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Factors affecting intention to leave: In case of Customer Service

Representatives of the BPO Industry in Sri Lanka.

Research Project

By

D.G.L.R DE SILVA

BSC-UGC-MGT-1315-319

BSc in Business Management (Special) Degree

An Independent Research Report Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of BSc in Business Management (Special) Degree

National School of Business Management

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DECLARATION

I declare that all materials included in this essay/ report/project/dissertation is the end

result of my own work and that due acknowledgement have been given in the

bibliography and references to ALL sources be they printed, electronic or personal.

Signature …………………………………. Date…………………….

D.G.L.R DE SILVA

BSC-UGC-MGT-1315-319

CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that the research report presented by D.G.L.R DE SILVA on Factors

affecting intention to leave: In case of Customer Service Representatives of the BPO

Industry in Sri Lanka can be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the

Bachelor of Science in Business Management (Special) Degree.

Signed: _______________________ Date: __________________

Research Supervisor

Dr. Prasadini Gamage

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DEDICATION

I dedicate this work to my supervisor Dr. Prasadini Gamage and all the people who

contributed to the success of my research work.

Thank You.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Prasadini Gamage, my Research

Supervisor for her guidance, support and motivation extended to me during the period

of completing the study.

I also extend an earnest thank you to Mr. D.M.A. Kulasooriya, the Dean Faculty for

Business Management of NSBM, the Course Director Ms. Thilini De Silva and as

well as the BSc academic panel for the continuous support given to me during my

period of study at the institute.

My loving appreciation goes out to my parents, without whose constant support and

encouragement, I would not have completed the study successfully.

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ABSTRACTS

The ITES- BPO industry of Sri Lanka has immense growth potential and is currently

the fifth largest export earner for the country. However the BPO industry faces a

unique problem due to the high intention to leave among the customer service

representative category, which is identified as the “Factor’s affecting intention to

leave: of the customer service representatives of the BPO industry in Sri Lanka. This

is where the BPO industry experiences high intention rates as much as 30% within the

first 03 months of the tenure of an employee. Due to this phenomenon cost to the

company has sky rocketed to the point where the management has become oblivious

to this problem and learnt to go with the flow as they are tired of looking for a

solution. Therefore this study extensively investigates the impact on the cost to the

company due to the intention to leave among the customer service representatives in

the BPO industry. At the same time it fills a long standing gap by providing literature

on this problem area from a Sri Lankan context.

An extensive literature review was carried out with a view to understanding the

current knowledge available in the research areas and to establish the relevance of

them in developing the research question. The approach of this study is qualitative

research method, where the data collected via in-depth interviews was analyzed using

the content analysis method. Primary data was collected from a saturated sample of 34

respondents from 03 medium sized BPO companies in Sri Lanka. Findings were

derived from the analyses that lead to category formulation and modification of the

initial conceptual framework. More importantly implications were derived from these

findings and used to make recommendations to the corporate management, to the

corporate management to be implemented through the middle management and finally

the HR departments the of the BPO companies.

In conclusion, the senior management of the BPO companies needs to start facing the

harsh reality that if the recurring costs incurred due to the factors affecting intention to

leave: of the customer service representatives in the BPO industry are not controlled

there will be fast deterioration in the industry and Sri Lanka is in danger of losing its

creditability as a potential BPO hub among international outsourcing companies

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION ........................................................................................................... 2

DEDICATION ............................................................................................................... 3

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................. 4

ABSTRACTS ................................................................................................................ 5

TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................... 6

LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... 8

LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... 9

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 10

1.1 OVERVIEW....................................................................................................... 10

1.1.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT ...................................................... 10

1.1.2 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 10

1.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM ................................................................................... 11

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ................................................................................ 12

1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES .............................................................................. 12

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY ............................................................................ 13

1.5.1 SIGNIFICANCE TO BPO INDUSTRY ..................................................... 13

1.5.2 SIGNIFICANCE TO INDIVIDUAL COMPANIES .................................. 13

1.5.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ECONOMY ..................................................... 14

1.6 LIMITATIONS .................................................................................................. 15

1.7 CHAPTERIZATION ......................................................................................... 15

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................... 16

2.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 16

2.2 WORK ENVIRONMENT OF BPO COMPANIES .......................................... 16

2.3 CULTURE OF BPO COMPANIES .................................................................. 17

2.4 ITES – BPO IN SRI LANKAN CONTEXT ...................................................... 18

2.5 INTENTION TO LEAVE .................................................................................. 19

2.5.1 INTENTION TO LEAVE IN BPO INDUSTRY ........................................ 19

2.5.2 FACTORS AFFECTING THE INTENTION TO LEAVE OF THE BPO

INDUSTRY .......................................................................................................... 20

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................... 24

3.2 THE STUDY POPULATION AND SAMPLE ................................................. 24

3.2.1 POPULATION ............................................................................................ 24

3.2.2 SAMPLING ................................................................................................. 24

3.3 DATA COLLECTION ....................................................................................... 25

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3.3.1 DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT ................................................... 25

3.3.2 PRIMARY DATA SOURCES .................................................................... 25

3.3.3 SECONDARY DATA SOURCES .............................................................. 25

3.3.4 DATA COLLECTION PLAN..................................................................... 25

3.4 CONCEPTUTAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................... 26

3.4. 1 INDEPENDENT VARIABLES ............................................................. 26

3.4.2 DEPENDENT VARIABLES ...................................................................... 27

3.5 DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................................ 28

3.6 TIME FRAMEWORK ....................................................................................... 29

CHAPTER4: DATA PRESENTATION & ANALYSIS ............................................ 31

4.1 DATA PRESENTATION ............................................................................. 31

4.1.1 Data Presentation............................................................................................. 32

4.1.2 Questionnaire Analysis and Data Presentation ............................................... 32

4.1.3 Gender ............................................................................................................ 33

4.1.4 Age Category ................................................................................................... 33

4.1.5 Household Income .......................................................................................... 34

4.1.6 Educational qualification ................................................................................ 35

4.2 DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................................... 40

4.2.1 CORRELATION BETWEEN PAY &INTENTION TO LEAVE ........ 40

4.2.2 CORRELATION BETWEEN STRESS & INTENTION TO LEAVE 41

4.2.3 CORRELATION BETWEEN WORKING CONDITION &

INTENTION TO LEAVE .................................................................................. 42

4.2.3 CORRELATION BETWEEN REWARDS & INTENTION TO

LEAVE ................................................................................................................ 43

5.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 44

5.1.1 ACHIEVEMENT OF OBJECTIVES .......................................................... 44

5.2CONCLUSION ................................................................................................... 46

5.3 RECOMMENDATION ..................................................................................... 47

LIST OF REFERENCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................... 49

APPENDIX .................................................................................................................. 50

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure1: Data Collection Plan……………………………………………………….25

