The York man at the forefront of Norwich Union's Asian call centre move

Jon Whitaker opened the curtains of his Indian hotel room and stared straight into the eyes of a sizeable bird of prey.

"It was an amazing thing," he recalls. "I rang my wife and said: 'You'll never guess what I'm looking at. There's an eagle on my balcony!'"

You might wonder who won the hotel staring match. Jon's friendly, with an easy, relaxed manner, but he's head of operations for Norwich Union Life, and you don't get picked to move British work to India without a certain inner steel.

We're in a chauffeured car, barrelling through insane traffic in the sweltering Indian city of Pune, and talking about how Jon came to face that eagle during a visit to launch Norwich Union's sub-continental adventure.

The story began back in 1988, in Stevenage, with Jon working for Provident Mutual and embarking on a career as an actuary - a statistics expert who

calculates insurance risks.

Things took an unexpected turn.

He said: "I was quite happy minding my own business, and the company was

launching personal pensions.

"It was quite a frantic time - they were launched out of the blue - and I got a call.

"I was due a move and they said: 'We'll throw that to him'."

Why him?

"I think they saw that I was quick to pick things up and able to get on," he speculated.

And Jon never did get that actuarial career.

He moved to York in 1996 through General Accident's Provident takeover. He's been here ever since, through company mergers and name changes, living with his wife and daughter in a village not far from Norwich Union's York HQ.

"Then I had another one of those calls," said Jon. "I was just about to go on my summer holidays when I got a call from my boss to talk to Gary Withers, the chief executive, and they outlined this role.

"They were very honest, said it would be a major commitment: at least a week every month in India for two years, but they said: 'We want someone to do it, and we think you could do it'.

"I was invited to join a small senior team looking at the life company and

identifying which sectors of our work we could move to India and how, and agreeing a plan for that work."

Jon travelled to India in 2003 and met potential partners vying to set up and run the Indian operations.

He said: "I went to Pune when our building was a concrete shell, and I was wearing a hard hat to walk around it. It's been fascinating to see it from building site through to completion with the best part of 1,000 staff working on the life company in that building."

Jon's well aware that offshoring is not universally welcomed. The union Amicus, which represents many British call-centre workers, has been particularly outspoken in its opposition to the concept.

But he stoutly defends the process in York, where the work affected includes

handling pension products, life insurance, investment bonds and new business.

"Some of that work has moved offshore to Pune," he said. "It means we have less people in York doing that very specific role, but the activity of the head office function in York means those people have been, or are in the process of being, moved into the city. So with this part of our business in York, we have made fewer than 20 redundancies.

"Quite a number of the staff would have been involved in training as part of moving the work offshore, and they are still supporting, overseeing the overall process, so are moving to a different sort of role."

Some of the staff will have left as part of normal business turnover, he said.

He said: "We have always tried to be as open as we can about what we are doing; announced our plans as clearly as we can; worked very closely with the staff body.

"Staff have been understandably very cautious and concerned... as time has gone by, they have seen in reality there have been no mega job losses, and they are much more comfortable about it.

"For a number of staff it has been a fantastic opportunity; as we have moved out here people got involved in training, spending six to eight weeks out here.

"Those who have been close to it have a much better understanding of what we are doing and why, and it is less threatening."

How was it for Jon? "I have greatly enjoyed it. The industry's gone through fundamental change. It has been a real rollercoaster ride, and I have enjoyed that."

York now provides work for 3,400 local people - more, said Jon, than worked here for Norwich Union before it began moving Life product processing to India.

:: The battle against data fraud

When you think about people handling your personal financial information thousands of miles away from you, it's understandable to worry about fraud and

confidentiality.

Norwich Union concedes that dealing safely with personal data is a constant challenge, but insists the issues are the same the world over.

Security's tight at their Indian call centres. Uniformed guards, all white spats and peaked caps, clock you in and out through turnstiles only once you have a staff or visitor pass.

Your bags are searched beneath notices warning you must take no cameras on to the office floors.

This is to stop personal details being photographed on computer screens.

Staff cannot use the internet at their desks and personal phone calls are banned.

Operations chief Jon Whitaker outlined other security measures.

"All the data and computer systems are retained in the UK," he said. "No data is stored on hard drives out in India. You can't physically download data and put it on to a CD."

