PRESENTATION ON SOME HR DILEMMAS IN IT & BPO FIRMS

Compiled by:

CASELET 1: REDUCING HIGH STRESS LEVELS AMONG EMPLOYEES

What is the Picture?

Job Stress at alarming proportions. Workload due to high targets. Less job satisfaction Leading to problems :
Personal Professional Affecting

Financial statements of the companies

FACTS AND FIGURES

97 % employees in IT in UK said every day is stressful and hectic.

Of

these 80% people said even before entering we feel stressed.

95% of managers in UK said they found the life very stressful impacting their personal lives also.
Of

these 25 % reported wide variety of physical symptoms.

Factors Behind The Problem

Work overload:
Meeting

tight deadlines Pressure from higher management of achieving high targets. Clients and callers asking unreasonable queries.

Evaluation criteria:
Quantitative

factors like no. of complaints. Quality of response and customer satisfaction.

Contd.

Structure of Job:
Not

able to cope up with the roles assigned.

Lack of support from the organization. Working in a environment of 24*7. Health problems both physical and mental.
Depression Eating

at odd hours.

Impact to Organizations

25-30 % of attrition was due to high stress levels Absenteeism Recruiting continuously add to the cost of the company Fatigue, poor communication, etc. Decreasing productivity

WAKE UP

Measures Opted

Teaching them dancing, trekking etc. TCS started different clubs like Community Services Club, The Fitness Club etc. Infosys started stress management workshops. Off site Picnics, games etc. Appointed special mentors for open communication. Appointed nutritionists.

What else can be done?

Flexi job timings. Proper balance between rewards and targets. Friendly atmosphere should be promoted b/w subordinates and supervisors. Assign the job which is of their interest if possible. Yoga classes Less calls after working hours

CASELET 2: PREVENTING DATA THEFT BY EMPLOYEES

GADGETS AND BIRTH OF THEFT

SOME MAJOR THEFTS

Indian call center case VSNL: Industrial Espionage Reliance Comm. Theft.

THE BIG CHALLENGE

Protecting and securing the information irrespective of size, especially in IT and BPO Sector. How to detect software's like:
Slurp.exe

Data Can be used for illicit purposes Can affect the financial statements of the firm May collapse the organization network.

How theft can be done?

Phishing Online Hacking Thumb sucking Pod slurping

Pod slurping a problem for HR managers Insider information threat a reality Internal breaches higher than external Employee activity monitoring became regular Constant monitoring leads to disloyalty

Banning ipods not a option Contradicts the fun at work concept Securing all usb ports with passwords difficult Practically impossible to put a blanket ban on storage devices

Steps that can be taken

New IT solutions, upgrading security firewalls Set permission levels for different employee levels Introducing DLP-data loss prevention tools. They track all e mails Use EFS- encrypting file systems on ntfs formatted devices. Copying them on storage devices makes them jumbled Many BPO firms have implemented locker systems also

Caselet 3 CURBING EMPLOYEE INDISCIPLINE

What is the picture?

In 06-07, half million worked in IT enabled and BPO industry Median age of 25 Turnover rate of 40, worldwide avg-25 High stress nature of jobs , compounded with night shifts Starting salaries as high as 40,000

Reasons

Alcoholism, substance abuse and promiscuous lifestyle High risk behavior, including data theft were common 30-60% from small towns. Peer pressure and money swayed towards high risk behavior Undisciplined behavior was considered integral part of BPO culture

Negative impacts Rise in alcohol & drug abuse Rise in cases of HIV/AIDS Coming to office inebriated Consumption of alcohol in office premises Rise in unruly behavior Rise is number of alcohol related accidents in employees

Steps thought of Random alcohol teste Hiv/aids tests Alcohol test still acceptable, but hiv tests lead to social stigma Fears about security of data gathered. Excessive monitoring/social policing leads to dissent

Steps that can be taken

In house counseling facilities Hiring trained psychologists in hr dept Meditation and yoga sessions to keep stress levels down