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Anjali Prayag

Bangalore , Nov. 26

THE 24x7 industry has spawned some interesting trends, both within IT and in supporting sectors. And vendors are outsmarting one another to get a chunky piece of the growing BPO pie.

While it's normal for transport companies or caterers to stretch their working hours to suit the industry, it's perhaps for the first time in the world that a recruitment firm has applied the same principle for dawn-to-dawn jobs!

Setting a new trend in the placement industry, Bangalore-based The Headhunters has just started a 24x7 BPO recruiting arm. Recruiters at the firm work 24 hours, seven days a week, to catch prospective candidates while they are at work.

Says Ms Saraswathi Lakshmikanth, President, The Headhunters India (Pvt) Ltd., "Currently, we have ten people who work in different shifts. We hit upon the idea as customers are becoming very demanding and there is very little time for headhunting in this industry. Moreover, it's possible to talk to the candidates only when they are at work." At The Headhunters, the first shift is between 10 am and 6 pm and the second shift starts at 8 pm and goes on till 2.30 am. In between, say around 10 pm, the team also makes a visit to ITPL (International Tech Park Ltd) which houses several BPOs. Recruiters wait outside to meet BPO employees during their coffee break and make personal job offers, according to Ms Saraswathi.

Competition in the recruitment industry is so intense that headhunting firms have to constantly add value to their offerings. Apart from working at night to suit the needs of the customers in the industry, The Headhunters also offers services such as administering language and psychometric tests to candidates and honing their professional skills. "In other words it's a package offer that we give our customers," she declares.

For interviews, prospective candidates are transported to the BPO location, courtesy the recruitment firm. Of late, the city's potential for BPO jobs has even attracted young people from Nagaland, Assam and Shillong. "They are strangers to the city and we ensure that they reach the client location without problems," explains Ms Saraswathi. According to industry estimates, the BPO industry in the city employs around 40,000 people and is expected to reach two lakh in five years. With such a huge business potential beckoning the headhunters, it will not be long before the industry may see other such pioneering trends.

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