CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION OF
THE SUBJECT

PEOPLE CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS

Americas Erick Weihen Mayer created history on May 25, 2001 by becoming the
first blind person to scale Mount Everest. Erick at, 32, who lost his eyesight due
to a degenerative disease at the age of 13, set a foot on 8,848 meter peak along
with 17 other members of an expedition team after an unsuccessful attempt
earlier due to bad weather conditions. An hour before Erick, Bradford Bull earned
a distinction of being the oldest climber to set foot atop the worlds highest peak
at
the
age
of
65along
with
his
son.
(source: Times of India, 26/5/2001)

Among the various factors of production, which are used in an organization,

human resource is the most important. This is because effective use of physical
resources such as land, machinery, materials, etc. ultimately depends on how
the human factor is put to good use on various operations. The most effective
and efficient machinery in the world will not produce optimum level unless the
people who operate the machinery know how to make it perform at its best and
most importantly, are motivated to make their equipment produce efficiently.

1.1 DEFINATION OF HRM:

Human Resource Management (HRM) is a process of bringing
people and organizations together so that the goal of each one
is met, effectively and efficiently.

1.2 NATURE OF HRM:

The principle scope of HRM can be listed as,

Pervasive force
Action oriented
Individually oriented
People oriented
Future oriented
Development oriented
Integrating mechanism
Comprehensive function
Auxiliary services
Inter-disciplinary function
Continuous function

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF HRM:

The principle objectives of HRM can be listed as,

To help the organization reach its goals.

To employ the skills and abilities of the workforce efficiently.
To provide the organization with well-trained and well- motivated
employees.
To increase the fullest the employees job satisfaction and selfactualization.
To develop and maintain a quality of work life.
To communicate HR policies to all employees.
To be ethically and socially responsive to the needs of the society.

1.4 IMPORTANCE OF HRM:

People have always been central to the organization and an organizations
success increasingly depends on the knowledge, skills and abilities of employees,
particularly they establish a set of core competencies that distinguish an
organization from its competitors. With appropriate HR policies and practices an
organization can hire, develop and utilize best brains at work place, realize its
professed goals and deliver better results than others.

GOOD HR
PRACTICES
HELP

Attract and retain talent

Train people for
challenging roles
Develop skills and
competencies
Promote team spirit
Develop loyalty and
commitment
Increase productivity and
profits
Improve job satisfaction
Enhance standard of
living
Generate employment
opportunities

1.7 GROWTH OF HR IN HR IN INDIA:

Since the evolution of HR, the field has seen a lot of changes, which can listed
as,

PERIOD
1920-1930
1940-1960

EMPHASIS
Welfare management
Paternalistic practices
Expanding the role to

STATUS

ROLES

Clerical

Administrativ

Welfare
administrator
Policeman
Appraiser

1970-1980

1990sonwards

cover labor, welfare,

industrial relations and
personnel administration

Efficiency, effectiveness
dimensions added
Emphasis on human
values, aspirations,
dignity, usefulness
Incremental productivity
gains through human
assets

Development

Proactive,
growthoriented

Advisor
Mediator
Legal advisor
Fire fighting
Change agent
Integrator
Trainer
Educator

Developer
Counselor
Coach
Mentor
Problem solver

1.8 SHIFTS IN HR MANAGEMENT IN INDIA:

TADITIONAL HR PRACTICE

EMERGING HR PRACTICE

Administrative role
Reactive
Separate, isolated from company
mission
Production focus
Functional organization
Individuals encouraged, singled
out for praise, rewards
People as expenses

Strategic role
Proactive
Key part of organizational
mission
Service focus
Process based organization
Cross-functional teams,
teamwork most important
People as key
investments/assets

1.9 CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN HRM:

Following can be stated as contemporary issues in HRM,

HR
manager
as
strategists
HR
professional
as change

Managin
g
diversity

HRM in
M&A

agent

Changed
employee
expectatio
ns
New
organizatio
nal forms

CONTEMPORA
RY ISSUES IN
HRM

Changing
workforce
demograph
ics
HRM in
high
performanc
e
organizatio
Attitude
ns
towards
union
Make HR
activities
ethical

