BSNL begins outsourcing customer care services owing to cash and staff shortage, says reports

As per industry sources, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has started outsourcing operations and maintenance work of its customer care owing to cash crunch and a shortage of workforce.

The state-owned telco recently saw around 78,570 of its employees opt for the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), and is now facing acute shortage of staff across various circles such as Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.

In Kerala, BSNL has reportedly already outsourced customer care services like repair and maintenance, bill collection, issuance of new numbers, handling bill-related queries and complaints, and biometric updation work to third-parties in Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram districts.

As per sources, a majority proportion of BSNL’s customer care services executives had opted for the VRS scheme earlier in October 2019. Following this, the telco is now facing a backlog of repair and maintenance complaints. Consequently, the telco is fast losing its broadband user base as customers are migrating to private service providers.