CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION OF THESUBJECT

PEOPLE CAN MOVE MOUNTAINSAmerica’s Erick Weihen Mayer created history on May 25, 2001 bybecoming the first blind person to scale Mount Everest. Erick at,32, who lost his eyesight due to a degenerative disease at the ageof 13, set a foot on 8,848 meter peak along with 17 other members ofan expedition team after an unsuccessful attempt earlier due to badweather conditions. An hour before Erick, Bradford Bull earned adistinction of being the oldest climber to set foot atop the world’shighest peak at the age of 65- along with his son.(source: Times of India, 26/5/2001)

Among the various factors of production, which are used in anorganization, human resource is the most important. This is becauseeffective use of physical resources such as land, machinery,materials, etc. ultimately depends on how the human factor is put togood use on various operations. The most effective and efficientmachinery in the world will not produce optimum level unless thepeople who operate the machinery know how to make it perform at itsbest and most importantly, are motivated to make their equipmentproduce efficiently.

1.1 DEFINATION OF HRM:

“Human Resource Management (HRM) is a process of bringing peopleand 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 employee’s job satisfaction and

self- actualization. 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 anorganization’s success increasingly depends on the knowledge, skills andabilities of employees, particularly they establish a set of corecompetencies 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 professedgoals and deliver better results than others.

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 EMPHASIS STATUS ROLES1920-1930 Welfare management

Paternalistic practices

Clerical Welfare administrator

Policeman1940-1960 Expanding the role to

cover labor, welfare, industrial relations and personnel administration

Administrative

Appraiser Advisor Mediator Legal advisor Fire fighting

1970-1980 Efficiency, effectiveness dimensions added Emphasis on human values, aspirations, dignity, usefulness

Development Change agent Integrator Trainer Educator

1990’s-onwards

Incremental productivity gains through human assets

Proactive, growth-oriented

Developer Counselor Coach Mentor Problem solver

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

GOOD HR PRACTICES

HELP

1.8 SHIFTS IN HR MANAGEMENT IN INDIA:TADITIONAL HR PRACTICE EMERGING HR PRACTICE

Administrative role Strategic role Reactive Proactive Separate, isolated from

company mission Key part of organizational

mission Production focus Service focus Functional organization Process based organization Individuals encouraged,

singled out for praise, rewards

Cross-functional teams, teamwork most important

People as expenses People as key investments/assets

1.9 CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN HRM: Following can be stated as contemporary issues in HRM,

As stated above, one of the challenges faced by HR managers is that of Human Resource Management is that of attrition of Employees in BPO and KPO industry.

1.10 EMPLOYEE ATTRITION:

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN

HRM

Managing

diversity

Globalization

Attitude towards union

HRM in high

performance

organizations

Balancing

work-life

HRM in M&A

Changed employee expectati

ons

Make HR activiti

es ethical

New organizational forms

Changing workforce demographi

cs

BPO and CALL

centers

HR profession

al as change agent

HR manager

as strategi

sts

DEFINING EMPLOYEE ATTRITION AND ATTRITION RATE:

Attrition: “A reduction in the number of employees throughretirement, 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 becategorized into two broad classifications. The first can be coinedas “Drive Attrition” which is caused due to employer; the second onecan be termed as “Drag Attrition” which is caused due to theemployee.

The attrition rate has always been a sensitive issue for allorganizations. Calculating employee turnover rate is not that simpleas it seems to be. No common formula can be used by all theorganizations. A formula had to be devised keeping in view thenature of the business and different job functions. Moreover,calculating attrition rate is not only about devising a mathematicalformula. It also has to take into account the root of the problem bygoing 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/ averageemployees in the year)*100

Thus, if the company had 1,000 employees in April 2004, 2,000 inMarch 2005, and 300 quit in the year, then the average employeestrength is 1,500 and attrition is 100*(300/1,500)=20%. Besidesthis, there are various other types of attrition that should betaken into account. These are:

Fresher attrition that tells the number of fresher’s who leftthe organization within one year. It tells how many are usingthe company as a springboard or a launch pad.

