Knowledge Process Outsourcing Careers

Knowledge Process Outsourcing Careers

knowledge management is the hottest subject of the day. The question is : what is this activity called knowledge management , and why is it so important to each and every one of us? The outsourcing industry is also termed as bpo industry which has given birth to its improved form termed as knowledge process outsourcing (kpo). Kpo is a refined form and an extension of business process outsourcing (bpo). Kpo provides value to the client through domain expertise rather than process expertise. The kpo which is an extension of bpo is the high value; high growth business that is independent of the co-existence of the bpo. According to the reports of global sourcing now the kpo is expected to reach $ 17 billion by 2010 out of which india’s share would be $ 12 billion. Knowledge process outsourcing, or kpo, is the latest wave to hit the outsourcing business in india. A booming sector with tremendous potential, the kpo sector in india employs around 25,000 people currently. Kpo is knowledge process outsourcing. It involves outsourcing for high-end knowledge work. This includes research and work on intellectual property, equity and finance, analytics, market research and data management, et cetera.

Kpo-suitability in india

1. It will be socially recognized in india.

2. It will be suitable to the indian work culture.

3. It will earn huge foreign exchange for the country.

4. It will help reduce educated unemployment in india

5. It will stop brain drain from india to developed countries like usa or uk.

India has a growing population of educated people capable of handling high-end knowledge-based work and research. With a huge talent pool, india could emerge as a global kpo hub as the sector requires specialized knowledge in respective verticals. With the mushrooming of engineering and technical institutes in india, there will no shortage of skilled manpower in india. A confederation of indian industry study states that india’s transition from a bpo destination to a kpo destination is imminent. Apart from india, countries such as russia, china, the czech republic, ireland and israel are also expected to bag a lucrative pie of the kpo industry. The cost advantage: more and more companies are turning to india for off shoring kpo work as quality work gets done at cheaper rates. India also offers significant cost advantages as much as 40 to 50 per cent in the areas of research and clinical trials. For instance, drafting and filing of patent applications in the us is very expensive. A typical application costs about $10,000 to $15,000 to draft and file with the united states patent and trademark office. Companies can save up to 50 per cent of the cost by off shoring the work to india.

Bpo verses kpo :- business process outsourcing means handing over the work of the company to outside company or agency for completion on contract basis. It is the delegation of one or more it intensive non core business processes to an external services provide that owns, administers and managers the selected process based on defined and measurable performance metrics knowledge process outsourcing is the field where the service providers, by using their specialized domain expertise, process the information in the most professional way and convert it into the most useful form for the client user and then deliver this processed information to client company for making most crucial decisions in the core business functions. In other words it is outsourcing of the core activities such as research and development analysis and crucial decision based function.

Functions :- the functions covered under bpo and kpo are moderately different. These functions are basically different in its natural form as the bpo covers non core functions and kpo covers core functions.

Bpo turn to kpo

Feature bpo kpo

Functions non core and routine core

Nature of for fresh graduates with for professionals like ca,

Employment good communication skills mba,engineers,phds etc.

Professional work on process expertise works on domain expertise

Approach

Career considered by people as job considered by professionals

Difference not as a career as career

Working hours type of working 24x7x365 normal 8 hours working

Employees very high (almost 40%) comparatively very less

Turnover rate

Growth rate expected to be 26% expected to be 46%

Kpo to surpass bpo:- india’s business process outsourcing industry will soon be edged out by the emerging kpo sector as the biggest revenue grosser, according to kiran karnik, president, national association of software and services companies. The global kpo industry is likely to become worth $17 billion by 2010, with the indian industry capturing between $12-$14 billion of it.

Challenges for the kpo industry

V maintaining data security and the confidentiality

V maintaining high control on the process operations

V world class infrastructure requirements

V maintenance of the talent pool in the country

V competition from the other countries like canada philippines etc.

V brain drain in india due to the people migration form india in search of jobs.