Figure2: Conceptual Framework………………………………………………….…26

Figure 3: Data Presentation………………………………………………………….32

Figure: 4 Gender …………………………………………………………………….33

Figure 5: Age category………………………………………………………………33

Figure 6 Household Income…………………………………………………………34

Figure 7 Educational Qualification………………………………………………….35

Figure 8 Work Experience…………………………………………………………..36

Figure 9 Pay…………………………………………………………………………37

Figure 10 Stress……………………………………………………………………..38

Figure 11 Work Experience…………………………………………………………39

Figure 12 Rewards…………………………………………………………………..40

Figure 13 Scatter Diagram between Pay & Intention to Leave……………………..40

Figure 14 Scatter Diagram between Stress & Intention to Leave…………………...41

Figure 15 Scatter Diagram between Working Condition & Intention to Leave……42

Figure 16 Scatter Diagram between Rewards & Intention to Leave……………….43

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Summary of Literature Review…………………………….........................23

Table 2: List of Independent Variables and Measurement Criteria…………………27

Table 3: List of Dependent Variables and Measurement Criteria…………………..27

Table 4: Work Schedule……………………………………………………………..29

Table 5: Summary of Data collection……………………………………………….32

Table 6: Age Category………………………………………………………………33

Table 7: Household Income…………………………………………………………34

Table 8: Educational Qualification………………………………………………….35

Table 9: Work Experience…………………………………………………………..36

Table 10: Section 2 - Pay…………………………………………………………..36

Table 11: Stress……………………………………………………………………..37

Table 12: Working Condition ……………………………………………………...38

Table 13: Rewards………………………………………………………………….39

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 OVERVIEW

1.1.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT

This project is mainly aimed at fulfilling the ultimate requirement to complete the

Research methodology module pertaining to our Degree program. This project is

based on research of the BPO industry problem. It is to be developed the solutions for

the problems in the work place of mine which I am engaged in.

This thesis is based on the industry research I have done and hope it will provide

sufficient insight as to what they will be dealing with. This research report contains all

the elements of a research design, and in addition presents, interprets, and evaluates

the findings of the research. It analyses the history of the industry and also contains a

situation analysis. I also found a need for research to be performed in order to identify

factors affecting intention to leave: in case of customer service representatives in the

BPO Industry. Therefore I came up with a literature search, calculating the

correlations coefficient of independent variables and finally solutions for the problems

were discussed in this report.

1.1.2 INTRODUCTION

One of the positives of globalization is the arrival of Information and Communication

Technology (ICT) and the growing success in ICT initiatives have brought the global

community closer. ICT in the Globalization context is all about global knowledge,

access, participation and governance in the information age. It has radically changed

the views about boundaries between and within organizations (Dhameja & Medury,

1997). ICT has changed the way business is done in the modern world drastically and

has helped to make “price” and “time” irrelevant. These developments have paved

way to Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). Industry has a continues work process

24/7, organizations outsource their non-core and less critical activities. But in the last

decade or so there has been a significant rise in complex activities been outsourced as

well. For instant the construction design industry has been outsourced. The service

industry benefits more from outsourcing due the non-physicality of its nature. The

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new development to facilitate these processes in the ICT industry is called

Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES).

1.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM

Even though the employees in the BPO industry are supposed to have a work

environment that is conducive to their life styles and expectations, this industry has a

very high intention to leave, where the average tenure of a Customer Service

Representative (CSR) employee’s is 03 months. This phenomenon is called the “Case

of Intention to leave”.

The BPO industry has provisions for cost due to anticipated intention to leave. BPO’s

have an expected average intention to leave of about 12% in the initial months but in

reality they experience an intention to leave rate of up to 30%. There is no accurate

provisions for the aftermath due to this intention to leave phenomenon that could be

due to various obvious and hidden factors. On the other hand the intention to leave; in

case of CSR in the BPO industry is quite significant and has a negative impact on the

productivity and overall profitability. As an employee who has worked in the BPO

industry, the researcher has studied that there are two main areas of intention to leave;

in case of CSR’s.

1. Hard Cost: e.g. Salary, stress, working conditions, rewarding etc.

2. Soft costs: e.g. Efficiency loss, vendor credibility loss, loss of tacit knowledge

etc.

Soft costs are difficult to quantify and will never appear on a balance sheet or income

statement but have a huge effect on the BPO industry Bottom line. Efficiency loss is

the cost of decreasing productivity due to turnover. It takes an average 08 weeks to

recruit a replacement employee. Due to this, productivity gets affected adversely and

other employees will fill the gap until the replacement arrives. But even after the new

employee is hired they have to go through training and then a learning curve. There is

strict monitoring of key performance Indicators (KPI) by the client, unfortunately

when there is high intention to leave the BPO Company cannot deliver the agreed

service levels. Since key processes are been outsourced the loss of performance by the

vendor can even be penalized by the client company. At the same time if client loses

confidence they have the provision to stop the outsourced work. The probability is

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that client will never work with the same vendor and negative word of mouth will

spread in the industry regarding the BPO industry. Also, a client can form close ties

with employees whom they trust and rely on them and not so much the BPO industry

as well. And if those employees leave the client will lose the ties they had with the

company. These contribute to the cost due to vendor credibility loss.

Therefore this research is focused on the factors affecting intention to leave in case of;

Customer Service Representatives in the BPO industry.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

What is the relationship between pay and intention to leave?

What is the relationship between stress and intention to leave?

What is the relationship between working conditions and intention to leave?

What is the relationship between rewarding and intention to leave?

1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

To identify relationship between pay and intention to leave.

To identify factors affecting stress and intention to leave.

To identify satisfaction over working conditions and intention to leave.

To identify rewards to be presented to employees and intention to leave.

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1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

1.5.1 SIGNIFICANCE TO BPO INDUSTRY

This study will be important to the BPO industry in Sri Lanka, as it will provide one

of the few literatures, if not the few in relation to the intention to leave phenomenon

currently existing in the BPO companies. Therefore it is crucial for Sri Lanka’s BPO’s

to minimize costs and maximize profitability to sustain in the globally competitive

BPO industry, where large Asian players such as India and China dominate. But the

heavy impact on Cost to the Company due to the intention to leave among the CSR’s

is dragging the growth of the industry. At the same time Sri Lankan BPO industry is

finding it difficult to attract profitable and viable outsourced projects from foreign

clients due to vendor credibility has caused by the intention to leave. The study

discusses how to avoid this situation by handling the intention to leave issue. It also

gives a clear message to the stakeholders of the BPO industry that they need to look

in-depth into the problem and start to rectify it by among themselves as well as

pushing the government body, ICTA to attain sustainable and practical solutions.

Even ICTA, the strategy formulating body for ICT in Sri Lanka can take note of this

study to develop more effective ICT policies in the future.

1.5.2 SIGNIFICANCE TO INDIVIDUAL COMPANIES

The study is significant to the individual BPO companies as the outcome provides

new insight to the real cost to the company due to the intention to leave problem.