Infant mortality that is the percentage of people who left theorganization within one year. This indicates the ease withwhich people adapt to the company.

Critical resource which tell the attrition in terms of keypersonnel like senior executives leaving the organization.

Low performance attrition: It tells the attrition of those wholeft 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 don’t 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 won’t beable 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 candidate’s job andcareer stagnant.

Lack of appreciation: If the work is not appreciated by the supervisor, the employee feels de-motivated and loses interestin 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- supportivecoworkers, 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 toleave the organization.

1.10.2 TRUTHS ABOUT ATTRITION:

It is difficult to accept when organizations say they have zeroattrition rates. Companies may have healthier turnover rates,however, there is no such thing as zero attrition. There are othersuch 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 onmoving due to reason like marriage or further education. Nothing canstop these employees from moving on. So, rather than achieving zeroattrition companies should focus on identifying whom they want tokeep so that they have healthy attrition rate.

Some turnover is desirable: Zero attrition is not desirable mainlybecause of two reasons; firstly, if all employees continue to stayin the same organization, most of them will be at the top of theirpay scale which will result in excessive manpower costs. Secondly,new employees bring new ideas, approaches, abilities and attitudeswhich 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 thecategory of high performers. This includes the costs of recruitmentadvertisement, referral bonuses, selection, training costs, etc.Moreover, turnover results in loss of time and efforts, lowproductivity, loss of morale, loss of knowledge and so on.

High salary doesn’t work: Most managers assume that a high salarypackage 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, lesssupport from superiors and so on. Salaries are not always thesolution to attrition. Managers should try to find out the rootcause of the problem and then find a feasible solution.

The manager can reduce attrition: Managers should take primaryresponsibility for retaining their employees. Much of the employee’sperception of job satisfaction stems from the relationship theyshare with their immediate supervisor. Managers should try tosupport their subordinates and give proper feedback on performance.HR managers should work in collaboration to make the key employeeslast in their organization.

Reducing turnover takes commitment: Reducing turnover takes aninvestment in coaching, developing, motivating, mentoring andlistening to people. There should be universal acceptance of thegoal of reducing turnover along with top management commitment anddedication.

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 organizationalgrowth. The only concern is how organization differentiates “goodattrition” from “bad attrition”. The term “health attrition” signifies theimportance of less productive employees voluntarily leaving theorganization. This means if the ones who have left fall in thecategory 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 longtime, most of them will be at the top of their pay scale whichwill result in excessive manpower costs.

When certain employees leave, whose continuation of servicewould have negatively impacted productivity and profitabilityof the company is benefited.

New employees bring new ideas, approaches, abilities andattitudes which can keep the organization healthy.

There are also some people in the organization who have anegative and demoralizing influence on the work culture andteam spirit. This, in the long- term, is detrimental toorganizational health.

Desirable attrition also includes termination of employeeswith whom the organization does not want to continue arelationship. It benefits the organization in the followingways:

It removes bottleneck in the progress of thecompany.

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 performanceas per expectations, lack potential for future or needdisciplinary action. Furthermore, as the rewards are limited,business pressures do not allow the management to over-rewardthe performers, but when undesirable employees leave thecompany, the good employees can be given the share theydesire.

Some companies believe attrition in any form is bad for anorganization for it means that a wrong choice was made at thebeginning while recruiting. Even good attrition indicates lossas recruitment is a time consuming and costly affair. The onlypositive point is that the realization has initiated actionthat will lead to cutting loss.

1.11 EMPLOYEE RETENTION:Employee retention is a process in which the employees areencouraged to remain with the organization for the maximum period oftime or until the completion of the project. Employee retention isbeneficial for the organization as well as the employee.