Kpo sector offers a good working atmosphere with global exposure and an opportunity to develop skill sets in a specialized field. The remuneration is high as a person with about two years experience can draw a pay packet of around rs 6 lakh (rs 600,000) to rs 8 lakh (rs 800,000) annually, while an experienced professional gets anywhere between rs 15 lakh (rs 1.5 million) and rs 20 lakh (rs 2 million). Like the bpo sector, kpo also faces attrition, as it is difficult for companies to retain talented and trained people. With higher pay packages and perks, people change jobs very frequently. Many people are still reluctant to join as they feel it is an unstable career. Many are unaware of the potential of this sector and the scope of future prospects. There is a lot of scope for teachers as this sector offers a good pay package. The sector also requires higher level of control, confidentiality and enhanced risk management.

Career building program :- bpo works on the process expertise. The process of routine work is managed by bpo more efficiently and effectively than the client companies if they do it in–house. Kpo works on domain expertise. The professional knowledge in particular field is used by kpo units to process highly critical information and data and makes it available to clients for crucial decision making in kpo industry people with high professional qualifications are employed. In this industry generally employees try to be loyal and make a career in one particular company and on the other hand the companies also try their level best to retain these employees try paying them well and providing them with better facilities.

Nature of employment :- bpo is the processing of the low end non core business functions which the people with minimum skills can do. Generally fresh or reasonably experienced bcom, ba, bsc graduates with good communication skills are preferred by bpo companies. Training is generally given by these bpo companies or by some outside training agency to the newly recruited graduates to make them suitable for the onshore as well as offshore bpo requirements. Kpo is the processing of high end core business functions and hence the people with professional knowledge and skills such as the people with the qualification like phd, ca, cwa, cs, and mba, engineering, mbbs, and llb etc are preferred by kpo industry. The specialized knowledge and expertise of these professionals is the major asset for the kpo industry.

Functions covered under kpo

1. R & d 1. Legal services

2. Business and technical research 2. Data analysis

3. Training and consultancy 3. Animations and designs

4. Network and management 4. Business and market research

5. Writing and content developments 5. Learning solutions

6. Pharmaceutical 6. Biotechnological

7. Medical services 7. Intellectual property research

Kpo’s focus areas :- areas with significant potential for kpo include pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, data search, integration and management services, financial services, research and analytics, technology research, computer-aided simulation and engineering design and professional services, such as business research and legal services. Off shoring research and development in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology also holds great potential for kpo.

Skills required for kpo jobs as distinct from bpo jobs :- kpo includes those activities that require greater skill, knowledge, education and expertise to handle than a typical bpo job. For example, an insurance company might outsource data entry of its claims forms as part of a bpo initiative, it may also choose to use a kpo service provider to evaluate new insurance applications based on a set of criteria or business rules; this work would require the efforts of a more knowledgeable set of workers than the data entry would and hence domain/industry skills are desired.

Who can join kpo :- unlike bpo where knowledge of english is essential, kpo focuses professional on educational qualifications. Educational qualification is important as the work involves specialized knowledge. People from diverse backgrounds can join this field. Teachers, engineers, mbas, professionals with financial background and even journalists are qualified to work in kpo. People with science background have a better chance as some tasks require data analysis and programming. Kpo tasks require domain expertise for projects involving moderate to high levels of analysis, especially those related to industrial sectors. The kind of work employees have to do includes abstraction of technical patents, extraction of legacy technical data, cataloguing and indexing, taxonomy building and database creation and updating. All this requires a basic interest and knowledge in specific domains besides an aptitude for working with data and information.

Job profile qualification work experience annual salary (rs. In lakh)

Customer care graduate /undergraduate freshers may also apply 1.3-1.6

Officer

Technical support technical graduation/diploma/certification fresher may also apply 1.3-1.6

Officer

Claims processes graduate fresher’s may also apply 1.3 -1.6

Support

Voice & accent graduate with requisite experience in training 1-3 years 2.2 – 4.0

Trainer

Team leader graduate with an experience of leading a team in 3-5 years 3.0- 5.0

a bpo

Manager operations graduate having experience of managing large 6-10 years 8.0-14

teams and p&l

Telemarketing graduate/ undergraduate freshers may also apply 1.4-2.2

Process associate commerce graduate freshers may also apply 1.3-1.7

Research analyst mba/postgraduate analytics iit/isi/ top b-school freshers may also apply 1.6-2.4 1-3 years 3.5-6.0

