Unable to fill the needed jobs in the US, businesses turn to India, America’s leading outsource services provider. Still, Indian staffing firms must contend with a 30-year legacy of negative call-center association. Wishup Co-founder Neelesh Rangwani explains how today’s leading Indian firms are providing top candidates to fill vacant positions in the United States.
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The U.S. Global Service Sourcing Market
(Delhi, India) August 31, 2021—In the United States, about 300,000 jobs per year are outsourced to a foreign service provider(1). India, which accounts for approximately 55% of the U.S. global service sourcing market(2), is a leading destination for these jobs. “Outsourcing of selected business functions is simply a fact of life in today’s global economy,” says Neelesh Rangwani, founder of Delhi-based virtual assistant provider Wishup. “India’s highly competitive educational system and enormous English-speaking population make it a natural partner for highly demanding U.S. employers.”
On the last day of June 2021, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, job openings grew by more than 590,000 or by 6.5%. The largest job opening increase was in the professional and business services—more than 227,000.(3) It is precisely this area in which most staffing agencies work. Approximately 45% of employees hired through a staffing agency will be employed in the clerical/administrative and managerial areas.(4)
The need for these services, explains Rangwani, is skyrocketing; the global outsourcing market, valued at $92.5 billion in 2019, will be worth an estimated $397.6 billion by 2025 for IT sourcing alone.(1) However, he notes, Indian outsource service providers face certain obstacles in making their case to U.S.-based companies.
Indian Staffing Firms Must Contend Negative Call-Center Association
One such obstacle is the legacy of more than 30 years of suboptimum India-based call-center history. For some Americans, the sound of an Indian accent raises immediate assumptions of not being understood. The other concern (and dislike) is a discriminatory attitude toward “job thieves.” Some in this country, notes Rangwani, blame India and Indians for a perceived loss of employment opportunities for U.S. citizens.(5)
The most effective way for Indians to deal with these preconceptions, says Rangwani, is not to argue with them but to render them obsolete. Rangwani started his own staffing company with the goal to overcome these misconceptions by providing high-level fractional employees to help fill a growing need. The first step involves winnowing out 70% to 80% of candidates on the basis of resume/CV alone. It is followed by an aptitude test, followed by a written English test. Those who make it past these levels are then interviewed in English. This interview also serves to measure their ability on more than 50 parameters of language skills. Those who do well in the interview stage—about two percent of all applicants—are offered employment with the platform.
These outsource resources, Rangwani emphasizes, are not interlopers; they are a vital resource for growth- and performance-oriented U.S. companies. The annual turnover rate among American employees in some U.S. industries, including information (44.8%), real estate/rental and leasing (49.4%), and professional and business services (69.2%)(6), force employers to be constantly hiring, and to maintain—or outsource—a fulltime training and staffing operation to deal with the problem.
Virtual assistants run the gamut of professional services—from executive assistants to project managers. Approximately 55% of companies and 74% of offices in the United States use temporary and contract staffing. On average, more than 3 million people in the US work as temporary or contract employees during a week.(7)
India, notes Rangwani, has 125 million English speakers(8) and has an educational system as competitive as any in the world. “India,” he says, “is a major player. So, if America doesn’t give you the employees you need, feel free to look elsewhere—and don’t let the bygone legacy of sometimes poorly run call centers get in the way of your success.”
About Wishup:
Wishup is a virtual assistant staffing agency that connects a talented pool of individuals with business owners/entrepreneurs. They work together towards a common goal to achieve business growth. Wishup’s dedicated Virtual Assistants work with the hiring company on a one-on-one basis, directly assigning tasks to them. Trained in more than 50 tasks in-house, Wishup’s Virtual Assistants are ready from Day 1. Only the top 1-2% of total applicants make the cut. For more information, visit wishup.co
- Edgson, Jessica. “27 Eye-Opening Outsourcing STATISTICS (April 2021 Update).” CapitalCounselor, 4 Apr. 2021, capitalcounselor.com/outsourcing-statistics/.
- “Brand India.” IBEF, ibef.org/industry/information-technology-india.aspx.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics; August Economic News Release; “Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary”; published 09 Aug 2021; Accessed 27 Aug 2021; bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm
- American Staffing Association: Staffing Industry Statistics; Accessed 27 Aug 2021; americanstaffing.net/research/fact-sheets-analysis-staffing-industry-trends/staffing-industry-statistics/
- Ammachchi, Narayan, et al. “Indian Call Center Agents Routinely Face Racial ABUSE: Study.” Nearshore Americas, 7 Dec. 2017, nearshoreamericas.com/indian-call-center-agents-routinely-face-racial-abuse-study/.
- “Table 16. Annual TOTAL Separations Rates by Industry and Region, Not Seasonally Adjusted.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 11 Mar. 2021, bls.gov/news.release/jolts.t16.htm.
- Labor Works USA; Staffing Agency and Temporary Labor Statistics; Accessed 27 Aug 2021; laborworksusa.com/staffing-agency-temporary-labor-statistics/#
- Masani, Zareer. “English or Hinglish—which will India Choose?” BBC, November 27, 2012, bbc.com/news/magazine-20500312
