How I Got a Job in Xplore Tech

Hello readers!  Today I am sharing the story of Saurav Agarwal, a CCE at Xplore Tech Services Pvt. Ltd. I hope you will find his experience interesting and amusing.

As a bumbling new graduate, my process of finding a job was really cut out. I followed the classifieds in different dailies and gave regular interviews. Occasionally I gave exams for government jobs and banks and was thinking of enrolling myself in to some RICE, MICE or whatever job exam preparation institute. But little did I know that my leisure time radio would provide me the carrier of my life (A point to all those people who have worried that I spend too much time on the phone)!

It was just another Saturday evening and I was jiving to the party tunes on my favorite youth station Power FM. Then suddenly, a name sparked up in the “Gig Guides” section – Xplore Tech Services. Now, not very often would you find that a youth friendly station would encourage the everyday job advertisements to disrupt their shows (At least I never ever witnessed it for Power). I decided to make the call. But it was Saturday night and it was not till Monday morning that I got the chance to. In fact, tired of a wholesome weekend, I had all but forgotten about the advertisement when I woke up on Monday morning.

But, like destiny or whatever, I saw the advertisement of Xplore Tech once again on the morning paper. Like in the radio, the ad was brief and simple. I dialed the number. The gentleman on the other side of the phone (whom I came to know later was the security staff) informed me of the interview and told me to come down to the Park circus branch within my convenient time. I picked all the necessary credentials and arrived at the address given to me.

I would have said that the interview went well if you can consider a light chat with the HR recruiters to be an interview at all. And that’s it! I was called the next day for my documentation and before I knew it I had a job in my hand with a satisfactory pay package which is better than the most I have been offered.

Thanks to Xplore Tech Services Pvt Ltd, I am now working as a full time caller with regular appraisals every year and looking towards a better future.

Xplore Tech Is More Humane Than Most of The BPOs

I am not saying Xplore Tech is the best BPO to work with.  All I am saying that it is more humane than most of the BPOs out there. I have given a few examples here to prove my point.

Situation 1# you have joined a BPO a month ago and you need a study leave for an upcoming exam. You have informed the HR about this at the time of joining. 

What Other BPOs will do: they will tell you that you are not entitled to any leave for the first three months and in case you need a study leave or leave for the exams; you have to opt out of the job.

What Xplore Tech will do: the team lead will sit with you and see how best they can arrange your week offs to grant you the leave. The other members of the team will come forward to fill in your slot. That’s the work culture of Xplore Tech.

Situation 2# you are getting married next month and you have applied for leave which is not yet granted due to high work pressure.

What Other BPOs might do:  well, this might sound a bit farfetched but it actually happened with one of my friends. Her team lead told her that she cannot take a leave on her marriage day. He promised to give her permission to leave office an hour before the time of marriage so that she can get married on that day!!!

What Xplore Tech will do: the team lead and managers will try to give you back to back week off so that you do not have to rush things. After all, marriage is one of the most important moments in a girl’s life.  They will also ask you whether they can help you in anyway.

Situation 3# you are pregnant and the doctor has advised you to stay at home as much as possible. 

What Other BPOs might do:  they may outright advice you to resign from your post. And even if you reapply for the job after having a baby, they might not consider you as a viable candidate.

What Xplore Tech will do: the HR will ask you to chalk up a schedule about your doctor’s appointments and ask you if you can come to office for a few hours every day.  In case you are unable to do so, they will leave it up to you whether you decide to resign or stay on board.  In case you resign, they will ask you to rejoin after having your baby.

Xplore Tech: Are there any real issue to complain about?

Have you ever heard of a workplace where employees never had any problems? Yeah, me neither.  No  matter  how  big or well known a  company is,  there will always be some problems  - salary issues, documents issues,  management issues,  infrastructure issues and  so on.  For example, in my office, Xplore Tech Services Pvt.  Ltd., I had issues with my documents at the time of joining.  They misspelled my name.  When I informed them about the mistake, they took nearly a month to correct it.

But that was only once.  After that I never found a single scope to complain about the organization.  In fact during my 3 years experience at Xplore Tech, I have not even heard someone complaining about the company more than once.  However, there are a lot of absurd things that people complain about after joining the company.  For example –

Less number of holidays – No BPO concern offers a large number of holidays.  Two week off is what you get.  Deal with it. And Xplore Tech never promised to offer holidays during festivities,  national holidays  and so on. You knew this at the time of joining. So why cry over it?