Though the management is aware of the ongoing problem up to now they have not

studied the costs in detail, mainly the soft costs as it’s difficult to quantify and since

it’s a time consuming exercise. Therefore the study offers guidance to the

Management on how to start this process of ascertaining the actual costs incurred due

to the intention to leave of CSR’s. Another reason why this study should be done is

because it identifies in detail the outcome of the intention to leave. Somewhat

obvious, and more interestingly a lot of hidden reasons for the premature departure of

the CSR’s are uncovered and the management will be able to use these to look at the

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shortcomings of the HRM and operation processes. The study will clearly help the

management in its future HR strategy formulation exercise as well.

1.5.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ECONOMY

The BPO sector is one of the fast growing industries in Sri Lanka and its potential is

even more due to the stable political condition prevailing in the country after the end

of the civil war. To achieve anticipated growth more investment is required and more

focus is needed on the BPO companies’ core processes. ICTA anticipates a double

growth of the industry within the next 05 years and to support this jobs are expected

to grow equally. Unfortunately with the high turnover among CSR’s, this kind of high

growth in the industry can create chaos as the BPO companies cannot stop the

intention to leave phenomenon with the current strategies and processes. Therefore

the study offers important insight on the corrective measures that can be taken to

prevent the high intention to leave cases of CSR’s and in turn to make the industry

profitable and globally competitive. In other words the outcomes of the study will

tremendously assist the economy of Sri Lanka to grow where the BPO industry can

become one of the biggest export earners for Sri Lanka.

1.5.4 Contribution to knowledge

The study will be of importance to the researcher, who works closely with the BPO

industry and with call centers of local conglomerates on a consultancy basis. Future

researchers will also benefit from this study since it can be used as a guide or a base in

developing their own studies. Also the knowledge derived from the study can benefit

to enhance the knowledge of various interested groups including students, teachers,

employees of BPO companies and even management in other services industries that

faces intention to leave issues.

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1.6 LIMITATIONS

Financial data of the industry can only be revealed up to a certain extent due to the

rules of the organizations. Time limitation will be exceedingly put pressure on the

researcher to complete the research in due time. When conducting interviews with the

03 BPO Companies, the information might not be accurate since they will be

defending their organization in the first place.

1.7 CHAPTERIZATION

In this report Chapter1 would be the introduction in which the background of the

study, research problem, research question, objective, significance and limitations are

discussed. The following Chapter, Chapter2; Literature Review will define and bring

clarity to the subject area of this research study. Furthermore, it will help to identify

the conceptual frame work of this study. The next Chapter, Chapter3, is the

conceptual framework, which will summarize the relationship between the

independent and dependent variables identified through the literature review of this

study. Chapter 4 will discuss the analysis and findings. The following chapter,

Chapter5 will be the discussion, conclusion & recommendation.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Literature that’s relevant to the research problem is discussed below, with a view to

understanding the current knowledge and to establish the relevance of them in

developing the research question.

2.2 WORK ENVIRONMENT OF BPO COMPANIES

Grebner et al . , (2003) says that BPOs represent a new form of work organizations,

which is often designed “from scratch” and adds that employees in these companies

carry out that are rather specialized and often simplified. Therefore Gebner et al . ,

(2003) concludes that simplified tasks do not require specialized personnel and it

requires effectively short period of training, and therefore the downside of such jobs

comes with routine work, low task complexity and consequential low utilization of

qualification. (Knowledge, skills and abilities).

Budtwar et al. , (2006), identifies two common features of the work environment of

BPO companies.

1. Highly monitored and controlled by Management; the work environment is

highly controlled and performance is closely monitored and strictly measured

against targets through employees are encouraged to take responsibility for

both their team and their own performance.

2. Consists of semi-professional empowered workers who work in a positive

environment.

Further literature states that outsourcing work environment leads to emotional

exhaustion ( Bakker et al., 2003), less affective commitment (Grebner et al . , 2003),

more resigned attitude towards the job and higher intention to quit (Messersmith

2007; Holman et al., 2002; Slaughter et al. , 2007).

Wickramasinghe & Kumara (2010), says that training in BPOs, it includes induction

and continuous regular training to provide quality service. All employees irrespective

of their gender, the level of education, marital status and tenure are subject to similar

training experience.

Despite the large number of people entering the labour force every year there is a

dissatisfaction with the supply of skilled personnel to the BPO industry, who are low

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on quality and relevance. (LIRNEasia, 2006; Raman et al., 2007). Further, Raman et

al, (2007) states that, because of shortages, the hiring of new talent has become more

expensive, due to high attrition rates in the sector training and replacement is

becoming a critical problem.

A key problem in BPO organizations has been attracting and retaining high quality

employees. (Heskett et al., 2008). BPO industry faces issues such as increasing

employee intention to leave, stressful work environment and poor career

development. (Robinson & Morley, 2006).

2.3 CULTURE OF BPO COMPANIES

www.scribid.com (2008), says this glamorous industry involves a lot of hard work

and specialized skills to deal with all kind of customers and therefore the culture of a

BPO has the below elements:

i. Energetic setting: BPOs have a vibrant environment. Generally the

interiors are also done up in a way that it makes people feel nice and

energetic.

ii. 24X7 work environment: BPOs have a round the clock working culture

and people work in day and night shifts.

iii. Perfect amalgamation: The work culture is a blend of professionalism

and friendliness. BPOs create a friendly working atmosphere so that the

employees don’t feel suffocated.

iv. Rejuvenation channels: Entertaining events are organized at regular

intervals so that the employees are relived and invigorated to take the

challenges head on. They have gym, sports and café facilities as well.

But on the flip side, Kumar (2008) says, the fast and competitiveness BPO has led the

unconscious mind of youth to go for anything available in the market, be it the fast

food culture, west dress code, pop music or to say electronic goods in the hands. The

saving tendency has declined to so-called emerging middle class. This is primarily

because of the ‘floating money culture’, which says, “Enjoy the life at its fullest”.

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2.4 ITES – BPO IN SRI LANKAN CONTEXT

The only available study to analyze the BPO industry of Sri Lanka is “ Baseline sector

analysis of the BPO industry in Sri Lanka”, conducted by LIRNEasia (2006) states, a

BPO receiver as the act of outsourcing to a third party the responsibility of running a

business process that would otherwise be conducted internally. The receiver of the

outsource process administers the process based on a defined and measurable

performance matrix.

Flexible employment contracts are extremely rare in the industry as there are enough

personnel available to work fulltime. (Wickramasinghe & Kumara, 2010). As per

LIRNEasia (2006) and ICTA (2007), employment prospects are opening in the sector,

there are difficulties in attracting and retaining suitable personnel.

LIRNEasia (2006), state that from a Sri Lankan context, employees quit jobs due to

working time and work-life balance-related issues. Many BPOs operate during

unconventional working hours to provide real time service to different time zones.

(LIRNEasia, 2006). Therefore this causes negative impact on the work-life balance of

CSRs.

As per Wickramasinghe & Kumara (2010), challenges faced by the employees in the

BPO industry of Sri Lanka are as follows.

