Bullish on BPO

eMR allows new recruits to bond with other employees, says Rohit Arora, Chairman, eMR Technology Ventures (P) Ltd.

eMR Technology Ventures is a BPO company dealing in Insurance, Healthcare and Financial industries. In 1987, eMR through its associate company was one of the pioneering “third party” service providers in India. They commenced operations by handling one simple process for a leading MNC bank in India. Over the last 17 years, the company has grown with the bank and is today providing a wide array of services ranging from underwriting of mortgage loans, credit card applications, physical verifications and file processing. An interview with Rohit Arora, Chairman, eMR Technology Ventures (P) Ltd.

How do you keep the attrition rate low (as claimed) at eMR?
We would like to attribute it to some people-oriented policies, practices and initiatives that create a great work environment at eMR. Our performance monitoring and appraisal systems are highly transparent. As a consequence, each individual can see exactly where he stands in terms of quality and output. These systems also throw up important areas of improvement, setting the ground for regular counselling and progress.

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We believe employee reference is a strong programme at eMR. Is that so?
That’s right. In fact, more than 50 per cent of our recruitment is through employee references, which is a clear indicator of the state of satisfaction that exists in our team.

Tell us about your fast track programme for star employees.
This programme is aimed at rewarding top performers by creating a fast growth path for them. Each year, we evaluate the potential of our top performers through a series of tests, interviews and interactions with people in the organisation who are not directly involved in their work. The people who qualify are then taken through a special training programme at the end of which they are promoted to a higher level. This shortens the promotion span by two to three years.

Are you planning any fresh recruitments this year, and if yes, at what level?
Our company is growing at a very fast pace and in addition to acquiring new clients we are also getting more business and hi-end processes from existing customers. We are planning to scale up our employee strength and add about 500-700 employees over the next 12 months.

What's going to be your mode of selection?
As I mentioned before, more than 50 per cent of our employees come to us through internal referrals. The balance are acquired through hiring partners, newspaper advertisements and applications received online. The candidates appear for a written test followed by tests for specific skill sets, group discussions and finally, an interview. We take pains to see that the people we induct possess the right skills, enthusiasm and attitude.

What's your system of annual performance appraisal?
The new recruits are allowed to bond closely with other employees during the first few weeks to get them into a "buddy" mode. Thereafter, their performance is monitored very closely for the first three months, after which they go through the first appraisal, which is then followed by the annual appraisal. Key performance indicators are automatically tracked and available to each individual who can then compare his performance vis-à-vis the group's performance and also understand the areas where he needs improvement. We try and make this process as transparent as possible.

Is your induction programme strong enough to impart domain expertise to the new recruits?
We ensure that all new recruits have a basic skill level required for the process for which we are recruiting. On top of this, we start off by giving an induction training that is job related, followed by a ‘buddy mode’ on-the-job training before finally putting a person on to the production environment. Thereafter, we continue to impart training on a regular basis in soft as well as core skill areas. Later, people identified for advancement, move into more complicated processes, where they undergo enhanced skills, which equip them to handle hi-end projects.

Interviewed by Radhika Sachdev