Media Contact:
Diane Brundage, SVP Marketing SSPA
(408) 354-7136 x212
dbrundage@thesspa.com

First-Ever Study of Talent Management for Indian Tech Support
Highlights Need for Best Practices to Overcome
High Attrition Rates

Research on Technology Service and Support in India to Be Presented at
SSPA Best Practices Conference in Santa Clara on May 5th

SAN DIEGO, April 21, 2008 – The Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) has announced preliminary findings of the industry's first study detailing the best practices for attracting, developing, and retaining talent in India.

"A committee of largely India-based SSPA members has been immersed in this project for the last year, surveying and interviewing hiring managers in Indian tech support organizations. The amount of data they uncovered and the in-depth findings and recommendations are both surprising and highly actionable," said SSPA vice president of technology research John Ragsdale.

The research report will be released at the SSPA "Essential Elements of Support" Best Practices 2008 Conference, to be held May 4th through 6th in Santa Clara, California. Committee members will present the findings in a session on Monday, May 5th, titled "Talent Management: Best Practices for Managing Support Staff in India."

Major findings of the study include:

• Indian support organizations have an average interview-to-hire ratio of ten percent or less—a huge productivity hit for hiring managers.
• The average tenure of a support engineer is 12 to 24 months; only 10 percent of techs stay in a support role for more than four years.
• Though customers typically rank accent and language as the top satisfaction issue with offshore agents, the majority of companies surveyed say their accent and language classes are only one week in length.

"With an estimated 1.2M new technical graduates being minted annually in India, there is tremendous potential for a strong and reliable workforce. It's now time to develop solid best practices that will even more effectively leverage these resources as well as provide a better career path for employees," said Ragsdale.

For more information, including SSPA Best Practices 2008 Conference registration, visit www.thesspa.com.

About SSPA
The Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) is a key resource for the information and best practices needed to make better business decisions. It brings together the best minds from across the industry—from established companies with successful track records to pioneering newcomers with out-of-the-box ideas. Visit www.thesspa.com.