Secova to hire 140 in India

Chennai-based business process outsourcing firm in human resources services, Secova eServices plans to ramp up its operations by hiring 165 people in the next one year, its co-founder V Chandrasekaran said.

The company, which has 85 employees at its centres in California and Chennai, will increase the headcount to 250 by December 2005, Chandrasekaran, who is also the vice-president (technology & infrastructure) of Secova eServices said. Currently, Secova eServices employs 35 people in India and 50 in the US.

The headcount in the Indian operations will go up to 175 people while the US staff strength will be increased to 75, he said.

The company was ramping up operations to address the huge potential of emerging HR BPO business, estimated by global research & consultancy firm Gartner at $40-60 billion.

The mid-market segment alone (where companies employ 2000 to 20,000 people) is estimated at $20 billion, he said.

"Our initial focus will be only on HR administration, benefits and payroll in the mid-market which accounts for $ 13.2 billion, he said.

The HR BPO segment comprises payroll (which accounts for 35 per cent of the market), benefits (31 per cent), education/training (15 per cent), recruiting/staffing (12 per cent) and others (seven per cent).