For 37-year-old Manoj Matai, vice-president customer solutions and transition, Jindal Intellicom, the fun of working in a BPO set up is largely derived from the challenge of 24/7 customer service. That is the reason the man with a technology background and beginnings in the telecom industry shifted to the BPO industry.

"When I started in 1996 with Hutchison Max, now Vodafone, cell phone was a premium service, customer care was at a nascent stage and the concept of value added services was just beginning to be understood. It was the time when there were no call centres in India and BPOs were nonexistent.

With the proliferation of mobile communication, customer care evolved; and with that the BPO industry here. I was lucky to witness the tremendous technology shift that has happened in the last 10 years and the drastic change in the way customer service is handled today," says Matai.

The sunrise industry of the era and the changing concepts of customer care and services got Matai hooked to the BPO industry. Though an engineering graduate with an MBA degree; Matai found his calling in new business development, client solutions, designs, sales, consulting jobs. In the last 14 years Matai has had various roles, including project management, sales, pre-sales, consulting and information technology infrastructure management.

"I may not be an engineer anymore but a deep understanding of technology has been a great help. It has helped me offer better solutions to my customers. I have been able to help my clients understand IT and use IT in a more productive way," he says.
In 2004, Matai joined Jindal Intellicom to handle new business development and client process migration.

His expertise is in developing client solutions, offshore process migration and designing transaction processing delivery set-ups.

"The experience of working in cross cultural scenario and dealing with people of different countries and ethnicity has helped me become a broader person. I have grown far more flexible and my business approach is more open and transparent,” he says.

Matai, who likes the high of working 24/7 and with different sets of people, believes in transparency. "This helps me build trust with my client and its team. There is a lot of value in working with openness," he explains.

However, he agrees that working 24/7 can take a toll on not just health but also family life. "You need a strong family backup to deal with the stress this kind of job can put on you. I am thankful that my wife and children are understanding and support me. I have also learned to perform with less sleep though I would not suggest that to anyone,” he says.

To avoid burnout in this highly stressful BPO working scenario it is important to chalk out a work-life balance. "You have to be disciplined about your health and make sure you spend time with your family. Most BPO organizations today realist the important of work-life balance and offer a working environment that aids that,” he says.

“Young people should make use of the gyms and relaxation rooms that most companies have today. This will help them remain healthy and active. I feel that people should make use of the options given to them by their companies. At Jindal Intellicom the management has a flexible work approach. For instance I can work from home when I need to be next to my family," he says.
When not traveling or dealing with customer calls, Matai likes to wind down with his 7-year-old and 6-month-old children. At other times, he relaxes by curling up with a good book.