The Hindu Business Line : It's business as usual for Gurgaon BPO firms

THE strike called by Left parties in protest against the police lathicharge in Gurgaon last Monday on workers of Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India had a marginal impact on the business on BPO companies in this town near the Capital.

Despite being in a state of high alert, the BPO companies continued to operate with precautionary measures such as advancing the morning shifts and beefing up security around their facilities.

Most of the companies claimed that it was business as usual, but remained cautious throughout the day, given the massive number of employees housed in various facilities across Gurgaon.

Mr Amit Bhatia, CEO (Knowledge Services), WNS Global Services, said: "There has been no impact at WNS and we are operating as usual. There has been no impact on overseas client movement either. Most of the trouble has been in the old Gurgaon area; our facility is away from that location."

About 100 employees currently work at the company's facility in Gurgaon.

Another leading BPO player in Gurgaon said that it had asked employees to report for work before 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m. as a precautionary measure.

"The idea is to avoid employee movement during the day. For us, it is business as usual; we did not have any client meeting scheduled for the day," a company official said.

The company had beefed up security outside the facility.

"There were no absentees, and we had planned out the entire schedule with a proper back-up arrangement in place," the official added.

Gurgaon-based knowledge process outsourcing company, Evalueserve, said that it was running normal operations with full staff strength.

"Like many other companies, we advanced the shift timing to steer clear of daytime employee movement. We are, however, monitoring the situation and are ready for any eventuality. For instance, we have stocked up food in the facility in case of any disruption," said Mr Karmeshu Agarwal, Head, Finance and Administration.

Another well-known BPO firm in Gurgaon said that while the company was operating as usual, it was in constant touch with the local administration and the police. "We have not come across any problem. We issued advisory to employees that they should display their identity card at all times. As part of our policy, we also have a business continuity plan in place, with back-up support on issues like power. In addition, we have stocked up meals," said the spokesperson of the company, which has close to 1,000 employees in Gurgaon.

Both data security and physical security has been scaled up, the company added.

According to a Gecis spokesperson, there has been no discernible impact on operations.

"We are monitoring the situation and are in constant touch with the local administration. We have taken every precaution to see that employee safety is not compromised and ensure that processes are running as usual," a spokesperson added.

Microsoft India, which is headquartered in Gurgaon, however, remained shut today.

"We have declared an off today owing to the bandh and will reopen tomorrow," said a spokesperson.

The company has about 200 employees in Gurgaon in functions such as sales, marketing, and services.

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