Five skills

T N Radhakrishna Global Head, IT Datamatics Technologies

Datamatics Technologies is a non-voice BPO in content management, accounting and tax services. The company offers end-to-end solutions in back office processing and content management in the finance and accounting, human resources, insurance and healthcare domains. It also offers consultancy services in document management, workflow and data warehousing space. Datamatics has more than 80 customers worldwide, with subsidiaries in the US, Britain and Germany. The company has more than 2,200 personnel, including 1,352 knowledge associates. Here are the five factors they consider while hiring people at different levels:

Domain expertise and computer skills: This depends on the team / project for which the recruitment is being done. In the publishing area, for composition projects, we look for people with a background in Quark or any of the popular DTP applications. In contrast, financial data processing demands a different profile and domain knowledge. Almost all jobs now require good understanding of computer hardware and software, especially word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail and most importantly, basic trouble-shooting, which avoids valuable time lost in over-dependency on hardware engineers.

Communication and interpersonal skills: The single most important skill a candidate should possess is the ability to listen, write, and speak effectively. Successful communication is critical in business. The role of communication has become very significant in dealing with both internal and external customers. As we are mostly active in international markets, interpersonal skills are very important to make sure that the person can be a team player.

Numeric and analytical skills: These skills deal with your ability to assess a situation, seek multiple perspectives, gather more information if necessary, and identify key issues that need to be addressed. They help understand the level / type of project that a person can take up. A candidate with good analytical skills has the ability to think things through—analyse what he sees, and develop his own clear line of thought.

General global awareness: A basic understanding of important global events and happenings is very important as many projects today demand a certain level of awareness, especially since most of the customers and data we deal with is global. A thorough update on global awareness helps one to know, understand, apply and respond effectively while dealing with customers. It also helps in planning and executing global business strategy.

Project management skills: These skills demand that a candidate should possess three essential sub skills—time management, cost management, and good foresight. He is expected to execute the project by using appropriate resources, build a team to perform the project work, and solve frequent and significant project problems like wrecked schedules, cost overruns, and bad feelings among team members.