Courtesy: The Hindu

• Many employers hope they will stick longer with the company
•  ITES, BPO/call centre sectors projected to grow to $ 20 billion by 2008
• Some employers say they have very good experiences with staff with disabilities
• Employees with disabilities find it difficult in establishing good working relationship with colleagues

Bangalore, Jan 31: Faced with high attrition rate and the cost of training new recruits, several companies in the information technology and IT-enabled services sectors are readily recruiting people with disabilities in the hope they may have longer "staying power" if suitably encouraged.

The ITES and BPO/call centre sectors are projected to grow to $ 20 billion by 2008, and will need around one million personnel. The call centre industry, according to a survey last year, has one drawback: many employees suffer from poor self-esteem because of their odd working hours and almost anonymous job profiles.

The figures are still low and between one and two per cent in most organisations. Those with a policy of encouraging people with disabilities do fix norms and try to recruit the brightest among those who come with some disability but are otherwise qualified or trainable. And, some employers who declined to be identified said they had very good experiences with staff with disabilities who performed well.

According to B.S. Murthy, Chief Executive of Human Capital Consulting, "Most IT and ITES firms still have a poor record when it comes to employing people with disabilities... those who have changed their mindset have good results. A few organisations do have a regular quota but not most." He has found a polio-affected young woman and an older man with a leg injury from an accident, performing exceedingly well. "Being disabled does not mean they lack other skills, including good communication skills," Murthy said. Shivani (26) who went through several interviews before landing a job with a BPO says: "Most recruiters get distracted with your physical disability and fail to look at your qualifications or aptitude level. One finally did, and my present employer has reported back very favourably."

One problem some employees with disabilities have is in establishing a good working relationship with team leaders and colleagues. "There was some initial embarrassment among my colleagues when dealing with a person with callipers and a crutch, but four months later I find I am totally accepted," says Shivani.