As stated above, one of the challenges faced by HR managers is that of Human

Balancin
BPO and
Resource
Management is that of attrition
of Employees in BPO and KPO industry.
Globalizati

CALL
1.10
EMPLOYEE
centers

g workATTRITION: life

on

DEFINING EMPLOYEE ATTRITION AND ATTRITION RATE:

Attrition: A reduction in the number of employees through retirement,
resignation or death.
Attrition Rate: The rate of shrinkage in size or number.
There are numerous reasons for the attrition to be high which can be categorized
into two broad classifications. The first can be coined as Drive Attrition
which is caused due to employer; the second one can be termed as Drag
Attrition which is caused due to the employee.
The attrition rate has always been a sensitive issue for all organizations.
Calculating employee turnover rate is not that simple as it seems to be. No
common formula can be used by all the organizations. A formula had to be
devised keeping in view the nature of the business and different job functions.
Moreover, calculating attrition rate is not only about devising a mathematical
formula. It also has to take into account the root of the problem by going back to
the hiring stage.

1.10.1 CALCULATING ATTRITION RATE:

Attrition rates can be calculated using simple formula:
Attrition = (No. of employees who left in the year/ average employees
in the year)*100
Thus, if the company had 1,000 employees in April 2004, 2,000 in March 2005,
and 300 quit in the year, then the average employee strength is 1,500 and
attrition is 100*(300/1,500)=20%. Besides this, there are various other types of
attrition that should be taken into account. These are:

Fresher attrition that tells the number of freshers who left the organization
within one year. It tells how many are using the company as a springboard
or a launch pad.
Infant mortality that is the percentage of people who left the organization
within one year. This indicates the ease with which people adapt to the
company.
Critical resource which tell the attrition in terms of key personnel like
senior executives leaving the organization.
Low performance attrition: It tells the attrition of those who left due to
poor performance.

ATTRITION RATE IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES ROUND THE GLOBE:

ATTRITION

RATE (%)

US

42%

Australia

29%

Europe

42%

India

18%

Global Average

42%

REASONS WHY EMPLOYEES LEAVE:

Employees do not leave an organization without any significant reason. There are
certain circumstances that lead to their leaving the organization. The most
common reasons can be:

Job is not what employee expected to be: Sometimes the job

responsibilities dont come out to be the same as expected by the
candidates. Unexpected job responsibilities lead to job dissatisfaction.

Job and person mismatch: A candidate may be fit to do a certain type of

job which matches his personality. If he is given a job which mismatches
his personality, then he wont be able to perform it well and try to find out
reasons to leave the job.

No growth opportunities: No or less learning and growth opportunities in

the current job will make candidates job and career stagnant.

Lack of appreciation: If the work is not appreciated by the supervisor, the

employee feels de-motivated and loses interest in job.

Lack of trust and support in coworkers, seniors and management: Trust is

the most important factor that is required for an individual to stay in the
job. Non- supportive coworkers, seniors and management can make office
environment unfriendly and difficult to work in.

Stress from overwork and work life balance: Job stress can lead to work life
imbalance which ultimately many times lead to employee leaving the
organization.

Compensation: Better compensation packages being offered by other

companies may attract employees towards themselves.

New job offer: an attractive job offer which employee thinks is good for
him with respect to job responsibility, compensation, growth and learning
etc. can lead an employee to leave the organization.

