The Hindu Business Line : Calls for special skills

G.J. Siddharth, 24, has his mind set on a financial management or market research job. Right now, he has secured employment in the BPO unit of ABN Amro Bank as an executive officer, a job that would "require a bit of an analytical mind". But it has been a long wait for this post-graduate in Economics before he could find this job. The reason: he is disabled. There are around six crore persons with disabilities in India, and about one per cent are employable. "But the fact is that not many companies are recruiting us," says Siddharth, who has cerebral palsy.

However, this situation is likely to change soon. Information technology (IT), IT-enabled services (ITES) and business process outsourcing (BPO) firms are seriously considering employing a greater number of disabled people. The reasons include increasing attrition levels in IT (10-25 per cent), and ITES/BPO (35-50 per cent) firms. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is also driving firms to recruit disabled people.

Some software firms say 5-10 per cent of their staff comprises disabled people. At Chennai-based LaserSoft Infosystems, 10 per cent of the 500-plus employees are physically challenged. It was no surprise then that at a recent job fair in Chennai for disabled people, over 30 companies screened around 700 candidates. "I think this is the first time that something like this is happening. In fact, there was a bank examination today. I opted to attend this fair in preference to that exam," says Siddharth, who was one of the candidates screened. He had four interviews lined up for the day. "Most software companies are offering only data entry jobs, but I am not interested in that. I prefer aresearch-oriented job in finance management or marketing," he says.

The fair drew good response from the ITES sector, while participation from the IT sector was minuscule — only one company. For Siddharth, the absence of big companies was a huge disappointment.

However, companies are only now waking up to the prospect of employing disabled people, he saysHe has attended many interviews and written many tests. "I have never failed any of the tests, but the minute they see me, the interviewers always said, `we will get back to you'. People only see my body, not my resume," he adds.

But in another corner of the fair, Brinda Rajalakshmi, 21, is all smiles. She has secured a front-office job at Lason India. "It is nice to finally have a job. Normally companies don't recruit people with disability. They just keep us away," she says, trying hard to forget the tough times.

Containing attrition rates?

The Indian ITES-BPO sector is expected to touch $20 billion by 2008, and employs around one million people. But the non-availability of talent and high attrition rates are driving companies to discover new sources of talent. One such option is the recruitment of disabled people, say industry experts.

However, software companies deny they are using disabled people as an alternative. "Hiring disabled people is not an alternative but a `must' as part of our CSR and individual responsibility as citizens," says Sushil Tayal, Director - HR, LogicaCMG - Offshore Services, a software firm. He does not agree that attrition should drive the recruitment of disabled people. Their recruitment should be encouraged even in normal times. This also serves to encourage diversity within the organisation, he says.

The company does not keep a separate record for staff with disabilities or treat them differently, but it does create the infrastructure needed for their comfort, he says. "In fact, we have a disabled person in HR as well, deciding on recruitment," he adds.

For the physically challenged, the ITES/BPO industry promises a level playing field, says Ranjit Pisharoty, Senior Vice-President, Lason India. At the entry level, apart from basic data processing skills, what is required is discipline, diligence, the ability to perform repetitive tasks and an eye for detail. So, all other things being equal, recruiting disabled people in a BPO industry happens by design, and not due to a human resource crunch, he says.

"We do not see this as a social or community cause. It is a part of our business delivery model," adds Pisharoty.

ValueLabs, a US-based BPO and software services company, has employed three disabled persons at its Hyderabad offshore development centre. Says L. Krishna Reddy, HR Manager, "As long as a person can work efficiently, we will see him/her on par with everyone."

No differential treatment

ITES companies find differently abled people loyal and hard working and have no problem hiring them as long as their disability does not affect work, says E. Balaji, Executive Director - Staffing Solutions, Ma Foi Management Consultants. Knowledge-based industries hire disabled people because they bring complementary skills to the table. The industry does not differentiate them from other candidates, he says.

Tayal says disabled people are not given differential treatment, but the company keeps in mind basic considerations such as holding a meeting close to the person's seat, outdoor travel accompanied by spouse (if possible) and so on. "We view them as fighters... they try harder to prove themselves successful," he says.

In the BPO world, delivery is demanded at accuracies of 99.995 and assurance levels bordering on Six Sigma — a process must produce no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities.Here, Lason India finds its disabled personnel an asset as they apply themselves single-mindedly to their work.

The company, a subsidiary of the US-based Lason Inc, was one of the organisers at the job fair. Partnering with the Ability foundation, the company designed a BPO training programme for the disabled. Lason trainers learnt sign language, for example, to impart data processing instructions. The first batch of trainees has found gainful employment. Lason recruited 12 of them, says Pisharoty.

Vivek Tripathi, Senior HR Manager, Adobe Systems India, which has recruited one disabled person, says the company does not give any concession to candidates with physical disability. "We are willing to consider disabled candidates, provided they can work full time and have the required skills for the role," he says.

Many ITES companies have created special facilities at their campuses such as customised computers, ramps, chairs and rest rooms. Disabled persons are also given preference for day shifts.

ValueLabs' Reddy says the company plansto construct a ramp in its new building, as also specially designed toilets.

A glimmer of hope

In large-sized ITES companies (over 1,000 employees), there are about 10-15 physically challenged persons working on mainstream jobs and the number is expected to grow in the future. On the other hand, the numbers are small in IT companies as not many disabled persons are trained for these job. Some ITES companies such as MSource, AOL and HSBC are showing interest in hiring disabled people. Though there has been no exhaustive study, attrition rates are believed to be lower among disabled persons, says Balaji.

Most recruiters find physically challenged candidates confident and assertive. Some demonstrate a high level of maturity in stressful situations, which comes handy in customer service jobs.

Picture by Shaju John

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