A passage to India

Employees of Pathway Communications, on Karve Rd. in Pune, are huddled excitedly around the office's new cappuccino machine. With normal working hours extending from 7:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. (to coincide with Canada's daytime routine), their interest in caffeine is understandable.

With its sleek computers, ergonomic chairs and tidy cubicles, the third-floor workplace looks a lot like the company headquarters back in Markham.

During a typical shift, employees will handle about 150 calls, providing technical help to Pathway's residential and corporate clients in Greater Toronto.

Workers are put through training to neutralize their Indian accents. But customers don't realize their calls are being answered on the other side of the globe, or don't care, says Rahul.

"As long as we're able to give good resolution of their problem, I don't think the customers mind where their call is going."

Pathway is the brainchild of Ashok Kalle, 52, who came to Canada from India in 1988 and launched the company in 1995.

In 2004, it became part of a growing outsourcing movement when it shifted tech support to an office in India with just a dozen local employees.

Two years later, the workforce has grown to 50, with employees drawing 300,000 to 500,000 rupees a year ($7,700 to $12,800 Canadian). With the city's 30-plus engineering and computer colleges providing a steady supply of skilled workers, setting up here was an obvious choice, says Kalle, who maintains homes in Pune and in Markham.

Kalle sees the North American resentment about outsourcing of jobs as short-sighted.

Companies that outsource invest back into the enterprise, boosting productivity and efficiency, he says.

Business is booming, and Kalle plans to launch an Internet-based telephone service soon.

May 23, 2006