Equity research mba (finance)/postgraduate in finance 1-3 years 2.4- 4.5

Tax analyst commerce graduate/postgraduate in fixnance freshers may also apply 1.5-2.4

Recruitment procedure-career prospectus :- companies have a cut-off for marks (grades), depending on the kind of domain knowledge required for the particular project. The works also requires people to have a right aptitude and attitude for doing research-oriented work. Employment in bpo companies is still considered by people as job and not as a career. Generally graduates work in bpo in their initial working years to earn good money and then they either try to go for higher education or to go for another job. Thus jobs in bpo are still not recognized by society. Kpo employs only highly professional people and uses their expertise. Hense this sector is nowadays considered as career by many professionals for e.g. A chartered accountant going for employment in equity research in a kpo firm. After recruitment, the candidates are trained in various skills. Besides this, the candidate should possess good communication skills, should have an aptitude towards programming, and should be able to work in a team, under pressure and of course different shift timings.

The types of assessments used:- in the kpo space, domain-based assessments can be customized to count for the complexity of a job role or project and select eligible candidates. These are coupled with general abilities tests like analytical, attention to detail; communication skills like written english ability; and functional skills like typing to arrive at and select the best talent.

Kpo : skills essential career for success

The table below lists a few of the prominent kpos and the skills required to win.

Segments services skill sets required

Legal services reviewing transactional & litigation documents; drafting knowledge in us/uk laws; adept in

contracts; research memoranda & due diligence reports; legal application; ability to reason &

prosecuting patents; negotiations research

Engineering 3d modeling; conversion: 2d to 3d; finite analysis; cad/cam; drafting & modeling;

R&d computational fluid dynamics analysis; technical product design

specifications for tenders; value engineering

Market research secondary & primary research; conversion of findings to statistical tools; research techniques;

& analytics knowledge; writing & editing; formatting client reports report writing & presentations;

database research

Writing & content editorial; content delivery; digitization of content; data english communication skills;

Development enrichment & warehousing; pre-press work; proofreading; journalism; experience in writing

template designing; text composition

Pharma r&d research & development; drug discovery; clinical research doctors; master’s degree in science,

phds

Healthcare diagnostic; genetic profiling; oncology tests; hiv & allergy medical degree; specialized subject

Services knowledge

Education & k-12; private tutors; curriculum design; pedagogy; content teaching methods/techniques; cultural

Training development sensitivity; online teaching methods

Captives outnumber third-party vendors in the kpo space
Keen to reap the benefits of outsourcing yet not willing to expose themselves to risks, a number of companies have opted for the captive route. This enables them to protect themselves against possible ipr threats and feared loss of patented material. For instance, several pharma and legal companies that deal with sensitive data have opted for captives.

(nineteen of the top 20 global pharma r&d companies have established r&d centers in india.)

These captive kpos are expanding their india presence:

l google has set up its second research center in hyderabad; the first center is in bangalore.

l goldman sachs is expected to grow its india headcount to reach employee strength of approximately 2,000 by the end of 2007.

Educational opportunities for knowledge process outsourcing

Akiko callnet 16, new rohtak road, karol bagh, holistic training solutions a-267, defence colony ( 1st floor ),

Near tribbia college, new delhi -110005 new delhi-110024, e-mail: holistic@csnl.com website: www.holistic-

Website : www.shermanindia.com enterprise.com

Alcatel udyog vihar, gurgaon-1220001,

Tweet

Blogging--It's Good for You

Blogging--It's Good for You
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-healthy-type
Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefits. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery. A study in the February issue of the Oncologist reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not.

Scientists now hope to explore the neurological underpinnings at play, especially considering the explosion of blogs. According to Alice Flaherty, a neuroscientist at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, the placebo theory of suffering is one window through which to view blogging. As social creatures, humans have a range of pain-related behaviors, such as complaining, which acts as a “placebo for getting satisfied,” Flaherty says. Blogging about stressful experiences might work similarly.

