Interview: Vikram Talwar

Executive Chairman, EXL Service Holdings

What inspired you to become an entrepreneur at an age of 51?

I spent 26 years in one company and throughout that period it was always my desire to do something on my own. It?s just that I never got the opportunity. I finally decided to be an entrepreneur when I was 51 years old. You hardly become an entrepreneur at that age; it is normally at a much younger age. But that passion to be something, to create something has always been uppermost. And once this opportunity came along, that of outsourcing, it was hard to resist.

Doesn?t the periodic protectionist rhetoric against outsourcing in the US worry you at times?

The rhetoric happens at certain times in the political cycle, election years for instance. So concerns are expressed periodically and we respect them. But companies must be able to function effectively and get maximum value for their shareholders. And offshoring is still very much an important factor in that. We have recently declared our results for last year and our growth rate speaks for itself. Our market position is stronger than ever and we have great momentum in the marketplace as we execute our growth plans in 2011.

Do emerging destinations such as the Philippines, Latin America or South Africa pose a threat to the Indian BPO industry or is the fear uncalled for?

Emerging destinations are a threat for certain type of work and they are certainly an essential complement for other types of work. Where India scores and will continue to score is more intellectual driven, complex, high-value transactions that require a great deal of process and knowledge of business. India has a highly educated and disciplined workforce when it comes to work ethics. Our ability to provide that capability in the back office is far greater than anybody else. There are capabilities here that are great for voice work.

But where we will not be able to compete, maybe in the concept, is commoditised work; what goes to the Philippines is more commoditised work.

How have you ensured that you have the right kind of people to meet your business needs?

Talent is a big issue at two levels. One is at the transactions level where we require agents and executives and then there is the management level. In both areas, we have talent issues and we approach these totally differently. For the agent level, we hire from the higher end of the market because we are able to command a better price. We then develop our people; we run our own insurance academies, e-learning programmes and create our own workforce. Basically, we take the raw material and then we mould it as per our requirements.

We have probably the longest serving management team in the industry. Most of our senior management has been with us from the very beginning and we want to supplement that.

The key differentiator between a good CEO and an average one is the ability to lead. Where do you place yourself?

I think one needs to work in a relaxed atmosphere and don?t have airs about yourself. As a leader, you should make sure that you are always there for your people. That?s how you bring the loyalty factor. You should support them through good times and bad times. In our business, lifestyle is very important; we work all nights and, therefore, a leader should love long work hours and travel a lot. Our headquarters are in New York, but our operations are in India and the Philippines. I spend half the time traveling the globe and the other half in India.

If leaders don?t set that example, you can?t expect the rest of the lot to do it. The moment your people feel that you are not doing what you are asking them to do, you have failed as a leader. You must do much more than what you ask your people to do, by setting the right example.

There is no substitute for hard work, there are no free lunches.

If you don?t work, you can?t expect others to work. Adopting the right culture and adhering to it is important.