1.10.2 TRUTHS ABOUT ATTRITION:

It is difficult to accept when organizations say they have zero attrition rates.
Companies may have healthier turnover rates, however, there is no such thing as
zero attrition. There are other such facts about turnover, about which most of us
are not aware. Some of such facts have been highlighted below:
Turnover always happens: This happens because employees keep on moving due
to reason like marriage or further education. Nothing can stop these employees
from moving on. So, rather than achieving zero attrition companies should focus
on identifying whom they want to keep so that they have healthy attrition rate.
Some turnover is desirable: Zero attrition is not desirable mainly because of two
reasons; firstly, if all employees continue to stay in the same organization, most
of them will be at the top of their pay scale which will result in excessive
manpower costs. Secondly, new employees bring new ideas, approaches,
abilities and attitudes which can keep the organization from becoming stagnant.
Turnover includes costs: Turnover always includes some costs. Consider the cost
of replacing the key employee who falls into the category of high performers.
This includes the costs of recruitment advertisement, referral bonuses, selection,
training costs, etc. Moreover, turnover results in loss of time and efforts, low
productivity, loss of morale, loss of knowledge and so on.
High salary doesnt work: Most managers assume that a high salary package is
enough to keep employees loyal to their organization. Employees may face other
problems like low job satisfaction, low engagement levels, no recognition, poor
working conditions, less support from superiors and so on. Salaries are not
always the solution to attrition. Managers should try to find out the root cause of
the problem and then find a feasible solution.
The manager can reduce attrition: Managers should take primary responsibility
for retaining their employees. Much of the employees perception of job
satisfaction stems from the relationship they share with their immediate
supervisor. Managers should try to support their subordinates and give proper
feedback on performance. HR managers should work in collaboration to make
the key employees last in their organization.
Reducing turnover takes commitment: Reducing turnover takes an investment in
coaching, developing, motivating, mentoring and listening to people. There
should be universal acceptance of the goal of reducing turnover along with top
management commitment and dedication.

1.10.3 BENEFITS OF ATTRITION:

Attrition is not always bad, if it happens in a controlled manner. Some attrition is
always desirable and necessary for organizational growth. The only concern is
how organization differentiates good attrition from bad attrition. The term
health attrition signifies the importance of less productive employees
voluntarily leaving the organization. This means if the ones who have left fall in
the category of low performers, the attrition is being healthy.
Attrition rates are considered to be beneficial in some ways:

If all employees stay in the same organization for a very long time, most of
them will be at the top of their pay scale which will result in excessive
manpower costs.
When certain employees leave, whose continuation of service would have
negatively impacted productivity and profitability of the company is
benefited.
New employees bring new ideas, approaches, abilities and attitudes which
can keep the organization healthy.
There are also some people in the organization who have a negative and
demoralizing influence on the work culture and team spirit. This, in the
long- term, is detrimental to organizational health.
Desirable attrition also includes termination of employees with whom the
organization does not want to continue a relationship. It benefits the
organization in the following ways:
It removes bottleneck in the progress of the company.
It creates space for the entry of new talents.
It assists in evolving high performance teams.

There are people who are not able to balance their performance as per
expectations, lack potential for future or need disciplinary action.
Furthermore, as the rewards are limited, business pressures do not allow
the management to over-reward the performers, but when undesirable
employees leave the company, the good employees can be given the
share they desire.

Some companies believe attrition in any form is bad for an organization for it
means that a wrong choice was made at the beginning while recruiting.
Even good attrition indicates loss as recruitment is a time consuming and
costly affair. The only positive point is that the realization has initiated
action that will lead to cutting loss.

1.11 EMPLOYEE RETENTION:

Employee retention is a process in which the employees are encouraged to
remain with the organization for the maximum period of time or until the
completion of the project. Employee retention is beneficial for the organization as
well as the employee.
Employees today are different. They are not the ones who dont have good
opportunities in hand. As soon as they feel dissatisfied with the current employer
or the job, they switch over to the next job. It is the responsibility of the
employer to retain their best employees. If they dont, they would be left with no
good employees. A good employer should know how to attract and retain its
employees.
Retention involves five major things:

