Say No To 'Cops'

Most of us must have experienced the adrenalin rush when being chased by

someone while playing cops and robbers as children. This is not just the crime

aspect of the game that excites us, but the whole chase and subsequent capture

that spirits up our minds. Human minds are prone to such excitement. The recent

'sting' operation launched by UK Television's Channel 4 amongst India's

high profile BPO operators is probably one more example of this human need.

The program, Dispatches is understood to have spent over a year looking for

security lapses in India's call centers and has then finalised its allegations

of criminal behavior for its telecast to a sensation hungry UK audience! NASSCOM

quickly turned the tables on the self styled 'cops' by corresponding with

Dispatches in connection with the broadcast and requested details of the

allegations, which Dispatches intends to make together with the evidence/support

documentation that they have.  Dispatches have refused to provide that

information, which has not been well received by most industry CEOs. They

understandably are upset at this kind of mud slinging at their operations,

without a proper chance to defend or explain.

What are the implications of this imbroglio for all of us, who are in the

Indian IT industry? One is of course the fact that whenever unprecedented

success occurs in any industry segment, there will be millions of vested

interests groups competing to pull down the players and demonstrate that this

success has been built on dubious fundamentals. The much publicised case of

release of some financial data in the recent past showed that the Indian BPO

industry would have to work like Caesar's wife, always be above suspicion to

avoid major scandals and vigilante news seekers. It is worth mentioning that it

enjoys a record of data and transaction security that is better than that

enjoyed by similar operations in Western countries.

The inevitable fear of service jobs losses in the US and Europe has become an

emotional stick for the unions and politicians to beat the industry with.

Managers and employees need to be conscious of the fact that this will always

create fear and suspicion, which will be picked up by hungry news mongers. And

it is in taking a balanced approach and pointing out the benefits that all

corporate CEOs clearly see in getting services work done out of India that the

ideal response lies to much of the hyperbole that pervades many news channels in

the West.

Also, there is a need for education of all the million plus young folks that

make up the workforce in this industry. While one could argue that human greed

is always the primordial emotion that will entice twenty somethings to part with

data and information if the price is right, our country has a culture of honesty

that needs to be emphasised in all discussions within organizations. This will

ensure that our young employees do not fall prey to small temptations. In our

recent book, Inspired, we wrote about a taxi driver in Mumbai who found five

thousand rupees in the back seat of his cab and promptly handed it over to the

police even though it represented more than his monthly wage. His argument,

quite simply was “but it did not belong to me!”

There is a need to understand the transformation of motivations at a very

basic level in today's youth. Most of our young BPO associates believe in

success in the shortest possible time and try to emulate their 'rock stars'

in their lifestyles. And as all of us know, such lifestyles don't come cheap

and this craving to succeed in the shortest possible time may well cause some to

fall prey to the temptations offered by real and sting inducements. Is this a

justification? Certainly not, but in an industry as young as India's BPO, a

lot of maturity and a better sense of balance is needed in all the participants

and the local press to ensure that the occasional threat from foreign shores is

both anticipated and met with a proper response. Let us not permit a few

misguided youngsters or even one or two malicious sting operations to come in

the way of a glorious future that the industry holds for our country and its

people.

The author is deputy chairman & MD of Zensar and is chairman of the

Nasscom Innovation Forum for 2005—07. He can be reached at ganesh@cybermedia.co.in