Feb 14, 2006 03:36 PM
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(Updated Feb 14, 2006 03:36 PM)
It is an interesting topic and there are a lot of pros and cons that come to mind as an immediate reaction to the mention of call centers. Sometimes I wonder how it all started. No, I do not have an answer to that so cannot discuss it.
My rambling started last week when talking to a relative who has been in a business for years and generations. We seldom spoke but this one time it was as if he was perturbed by something and we talked.
'Are call centers likely to sustain', he asked. I said I'd read a report somewhere that there is some scope for atleast 5-6 years and added that the report was dated. However, every other day we see a report from some consulting firm pegging the industry to grow at phenomenol rates in the years to come. No one really appears to predict the'burst of the bubble' yet atleast in recent reports I have come across.
He argued;'what then. Money making appears to be easy with the fat packages that come along with these jobs but would it not make life more difficult for the same people who instead of studying further, tend to pick up jobs that pay well. Would they not find that their willingness to put in the same effort will still not get them a job?'
I did not answer - did not know if there was an answer. There were aspects of his argument that got me thinking:
Easy money: is it common perception that call center employees earn far more than they should be? Or is it that India had so far utilized the populist measure to determine that people essentially needed work and salaries mattered thereafter?
Easy money: what is the cost being paid? I've not worked with a call center but every now and then we read about physical, biological and psychological problems in those who do work in call centers. Who puts a value on what is at stake?
What has happened with Call Centers - the elementary benefits have perhaps already been covered in many of the mouthshut reviews on this topic. The benefit it has had on the retail and real estate industry is mind boggling - I unfortunately do not have numbers to cite but look around and you get tired counting.
Would it be difficult for the'crowd' once the bubble breaks? Tough one. Would other bubbles break too - software? What then?
