The Hindu Business Line : Uncle Sam, come and talk to 'em

CALL centres may be training executives how to talk with a Yankee accent, but when it comes to managing the business and clinching deals, they seem to prefer the `real' American to do all the talking.

Faced with the shortage of experienced people to run the show, fledgling call centres in the country have started recruiting veterans in the industry from the US, never mind how expensive they are.

Take the instance of Delhi-based IT&T Ltd, which is investing over Rs 20 crore to set up a 730-seat facility. The company has appointed Mr Daniel Lappin with 15 years experience as its COO and Mr Philip J. Romero as Director — both from the US.

``When we searched for a person to head our foray into IT-enabled services (ITES), we realised there aren't much experienced people around. So we decided to recruit from the US,'' says Mr Karan Puri, Managing Director of IT&T. While IT&T has stationed Mr Lappin and a Vice-President in the US to spearhead marketing, it has flown down Mr Romero to Delhi for overseeing the operations here.

``You may have to pay them 15-30 per cent more, but I would recommend everybody in the industry should go for such a move. You should not look at cost when you are aiming big bucks in the future,'' Mr Puri says. According to Nasscom, ITES from India generated $1.5 billion in 2001-02. A study with McKinsey by the association says ITES has the potential to become a $17 billion industry by 2008.

The Bangalore-based First Ring too has gone for an American. It has appointed Mr Rick Singer with over 13 years of experience in the US call centre industry, the CEO.

``Even before Mr Singer came on our board, we had relocated two US citizens to India to help us put processes in place... It is a fact that you don't find such people in India in abundance,'' Mr Rajdeep Puri, Director — Project of First Ring, says.

Agrees Mr V. Jayasankar, Vice-President and Head Technology Group, Kotak Mahindra Capital Company. ``We do have a shortage of experienced people to run this business because it is a nascent industry in our country. So it gives comfort for call centres to look for people in the US. However, not everyone is subscribing to this theory. Mr Raman Roy, President and CEO of Spectramind, says it is up to companies to find people and, if necessary, train them.

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Uncle Sam, come and talk to 'em

Ringing a wrong number...