The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Rural BPO infuses life into business

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Friday, Dec 19, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Rural BPO infuses life into business

The BPO with a workforce of 30 persons has slashed costs by 60 per cent

Novel initiative: Members of the rural BPO set up in Kavur village of Guntur district.

HYDERABAD: From a non-descript village in the coastal area of the State a group of youths who passed Intermediate prepare reports for doctors across the world. Sitting in the calm environs of the village they are revolutionising the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry where the big guns are talking about starting operations in tier-I and tier-II cities to cut costs.

The rural BPO set up by an enterprising entrepreneur Ramakrishna Tummala in Kavur village of Guntur district with a workforce of just 30 people – all drawn from the village -- has not only slashed the costs by nearly 60 per cent but has also fulfilled his ambition of serving his birthplace.

Perfect service

“The RBPO caters to the medical transcription needs of doctors in the US and the service has been immaculate, thanks to commitment of the workers,” says Mr. Ramakrishna, Managing Director of Worldtech, pioneer in MT business in the country. While the big BPOs are busy cutting jobs he is planning to increase the numbers to 200 within a year.

What Mr. Ramakrishna has done makes economic sense. He got office accommodation at 10 per cent of the city’s cost. He recruited educated housewives who couldn’t have left the village for work and local men looking for jobs in the cities. With a little training he tuned them to fit into the job perfectly. “They are more productive than people in the city since the stress levels are very low. Travelling is less and the salaries make sense to them with own houses and home food,” he says.

Encouraging results

For recruiting candidates the team brought down the entry level requirement to Intermediate with typing speed of 35 words per minute in English and the ability to read English. Even the training cycles were reduced and mandatory service agreements were done away with. “The results have been encouraging. The skill level among the recruits is surprisingly high, which has made the project go online earlier than envisaged,” Mr. Ramakrishna reveals. No wonder his RBPO centre is more profitable than urban centres.

A product of REC, Calicut, Mr. Ramakrishna says the rural potential is huge and waiting to be tapped. Apart from cost factor RBPOs will benefit from the industrious rural workforce and contribute in reducing migration.

But overall, the satisfaction of energising the rural economy is immense.

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