Flaherty, who studies conditions such as hypergraphia (an uncontrollable urge to write) and writer’s block, also looks to disease models to explain the drive behind this mode of communication. For example, people with mania often talk too much. “We believe something in the brain’s limbic system is boosting their desire to communicate,” Flaherty explains. Located mainly in the midbrain, the limbic system controls our drives, whether they are related to food, sex, appetite, or problem solving. “You know that drives are involved [in blogging] because a lot of people do it compulsively,” Flaherty notes. Also, blogging might trigger dopamine release, similar to stimulants like music, running and looking at art.

The frontal and temporal lobes, which govern speech—no dedicated writing center is hardwired in the brain—may also figure in. For example, lesions in Wernicke’s area, located in the left temporal lobe, result in excessive speech and loss of language comprehension. People with Wernicke’s aphasia speak in gibberish and often write constantly. In light of these traits, Flaherty speculates that some activity in this area could foster the urge to blog.

Scientists’ understanding about the neurobiology underlying therapeutic writing must remain speculative for now. Attempts to image the brain before and after writing have yielded minimal information because the active regions are located so deep inside. Recent functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have shown that the brain lights up differently before, during and after writing, notes James Pennebaker, a psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin. But Pennebaker and others remain skeptical about the value of such images because they are hard to duplicate and quantify.

Most likely, writing activates a cluster of neurological pathways, and several researchers are committed to uncovering them. At the University of Arizona, psychologist and neuroscientist Richard Lane hopes to make brain-imaging techniques more relevant by using those techniques to study the neuroanatomy of emotions and their expressions. Nancy Morgan, lead author of the Oncologist study, is looking to conduct larger community-based and clinical trials of expressive writing. And Pennebaker is continuing to investigate the link between expressive writing and biological changes, such as improved sleep, that are integral to health. “I think the sleep angle is one of the more promising ones,” he says.

Whatever the underlying causes may be, people coping with cancer diagnoses and other serious conditions are increasingly seeking—and finding—solace in the blogosphere. “Blogging undoubtedly affords similar benefits” to expressive writing, says Morgan, who wants to incorporate writing programs into supportive care for cancer patients.

Some hospitals have started hosting patient-authored blogs on their Web sites as clinicians begin to recognize the therapeutic value. Unlike a bedside journal, blogging offers the added benefit of receptive readers in similar situations, Morgan explains: “Individuals are connecting to one another and witnessing each other’s expressions—the basis for forming a community.”

===================================================

A Prescription for Healthier Questions:

Whenever possible, prepare questions in advance.
Do take some mental notes in order to quickly respond.

Ask open-ended questions.
Questions that start with how, why, or what, or encourage a subject to describe, explain, and amplify.
Also have a better chance to provoke complete responses.
One at a time please.

The purpose is to draw information
Leave speeches to politicians, opinions to the editorial page.
Remember that the star of an interview should never be the interviewer.
Let the questions do the work.

Do not editorialize
Resist the impulse to editorialize ("You were rather incensed about classified information") or anticipate the response ("Even though you're not going to tell us specifically.") Let the subject do the work.

Record for posterity
Tape record your next interview and transcribe your questions.
How many are double-barreled, closed-ended, editorials, arguments or statements of fact masked as questions?

When the deadline is short take notes.
A voice track helps to record the statement for posterity
Do tell the source that you are recording his voice on tape.

Be open to the good, bad and the ugly.
Become a student of the interview, good, bad and ugly is part of the job.

Doctor Ink’s prescription

Over the years, Doctor Ink has learned some important lessons about interviewing, mostly by trial and error. Here it goes:

1. Shut up.

2. Shut up some more.

3. Work from a list of questions, but veer off.

4. Shut up again.

5. Get there early, stay late.

Dr. at it

6. Interview a person on his or her turf.

7. Ask for tours (of a photo album, book or music collection, memorabilia, set of golf clubs, wine cellar, favorite crack house, old neighborhood).

8. Write down things you see, not just answers to questions.

9. Use your notebook to show that you are conducting a formal interview.

10. Put your notebook away near the end, but keep talking

11. If you've got time, hang around a person to watch and record his or her interactions with others.

12. Ask the most important questions more than once and in different forms.

13. Ask the "slam the door" questions last.

14. Shut up.

15. Fill out or copy your notes as quickly as possible.


source: class room notes by Dr K Narender, Associate Professor Department of communication and Journalism, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, INDIA

Tweet