Compensation

Support
Relationship
Environment

1.11.1 IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYEE RETENTION:

So much is being done by organizations to retain its employees, why is retention
so important? Is just to reduce the turnover costs? Well, the answer is a definitely
NO. Its not the only cost incurred by a company that emphasizes the need of
retaining employees but also to retain talented employees from getting poach.
The process of employee retention will benefit an organization in the following
ways:
The cost of turnover: The cost of employee turnover adds hundreds of thousands
of money to a companys expenses. While it is difficult to fully calculate the cost
of turnover (including hiring costs, training costs and productivity loss), industry
experts often quote 25% of the average employee salary as a conservative
estimate.
Loss of companys knowledge: When an employee leaves, he takes with him
valuable knowledge about the company, customers, current projects and past
history (sometimes to competitors). Often much time and money has been spent
on the employee in expectation of future return. When the employee leaves, the
investment is not realized.
Interruption of customer service: Customers and clients do business with a
company in part because of the people. Relationships are developed that
encourage continued sponsorship of the business. When an employee leaves,
the relationships that employee built for the company are served, which could
lead to potential customer loss.
Turnover leads to more turnovers: When an employee terminates, the effect is
felt throughout the organization. The unspoken negativity often intensifies for the
remaining staff.
Goodwill of the company: The goodwill of a company is maintained when the
attrition rates are low. Higher retention rates motivate potential employees to
join the organization.
Regaining efficiency: If an employee resigns, the good amount of time is lost in
hiring a new employee and then training an employee and this goes to the loss
of the company directly which many a times goes unnoticed. And even after this
companies cannot assure us of the same efficiency from the new employee.

1.11.2 EMPLOYEE RETENTION STRATEGIES:

The basic practices which should be kept in mind the employee retention
strategies are:
Hire the right people in the first place.
Empower the employees. Give employees the authority to get things
done.

Make employees realize that they are the most valuable asset of the
organization.
Nave faith in them, trust them and respect them.
Provide them information and knowledge.
Keep providing them feedback on their performance.
Recognize and appreciate their achievements.
Keep their morale high.
Create an environment where the employees want to work and have fun.

These practices can be categorized in 3 levels:

Low, medium and high level.

1.11.3 RETENTION MYTHS:

The process of retention is not easy as it seems. There are so many tactics and
strategies used in retention of employees by the organizations. The basic
purpose of these strategies should be to increase employee satisfaction, boost
employee morale hence achieve retention. But some times these strategies are
not used properly or even worse, wrong strategies are used. Because of which
these strategies fail to achieve the desired results. There are many myths related
to the employee retention process. These myths exist because the strategies
being used are either wrong or are being used from a long time. These myths
prevent the employer from successfully implementing the retention strategies.

Employees leave an organization for more pay: Money may be the motivating but
for many people it is not the most important factor. Money matters more to the
low income employees for whom its a survival issue. Money can make an
employee stay in an organization but not for long. The factors more important
than money are job satisfaction, job responsibilities and individuals skill
development. The employers should understand this and work out some other
ways to make employee feel satisfied. When employees leave, management
tries to retain them by offering more money. Issues that are mainly the cause of
dissatisfaction are organizations policies and procedures, working conditions,
relationship with the supervisor and salary, etc. For such employees,
achievements, growth, recognition, are the main concerns.
Incentives can increase productivity: Incentives can surely increase productivity
but not for long time. Cash incentives, volume work targets and speed awards
are old management beliefs. They can generate work speedily and in volumes
but cant boost employee commitment. Rather speed can hamper the quality of
work produced. What really glues employees to their work and organization is
quality work, meaningful responsibilities, recognition, respect, growth
opportunities and friendly supervisors.
Employees run away from responsibilities: It is myth that employees run away
from responsibilities. In fact employees feel more responsible if they are given
extra responsibilities apart from their regular job. Employees look for variety,
greater control on the processes and authority to take decisions in their present
job. They want opportunities to learn and grow. Management can assign extra
responsibilities to their employees and appreciate them on completion of these
tasks. This will induce a sense of pride in the employee and will improve the
relationship between the management and the employee.
Loyalty is a thing of the past: Employees can be loyal but what they need is an
employer for whom they can be loyal. There is no reason for the employee to hop
job if he is satisfied with the employer.
Taking measures to increase employee satisfaction will be expensive for the
organizations: The things actually required to improve employee satisfaction like
respect, career growth and development, appreciation, etc. cant be bought.
They are free of cost. An employee or management reacts well to the employees
ideas and suggestions is enough for the employee to be retained.

