Offshoring call centres to India has led to the Prudential becoming one of
the first companies to gain international Investors In People (IIP)
accreditation.
While critics claim that offshoring is detrimental to British business and
unions are campaigning to ‘stop the job stampede’, Prudential’s call centre in
Mumbai has set a benchmark for the company, and was the driver behind
improvements that led to international IIP accreditation.
The company began offshoring in April 2003, and now has 800 employees in
India.
After feedback from IIP inspectors and internal company surveys, the
business found the Indian operation was out-performing those in the UK, and
pushed its UK-based call centres to mirror Indian performance levels.
Russell Martin, HR director at the Prudential, attributes the success of the
Indian operation to having a robust ‘capabilities framework’ that could easily
be exported to create an office in India with the "look, touch and feel of
a UK site".
The operation has 10 HR managers in India, and they report directly to
management in the UK. Induction, training and development are identical to that
in the UK, and changes will only be made to the British model if there is an
overwhelming need to alter it.
Martin said: "We ignored geographical boundaries and used the company’s
strong philosophical capability framework to create an Indian office where
staff feel they are genuinely an integral part of load-sharing to improve
services."
By Michael Millar
Prudential’s capability framework
– Having innovative ideas that create the future
– Choosing to do the right thing
– Doing the right things excellently
– Motivating and organising yourself to deliver
– Inspiring others to deliver
– Sharing what you are doing
– Knowing the important things
Source: Prudential