Employees today are different. They are not the ones who don’t havegood opportunities in hand. As soon as they feel dissatisfied withthe current employer or the job, they switch over to the next job.It is the responsibility of the employer to retain their bestemployees. If they don’t, 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, whyis retention so important? Is just to reduce the turnover costs?Well, the answer is a definitely NO. It’s not the only cost incurredby a company that emphasizes the need of retaining employees butalso to retain talented employees from getting poach.

The process of employee retention will benefit an organization inthe following ways:

The cost of turnover: The cost of employee turnover adds hundredsof thousands of money to a company’s expenses. While it is difficultto fully calculate the cost of turnover (including hiring costs,training costs and productivity loss), industry experts often quote25% of the average employee salary as a conservative estimate.

Loss of company’s knowledge: When an employee leaves, he takes withhim valuable knowledge about the company, customers, currentprojects and past history (sometimes to competitors). Often muchtime and money has been spent on the employee in expectation offuture return. When the employee leaves, the investment is notrealized.

Interruption of customer service: Customers and clients do businesswith a company in part because of the people. Relationships aredeveloped that encourage continued sponsorship of the business. Whenan employee leaves, the relationships that employee built for thecompany are served, which could lead to potential customer loss.

Turnover leads to more turnovers: When an employee terminates, theeffect is felt throughout the organization. The unspoken negativityoften intensifies for the remaining staff.

Goodwill of the company: The goodwill of a company is maintainedwhen the attrition rates are low. Higher retention rates motivatepotential employees to join the organization.

Regaining efficiency: If an employee resigns, the good amount oftime is lost in hiring a new employee and then training an employeeand this goes to the loss of the company directly which many a timesgoes unnoticed. And even after this companies cannot assure us ofthe same efficiency from the new employee.

1.11.2 EMPLOYEE RETENTION STRATEGIES:The basic practices which should be kept in mind the employeeretention 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 manytactics and strategies used in retention of employees by theorganizations. The basic purpose of these strategies should be toincrease employee satisfaction, boost employee morale hence achieveretention. But some times these strategies are not used properly oreven worse, wrong strategies are used. Because of which thesestrategies fail to achieve the desired results. There are many mythsrelated to the employee retention process. These myths exist becausethe strategies being used are either wrong or are being used from along time. These myths prevent the employer from successfullyimplementing the retention strategies.

Employees leave an organization for more pay: Money may be themotivating but for many people it is not the most important factor.Money matters more to the low income employees for whom it’s asurvival issue. Money can make an employee stay in an organizationbut not for long. The factors more important than money are jobsatisfaction, job responsibilities and individual’s skilldevelopment. The employers should understand this and work out someother ways to make employee feel satisfied. When employees leave,management tries to retain them by offering more money. Issues thatare mainly the cause of dissatisfaction are organization’s policiesand procedures, working conditions, relationship with the supervisorand salary, etc. For such employees, achievements, growth,recognition, are the main concerns.

Incentives can increase productivity: Incentives can surelyincrease productivity but not for long time. Cash incentives, volumework targets and speed awards are old management beliefs. They cangenerate work speedily and in volumes but can’t boost employeecommitment. Rather speed can hamper the quality of work produced.What really glues employees to their work and organization isquality work, meaningful responsibilities, recognition, respect,growth opportunities and friendly supervisors.

Employees run away from responsibilities: It is myth that employeesrun away from responsibilities. In –fact employees feel moreresponsible if they are given extra responsibilities apart fromtheir regular job. Employees look for variety, greater control onthe processes and authority to take decisions in their present job.

They want opportunities to learn and grow. Management can assignextra responsibilities to their employees and appreciate them oncompletion of these tasks. This will induce a sense of pride in theemployee and will improve the relationship between the managementand the employee.

Loyalty is a thing of the past: Employees can be loyal but what theyneed is an employer for whom they can be loyal. There is no reasonfor the employee to hop job if he is satisfied with the employer.