CHAPTER TWO
INTRODUCTION OF
THE INDIAN MARKET
SCENARIO

2.1 EMERGANCE OF THE INDIAN IT-ITES SECTOR:

2.1.1 MARKET SIZE:
2.1.1.1 GLOBAL:

The global IT-ITES market has generated revenues of USD 1,322 billion in 2003.
Globally, North America and Western Europe were major market players and
together for more than three-fourth of the global IT-ITES market. The US alone
accounted for 47% of the global IT-ITES market in 2003. IT services and BPO
constituted the largest portion of the global IT-ITES spend, accounting for
approximately 605 of the total pie.

2.1.1.2 INDIA:
The Indian IT-ITES industry broadly categorized into IT services, ITESBPO and
hardware segments. The industry achieved revenues of USD 21.5 billion in FY 2
2003. Earnings from IT-ITES exports were USD 13.3 billion, while revenues of the
domestic IT-ITES market were USD 8.2 billion. At present, the IT-ITES industry
constitutes around 1.6% of the global IT-ITES market.

The segment is estimated to touch revenues of around USD 92.4 billion in 2009
at a CAGR (Compound Average Growth Rate) of 27.5%. the contribution to the

service sector as a whole will go up to 17.45% in 2010. The key drivers of growth
include the rapid increase in IT outsourcing and the rapid expansion in the scale
and breath of IT-ITES- BPO offerings by Indian vendors. The Indian IT-ITES
vendors focused on improving productivity and moved up in the value-chain.
While companies providing IT services included new service lines, such as
package software implementation, systems integration, R&D engineering and
remote network management to their portfolio of offerings, IT-ITES-BPO
companies began more complex services, such as financial research and
analytics, actuarial modeling and corporate and business research.

2.2 REASONS FOR THE GROWT OF THE IT-ITES

SECTOR:
The major reasons for the phenomenal growth of the IT-ITES segment of the
Indian service sector can be attributed to location advantage and people
attractiveness factors, and India scores very high on both counts. According to a
review by NASSCOM, the above reasons include six major factors:

A growing and highly educated English-speaking workforce with the

required technical and soft skills.
Huge cost advantage
Competent management of data security risks
Adoption and maintenance of international quality standards
World-class telecom infrastructure
Government support
In general, India has significant geographical advantage due to the time
difference between the US and Europe and so there is enough feedback time. In
terms of people attractiveness, India has a large pool of highly- trained, Englishspeaking, low-cost labor, which adds as an attraction for off shoring more than
anything else.

2.3 BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING:

2.3.1 OVERVIEW:
Off shoring is a phenomenon, wherein an enterprise relocates the production of
its goods or services to various locations in countries other than the one in which
it is based. Off-shoring- especially that of services- has become an increasingly
viable option for companies looking to improve their operational efficiencies,
bottom lined and business performance. In fact, to achieve global
competitiveness and high profitability, it has now almost become imperative for
most of the companies to offshore some of their IT and non- IT BPO services. The
global Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) market has undergone rapid
transformation during the last decade and has been adopted as a strategic
business solution by leading companies. A reduction in telecom costs, coupled
with the increased digitization of services, is helping many companies to offshore their services.

2.3.2 MARKET SIZE:

2.3.2.1 GLOBAL:

According to Evalueaserve, the revenue of global low-end outsourcing (BPO)

services in FY 2003 was USD 7.7 billion. This market is expected to grow to USD
39.8 billion in FY 2010. This implies a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of
26.5% for the sector.

