With the initial rosy days of BPO having elapsed, the need for providing a refreshing environment has become all-important. This calls on greater responsibility from the human resource department. Previously concerned with recruitments and payroll, the scope of their duties have widened with the spurt in the knowledge industry.

The manpower is faced with lots of difficulties. The jobs in call centers are monotonous. In non-voice BPOs, work is stressful and it comes in spikes. Presenting a good behavior before the irate customers and fighting the monotonous job makes it less attractive. It is up to the HR department to ensure that a healthy working culture with provisions for relaxation is prevalent in the organization. A relaxed atmosphere reduces the work related stress to a great extent. Team debriefings are a must to understand the stress factors that make the work frustrating. The general atmosphere and company policies need to be redrafted at frequent intervals in response to their needs. Stress management is given immense importance in BPO.

Keeping pace with the changing technology and demands of the customers makes it strenuous. The employees look on to the HR to forecast the changes in technology and needs of the people to reduce overload of work and assists the people in better utilization of time.

Many join BPO's fresh out of college for making quick money. But once inside the industry, the intense work and odd working hours impair the delightful picture of the BPO forcing them to quit. During recruitment, the HR is to acquaint them to the actual scenario existing in the industry. Identification of potential skills is by no means easy. The attrition rates in BPO are on the high. In India, the average attrition rate is said to be around 30-35%. It is said that a company loses around Rs.60000 if an employee quits after training. Attrition is an expensive affair for the company. Inability to cope with the long timings, monotonous work, improper training techniques, minimal chances for growth, stress etc can be said to be reasons for increase employee turnover. To reduce attrition rates, the human resource manager is to identify the reasons for attrition and then take steps to overcome them to prevent further employee turnover. In India, many womenfolk are forced to quit the jobs mainly because of the untimely hours of this industry. Providing flexible timing option can minimize the chances for resignation. Lack of proper growth can be stated as another reason for attrition. The organizational hierarchy and the performance appraisal systems followed must be well drafted and properly informed to negate confusion. This should be backed by regular technical and soft skill trainings after proper identification of the requirements. Unreasonable performance targets, another major cause of worry in BPO, must be rectified taking into account the nature of work.

Identifying the people with key potentials that can be upgraded by introducing effective technology, backed by training to boost the skills in an environment that is employee friendly, paving the path for individual’s and organisation’s growth is the task of the human resource department. Innovative and motivated people alone can trigger success to an organization.