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Vishwanath Kulkarni
Shamik Paul

Bangalore, Nov. 2 Despite being cautious of the holiday season consumer spending in the US, Indian contact centres have stepped up temporary hiring to meet an expected surge in volumes over the next two to three months.

The worsening economic condition in the US has cast a gloomy spell on consumer spending, which has dipped for the first time in 17 years.

Media reports indicate that consumer spending, which makes up more than 70 per cent of the American economic activity, dipped at an annual rate of 3.1 per cent between July and September.

Traditionally, Indian BPOs have seen a surge in contact centre volumes during the year-end festive season — December to February — when spending picks up.

“We are cautious and expect a clearer picture in a month’s time,” said Mr Partha De Sarkar, Chief Executive Officer of HTMT Global Ltd. “Our customers have not indicated any drop in volumes.”

HTMT Global, which earns a fifth of its revenues from verticals such as consumer electronics and retail, plans to step up temporary hiring at its delivery centres in the US and the Philippines.

The company plans to hire some 200 employees at its centre in Manila, while it plans to add some 150 to the US operations later this month, Mr Sarkar said.

HTMT Global has 1,700 employees in the US and some 1,600 at Manila.

Mr Raman Roy, Chief Executive of Quattro BPO, said that there could be a small decline of about three to four per cent in business this year compared with that of last. “A four-per-cent decline does not make that huge difference,” he said.

Quattro, Mr Roy said, is already witnessing an increase in volumes and the company has hired additional employees and started training them to meet demand. However, Mr Roy did not disclose any numbers.

Explaining the rationale behind the surge in volumes during these three months, Mr Roy said people normally open their gifts and presents post Christmas.

“People call the respective call centres if they have a problem with gifts and this results in higher volumes,” Mr Roy said.

Besides, there is more work related to insurance and bonus.

The Indian BPO industry that earns over a third of its revenues from the financial services sector has been impacted by the credit crisis related developments in the US.

Mr Arjun Singh, CEO of WNS, which also operates in travel and hotel sector, said though there is a rise in demand because of the festive season, the general trend is of decline.

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