1. Marital status has a significant effect on working hours. “Grave yard” shifts

are perceived unfavorable by spouses and families of employees.

2. The geographical location and therefore the vast time differences between Sri

Lanka and Western clients gives way to erratic working hours. This makes

normal socialization difficult, leading to alienation and identity crisis.

3. Tenure has a significant main effect to perceived task autonomy. Longer

service translates opportunities for independence and freedom doing their

work.

Wickramasinghe & Kumara (2009), states that job posting is rated as the most

frequently used method of recruitment followed by advertising. Selection interview

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rates as the most frequently used method of selection and learning from feedback

given by superiors was rated as the most frequent method of training and development

in a BPO company.

2.5 INTENTION TO LEAVE

As per Mathis & Jackson (2003), employee intention to leave is the process in which

employees leave the organization and have to be replaced. Labour intention to leave is

the rotation of workers around the market; between firms, jobs and occupations; and

between the states of employment and unemployment (Abassi et al. , 2000). Shaw at

al. (1998), states that voluntary turnover reflects an employee’s decision to leave. This

could be categorized as functional intention to leave which is the situation when a

poorly performing employee leaves the organization (voluntarily or involuntarily)

(Abelsin & Baysinger, 1994). Phillis & Connell (2003), identifies most intention to

leave as controllable by the organization. High rates of attrition can destabilize an

organization and de-motivate those who attempt to maintain levels of service and

output. (CIPD, 2011)

2.5.1 INTENTION TO LEAVE IN BPO INDUSTRY

Industry sources claim that attrition levels in the BPOs are sky-high, and any given

firm could be looking at an entirely new set of employees every 03 to 10 months

(Sangameshwaran & Rai, 2005). From an ITES - BPO industry context, Barrick &

Zimmerman (2009), says that the people intensive nature of the industry also poses

challenges in retaining suitable personnel. At the same time Walsh and Deery (2006),

suggests that BPO companies generally lack organizational resources that underpin

the operation of an internal labor market and provision off sustainable long-term

employment relationships. Another finding is that Companies involved in outsourced

work engage in tighter forms of supervision and labor control control to maximize the

short-term output or targets to be achieved (Rees & Fielder, 1992; Walsh & Deery,

2006).

Employees in the call centers stay with their employers for only three months 9Batt,

et al . , 2005), while another say eight months (Taylor and Bain, 2005). Of course, an

average stay of three months is expensive because it is about the time workers become

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proficient with their job. (Ofreno et al, 2007) Because of the high dropout rates, hiring

and job induction training have become continuous.

As per Sadhwat et al ., (2010), high turnover in the BPO industry can be divided into

02 categories: Push and Pull factors.

1. Push factors: Stressful work environment, monotonous work, long commutes,

lack of control at work, daily physical confinement, over-regimentation, odd

work hours and abusive clients.

2. Pull factors : A good job market, good pay, world class working conditions

and knowing someone who works in the industry.

2.5.2 FACTORS AFFECTING THE INTENTION TO LEAVE OF THE BPO

INDUSTRY

1. Pay

The management is of the view that they pay CSRs a basic salary in line with industry

norm. The basic salary that is given is the industry standard. It is between Rs.

12,000/= to Rs. 15000/=. Manager’s in the industry don’t underpay our CSRs as this

will be demoralizing to them”. The HR Managers and some CEOs are of the view that

the salary they get without any qualification is good enough. He said “For a CSR who

is usually a school leaver, the salary they earn is far better than if they join any other

industry as a beginner who doesn’t have full qualifications.

However CSRs are dissatisfied with their basic salary and therefore they contemplate

looking for other jobs. The basic salary is not enough since it is sufficient at least

cover the basic costs I incur. I should get paid more due to the erratic working hours

comparing to a job with normal working hours. Industry sources reveal that annual

salary increments are not significant at all, it is between Rs. 1000/= to Rs. 3000/= and

this is below par comparing to similar level jobs in other industries”. The basic salary

is not at all satisfactory and cannot save anything from it and the only reason we are

staying back is because of the studies we do during morning hours.

The perceived inadequacy of the basic salary pushes the CSRs to leave their jobs,

even though the management is of the opinion that they are paid sufficiently.

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Target based incentives

The targets are set based on the service levels given to us by the end client. This is

what they expect the CSRs to achieve. Of course it is not easy but the target based

commission structure is quite effective. Once a CSR has completed the learning curve

it is easy to earn a good commission.

One inside source was quoted telling that these youngsters who want to everything in

cash. Therefore sometimes giving intangible rewards or even EPF/ETF (Contribution

to provident fund and trust fund for employees) is not important to them. We should

re-design the entire rewards package so most of the benefits will be paid out in “Hard

cash”. Can introduce attendance bonus, loyalty bonus, and referral allowances to keep

the CSRs motivated and these will be appealing to them and will be more effective”.

Contrary to the view of the management, CSRs do not perceive the TBIs as attractive

to retain them, primarily because one has to work 6-12 months to acquire expertise to

achieve these targets.

2. Stress

Mosadeghrad (2012), Finds that job stress is a serious threat to the quality of working

life(QWL) and can cause hostility, aggression, absenteeism, and intention to leave, as

well as reduced productivity. Mosadeghrad (2012), also states major sources of stress

to be inadequate pay, inequality at work, too much work, staff shortage, lack of

recognition and promotion prospects, time pressure, lack of job security and lack of

job security and lack of management support. Another factor that affects intention to

leave is stress that is the worker’s perceived tension regarding a specific job

9Goolsby, 1992). Stress has been found to have dysfunctional effects for both non-

sales employees (Fisher & Gitelson 1983) and salespeople (Comer & Dubinsky

1985). Further, Jones et al. (1996) says that research tends to confirm the association

between role conflict, role ambiguity, job anxiety and job satisfaction lending to

intention to leave.

3. Working Condition

Quality of work life is selected since literature reviewed (Mottaz, 1985; Kohli, 1985

Byrne, 2005) indicated its impact on the research question and from what the

researcher has come to know from own experience in the BPO industry. Also

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preliminary inquiries helped to surface QWL as a possible cause. The erractic long

working hours with significant overtime has an adverse effect on the QWL of the

CSRs.

Extrinsic social rewards such as friendly and supportive relationships with co-workers

and supervisors emerge a fairly powerful predictor of job satisfaction and influences

intention to leave (Mottaz, 1985). Greater amount of consideration, feedback, closer

supervision (Comer et al, 1989) and contingent approving behavior (Kohli 1985) are

linked to job satisfaction.

Byrne (2005), stated that the search for work-life balance is a process in which people

seek to change things in accordance with changes in their own priorities, physical,

psychological or both, and these can be triggered in their turn by factors such as: age;

changes in working conditions; the demands of new technology; and poor

management. Employees benefit through: having a greater responsibility and a sense

of ownership; having better relations with management; avoiding bringing problems

at home to work, and vice versa; having the time to focus more on life outside work;

and having greater control of their working lives.

