During the IT boom in the 1990s, outsourcing became a popular trend in India, particularly in the field of call centres. As more and more tech giants and Fortune 500 companies turned to India for their outsourcing needs, call centres offering well-paying jobs to educated, English-speaking individuals began to pop up all over the country. However, with the rise of AI-driven customer interactions, the outsourcing sector is undergoing a transformation, changing the way customer interactions are handled. One company at the forefront of this shift is SquadStack, which offers AI-driven alternatives to traditional telecalling setups to empower businesses. The company aims to address the challenges faced by businesses in managing customer communication throughout the customer lifecycle. This sector, also known as the BPO or enterprise communication market, is valued at $22 billion in India and $450 billion globally. In an exclusive interview with Apurv Agrawal, the CEO and co-founder of SquadStack, he shared the company’s vision of enabling employment for people from all backgrounds and locations. In fact, 70% of their workforce comprises of stay-at-home moms. Agrawal also highlighted the story of one of their employees, Priya, who was able to find a new fit for her skills and potential through SquadStack’s platform after moving to a smaller town. According to Agrawal, AI has played a crucial role in supporting employees like Priya. By integrating AI, the company is able to conduct remote screenings and quality audits, providing real-time coaching during customer interactions, and empowering employees to perform effectively. AI has also helped streamline tasks like quality auditing, which was previously done manually by agents. Now, AI can consistently audit thousands of interactions simultaneously without fatigue. Additionally, AI can handle simpler conversations through chatbots, reducing wait times and scaling to handle thousands of concurrent conversations. This allows human agents to focus on more complex, high-value conversations, resulting in better compensation and job satisfaction. Overall, SquadStack’s approach aligns with the “ideal man theory”, utilizing AI for tasks where it excels and human talent for tasks where it is indispensable. As AI continues to revolutionize the outsourcing sector, it is opening up new opportunities for skilled roles and driving efficiency, just as industrial revolutions have done in the past.
