The Role of Talent Acquisition in Fueling India's BPO Industry

India's Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry has been a significant contributor to our country's economy, offering a wide range of services to clients worldwide. The BPO market in India has grown rapidly, and there's still great potential for further expansion. In this blog, we'll explore why talent acquisition is crucial for driving the growth of the BPO sector, the challenges companies face, and how Technology can address these challenges

My First Brush with the BPO Industry : 

Five months ago, our journey led us to explore various industry verticals and use-cases for Hunar.AI groundbreaking non-IT high-volume recruitment solution. It was during this exploration that a friend of Hunar's introduced us to the dynamic BPO industry.

“While driving late at night through the bustling streets of Mumbai near my residence, a recurrent sight caught my attention – groups of people gathered around food and tea stalls after midnight. Upon further inquiry, I discovered that these nocturnal gatherings consisted of employees from the nearby Athena BPO Pvt. Ltd . For an entire week, I interacted with these individuals after midnight, thereby gaining my first insight into the BPO sector – its internal workings and its staggering scale. Over the past few months, collaborating closely with recruitment consultants and BPO entities has further deepened our comprehension of the BPO ecosystem, emphasising the pivotal role of effective Talent Acquisition within this sector.”

Industry’s Rapid Growth & Importance of Talent Acquisition for the Industry 

India's BPO market has experienced remarkable growth, thanks to its cost-effectiveness, and favourable business environment. Currently, India holds a remarkable 60% share of the global BPO market, attracting clients from various industries and countries. The industry employs around 5 mn people. But high attrition rates (30% and more in some other sectors such as customer services) and lack of skilled workforce are the two biggest challenges facing the sector. Making Talent Acquisition a very very important and strategic function inside the BPO. 

In order to understand the roles & responsibilities of the TA function inside a BPO, we piloted our solution with a few BPO recruitment consultants and BPOs. From what we understood, the three core responsibilities of the TA function inside a BPO includes 

1. Expanding the Talent Pool: As the BPO industry continues to grow, the need for skilled professionals also rises. Effective talent acquisition ensures a steady supply of capable individuals, allowing companies to keep up with their clients' evolving needs. Talent acquisition leaders are exploring untapped sources of candidates and venturing beyond metropolitan areas to harness local talent in newer cities and regions.
2. Addressing High Attrition Rates: Given the industry's cost structure and mounting global competition, employee attrition is projected to rise, especially considering the minimal wage growth observed over the past five years. A well-executed talent acquisition process helps mitigate the impact of attrition, maintaining a continuous pipeline of potential candidates and establishing a resilient Talent Acquisition framework.
3. Managing Volume Hiring: The BPO industry often requires large-scale recruitment to meet client demands. Efficient talent acquisition strategies enable organisations to streamline and expedite the hiring process while maintaining quality standards.

Harnessing Technology for Transformation

The technological advancement within the BPO Talent Acquisition sphere is presently limited to basic CRMs and Applicant Tracking Systems, which often fall short. Given the surge in applicants for every available job within the industry, the demand for candidate qualification has soared. The diversification of recruitment channels and strategies demands robust tracking of channel and source performance, coupled with enriched candidate engagement. Swift and effective solutions include:

• Contextual Matching of Candidate Profiles and Job Positions: Leveraging LLMs and neural networks, contextual matching enables the shortlisting of candidates based on potential rather than just their present skills or recent job roles
• Recruitment Chatbots on WhatsApp: These adept chatbots engage with candidates, qualify their intent, manage applications, schedule interviews, and address queries, ensuring a seamless and user-friendly application process.
• Digital Transformation of Recruitment Channels: By digitising recruitment channels such as social media, referral management, subcontractor or vendor oversight, and walk-in management, access to a diverse talent pool is augmented, enhancing the overall candidate experience.
• End-to-End Automation of Candidate Handling: From sourcing to selection, complete automation streamlines the recruitment process, addressing common candidate inquiries, managing interview logistics, and optimizing overall efficiency

Unlocking the Potential of Technological Integration

BPO companies or recruitment consulting firms can gauge their success of technology in their business through various KPIs, including:

1. Walk-in to Applicant Ratio: Improving this ratio enhances the conversion rate of candidates attending interviews, leading to better hiring outcomes.
2. Turnaround Time: Streamlining the talent acquisition process significantly reduces the time and resources spent on candidate sourcing, engagement, and scheduling, enabling faster hiring. 
3. Lower Cost Per Hire: Efficient recruitment automation can increase throughput per recruiter and driving cost per hire down. 
4. Candidate Feedback and Experience: Seamless recruitment experience should drive an increase in NPS from candidates towards the brand.

Conclusion:

The rising attrition rates and widening skill gap have thrust talent acquisition into the forefront of critical challenges facing India's BPO industry. The adoption of technology offers not only a solution but also a sustainable edge and distinctive advantage for the industry. Cutting-edge solutions, such as contextual matching, WhatsApp-based recruitment chatbots, and automated candidate experience enhancements, hold the potential to drive increased walk-ins, reduced cost per hire, and minimised turnaround times. This, in turn, paves the way for a consistent, transparent, and efficient Talent Acquisition process, underscoring the transformational potential of technology within the BPO sector.

A small note of appreciation -

Thank you Nitisha Iyer for co-writing this with me. Nitisha Iyer has been interning with us and has learnt so much about Hunar.AI and it's use-cases. She was able to research, talk to our users and translate the interactions into a blog. Thank you Nitisha Iyer for your contributions and all the best for your career ahead.