Taking measures to increase employee satisfaction will be expensivefor the organizations: The things actually required to improveemployee satisfaction like respect, career growth and development,appreciation, etc. can’t be bought. They are free of cost. Anemployee or management reacts well to the employee’s ideas andsuggestions is enough for the employee to be retained.

CHAPTER TWO

INTRODUCTION OF THEINDIAN 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 1,322billion in 2003. Globally, North America and Western Europe weremajor market players and together for more than three-fourth of theglobal IT-ITES market. The US alone accounted for 47% of the globalIT-ITES market in 2003. IT services and BPO constituted the largestportion of the global IT-ITES spend, accounting for approximately605 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 USD21.5 billion in FY2 2003. Earnings from IT-ITES exports were USD 13.3billion, while revenues of the domestic IT-ITES market were USD 8.2billion. At present, the IT-ITES industry constitutes around 1.6% ofthe global IT-ITES market.

The segment is estimated to touch revenues of around USD 92.4billion in 2009 at a CAGR (Compound Average Growth Rate) of 27.5%.the contribution to the service sector as a whole will go up to17.45% in 2010. The key drivers of growth include the rapid increasein IT outsourcing and the rapid expansion in the scale and breath ofIT-ITES- BPO offerings by Indian vendors. The Indian IT-ITES vendorsfocused 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&Dengineering and remote network management to their portfolio ofofferings, IT-ITES-BPO companies began more complex services, suchas financial research and analytics, actuarial modeling andcorporate and business research.

2.2 REASONS FOR THE GROWT OF THE IT-ITESSECTOR:

The major reasons for the phenomenal growth of the IT-ITES segmentof the Indian service sector can be attributed to “locationadvantage” and “people attractiveness” factors, and India scoresvery high on both counts. According to a review by NASSCOM, theabove reasons include six major factors:

A growing and highly educated English-speaking workforce withthe 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 thetime difference between the US and Europe and so there is enoughfeedback time. In terms of people attractiveness, India has a largepool of highly- trained, English- speaking, low-cost labor, whichadds 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 theproduction of its goods or services to various locations incountries other than the one in which it is based. Off-shoring-especially that of services- has become an increasingly viableoption for companies looking to improve their operationalefficiencies, bottom lined and business performance. In fact, toachieve global competitiveness and high profitability, it has nowalmost become imperative for most of the companies to offshore someof their IT and non- IT BPO services. The global Business ProcessOutsourcing (BPO) market has undergone rapid transformation duringthe last decade and has been adopted as a strategic businesssolution by leading companies. A reduction in telecom costs, coupled

with the increased digitization of services, is helping manycompanies to off-shore 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 isexpected to grow to USD 39.8 billion in FY 2010. This implies acompounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.5% for the sector.2.3.2.2 INDIA:

According to Evalueserve the Indian BPO sector will increase itsshare in the global KPO sector to 45% by 2010, compared to 36% sharein 2003. The Indian BPO market, with revenue of 2.78 billion in2003, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 30.6% upto 2010. Thecontribution of the BPO sector to the Indian services sector was0.91% in 2003 and it is expected that by 2010, the contribution willbe more than double and reach 2.67% to add to the overall servicessector. Share of the Indian BPO sector int eh global BPO industrywill increase from 36% in 2003 to 45% in 2010.

2.3.2.3 SWOT ANALYSIS OF INDIAN INDUSTRY

STRENGTHS English speaking labor

poolStrong 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 ofhigh-end complex tasks and processes to specialized serviceproviders. These include valuation research, investment research,patent filing, legal and insurance claims processing, etc. KPOprovides value to the client through domain expertise rather thanprocess expertise. In comparison to BPO, KPO delivers higher valueto the organizations that off shore their domain-based processes,thereby enhancing BPO’s traditional cost-quality paradigm. The shiftfrom off shoring of low-end business processes (BPO) to high-endtasks 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 growglobally from USD 1.29 billion in FY 2003, to USD 17 billion in FY2010. This implies a CAGR of 44.5%, for the global KPO market. Theimportant growth drivers of this market are:

Higher savings at the high-end of the value-chain as comparedto the low-end and a scarcity of a highly-trained specializedtalent pool in the developed countries.

