Many of the famous economists of the day have a strange problem on their hands
. The problem is that the masses are confusing the prosperity of the call center sector with that of the economy. The citizens of countries like India and the Philippines are under the impression that because the BPO sector is generating jobs in thousands, the period of unemployment and pink slips are probably over. But that is where they will be making the wrong assumptions. Experts of the economy feel that telemarketing jobs is not the metaphor for the employment standards in general. The other industries continue to slog their way to economic recovery. The question is, how did this wrong notion develop in the first place? How could the business process outsourcing sector mislead so many people into believing in something that is not true?
The answer is simple. The recession hit the business firms in countries like USA and UK much before it went to the subcontinent or other parts of the world. Because of the economic downturn, the financial stability of these firms slumped. They were no longer able to pay for the expensive call center services that the domestic call centers offered. They needed the BPO back-up and also needed to limit their expenditures. Outsourcing to offshore telemarketing units was their only way out. That is what they started to do. As a result of this, the BPO service units in preferred destinations like India began to receive projects by the dozens. The influx of projects made it possible for the telemarketing services of the country to swell despite the economic downturn.
The rise in the volume of work obviously led to the recruitment of BPO agents. The employment sector got flooded with reports of hiring in the call center industry. The hiring machinery of the business process outsourcing industry went into an overdrive to recruit people. In a way, the telemarketing sector in these parts of the world never saw a slump in the first place. The recession was averted because of this rather curious balancing act between the developed and the developing economy. Things were not different after the recession. Again the business firms were in a cash crunch. They were looking for call center services that would not cost them an arm and a leg!
No surprises there that the offshore BPO units gave them that cushion. This time the offshore call centers were ready in a new avatar. They had improved lead generation and answering service. They were more aware of the global standards of telemarketing services. These offshore destinations were also using the latest technology to do the work. And the prices were, as usual, affordably low. The business firms in the developed countries fell like nine pins to avail the offshore destinations. Telemarketing projects piled in and the industry was back on its feet. This led people to believe that the economy has sprung back from near oblivion! However, the hard fact is that only the business process outsourcing industry was going great guns.