4. Rewards

Monetary and non-monetary rewards play a key role in the decision for a CSR to

leave the company. Therefore rewards is selected as it emerged as a cause that has a

major impact on the research question during the preliminary investigation by the

researcher as well as the importance that’s given to it in the relevant literature that

was reviewed (Hom & Griffeth, 1995; Leonard, 1987; Galizzi & Lang, 1998).

Similarly rewards, that includes salary, overtime pay, performance based monetary

and non-monetary rewards etc. plays a role in employees’ loyalty towards the

company and employee intention to leave. Hom & Griffeth (1995), says that superior

remuneration promotes intention to leave by increasing job satisfaction or reducing

intention to leave costs.

23

Table 1: Summary of Literature Review

INDEPENTDENT

VARIABLES

AUTHORS

1. Pay Pay Dissatisfaction and Intention to

Leave. Gerrit J. M. Treuren1,* and

Elizabeth Frankish2. 6 AUG 2014

2. Stress job stress, job satisfaction and intention

to leave

among new nurses, Jessica Zara

Peterson, 2009

3. Working Condition Impact of Organizational Culture on

Turnover Intentions in BPO Sector.

Dwivedi, Sulakshna; Kaushik, Sanjay;

Luxmi, Vol. 48, No. 4 , April 2013

4. Rewards A study on the Employee Turnover

intention in ITES/BPO sector,

K.R. Sreerekha

Dr. T.J.Kamalanabhan, ISSN: 2231 –

6779 / July – Dec 2012

24

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

3.1 INTRODUCTION

In this chapter the research methodology used in the study is described. The

geographical area where the study was conducted, the study design and the population

and sample are described. The instrument used to collect the data, including methods

implemented to maintain validity and reliability of the instrument are described.

3.2 THE STUDY POPULATION AND SAMPLE

3.2.1 POPULATION

Primary Data was collected from a saturated sample of 34 respondents from 03

medium sized BPO companies in Sri Lanka. This consists of 34 Customer Service

Representatives who have left the BPO industry under 09 months of joining the BPO

Company.

3.2.2 SAMPLING

Judgmental, purposive sampling will be used since it is necessary to obtain

information from a specific target group, who can provide the desired information.

Primary Data was collected from a saturated sample of 34 respondents from 03

medium sized BPO companies in Sri Lanka.

25

3.3 DATA COLLECTION

3.3.1 DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT

1. Structured Interview

3.3.2 PRIMARY DATA SOURCES

Primary Data was collected from a saturated sample of 34 respondents from 03

medium sized BPO companies in Sri Lanka. This consists of 34 Customer Service

Representatives who have left the BPO industry under 09 months of joining the BPO

Company.

3.3.3 SECONDARY DATA SOURCES

This refers to data which already exists. Therefore the researcher reviewed records

related to the study which enabled him to compile and analyses the data from internet,

newsletters, and journals.

The researcher has collected secondary data mainly from the internet.

3.3.4 DATA COLLECTION PLAN

Figure 1: Data Collection Plan

Interview with CSR

Internet & journals.

Interview with CSR Internet & journals.

Primary Data Secondary Data

Qualitative

Data

Quantitative

Data

26

3.4 CONCEPTUTAL FRAMEWORK

Independent variables (x) Dependent variable (y)

Figure 2: Conceptual Framework

To do my research I have selected these independent variables to analyze the

correlation and coefficient of the variables. Because I would be able to access data,

convince & availability of the data.

3.4.1 INDEPENDENT VARIABLES

Independent

Variables

Definition Measurement

Likert Scale

Pay Each CSR’s

monthly

earnings and

family

income

Value of the salary

scale by Assigning a Likert Scale

1 - < 30,000 2 – 30,0001.00 – 50,000.00 3 – 50,001.00 - 75,000.00 4 – 75,001.00 – 100,000 5 – 101,000.00 >

Stress Regarding

the workload

each CSR

has to face.

According to the

workload Assigning a Likert Scale

1 – SD 2 – DA 3 – Neutral 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly Agree

Pay

Stress

Working Conditions

Rewards

Intention to leave

27

Working

Condition

Regarding

hazardous

working

conditions

and general

environment.

According to the

satisfaction

Assigning a Likert

Scale

1 – SD

2 – DA 3 – Neutral 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly Agree

Rewards

Regarding

whether the

employees

are properly

taken care

of.

According to their

preference whether

the employees are

properly taken care of

Assigning a Likert Scale

1 – SD 2 – DA 3 – Neutral 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly Agree

Table 2: List of Independent Variables and Measurement Criteria

3.4.2 DEPENDENT VARIABLES

Dependent variable Definition Measurement

Intention to Leave

Employees deciding to change

work places.

Through an

questionnaire

determining where

these employees are

currently positioned at.

Table 3: List of Dependent Variables and Measurement Criteria

28

3.5 DATA ANALYSIS

After the data was collected it was organized and analyzed. For analysis of data

Microsoft excel 2010 was used to test the independent variables through finding

correlation between the dependent variable. To do this analysis the below mentioned

equation is used.

Equation

x = 1st score

y = 2nd score

∑xy = sum of the product of 1st and 2nd scores

∑x = sum of 1st scores

∑y = sum of 2nd scores

∑x² = sum of square 1st scores

∑y² = sum of square of 2nd scores

n = number of values or elements

Correlation Coefficient (r)

Measures the direction and the strength of a linear relationship between two

variables. Correlation is always between -1 and +1. Data was analyzed by using

descriptive statistics. Scatter Diagrams were drawn and from these the data was

presented.

29

3.6 TIME FRAMEWORK

ACTIVITY FEB

MAR

APRIL

MAY JUNE

JULY

AUG

SEPT

OCT

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

Selecting a

Research

Topic

Draft

Proposal is

Made

Getting the

Approval

Handover

the proposal

Supervisor

Allocated

Make

Relevant

Arrangemen

t With the

Supervisor

Relevant

Data

Collection

Will Be

Done

Meeting the

Supervisor

to Discuss

The

Outgoing

Status

Draft

Research is

Made

30

Table 4: Work Schedule

Mid

Presentation

Getting the

Approvals

Final

Presentation

Final

Research is

Made

&Submitted

31

CHAPTER4: DATA PRESENTATION & ANALYSIS

4.1 DATA PRESENTATION

All the data that was collected sourced mainly through primary sources where data

was collected from the company interviews, were conducted with CSRs to gather

certain information.

The data about pay, stress, working condition and rewards was collected as a record

for the year 2014. Information that was collected from the CSRs through an interview

required for this analysis. Those data are shown in table 5.

