Jack Frecker, president, customer management group, Convergys

Convergys Corporation, will double its employee strength in India to 20,000 by the end of 2005. This was announced by Jack Frecker, president, customer management group, at a press conference on Jan. 6 at The Princeton Club in New York City. Currently, the world's largest call center operator has 10,000 employees working in Delhi, Chennai, Pune and Bangalore. It has it largest call centre in Gurgaon (near Delhi), which employs 5,000 employees and was set up in 2001.

The company will be looking at other cities such as Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Kolkata in India in the near future. Convergys is tapping second-tier cities now. The reason, said Frecker, is that ''first-tier cities are getting really crowded and competitive.'' Around 200 people from Kolkata are working at its Bangalore facility. "The day we have finalized our Kolkata plans, we'll already have a management in place.'' Convergys started its operation in India in 2000 when a few companies were doing voice customer service.

The Cincinnati-based global leader in integrated billing, employee care, and customer care service provided through outsourcing or licensing, employs more than 60,000 employees in 53 countries, has 500 clients and is projected to earn revenues of around $2.7 billion for the year 2004.

Convergys is placing big bets on India and the Philippines for offshoring. India produces two million graduates a year. ''The Philippines,'' said Frecker, ''is competition for India in terms of knowledge of English, etc. but it is a fraction of India's size. Some clients feel more comfortable in the Philippines but the pool will dry up faster there. China is still 15-20 years away as it doesn't have English-speaking skills.''

According to the Gartner Group, the offshoring (outsourcing and captive operation) business is worth $3 billion and is expected to grow to $24 billion by 2007.

Frecker said complaints by some customers about accents, etc., of people in the region will not alter the company's plans. ''A few dissatisfied customers can't stop this locomotive. Economics are just too overwhelming,'' said Frecker.

Also, the tsunami disaster hasn't dampened the enthusiasm of the company in Asia. Convergys plans to invest heavily in this region. The company has presence in five of the 12 countries affected by the catastrophe.