are changing towards the BPO industry.

Robert Frost once said, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." ⊕