2.3.2.2 INDIA:
According to Evalueserve the Indian BPO sector will increase its share in the
global KPO sector to 45% by 2010, compared to 36% share in 2003. The Indian
BPO market, with revenue of 2.78 billion in 2003, is expected to grow at a CAGR
of 30.6% upto 2010. The contribution of the BPO sector to the Indian services
sector was 0.91% in 2003 and it is expected that by 2010, the contribution will
be more than double and reach 2.67% to add to the overall services sector.
Share of the Indian BPO sector int eh global BPO industry will increase from 36%
in 2003 to 45% in 2010.

2.3.2.3 SWOT ANALYSIS OF INDIAN INDUSTRY

STRENGTHS
English speaking labor pool
Strong IT background
Superior service maturity
Strong governmental support
Cost competitiveness
Indian domestic market
growth
Positing geographic

WEAKNESS
Small players
High attrition
Infrastructure
Bureaucracy

OPPORTUNITIES
Move up the value chain
Unexplored markets
Greater share of market

THREATS
Emerging low cost nations
Rising cost
Backlash in US and Europe
Technology
Indian educational policy

2.4 KNOWLEDGE PROCESS OUTSOURCING:

2.4.1OVERVIEW:
Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) refers to the outsourcing of high-end
complex tasks and processes to specialized service providers. These include
valuation research, investment research, patent filing, legal and insurance claims
processing, etc. KPO provides value to the client through domain expertise rather
than process expertise. In comparison to BPO, KPO delivers higher value to the
organizations that off shore their domain-based processes, thereby enhancing
BPOs traditional cost-quality paradigm. The shift from off shoring of low-end
business processes (BPO) to high-end tasks led to a rapid growth in the off shore
KPO industry.

2.4.2 MARKET SIZE:

2.4.2.1 GLOBAL:
Evalueserve predicts that revenues from the KPO market will grow globally from
USD 1.29 billion in FY 2003, to USD 17 billion in FY 2010. This implies a CAGR of
44.5%, for the global KPO market. The important growth drivers of this market
are:
Higher savings at the high-end of the value-chain as compared to the lowend and a scarcity of a highly-trained specialized talent pool in the
developed countries.
Maturity of processes and the prospect of better margins for knowledgeintensive services in the low-cost destinations.

2.4.2.2 INDIA:
The Indian KPO sector will increase its share in the global KPO sector to 71% by
2010, compared to a 56% share in 2003. The KPO market in India is expected to
increase to USD 12 billion by FY 2010, reflecting a CAGR of 49.5%.

In FY 2003, the Indian KPO industry generated approximately USD 0.72 billion of
the total revenue, contributing about 0.24% to the Indian services sector. This
share is expected to increase to 1.78% of Indian services sector by 2010.

The US alone accounts for nearly 60% of the KPO services off shored to low-cost
locations. The UK and Canada account for approximately a 20% share, while the
remaining 20% is shared between the rest of Europe and rest of the world.

2.5 KEY SEGMENTS:

Out of the estimated opportunity of USD 17 billion the KPO sector in 2010, the
major revenues will come from six prominent sectors.

2.6 GROWTH DRIVERS:

The significant growth of the KPO sector is attributed to several factors the
demand and supply side.

2.6.1 DEMAND DRIVERS:

There are several demand-side factors fueling the KPO trend such as,
There is an incumbent shortage of highly-skilled knowledge professionals
in the developed nations.
Hence, recruiting the talents for higher-end knowledge-intensive
sectors is becoming difficult for enterprise in high-wage countries.
With tighter immigration norms, off shoring of these high-end
services is the only viable solution for enterprise facing this
shortage of highly-trained specialized labor.
Further, to remain competitive globally, enterprises need to cut their costs
and reduce the time-to-market for their services and products.
Off shoring high-end services not only ensures these two benefits, but also
the intellectual property thus created, rests with the buyer of the off shore
high-end (KPO) services.

