Dell's recent announcement that it intends to double its staff in India, to more than 20,000 people by 2009, was widely recognized as a vote of full confidence in the country's development. For Dell, India represents not only a rapidly growing consumer market—its annual demand for five million PCs is expected to double by 2010—but also a huge talent pool for transaction processing, R&D, and IT operations, as well as a potential manufacturing base.

An in-depth look at Dell's successful experience with customer service centers in India over the past five years reveals some of the reasons for the company's enthusiasm. The managing director of Dell's Indian operations, Romi Malhotra, has guided the development of its three customer service centers there, from the early beginnings, when it sought to outsource some of its activities, to the current program, with Indian operations representing its best practice. Malhotra, who came to Dell after helping GE and Standard Chartered Bank set up their Indian back-office operations, has focused on improving the company's recruitment, retention, and employee-development programs in order to turn Dell into an employer of choice in India's highly competitive labor market. He believes that in India, the company can leverage a...