HR Frequently Asked BPO Interview Questions

1) Tell me something about BPO and how it works?

BPO is abbreviated as Business Process Outsourcing. When a company wants its non-core work to be done by an expert at cheaper costs then they outsource their work to other country, which is called Business Process Outsourcing. The outsourcing is generally made between two countries.

2) What are the major sectors for outsourcing?

IT and Communication, Medical and health services, Insurance, Finance, Law and Jurisdiction are some of the sectors where majority of outsourcing works get done.

3) Are you comfortable working in night shifts?

Always answer this question as yes, as the majority of the outsourcing work is done according to the country timeline from where the work gets outsourced in which case it is night shift most of the time. It also shows your willingness and interest towards the roles and your approach towards the job.

4) What is the difference between the shore and off-shore outsourcing?

When any project or work allotted outside the country which is not nearby is called off-shore outsourcing and anything outsourced nearby country is called shore outsourcing.

5) What is inbound and outbound call centers?

An inbound call centers will only receive calls while outbound call centers will place calls. In general inbound call centers function as companies service department, while outbound handles the service department.

6) Which one do you think –web or voice- suits your qualifications better?

Since, they are asking you for your preference there is no problem in telling your choice. Just have to make sure that whatever option you chose had a legitimate reason.

7) How can you relate call centers to BPO?

Call centers may be one of the very first processes in a business that was openly outsourced.

8) What is the difference between KPO and BPO?

KPO is a knowledge process outsourcing while BPO is business process outsourcing. KPO provides the knowledge based services like medical billing, documentation or claiming insurance. While BPO is totally customer service oriented.

9) What are the different types of BPO’s?

BPOs are segmented into five different categories.

Administrative Department
Purchase Department
Selling Department
Call Centre
Back Office

10) Why companies Outsource?

It is cost saving
To focus on core activities
To get quality work done by the expertise in that domain

11) Why do you see BPO as your career?

BPO has always been a career choice for me as you are exposed to a new field, which gives you an opportunity to grow and develop your personality and communication skills. The recent survey also tells the fast growth of this industry.

12) Why do you think you will do well in this job?

Give several reasons like experience, interest and skills.

13) What is a call centre?

Call center is a customer care center where calls are handled in large numbers. There are two types of call centers, Inbound and Outbound. An inbound call center is where calls are handled keeping the customer care in concern, and customer associate will only receive calls. While in outbound call center the calls are done by the associate for product inquires or sometimes sales related.

14) Where you see BPO in the current market?

In the current situation where many companies failed to survive in the market, BPO sector has achieved a milestone in an economic crisis. It helped to reduce the unemployment rate marginally in developing countries where some of the developed countries even failed to do that.

15) Can you use different software’s easily?

When you answer this question clarifies interviewer about your computer knowledge and your grip over software, so that they have a clear idea what training you might need further if you get selected.

16) Why do you want to work for our company?

This question is put in front of you by the interviewer to analyse how much you are aware of the companies work and how keen you are with the company projects. When you answer this question, mention about the company’s creative business policies, aggressive market stance and the growth of the company.

17) Determine the type of BPO you wish to work?

Generally, they want to know your area of interest. Whether you like to work in a research driven or a voice based process. There are many branches where BPO operates it could be a KPO (Knowledge process outsourcing) or even RPO (Research process outsourcing). So according the to the company’s requirement you can answer to it.

18) How good are you with computer skills?

Most of the time they usually ask for basic computer skills, but if the job demands more computer work then they will hold a practical test to check your computer skills.

19) Do you think that the career opportunity for non-voice BPO is better than voice BPO?

In both types of BPO,the opportunities are same, but it depends more on an individual’s interest and its personality. Once you gain expertise in the work, you can easily head up towards management or support side.

20) Will you be comfortable handling customers on the phone?

If you are a fresher you can tell that handling customer on the phone would be a challenge but you would be able to handle it and won’t disappoint the company as well as the customer.

21) Do you know the common risk associated with BPO’s and how will you cope with them?

BPO’s have a huge data of customer’s personal information. Any breach in the security system will lead to leakage of customer’s information, which can spoil the company’s reputation if it is used for some wrong purpose. To avoid such risk, employee or associate must not allow to carry any external hard drive or flash drive with them while they on board.

The de-activation of login-in ids of ex-employee must be done on the immediate basis, so that they cannot misuse them to retrieve customers information from anywhere. You can also install additional security software to secure the main server from getting hacked.

22) Did you learn anything new recently which can be helpful to BPO’s?

Knowing additional language apart from English is always beneficial in BPO’s . You can learn any other foreign language such as French or Spanish; it always give you more chances of securing jobs in BPO’s.

23) What is ISO:9000 in outsourcing?

In an outsourcing, ISO:9000 is a standard of mapping quality for the company. Most of the BPO companies have accepted ISO:9000 as the benchmark for the quality of service they offer.

24) What are the job activities you have to maintain in BPO?

The main activity in a call center is to handle the customers queries effectively and satisfactory. Also to co-ordinate well in a team in order to offer the best service possible to the customer.

25) Where do you see yourself after five years?

The perfect answer for this question should be like “ In five years from now I want to see myself at responsible position where my company see me as valuable assets and at the same time to grow with the company”.