2.6.2 SUPPLY- SIDE DRIVERS:

India offers an attractive cost proposition and a highly-skilled talent pool. These
factors make it a highly competent and attractive destination for outsourcing.

The major trends in the Indian services market expected to drive the KPO sector
include:
Economies of scope generated by the entry of many IT companies in the
BPO and KPO sectors.

BPO companies moving up the value-chain

Off shore service vendors are gaining significant maturity as well as
project management and domain expertise, thereby moving up the
value-chain.
Availability of all types of services through a single vendor
With the entry of many BPO companies into providing KPO services,
clients can get the entire range of solutions and services portfolio,
which will help ward off competition from services providers in other
emerging low-cost destinations.

ATTRITION RATES IN DIFFERENT SECTORS:

Following chart shows attrition rate in different sectors in India:

CHAPTER THREE
INTRODUCTION OF
THE COMPANY

3.1 HISTORY:
Azure was founded in 1991 as an IT/CRM training and Software Development
company and in the period 1991-2000, it trained more than 60,000 students
across various Azure IT Training Institutes.
In the year 2000, Azure ventured into the BPO business facilitated by
promoters with more than 15 years of outsourcing and service industry
experience.

3.2 AZURE TODAY:

Azure enjoys the reputation of being the first and the largest Business Process
Outsourcing (BPO) center in the state of Gujarat in western India. Today, Azure is
a 2100 people company with its Knowledge Centers spread across three
locations in India and one in China.
Azure has a proven track record of Sourcing and Training of excellent quality
human resources on a large scale owing its training background. One of the
reasons why clients prefer to work with Azure is because of its retention levels.
Azure has a record of retaining more than 90% of its senior management in the
last 6 years and an average attrition of 18% for associates/interviewers as
compared to 60-70% in the industry
Azure is an ISO 27001 certified company with BS7799 IT Security
Certification. Azures services provide the best value for money to clients owing
to its low cost of operations in Ahmedabad (70% lower cost than prevailing costs
in US/Europe and 30% lower cost than other metro cities in India) and efficiency
maximization achieved through automation of processes and effective usage of
Information Technology (IT), made possible due to its strong background in IT and
an experienced IT team.
What clients appreciate about Azure is its Process Oriented approach in
providing services by meticulously planning the workflow and support systems,
setting the right benchmarks for quality and delivery and using technology as a
backbone to provide faster, better and cost-effective services to clients.

3.3 COMPANY VISION:

To be a leading provider of financial

services and knowledge based services to a global clientele by offering value
through innovative use of technology and harnessing the highest potential of
its people.

3.4 MILESTONE:
Year/Perio
d
1991

Key Events
Started as an IT Training Company; Setup various IT education
institutes across the state of Gujarat, India

1996-2000 No-1 IT Training company in the State; Trained 60,000 students

across 30 Azure IT institutes

2000

Set up a 500 seat Global Contact center to provide Market

Research and Financial Services to Fortune 500 companies

2003

Added Mortgage Processing and Mortgage Origination Support

services; First multi-country, multi-lingual B2B Market Research
Project executed successfully

2004

Expand MR capabilities to include Survey Programming, Data

Processing; Conducted more than 30,000 web and phone
interviews

2005

Added 2 Fortune 500 companies as key clients with long term

contracts; Financial services expansion to UK, Europe and
Australia; Expanded multi-lingual capability to cover 12
international languages

2006

ISO 27001 certification; Azure bags financial services contract

from one of the top 5 global financial companies ; Bags large IT
solutions contracts

2007

Launched China office in Guangzhou; Took 49% stake in Citizens

Financial Mortgage; Ranked among the top ITES companies by
Dun & Bradstreet (D&B); Launches IT solutions company: Success
Craft

2008

2008 Azure wins Best Customer Responsiveness Practice award

instituted by Avaya Global Connect, adjudged by Ernst & Young
and ACNielsen; Setup 100 seat facility in Philadelphia, US

3.5 AZURE CORE VALUES:

Azures core values include:
Integrity
Responsiveness
Effective use of technology
Transparency
Process orientation and discipline

3.6 AZURE CAPABILITIES:

Azures capabilities include:
Multi Respondent
Age-groups, cultures etc.

