BPO Articles: Making a Career in Outsourcing - By Vibhav Nuwal

Outsourcing as an industry is rapidly coming of age. The February 2005 issue of Harvard Business Review noted the following for Outsourcing: "Outsourcing has become strategic - yet many executives remain unprepared. A new era of capability sourcing will trigger organizational redesign and a new set of managerial skills." The number of companies providing outsourcing services is increasing rapidly, methodologies and procedures are maturing fast, and more and more people are hopping on to the outsourcing bandwagon.

An important fallout of this maturing of the industry is that one can now consider making a career in outsourcing seriously. While call centre or operational jobs are available aplenty, not many middle level managers or highly qualified people from the more traditional banking, accounting or other industries are willing to take them up. Part of this is because outsourcing is often considered synonymous with call centers, due to early growth and publicity in that area. However, changes in the industry are opening doors for everyone. Consider these significant changes, and how they are throwing up new opportunities.

Expansion of the range of services provided

Outsourcing is not limited to call centers or medical transcription anymore. As the industry matures, the value of services provided is also increasing. Now, there are companies doing equity research, hedge fund accounting, advance scientific research, and many more specialized activities. For example, Intel and GE are doing high end scientific research, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are involved in Equity research, McKinsey is sourcing consulting support - the examples are numerous and increasing every day. Now one can work for the best names and the area of choice, thanks to outsourcing.

Demand for Specialization

As companies expand both in employee strength and range of services provides, they need experts in various fields. Some of the highly specialized career options now available are:

• Transition managers - these are experts in Project Management. The role of transition managers is to help migration of the function from overseas locations to the offshore location. This involves understanding the existing process, determining the best migration methodology and overseeing the migration project.

• Relationship Managers - This is typically a middle/ senior management role in any outsourcing company. These managers are the single point of contact for the client, and their responsibilities sometimes span across teams and departments.

• Six Sigma and Process Re-engineering experts - One of the most significant non-cost benefits of outsourcing is the opportunity to re-engineer the process - thereby improving the process and/ or deriving further cost saves. By undertaking various projects, Six Sigma and Process re-engineering experts play the key role in this.