Questionnaire

Number

Independent Variables Dependent

Variable

Pay

X1

Stress

X2

Working

Conditions

X3

Rewards

X4

Intention

to leave

Y

1 1.2 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.25

2 0.6 3.6 2.4 2 2.15

3 2.4 1.8 1.6 1.6 1.85

4 2 1.4 1.2 2 1.65

5 2 1.6 1.6 1.8 1.75

6 2.2 2 1.6 2.2 2

7 2.2 1.6 1.4 2.2 1.85

8 2.4 2.4 2 2 2.2

9 2 2 2 2 2

10 1.8 1.6 1.4 2 1.7

11 3 3 1 3 2.5

12 2.2 1.4 1.4 2 1.75

13 3 3 2.2 3 2.8

14 1.8 2 1.6 1.6 1.75

15 2.6 2 1.6 1.6 1.95

16 1.8 2 1.8 2.2 1.95

17 1.8 2.2 1.8 1.8 1.9

18 2 1.8 1.6 2 1.85

19 2.6 1.8 1.4 2.4 2.05

20 2 1.8 1.2 2 1.75

21 1.4 2 2 1.6 1.75

22 1.6 2.2 1.8 1.8 1.85

23 2 1.4 2 2.2 1.9

32

24 0.8 2.8 2.2 2 1.95

25 2.6 1.6 1.2 1.8 1.8

26 0.6 2.2 1.4 2.2 1.6

27 1.8 2 1.2 2.2 1.8

28 2.4 2 1.8 1.8 2

29 2.2 2.4 2.2 2.4 2.3

30 2.2 1 1.6 2.2 1.75

31 2 1.2 1.2 2.2 1.65

32 1.6 2.4 1.4 1.8 1.8

33 1.2 2.2 2.4 1.8 1.9

34 2.4 2.8 2 1.8 2.25 Table5: Summary of Data Collection

4.1.1 Data Presentation

Figure 3 – Data Presentation

4.1.2 Questionnaire Analysis and Data Presentation

Questionnaire analysis consists of two sections. The first section consists of the

sample profile of the respondents where demographic variables are presented. The

second part consists of the quantitative analysis where the findings are analyzed using

various statistical tools and the analysis of the data gathered through open ended

questions using qualitative approaches.

Questionnaire…0

20

40

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33

Questionnaire Number

Independent Variables PayX1

Independent Variables StressX2

Independent Variables Working ConditionsX3

Independent Variables RewardsX4

33

4.1.3 Gender

Figure 4 - Gender As depicted in the pie chart distribution, gender for the sample consists of 59% males

and 41% females which also indicate the equal representation of women in the

sector.

4.1.4 Age Category

Table 6 - Age Category

Figure 4 - Age category

59%41%

Male

Female

41%

47%

12%18 – 25

26-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

Age Category

18 – 25 14

26-30 16

31-40 4

41-50

51-60

61-70

34

The majority respondents are between 18-25, with a share of 47%. 41% of the

respondents are between 26-30, and only 12% respondents are between 31- 40.

4.1.5 Household Income

Table 7 - Household Income

Figure 6 - Household Income

The biggest slice of the pie chart represents the number of respondents with a

household income less than Rs. 30,000 which amounts to 46% of the total

respondents. This is closely followed by Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 50,000 income category

with a share of 31%. 17% of the respondents are in the Rs. 50,001 to Rs. 75, 000 and

below income category and only 6% in the Rs. 75,000 to Rs. 100,001 and above

income category.

46%

31%

17%6%

Less than Rs. 30,000

Rs. 30,001 to Rs.50,000

Rs. 50,001 to Rs.75,000

Rs. 75,001 to Rs.100,000

Above Rs. 100,001

Less than

Rs.

30,000

Rs. 30,001 to

Rs. 50,000

Rs. 50,001

to Rs.

75,000

Rs. 75,001 to

Rs. 100,000

Above

Rs.

100,001

16 11 6 2

35

4.1.6 Educational qualification

Table 8 - Educational Level Figure 7 - Educational Level

Majority of the respondents are with degree qualifications with a share of 54%. 20%

of the respondents are with secondary educational qualifications. 17% and 9% are

respectively from Courses and Diploma’s.

4.1.7 Work Experience Table 9 -Work Experience

Less than 2

years 13

3-5 years 16

6 – 10 years 6

11 – 20 years

More than 20

years

9%17%

20%54%

Educational Level

O/L

A/L

Courses

Diploma

Higher Diploma

Degree

Qualification Status

O/L

A/L

Courses 3

Diploma 6

Higher

Diploma 7

Degree 19

MBA/MSc

36

Figure 8 - Work Experience

Majority of the respondents have 3 to 5 years experience while less than 2 years

amount to 37% and 6 years to 10 years amount to 17%.

Section 2 - Table 10 – Pay in the Industry

Pay in the

industry

Strongly

Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly

agree

6. The wage

rates that are

provided are

comparatively

high compared

to other

industries.

3 1 15 10 5

7. The level of

benefits

(bonuses/perks,

leisure holidays,)

are satisfactory

in the industry.

3 5 13 9 4

8. Many people

are aware of the

opportunities

provided by the

industry

5

5

4 16 4

37%

46%

17%

Less than 2years

3-5 years

6 – 10 years

11 – 20 years

More than 20years

37

Figure 9- Pay in the Industry Table 11 - Stress

Stress Strongly

Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly

agree

9. Service

positions do

not have a

positive image

and it could be

viewed as

demanding to

serve.

1 2 3 4 5

10. There are

stressful

working

conditions in

the industry.

2 2 7 19 4

11. For certain

positions there

is little or no

job security.

5 3 12 11 3

3

1

15

10

5

3

5

13

9

4

5 5

4

16

4

S T R O N G L Y D I S A G R E E

D I S A G R E E N E U T R A L A G R E E S T R O N G L Y A G R E E

PAY

6. The wage rates that are provided are comparatively high compared to other industries.

7. The level of benefits (bonuses/perks, leisure holidays,) are satisfactory in the industry.

8. Many people are aware of the opportunities provided by the industry

38

Figure 10 - Stress

Table 12 – Working Condition

Working

Conditions

Strongly

Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly

agree

12. There are

favorable physical

working

environments in

the industry.

1 2 3 4 5

13. Facilities

provided are not

satisfactory

7 12 7 6 2

15. There is a

supportive culture

in the industry

where anyone

under any age

category can work

together.

1 11 12 10

1 2 3 4 5

2 2

7

19

45

3

12

11

3

S T R O N G L Y D I S A G R E E

D I S A G R E E N E U T R A L A G R E E S T R O N G L Y A G R E E

STRESS

9. Service positions do not have a positive image and it could be viewed asdemanding to serve.

10. There are stressful working conditions in the industry.

11. For certain positions there is little or no job security.

39

Figure 11 - Working Condition Table 13 - Rewards

Rewarding Strongly

Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly

agree

24. Jobs

occupied by

local people are

at a lower level

of the hierarchy

while more

prestigious jobs

are given to

foreigners or

more urbanized

nationals.

6 13 11 4

25. The quality

of rewarding

programs are

satisfactory.

4 15 13 2

27. Rewarding

are tailored to

suit the careers

in the BPO

industry.

