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Odd hours, ample rewards

Call centres are not all evil. There are vital gains for the young and the striving, debutant author Madhukar Yadav tells N. KALYANI

PHOTO: MOHAMMED YOUSUF

IN A NEW LIGHT Madhukar Yadav's "Winning@Call Centre" sees the vocation with a fresh perspective

If the BPO industry transmuted a proper noun like Bangalore to Bangalored, implying workforce redundancy and the consequent pink slips in a country like the U.S., it spelt something very different for India, where the business processes were being outsourced to. Capturing the Indian scenario is 27-year-old Madhukar Yadav in his book "Winning@Call Centre" published recently by Delhi-based Wisdom Tree.

"My work experience of over three years in different call centres propelled me to pen this book," says Madhukar. "I have found most calling agents frustrated and disappointed primarily because it involves working at night. But the pros and cons of the job need to be weighed judiciously," he remarks, alluding to the fact that these jobs offer even undergraduates an opportunity to earn a five-digit salary, besides perks.

"This book is meant for aspiring calling agents and those already so employed, as also their parents and families, as it exposes the nitty-gritty of the job and would clear their misgivings. But alongside, team leaders and managements of call centres would do well to read this book," says the author, his voice giving away his profession.

Rude shock

A Mayo college alumnus, Madhukar reveals that the two-odd years after his schooling, when he returned to Delhi, were traumatic. His father, who was a teacher at Mayo, retired the year Madhukar completed school. The family therefore shifted to Delhi. "After living for 16 years on the campus, the change from the elitist environment to the mundane surroundings in Delhi, was a cultural shock. The outcome was that I became a sort of a rebel at home," he reminisces. But gradually he began to see the ground reality and accepted it.

"My mediocrity in academics and zeal to be financially independent, as also the family's financial position urged me to opt for a small-time job rather than pursue further studies." And so began his career with a six-month stint in McDonalds as a crewmember, in 1999.

"It was in September 2001 that I landed myself a job with Wipro Spectramind, a call centre. My father, given the traditional and orthodox ideas of a good educational background and job profile, was very averse to my decision to join as a calling agent," he recounts. His objection notwithstanding, Madhukar continued with jobs in different call centres. His father gradually became agreeable to the idea and the nuances of the job got better known.

A regular practitioner of meditation for the past two years, Madhukar says it has helped him transform from having a tension-ridden life to one endowed now with peace and calm.

Currently working in Delhi with WNS, a KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) company based in the U.S., he predicts, "It is now the KPO industry which is all set to be the booming one."

With a penchant for writing, the social science graduate has already completed the manuscript for a second book, a fiction work this time. "Besides, I have readied manuscripts for 14 children's books, something I did in a one-year period, working 17-18 hours a day, along with my job as a calling agent. I need a good publisher to take it up," he says.

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