Maturity of processes and the prospect of better margins forknowledge-intensive services in the low-cost destinations.

2.4.2.2 INDIA:

The Indian KPO sector will increase its share in the global KPOsector to 71% by 2010, compared to a 56% share in 2003. The KPOmarket in India is expected to increase to USD 12 billion by FY2010, reflecting a CAGR of 49.5%.

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

The US alone accounts for nearly 60% of the KPO services off shoredto low-cost locations. The UK and Canada account for approximately a20% share, while the remaining 20% is shared between the rest ofEurope and rest of the world.

2.5 KEY SEGMENTS:

Out of the estimated opportunity of USD 17 billion the KPO sector in2010, the major revenues will come from six prominent sectors.

2.6 GROWTH DRIVERS:

The significant growth of the KPO sector is attributed to severalfactors 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 inhigh-wage countries.With tighter immigration norms, off shoring of thesehigh-end services is the only viable solution forenterprise facing this shortage of highly-trainedspecialized labor.

Further, to remain competitive globally, enterprises need tocut their costs and reduce the time-to-market for theirservices and products.Off shoring high-end services not only ensures these twobenefits, 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-skilledtalent pool. These factors make it a highly competent and attractivedestination for outsourcing. The major trends in the Indian servicesmarket expected to drive the KPO sector include:

Economies of scope generated by the entry of many IT companiesin the BPO and KPO sectors.

BPO companies moving up the value-chain

Off shore service vendors are gaining significantmaturity as well as project management and domainexpertise, thereby moving up the value-chain.

Availability of all types of services through a single vendorWith the entry of many BPO companies into providing KPOservices, clients can get the entire range of solutionsand services portfolio, which will help ward offcompetition from services providers in other emerginglow-cost destinations.

ATTRITION RATES IN DIFFERENT SECTORS:Following chart shows attrition rate in different sectors in India:

CHAPTER THREE

INTRODUCTION OF THECOMPANY

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 morethan 60,000 students across various Azure IT Training Institutes.

In the year 2000, Azure ventured into the BPO businessfacilitated by promoters with more than 15 years of outsourcing andservice industry experience.

3.2 AZURE TODAY:

Azure enjoys the reputation of being the first and the largestBusiness Process Outsourcing (BPO) center in the state of Gujarat inwestern India. Today, Azure is a 2100 people company with itsKnowledge Centers spread across three locations in India and one inChina.

Azure has a proven track record of Sourcing and Training ofexcellent quality human resources on a large scale owing itstraining background. One of the reasons why clients prefer to workwith Azure is because of its retention levels. Azure has a record ofretaining more than 90% of its senior management in the last 6 yearsand an average attrition of 18% for associates/interviewers ascompared to 60-70% in the industry

Azure is an ISO 27001 certified company with BS7799 IT SecurityCertification. Azure’s services provide the best value for money toclients owing to its low cost of operations in Ahmedabad (70% lowercost than prevailing costs in US/Europe and 30% lower cost thanother metro cities in India) and efficiency maximization achievedthrough automation of processes and effective usage of InformationTechnology (IT), made possible due to its strong background in ITand an experienced IT team.

What clients appreciate about Azure is its Process Orientedapproach in providing services by meticulously planning the workflowand support systems, setting the right benchmarks for quality anddelivery 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 offinancial services and knowledge based services to a globalclientele by offering value through innovative use of technologyand harnessing the highest potential of its people”.

