BUSINESS CONTINUITY: Hope Floats

We were truly tested last week: as a BPO operation, as managers, and as human

beings-in a week when Mumbai saw more rain than many other places see in a

year. While what happened in our narrow context is trivial, at a time when basic

survival was an issue for many people, it is still worth talking about and

celebrating some achievements.

At WNS, we faced two challenges that sometimes had elements that worked

against each other. First, we had to ensure the safety and well-being of our

team. Second, we had to ensure that we keep our operations running since our

clients, many oceans apart, depended on us. And we came out of the ordeal

looking pretty good, with every single client being largely unaffected and in

many cases astonished by how well we managed to keep things going in very

adverse circumstances.

Many things worked well for us and some did not, and we think our experiences

and learning are worth sharing.

What Worked Well



Implementing a dual-site strategy: Almost all our key clients had their

teams split into two sites, in two different cities. Pune backup helped

immensely in making up for the Mumbai shortfall.

Establishing a crisis management command center: This is the first

time we had to activate our 'NASA type' command center where we had

dedicated people following up on weather, transport conditions, guest

house/hotel availability, etc. Our corporate office and boardroom served as the

command center. All senior members of our team met at the command center every

two to three hours, took responsibility for specific actions and reported back

on successes and issues. The fact that every available senior person in the

company was physically there at our Mumbai site for 48 hours in a stretch made a

huge difference.

Benefiting

from people commitment at all levels: As you might well understand, we had

to optimize between what is best for our team and what is best for our clients.

Issues like possibly shutting the office, level of intensity we show to push

people to work longer hours or show up for work, how we communicate ambiguity on

our status internally and externally were debated extensively. I was extremely

proud to see people at all levels expressing opinions freely. While the senior

team (including me) was being cautious, people from operations in Mumbai and

Pune passionately defended their ability to keep going and that's what they

did! Some associates and managers worked for 24—36 hours at a stretch, and

they were self-motivated. Our food vendor supplied freshly cooked food every

three hours for 36 hours at a stretch, and for hundreds of people.

Prioritization of effort by process: Our risk management and

operations teams were able to very rapidly identify the processes that needed to

be treated as top priority and where taking some backlog and clearing later was

fine. We were able to dynamically plan resource needs by process, communicate

with clients and make informed decisions about what to prioritize and what to

ignore in the short term. Needless to say, all backlogs were cleared within one

to two days of the situation coming back to normal.

Constant communication: We used the PA system in Mumbai every two to

three hours to appraise people about the weather conditions outside,

availability of key essentials (e.g., food), appreciate all the efforts and send

key messages on what we need to do next (e.g., about the next shift). We also

spoke regularly to our back-up teams in Pune and pushed for higher productivity.

We communicated constantly and transparently with every client with every

communication involving a senior person from WNS. Every internal and external

communication was discussed at the Command Center.

Managing availability of key essentials: Our facilities team, food and

transport vendors showed amazing commitment. While many of our cars were stuck

in the rains, we were able to marshall backups for pickups and drop-offs closer

to our site. Our food vendor (fortunately and not by design was located close to

our office) was able to maintain constant supply of food. We were also able to

rapidly augment the availability of mattresses, sheets, toothbrushes, shaving

kits, etc. as we had to make sure that people staying back got a chance to sleep

and freshen up.

(Gently) persuading people to come back to work: Interestingly, our

challenges on getting people to work were greater after the second (mini) storm

on Sunday (31 July) even though the roads in most areas in Mumbai were clear. We

had a well-rehearsed script we used in making phone calls and sending SMS to our

associates asking them to come to work while being very sensitive to their

personal situations.

Creating opportunities for releasing tension: On the night of the

Floody Tuesday (26 July), we had impromptu karaoke and singing in the cafeteria

and people were encouraged to take breaks and spend time there.

Hotline numbers: We made announcements through television and radio

about the hotline numbers at WNS incase anyone wanted to reach us.

Our corporate social responsibility (CSR): We are now ensuring that

all our team members that had their houses and belongings affected by the storm

are reasonably supported through the funding we have ear-marked for our CSR

program.

Lessons Learnt



There were also a few things we could have done better and this crisis, like

anything else, taught us new lessons.

Greater multivendor coverage: Our purchasing policy of concentrating

on a few mobile and wireline telecom vendors backfired a little bit since both

our preferred vendors were down a lot. On Tuesday, we were also a bit late on

getting alternative transport arranged. We did much better later.

Single-site strategy in ramp up stage: Some of our

clients have insisted on sticking to one site till their program reached

critical mass, often against our advice. They had to arrange for backups at

their home sites in US/UK. Interestingly, we went through more tension on

sustaining a 25 FTE pilot with no back up anywhere than some of our 1000+ FTE

clients with dual-site execution.

• Key learning: Backup every mission-critical
  
  process, no matter how small it is somewhere, either in a second site in
  
  India or at the home base.

Activating a helpdesk for family and friends: We were

a bit late and initially disorganized about keeping worried families and friends

informed. Local telephone lines being down did not help either. This was

rectified later.

• Water leakage: While our site held up remarkably
  
  well, there were anxious moments. We were able to spot some leakage on time
  
  and use sponges, paper, and cloth towels to contain it.

• Contact with civic/government authorities: Our
  
  teams were independently assessing road conditions and weather conditions
  
  and this information was used by the command center to make decisions. But,
  
  we would have preferred to connect better with the civic/government
  
  authorities to get a view on the external conditions.

• DVD collection: Well, the karaoke ran out of
  
  steam. Watching more TV got tiring. We are augmenting our DVD collection
  
  now.

In summary, this was our most difficult week but also one

that I am particularly proud of how our team rose to the occasion. And I am sure

that are other similar stories in our industry and outside, which we would love

to hear, learn from and share within WNS.

The Indian BPO industry is often criticized on many grounds.

On being simultaneously customer-focused, people-centric, and cool-headed in a

crisis, I think we are right up there with any industry anywhere in the world.

Our civic authorities and many domestic industries can learn a lot from us, and

especially the very passionate, strong-willed and determined group of young

people who work in our industry who proved that nothing will stop them.

Neeraj

Bhargava CEO, WNS Group