Indian call centres are largely paper-free, so making notes is not easy without being noticed; and customer confidentiality is stressed.

"We are also careful about the people we recruit, and about what is brought into the operation," said Jon.

"We have had no problem in this area at all, because we have built in much

more security - and what we do here in India is completely compatible with the Data Protection Act. There are always issues in dealing with data, but it is no worse in India than anywhere else."

:: 'It's a professional conversation but you are looking for customers to get off the phone with a smile on their face'

It's 2.30pm in India - 9am in Britain. Customer service advisor Prithvi Chandrashekar, 21, is in Norwich Union's Bangalore office awaiting his next call.

"It's a professional conversation at the start," he said. "You don't know what it's going to lead to, but you are looking for customers to get off the phone with a smile on their face.

"You could be talking about their social life, football matches. I recently spoke to somebody about the TV programme Friends."

Prithvi's addicted to Friends. He's also a major fan of Iron Maiden and Metallica, he follows Arsenal, and his hero is Thierry Henry.

We are talking about his education (he has a degree in computing and is working for a masters in business administration) when the phone rings.

A retired teacher hopes Prithvi can quote her happy on car insurance. He gets busy on the computer.

Prithvi: Have you any big plans for the weekend?

Caller (amused): Not really! I expect I will be struggling to get to grips with my computer. It's a new piece of equipment, and I haven't really come to grips with it.

Prithvi: I know the frustration. Still, a little leisure time at home doesn't hurt anyone.

Prithvi turns up a quote. It's not as good as the £270 quote the caller already has.

He searches for a discount, but can't beat the rival quote.

Caller: Well, I'm still searching. It's been nice talking to you. What's your name?

Prithvi: The name's Prithvi.

Caller: That's not an English name, is it?

Prithvi: No, I am in Bangalore.

Caller: Do you mean to say I am speaking to you in India?

Prithvi: Yes. Have you ever been to this part of the world?

Caller: Yes, many times. I've been to Mumbai, Kashmir, Sri Lanka, Nepal.

Prithvi: Any plans to return at the moment?

Caller: No. I have a number of different trips coming up... but India is never very far off my list because I love it.

Prithvi: Can I suggest you go to Goa? The beaches are great.

Caller (laughing): Thanks - I'll bear that in mind. Have a great weekend!

The call ends. Prithvi says: "So you see, I sent her away with a smile on her face..."

:: Meet the workers...

Lorraine, graduate, mother of two

- What's it like being a working mum in India?

"It's been very good. My husband is very supportive. I had been spending much of my time looking after the kids at home...I needed time for me."

- How have British customers responded to you?

Some people were very angry to start with. Our trainers knew this was going to come; we were told not to take anything personally. We tried to convince customers to give their details, then we went an extra mile for them. People understand that and they go away happy.

Sahana, 25, law graduate

- Didn't you want to be a lawyer?

"I practised law but joined Aviva to get more money... and people were very friendly.

- Any problems dealing with the Brits?

Once you have a professional and personal relationship, things are fine. I have had customers call me every other week to tell me what's happening in their life.

Pargha, hotel management graduate

- Why this career?

There are big developments ahead, especially with a company like Aviva. I am earning more than most people my age. It is the best job.

- What do your friends say?

Most of my friends joined hotels or travel organisations. They are jealous now. This industry has picked up so well.

Surender, 26, law graduate

- What do you do and how do you spend your money?

I'm in motor insurance. I have 14 people in my team. I give a proportion of my money to home, I invest some, and I pay for my studies. I am doing an MBA to better my prospects. Eventually I want to start my own business, and invest in real estate.

- How do you deal with complaints?

I just tell them I'll treat them as a person, not a policy number. The British are very polite; if they are not happy, the most they do is get a bit sarcastic.

- Any anecdotes?

There was a lady once; I was trying to sell her breakdown cover and she wasn't sure. It was supposed to be my eighth sale for the day. I told her handsome guys would come and rescue her, and she took it up!

Eva, graduate, former TV anchorwoman

- Shouldn't you be on the telly?

I did editing and newsreading with a TV company, but I needed a break and moved here.

I earn more than I did as an anchor on TV, and the pressure there was so much.

Updated: 11:15 Friday, January 06, 2006