Night shift – come on people, is this seriously a problem for BPO workers? Evry BPO employee knows that at some point of time you need to do night shifts. Even if you are doing morning shift now, a time may come when you have to do night shift.  It’s clearly mentioned in the appointment letter. Complaining about it won’t help you here.

Appraisal – Xplore Tech offers appraisal once by the end of a financial year. To be eligible for getting an appraisal you need to work with the company for at least one year. It is mentioned in your appointment letter, dude! You cannot complain about it now!

There are a number of such issues about Xplore Tech that often crop up. However, most of these issues are non-sense. If one has read the appointment letter carefully, they won’t come up with such stupid allegations at the first place.  So such issues do not count.

Otherwise,  Xplore Tech is a pretty good place to work.  You will get credit for your hard work and it will be appreciated by the authorities. You can also climb up the ladder of success in this company as there is no one to back bite you. In short Xplore Tech is a place where you can have a decent work experience.

Xplore Tech – A Surprise Or Really Not?

As a bumbling new graduate, my process of finding a job was really cut out. I followed the classifieds in different dailies and gave regular interviews. Occasionally I gave exams for government jobs and banks and was thinking of enrolling myself in to some RICE, MICE or whatever job exam preparation institute. But little did I know that my leisure time radio would provide me the carrier of my life (A point to all those people who have worried that I spend too much time on the phone)!

It was just another Saturday evening and I was jiving to the party tunes on my favorite youth station Power FM. Then suddenly, a name sparked up in the “Gig Guides” section – Xplore Tech Services. Now, not very often would you find that a youth friendly station would encourage the everyday job advertisements to disrupt their shows (At least I never ever witnessed it for Power). I decided to make the call. But it was Saturday night and it was not till Monday morning that I got the chance to. In fact, tired of a wholesome weekend, I had all but forgotten about the advertisement when I woke up on Monday morning.

But, like destiny or whatever, I saw the advertisement of Xplore Tech once again on the morning paper. Like in the radio, the ad was brief and simple. I dialed the number. The gentleman on the other side of the phone (whom I came to know later was the security staff) informed me of the interview and told me to come down to the Park circus branch within my convenient time. I picked all the necessary credentials and arrived at the address given to me.

I would have said that the interview went well if you can consider a light chat with the HR recruiters to be an interview at all. And that’s it! I was called the next day for my documentation and before I knew it I had a job in my hand with a satisfactory pay package which is better than the most I have been offered.

Thanks to Xplore Tech Services Pvt Ltd, I am now working as a full time caller with regular appraisals every six months and looking towards a better future.

Xplore Tech: Some Complaints … Answered!

My teacher always used to say, you should always keep the window open – it will bring fragrant air in your life and at the same time you might smell something foul as well. But it is up to you whether to enjoy the fragrance or to complain about that foul smell.  – I will say the same about my company, Xplore Tech Services  Pvt. Limited. People say loads of unpleasant things about the company. And yet, it is a company of some repute in the BPO domain in Kolkata. There must be some good in it too. So let’s delve deep in to the complaints to find out the true character of the company. 

I am beginning with the complaints:

Complaint 1:  In Xplore Tech you have to work during all national holidays and festivities

Well, Xplore Tech is a BPO isn’t it.  And all BPOs remain open during national holidays and festivities. So Xplore Tech is no exception. When people join a BPO concern, he or she should be aware of the fact. There’s no point lamenting over it.

Complaint 2: Too much work pressure, too small remuneration!

As I have always said, Xplore Tech is a good company to start with.  And in the beginning of your career if you want to lay your hands in big money, BPO is not your domain.  It is a fact that the remuneration is not handsome here, but as a fresher, you will not get five figure pay check in any BPO in Kolkata. And no company offers you a good hike unless you perform extraordinarily well (I am not bragging or something,  but I got a pretty decent hike this year and was praised for originality). It is only when you switch company, you get a salary jump.

Talking about work pressure, yes there is heavy work pressure at times. But then again when the pressure subsides, you can roam about and take frequent breaks. And if I may,  I would like to politely add that if you learn to handle pressure at the beginning of your career,  it will be beneficial in the long run. So, it’s a boon in disguise. At least I feel so.

Compliant 3: Infrastructure is poor

The PCs are old and runs almost throughout the day. So, every once in a while you may come across some problems. But the IT people are prompt enough to detect the problem and take necessary action. In case they cannot offer you a quick solution, they try to provide you a different PC.  And I think when the company moves to its Saltlake office, most of these problems will be over.