Q. What are your company’s plans to sustain growth on the backdrop of the global economic slowdown?
A. Though the world economy seems to be recovering from the ongoing meltdown, the current times still present a challenge for organisations around the world. The global slowdown was tougher than anyone’s expectations and it proved to be rough for the industry as a whole. It led to companies implementing cost cutting measures across levels and industries and this still continues. Some of these measures were slower growth in salary, less hiring and training costs due to lower attrition along with a decrease in supervisory staffing and bench. At Genpact, we plan to use the same overheads that we have in the past to manage our businesses. We will always continue to look at innovative ways to increase our efficiency as it is part of how Genpact operates. We strongly believe that this is the best way to manage our business and sustain growth

Q. Customer retention is becoming a major challenge for the outsourcing industry. How is your company tackling this issue? Can you share some insights?
A. Genpact had detected a change in the market scenario way back in 2007, and had started implementing steps to safe-guard its future lest something like the current market environment should surface. Though we couldn’t have controlled the economic environment, we were constantly engaged with our clients, suppliers and advisors and focused on things we could control. As the world economy shows signs of improvements, we are also seeing our customers (potential & existing) stabilise, which we hope will accelerate the decision making process. At Genpact, we have things working well for us as our communication channels with our clients are very strong and we understand what they are going through. This enables us to work towards developing solutions that will help our clients strengthen their business for today and the future.

Q. In the current scenario what role can the domestic BPO segment play in the Indian ITeS-BPO industry as an alternative market for Indian BPO companies?
A. The domestic BPO is emerging as an exciting and growing area, especially in the current scenario. Telecom, banking & financial services, retail, and e-Governance are some of the verticals which are likely to be the growth drivers of the industry. I believe that the domestic market will prove to be as profitable as international business and should not be considered only as a cost arbitrage option. Moreover, companies in India are increasingly considering ways to improve the utilisation of resources, drive productivity and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes. Domestic companies can benefit from the process expertise, operational innovation, analytical capabilities, technology competence and deep business insights that Genpact has to offer. We have derived these capabilities from our long experience in serving global corporations across diverse industries. We are excited about the immense opportunity present in the domestic market and will be focusing on partnering with companies in key growth sectors such as BFSI, telecom, healthcare, manufacturing and public sector undertakings. We are already actively supporting clients in India including the Government, and look forward to delivering results that create significant business impact.

Q. Outsourcing would gain more importance as an effective tool to stay competitive in the current scenario. Please Comment
A. The BPO industry is part of the solution to the global economic slowdown as it is during times like these that companies look at cutting their costs to the maximum. The economic crisis provided a terrific opportunity to recalibrate business and I strongly believe that this is a great time for our IT firms to rethink about their business model in light of the new economic realities. Also, I believe outsourcing as a term is now obsolete. The phe¬nomenon we are witnessing is that India is driving the globalisation of business services’ industries, similar in size, scale and impact to the globalization of many other industries such as manufacturing, electronics, etc. Through this turbulence, this industry is ideally placed to be part of the solution to the problems caused by the reces¬sion. The reasons are pretty simple and compelling; the ITES/BPO industry essentially does non-discretionary work—the type of work that keeps companies running, that keeps the lights on, and that is not going to be sub¬ject to discretionary project and budget cuts.

Q. How do you see the Indian ITeS/BPO industry 10 years down the line?
A. I think the industry will do pretty well. It is a young, flexible industry that is growing rapidly and we are increasing the complexities of the services we are offering. Satisfaction levels among clients are very high and the industry will continue to thrive. Domestic markets will take off, and that is where everyone is focusing now. There is no other industry that has a better medium to long-term potential than ours.