3 21 10

1

2

3

4

5

7

12

7

6

2

1

11 1

2

10

S T R O N G L Y D I S A G R E E

D I S A G R E E N E U T R A L A G R E E S T R O N G L Y A G R E E

WORKING CONDITION

12. There are favorable physical working environments in the industry.

13. Facilities provided are not satisfactory

15. There is a supportive culture in the industry where anyone under any age category canwork together.

40

Figure 12 - Rewards

4.2 DATA ANALYSIS

4.2.1 CORRELATION BETWEEN PAY &INTENTION TO LEAVE

Figure: 13 Scatter Diagram between Pay & Intention to Leave

CORRELATION 0.381834

There is a weak positive correlation relationship between pay (x1) and

intention to leave (y).

6

13

11

44

15

13

23

21

10

S T R O N G L Y D I S A G R E E

D I S A G R E E N E U T R A L A G R E E S T R O N G L Y A G R E E

REWARDS

24. Jobs occupied by local people are at a lower level of the hierarchy while more prestigiousjobs are given to foreigners or more urbanized nationals.

25. The quality of rewarding programs are satisfactory.

27. Rewarding are tailored to suit the careers in the BPO industry.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

Inte

nti

on

to L

eave

-(Y

)

Pay - (X1)

41

As figure 3 illustrated above the correlation between the pay and intention to leave is

0.381834. There is a weak positive correlation relationship between the pay(X1) and

intention to leave (Y) which means when the pay decreases the intention to leave will

increase.

4.2.2 CORRELATION BETWEEN STRESS & INTENTION TO LEAVE

Figure: 14 Scatter Diagram between Stress & Intention to Leave

CORRELATION 0.724937

There is a strong positive correlation relationship between stress (x2) and intention to

leave (y).

As figure 4 illustrated above the correlation between the stress and intention to leave

is 0.724937. There is a strong positive correlation relationship between the stress (X2)

and intention to leave (Y) which means when the stress increases the intention to

leave will increase.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4

Inte

nti

on

to L

eave

-(Y

)

Stress - (X2)

42

4.2.3 CORRELATION BETWEEN WORKING CONDITION & INTENTION

TO LEAVE

Figure: 15 Scatter Diagram between Working Condition & Intention to Leave

There is a weak positive correlation relationship between working conditions (x3) and

intention to leave (y).

CORRELATION 0.402436

Figure 5 illustrated the working condition & intention to leave has 0.402 which shows

a positive but a moderate relationship. There is a positive relationship between

working condition and intention to leave which means when working conditions

decreases the intention to leave increases.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3

Inte

nti

on

to

Lea

ve

-(Y

)

Working Condition - (X3)

43

4.2.3 CORRELATION BETWEEN REWARDS & INTENTION TO LEAVE

Figure: 16 Scatter Diagram between Rewards & Intention to Leave

There is a moderate positive correlation relationship between rewards (x4) and

intention to leave (y).

CORRELATION 0.62094

Figure 6 illustrated the rewards & intention to leave has 0.620 which shows a positive

but a moderate relationship. There is a positive relationship between rewards and

intention to leave which means even though the rewards have increased the intention

to leave also has comparatively increased.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

Inte

nti

on

to

L

eav

e -

(Y)

Rewards - (X4)

44

5.0 DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the researcher mainly focuses to discuss the findings of the analyzed

data and to evaluate the achievement of the research objectives. For that purpose,

firstly, the researcher has recapped the research objectives. Further, to solidify the

discussion, the researcher expects to relate the findings to the literature review.

Finally, the researcher attempts to revisit the conceptual framework of the research to

do any modification if necessary.

5.1.1 ACHIEVEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

The objective of this research are to:

Understand the current factor’s affecting intention to leave in the BPO sector

in Sri Lanka.

Analyze the factors affecting the intention to leave

Make recommendations to make sure the sustainable growth of the BPO

sector in Sri Lanka.

Objective 1 was achieved by gathering data from CSRs of 03 companies in Sri

Lanka. The data analyzed showed what they considered as factor’s affecting intention

to leave.

Objective 2 was achieved by further analysis of data which revealed four categories

the respondents considered having an impact on the factor’s incurred due to intention

to leave. When variable (X1) increases intention to leave relatively is low, but in some

instances though the pay is increased the employees could leave the organization for

various reasons. The relationship between variable x2 and intention to leave is that it

both coincidently increases. When variable (X3) increases intention to leave relatively

is low, but in some instances though the working conditions improve the employees

could leave the organization for various reasons. Moderate positive correlation

between rewards (x4) and intention to leave (y). This goes to show that rewards are

quintessential for an employee’s well being in the work place.

45

Objective 3 of making recommendations too is attained and presented.

There is a weak positive correlation (0.38) affect between pay and intention to leave,

there is a strong Positive correlation (0.72) relationship between stress (x2) and

intention to leave (y) and there is a weak positive correlation (0.40) relationship

between working conditions (x3) and intention to leave (y). And there is a moderate

positive correlation (0.62) relationship between rewards (x4) and intention to leave (y)

as well. Relative data were collected through industry documents, internet and

through in depth interviews. Then analyzed using the Correlation analysis method.

The objectives stated are achieved successfully; which are identifying the causes for

the intention to leave and that necessary step should be taken to make sure that the

BPO Industry has a long term growth.

46

5.2CONCLUSION

There is a weak positive correlation (0.38) affect between pay(X1) and intention to

leave, There is a strong Positive correlation (0.72) relationship between stress (x2)

and intention to leave (y) and there is a weak positive correlation (0.40) relationship

between working conditions (x3) and intention to leave (y).And there is a moderate

positive correlation (0.62) relationship between rewards (x4) and intention to leave (y)

as well. Relative data were collected through industry documents, internet and

through in depth interviews. Then analyzed using the Correlation analysis method.

The objectives stated are achieved successfully; which are identifying the causes for

the intention to leave and that necessary step should be taken to make sure that the

BPO Industry has a long term growth.

Intention to leave among the CSRs in the BPO industry is unavoidable due to the

nature of the industry. But the intention to leave or the exceptionally high intention to

leave experienced with in the first 03 months of CSRs tenure is abnormal and causes

disruption in the way forward to sustain the business for BPO companies. The senior

management needs to wake up and face the reality of this deterioration in the industry

as the productivity and credibility are both declining quickly due to this. They need to

stop been complacent and oblivious to the ineffective processes and strategies that has

already been implemented. They need to get together with ICTA and promote Sri

Lanka internationally as a potential BPO hub in an aggressive manner. The BPO

industry in Sri Lanka can become one of the biggest earner of foreign exchange and a

large export earner. Therefore all responsible parties should relook at the micro and

macro level issues and save an industry if ignored may not exist in the by the next

decade.

47

5.3 RECOMMENDATION

There are mainly three implications if we can get them right then at least we can be

rest assured that the necessary steps have been taken to ensure the sustainability of the

industry. Firstly the corporate management having the responsibility for strategy

formulation and deriving a HR policy that suits the organization has not made much

effort to look into recruiting young people as CSRs and the probable ill effects of it.

