India becoming call centre superpower 
TIMES NEWS NETWORK, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 07, 2002  8:02:06 PM
RASHMEE Z AHMED

LONDON: If you didn't already know it, the average Indian's telephone manner is a world-beater and that comes from no less than HSBC, one of the world's largest financial organisations, which says India will become its virtual back office and gateway to the world, along with China and Malaysia.

In real terms, that means hundreds of real-time jobs and more HSBC call centres in India, a move explained by the HSBC chief executive Sir Keith Whitson as a definite thumbs-up to the "exceptional" Indian employee. Referring to Hyderabad, where an HSBC call centre already exists, an admiring Sir Keith has said, "If we only look as far as our own boundaries we are shooting ourselves in the foot. We have to look further afield. The people in Hyderabad are hugely enthusiastic, dress smartly and many have degrees and are hugely numerate".

It is an immensely complimentary image, just days after the British television Channel 4 broadcast a documentary on India's burgeoning call centre industry, which is now estimated to be growing at the rate of five new openings a month. Repeating a well-known fact, commentators said the programme revealed the adaptability of Indian call centre employees including their acquired telephone 'Englishness', with much chit-chat about British weather and football. But worried British banking unions have acidly pointed out that India's real advantage lies in crucial labour costs. The average Indian's enthusiasm and education are priced at less than a fifth of UK wages, said Liane Graves of banking union UNIFI. Analysts say this is undoubtedly a factor in HSBC's decision to bring its Eastern workforce to near-parity with the 5,000 staff employed at UK service centres.

But even British banking unions admit that Indian staff are often better educated than British ones. It is a value-loaded assessment that has sparked fears across the UK of India taking jobs away from Britain. In Scotland, which has 200 call centre sites employing thousands, India's emergence as a "low-paid call-centre superpower" has come in for comment. According to the respected broadsheet, The Scotsman, "the threat from overseas rivals, including south-east Asia and India" has put Scottish call centres on notice. After all, HSBC, which has 37 commercial offices in India along with several Indian-specific products such as NRI services, is taking a well-trodden path. HSBC's major expansion of its overseas customer service centres comes on the heels of a host of successful American and British companies, including American Express, British Telecom and Zurich Financial Services. 

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