Multi Lingual
Over 15 languages are spoken

Multi Medium
Phone, Web, E-Mail, Print, Fax and Face-to-Face

Multi Geography
90 Countries across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa

Multi Process
Survey Programming, Data Collection, Processing, Analytics,
Presentation

Multi Industry
IT & Telecom, Healthcare & Pharma, FMCG/Consumer Goods, BFSI,
Retail & Manufacturing, Media, Others.

3.7 AZURE ADVANTAGE:

o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

7 years of experience in providing KPO and BPO services.

1500 seat infrastructure across Ahmedabad, Guangzhou and Philadelphia with
2100 people .
Serving 75 plus countries in 12 languages.
Proven track record in providing Financial Services and Knowledge Services.
Current clients include three Fortune 500 clients and large financial services
companies.
State-of-art technology setup including dedicated private data and voice links to
US with technology solutions from Nortel, IBM.
Strong focus on processes and systems for efficiency and effectiveness in client
delivery.
Comprehensive business contingency and disaster recovery model.
Dedicated quality resources for each project and process.
Training and workshops conducted by industry experts.

3.8 SERVICES:
Basically, Azure facilitates its clients with four basic services, includes:

o Knowledge Services: Azure is dedicated to supplying superior knowledge

services solution to their clients. From Strategy to Solution encompasses
Azures approach to developing long term relationships with their customers and

understanding the needs of people, the challenges of complex business

processes and the opportunities presented by technology. Azure's success is
highly leveraged on the capabilities of their team and each member of the team
is chosen carefully to be able to assist in delivering results.

Azures gamut of knowledge services include:

Market Research
Equity Research

o Customer Care Services: Inbound Customer Care

BSNL-Customer Care Services: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) the
largest public sector undertaking and telecom service provider in India
(Fixed ,Cellular and Broad Band) having net worth of 14.32 billion $,
infrastructure worth 22.74 billion $,network of over 45 million phone lines
in 5000 towns, over 20 million cellular connections reverts back to Azure
to outsource its Customer Care Services.
Azure on its part will use its expertise and state of the art infrastructure
and the best in its class CRM tools to atleast meet the BSNL requirements
if not surpass them. The BSNL division will work on 24*365 and will be 150
strong offering services in 3 languages, English, Hindi and Gujarati. As
Gujarat is an important destination for Business and Tourism, all efforts
are being made to see there are alteast 3 CSRS fluent in languages like
Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu.
Panasonic Tough books: Panasonic launched its premium product in the
laptop vertical in India and the helpdesk number lands at Azure. The job of
the Panasonic Team is to handle inbound call queries and also follow-up
with information requested by the potential clients.
o Financial Services:
Azure is a leading provider of financial services like mortgage processing, loan
origination, finance & accounting & collections. Azure has the necessary knowledge on the
working of the financial services industry.
Azures clients get the advantage of seamless integration of cutting-edge technology
and a highly trained human capital.
Azure is committed to delivering all the financial services you need in one place, with
the personalized attention you deserve.
Azures array of financial services includes:

Mortgage Processing

Loan Origination

Finance & Accounting

Collections

o IT Services:

AZURE is backed by experience in various verticals, domains, technology

practices and SDLC methodologies. The focus is on building solutions that enable
and empower customer service, work flow automation and marketing processes,
by leveraging telecom and internet.
AZURE has been providing all round support, consultancy and solutions to
the KPO, Telecom, BFSI and Internet industry. It brings to the table in-depth
understanding of the respective domains and invaluable years of software
development experience.
Azure offers IT enabled services for:

Telecom and IP

Enterprise Solutions

Market Research

Financial Services

Web/Application Development