With the first implication there are couple of recommendations we could give, there

are firstly to understand the factors affecting the high intention to leave and remedy

them fulfilling the expectations of the CSRs currently in operations. Secondly study

factors affecting those who work beyond one year and continue with the organization

and select only that type of people with similar expectations, value and competency.

Thirdly move out from upper middle class youngsters who are brought up in posh and

comfortable environments and always spoon fed by the family and unable to take up

challenges of work life. Replace them over period of time with prospective employees

from mid-range of middle class or lower middle class and have required

characteristics, capacity to be engaged in hard work and potential to develop their

language proficiency.

Get the participation of HR managers and operation managers in developing the

selected policy and get them to work out the implementation processes. It is important

that they recognize the ills of intention to leave and make plans accordingly.

Particular attention should be paid to effectiveness of selection and training,

evaluation, target setting etc. For instance, even if a new comer may not be able to

achieve the current level of targets, it is worthwhile to have some in-between

evaluations of lesser of targets, it is worthwhile to have some in-between evaluations

of lesser rigor that allows a person to earn sum recognition just to make the CSRs feel

and look forward to a future.

Implication 2: the operation managers and the team leaders don’t have time to support

CSRs since they are engaged in their own work and they have to handle the work load

of the CSRs who have left with very little notice.

48

My second recommendation is to corporate management to be implemented through

middle level managers and supervisor. The direct receives of the outcome of intention

to leave of CSRs as well as the lack of productivity of current CSRs are the middle

level managers, specifically those who are in charge of operations and also the team

leaders who has to face the consequences of low performance of CSRs if any.

The CSRs require some sort of mentoring during their initial three months. If they

have had a short initial training there is a lot to learn to perform well. The only person

they could turn to is the team leader. However, he too is loaded with his work as well

as others. Therefore, it is recommended to identify a deputy team leader, whose one

responsibility is to assist the CSRs with less than 3 months’ s service. The task is to

guide them and not to do their work. He also could provide a report at the end of each

month on the competency level of each new comer so that the team leader could

identify those who need more attention and training. Having someone to fall back is a

great support from the view point of the newly recruited CSRs. With the adjustment

even the evaluations by the team leader may be considered less often as favoritism.

Implications 3 CSRs accuse HR department for giving false information and also false

expectations about career path. This practice generates a sense of being misled. It

leads to frustration eventually.

Recommendation 3 HR department

Those who attend the interview panels should be educated to be truthful during the

interviews when giving information and hopes to prospective CSRs. This should be

recognized as a practice by the HR and it should be the responsibility of the HR

department to insist on this practice by all the panel members. Bitter truth is always

better than honey coated lies. An honest and straight interview board will be always

remembered by the interviewees even if they decide not to join the company.

These recommendations are easy to implement, yet it is the role of the management to

ensure that they implement effectively and CSRs would begin to look at their jobs and

the companied they work for.

49

LIST OF REFERENCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Public Personnel Management Journal, Vol.2(No.3), p.333-342

Brown S.P., & Swartz, T.A., (1989), “A gap analysis of professional Service

Quality”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 53(No.2), pp.92-98.

Batt, R., (1999), “Work organization, technology and performance in customer

service and sales”, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol.52(No.4),

pp.539-564.

Capelli, P. (2001). A market-driven approach to retaining talent. Harvard

Business Review on finding and keeping the best peope(pp.27-50). Boston:

Harvard Business School Press.

Butler, T . en Waldroop, J. (2001). Job sculpting: The art of retainin your best

people. Harvard Business Review on findin and keeing the best people

(pp.179-203). Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Branch, (1998)

Rahman,A. Raza Naqavi, S.M.M. & Ramay, M.I. (2008). Measuring Turnover

Intention: A study of IT Professionals in Pakistan, International Review of

Business Research Papers, 4(3), 45-55.

Samarakoon, J.L. (2002). Job Satisfaction of Knowledge Workers and

Retention Strategies in the Software Development Industry of Sri Lanka, Sri

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Ton, Z. & Huckman, R. (2008). Managing the impact of Employee Turnover

on Performance: The Role of Process Conformance, Organization Science, 19,

56-68.

50

APPENDIX

Questionnaire

Factors affecting intention to leave; In case of Customer Service

Representatives of the BPO Industry in Sri Lanka.

Section 1

1.0 Details of respondents Please indicate your view points in the following tables. Specify your opinion for each

statement by ticking in the relevant column.

1.1 Gender

1.2 Age Category

18 – 25

26-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

Male

Female

Thank you very much for devoting your precious time to complete this questionnaire.

Your valuable feedback would be used for a research conducted as a part of the

dissertation which is compulsory for my BSc in Business Management (Special)

Degree Programme – UGC. I assure you that your responses would be treated with

absolute confidentiality and professionalism.

51

1.3 Please indicate to which category you belong (monthly income)?

(This may be the family income)

Less than

Rs. 30,000

(1)

Rs. 30,000 to

Rs. 50,000

(2)

Rs. 50,000 to

Rs. 75,000

(3)

Rs. 75,000 to

Rs. 100,000

(4)

Above Rs. 100,001

(5)

1.4 Educational Qualifications

Qualification Status

O/L

A/L

Courses

Diploma

Higher Diploma

Degree

MBA/MSc

For how long have you been working in this industry?

1.5 Work Experience

Less than 2 years

3-5 years

6 – 10 years

11 – 20 years

More than 20

years

52

Section 2

Please indicate your view points on the following statements. Specify your opinion for each

statement by ticking in the relevant column. The scale indicates 5 point Likert scale which is

as follows.

Pay in the industry Strongly

Disagree

(1)

Disagree

(2)

Neutral

(3)

Agree

(4)

Strongly

agree

(5)

Dependent

variable

6. The wage rates that are

provided are comparatively

high compared to other

industries.

7. The level of benefits

(bonuses/perks, leisure

holidays,) are satisfactory in the

industry.

8. Many people are aware of the

opportunities provided by the

industry

Stress

9. Service positions do not have

a positive image and it could be

viewed as demanding to serve.

10. There are stressful working

conditions in the industry.

11. For certain positions there is

little or no job security.

Working Conditions

12. There are favorable physical

working environments in the

industry.

13. Facilities provided are not

satisfactory

14. There are high risk of work

accidents in the BPO Industry

15. There is a supportive culture

53

in the industry where anyone

under any age category can

work together.

16. There is employee respect

for each other

17. There are good HRM

practices in the industry

18. There is fair treatment for

employees

19. There are unsocial working

hours involved in the BPO

industry

20. BPO Industry jobs are

repetitive (Call center).

21. There is support for work

life balance.

22. BPO industry jobs are

interesting and challenging.

23. There are satisfactory

promotional opportunities in the

BPO Industry.

Rewarding

24. Jobs occupied by local

people are at a lower level of

the hierarchy while more

prestigious jobs are given to

foreigners or more urbanized

nationals.

25. The quality of rewarding

programs are satisfactory.

26. Initiative have been taken to

upgrade the current programs.

27. Rewarding are tailored to

suit the careers in the BPO

industry.

54