Mumbaikars in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry are taking the Pune Express Highway to the future.
Mumbaikars in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry are taking the Pune Express Highway to the future. Easy-timed jobs, promotion opportunities, less competition and most importantly, a much better lifestyle, are drawing young professionals from the city to Pune. Industry sources said employees who were 2-3 years into the job were mainly opting for this shift.
“Mumbai is getting saturated. People who joined three years ago as agents are still doing the same job,” said Rahul Pandey, process manager with I-Bridge Solutions, adding, “They do not have new processes. Pilot projects in Pune give them growth and incentives are better than Mumbai. Better infrastructural facilities in Pune have coaxed BPO giants to shift base.”
An easier lifestyle also seems to be pivotal in the decision to switch. “Life here is chilled out, unlike in busy Mumbai. With many colleges, nightlife is rocking. We do not need to keep a tab of the last train. If you have a motorbike you can party at any damn part of the city,” said Pratap Shetty, a BPO employee who had been with Wipro Spectramind, Mumbai, and would now work for a call centre in Pune.
Pilot projects have ensured better growth even for experienced staffers. Rigid hierarchies blocked promotion of senior members in the industry. “New projects allow companies to experiment with new staff,” said Tripti Das, who served in Global Tele at Mhape before joining I-Bridge Solutions in Pune. With reputed companies like WNS, Spectramind, and I-Bridge Solutions having branches in Pune, Mumbaikars are not too worried about taking this job 250km away from home.
But BPO managements in Mumbai are not panicking. “Our staffers have only taken a transfer to the Pune branch. To beat attrition, we are recruiting customer care professionals who volunteered retirement from jobs abroad,” said an HR exec from WNS.
Many Mumbai execs also complain of monotony. Despite switching several companies, they have found identical jobs. “After spending three years in the trade, one needs a change. I have been with operations, now I want to be in the commercial department—a profile available only in Pune,” said Shetty.
Relaxed work hours are a puller. Young professionals say hours in Pune are not erratic and stretched like in Mumbai. “Every day we slogged for 12-14 hours in Mumbai. In Pune, it’s just 6-7 hours. During crisis, it gets stretched by an hour,” said Karmel Mendonca, a former exec with 3G in Malad, who moved to Pune two months ago.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}