3.4 MILESTONE:

Year/Period Key Events

1991 Started as an IT Training Company; Setup various ITeducation institutes across the state of Gujarat,India

1996-2000 No-1 IT Training company in the State; Trained 60,000students across 30 Azure IT institutes

2000 Set up a 500 seat Global Contact center to provideMarket Research and Financial Services to Fortune 500companies

2003 Added Mortgage Processing and Mortgage OriginationSupport services; First multi-country, multi-lingualB2B Market Research Project executed successfully

2004 Expand MR capabilities to include Survey Programming,

Data Processing; Conducted more than 30,000 web andphone interviews

2005 Added 2 Fortune 500 companies as key clients with longterm contracts; Financial services expansion to UK,Europe and Australia; Expanded multi-lingualcapability to cover 12 international languages

2006 ISO 27001 certification; Azure bags financial servicescontract from one of the top 5 global financialcompanies ; Bags large IT solutions contracts

2007 Launched China office in Guangzhou; Took 49% stake inCitizens Financial Mortgage; Ranked among the top ITEScompanies by Dun & Bradstreet (D&B); Launches ITsolutions company: Success Craft

2008 2008 Azure wins “Best Customer ResponsivenessPractice” award instituted by Avaya Global Connect,adjudged by Ernst & Young and ACNielsen; Setup 100seat facility in Philadelphia, US

3.5 AZURE CORE VALUES:

Azure’s core values include: Integrity Responsiveness Effective use of technology Transparency Process orientation and discipline

3.6 AZURE CAPABILITIES:

Azure’s capabilities include: Multi Respondent

Age-groups, cultures etc.

Multi LingualOver 15 languages are spoken

Multi MediumPhone, Web, E-Mail, Print, Fax and Face-to-Face

Multi Geography

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

Multi ProcessSurvey Programming, Data Collection, Processing, Analytics, Presentation

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

3.7 AZURE ADVANTAGE:o 7 years of experience in providing KPO and BPO services. o 1500 seat infrastructure across Ahmedabad, Guangzhou and

Philadelphia with 2100 people .o Serving 75 plus countries in 12 languages. o Proven track record in providing Financial Services and Knowledge

Services. o Current clients include three Fortune 500 clients and large

financial services companies. o State-of-art technology setup including dedicated private data and

voice links to US with technology solutions from Nortel, IBM. o Strong focus on processes and systems for efficiency and

effectiveness in client delivery. o Comprehensive business contingency and disaster recovery model. o Dedicated quality resources for each project and process.o 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 superiorknowledge services solution to their clients. ‘From Strategy toSolution’ encompasses Azure’s approach to developing long termrelationships with their customers and understanding the needs ofpeople, the challenges of complex business processes and theopportunities presented by technology. Azure's success is highly

leveraged on the capabilities of their team and each member of theteam is chosen carefully to be able to assist in delivering results.

Azure’s 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 telecomservice provider in India (Fixed ,Cellular and Broad Band)having net worth of 14.32 billion $, infrastructure worth22.74 billion $,network of over 45 million phone lines in 5000towns, over 20 million cellular connections reverts back toAzure 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 CSR’S fluent in languages like Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu.

Panasonic Tough books: Panasonic launched it’s premium productin 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 likemortgage processing, loan origination, finance & accounting &collections. Azure has the necessary knowledge on the working of thefinancial services industry.

Azure’s clients get the advantage of seamless integration ofcutting-edge technology and a highly trained human capital.

Azure is committed to delivering all the financial servicesyou need in one place, with the personalized attention you deserve.Azure’s 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 onbuilding solutions that enable and empower customer service, workflow automation and marketing processes, by leveraging telecom andinternet.

AZURE has been providing all round support, consultancy andsolutions to the KPO, Telecom, BFSI and Internet industry. It bringsto the table in-depth understanding of the respective domains andinvaluable years of software development experience. Azure offers IT enabled services for: Telecom and IP Enterprise Solutions

Market Research

Financial Services

Web/Application Development