Call Center Agents Need A Voice

I was happy to find out so many of our call center agents are beginning to realize their roles in nation building. Here are videos showing them answering the question: why do we need to have a call center agent party list representative in Congress?

Here's a video of a call center agent describing their party list's platform.

The people of ACCAP has been building their campaign in the grassroots level and also online. For more information on how you can join their noble cause to uplift the welfare of BPO workers, you may visit their homepage accap.ph.

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Call Center Agent Retirement Pay: Is It Possible

Do you dream of ever retiring as a call center employee? The biting truth is majority of our call center workers do not foresee themselves growing old and retiring in the call center industry. Another sad truth is some of us have gone into this business hoping to land a job that pays very very well but end up not saving anything for the future. Why? For one thing, there is no systematic program that allows call center and BPO employees to set aside money for a comfortable retirement or even just for future financial investments. Sure there may be some big outsourcing companies that have conceptualized an employee retirement program but that is only co-terminus to their employees stay within the company. What about the other 95% of BPO workers in the Philippines who don't have such privilege? This is the reason why a BPO worker retirement fund must be institutionalized. It is one of the ways that can provide a positive impact for our BPO workers perception about their work and their perception of the outsourcing industry as a whole.

A good model

I've been studying the 401k plans of U.S. employees recently and I have concluded this would be the perfect model for such BPO employee retirement fund. In simple terms, a 401k plan is where an employee sets aside a certain self-determined percentage of his/her gross salary on a regular basis as part of his eventual retirement savings. This figure set aside will be equally matched by his/her employer. The sum of the two will now become the employee's contribution. Let's say the agent decides 10% of his monthly salary of 15,000 he will set aside, the employer matches it with their own 1,500. It now becomes 3,000 and over a period of one year, the employee would have saved 36,000 for his/her retirement. Let us now presume that this employee works as a call center agent for the next 5 years (which would be highly unlikely since opportunities are abound in the call center industry), his retirement savings would have now totaled 180,000 pesos! This figure does not include eventual interests/profits earned by this savings fund as it will also be invested into any established financial investment program at the employee's choosing. Over the years, it may well be possible to double or multiply 180,000 into a bigger amount depending on the type of savings investment option the employee chooses. The employees will have full control over how much they would be willing to set aside all throughout the course of this savings plan. He may increase or decrease his contribution depending on his financial needs and degree of comfortability to pay. To a certain extent, his employers will match his contributions every time.

What good would a 401k-like plan do for the agents?

For one thing, their contribution shall always be deducted from their gross salary NOT after taxes are taken away. This shall immediately lower their monthly tax deductions because their gross salary is "virtually" lowered. For example a call center employee gets 15,000 monthly and makes a 401k contribution of 1,500, he/she will only end up being tax deducted from a salary base of 13,500 instead of the full 15K. That savings is then doubled by the employer contribution each time and over the years will earn interest. Taxes turned into savings! This is a very good concept.

Apart from lowering taxes, this 401k-like retirement savings would also be transferable between employers that offer such options. So in case the agents move to greener pastures, their savings will be rolled over to their new employer and they can continue saving until such time they decide to retire or withdraw their savings for whatever reason.

Some business process outsourcing companies may not have the luxury to match their employees contribution. In this case, they may exercise an option to pay their half through profit-sharing, stock options and other means just like other US companies have provided their employees.

What's the catch with this 401k-plan for BPO workers?

As with all others monetary gains, the retirement fund shall be subject to tax upon withdrawal. That's a reality to deal with. However, at the end of the day, a BPO worker will be looking at a hefty sum to receive even after taxes are deducted because half of this savings benefit is their employers' contribution. Following the original 401k guidelines, the longer an employee has worked for the BPO industry, the bigger pay-off he/she can expect but there would be a corresponding penalty fee should the employee decide to withdraw his savings before a pre-determined retirable age. Once more, it is better to receive something like a retirement sum than nothing at all.

This looks like additional financial burden for outsourcing companies. How does this benefit the business side of things?

Outsourcers can look forward to better performing employees who will stay longer and who will feel good about the work they do. Working towards a meaningful goal such a savings fund will have a positive impact on employees' psyche. Providing a very good 401k-like program will encourage employees to stay in the company longer than look for another employer who may not be able to provide such privilege.

401K-like retirement option can also be the perfect bait to attract the best talents in the industry. Skyrocketing salaries have become a recognized major cause for concern among call center employers so offering such program shall be a good alternative than offering huge salaries upfront. As one of my colleagues mentioned when this retirement fund becomes a reality for BPO workers in the Philippines, it will no longer be a matter of which company will offer the best salary but rather which company can save me more money in the long run.

At the end of the day, a savings fund like this shall address 2 major problems our outsourcing industry faces today, staff attrition and unsustainable salaries of BPO employees. If I was a BPO employer, I would most definitely prefer to pay and invest on the workers I have now than perpetually spend on training new hires who may most likely move on and leave me as our current industry conditions experience.

How can this become a reality?

Such a concept cannot be accomplished at the private sector's level. Institutionalization of this proposal needs legislation as it involves taxing and financials. The full program must be enacted in Congress so that its provisions will be protected by law. Technical consultations and debate would be needed to determine the scope and accountability of both employer and employees. This is one of the key projects that ACCAP - The Association of Call Center and BPO Agents have conceptualized and presented over media in their press conference yesterday. They shall fight for such bill to be enacted into law as part of their vision to improve lives of all business process outsourcing employees in the Philippines. I encourage you to visit their website accap.ph to find out what a call center agent Congress representative can do for all of us call center employees.

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Success For The ACCAP Press Conference!

Congratulations to the Association of Call Center & BPO Agents of the Philippines (ACCAP)for its successful launch in today's press conference. Attended by major newspapers, radio and TV station personnel, ACCAP leaders have laid out their legislative plans once elected. This includes the creation of a call center agent retirement fund and an administrative body that shall address all foreseeable needs of BPO employees in the Philippines. Taken from their accap.ph website, here's the full legislative platform this call center agent part-list stands for:

1. ACCAP will file legislation that will improve the agents’ welfare and its industry’s growth
2. ACCAP will embody the hopes and aspirations of the agents, being the voice of the BPO workforce, especially on issues that affect quality of their lives, employment protection and industry growth

3. ACCAP will advocate a retirement fund similar to a 401k that will ensure better financial future and comfortable retirement for all BPO workers

4. ACCAP will conduct regular forums and consultations with its members to stay in tune with their issues and concerns regarding policy-making and legislative suggestions

5. ACCAP will advocate affordable housing for BPO workers to ensure a stable future for their families

6. ACCAP will endorse education bills that will improve acceptance rates of call center agent applicant and bring about increased growth in the industry (education will focus on improving communication skills and English proficiency of students and teachers)

7. ACCAP shall lobby for an education curriculum that will offer students to specialize in customer management and business process outsourcing management

8. ACCAP will exercise full transparency and regular self-audit of legislative funding privileges and publish its reports on its website viewable to the public

9. ACCAP will support legislation that will lower annual attrition of call center and BPO agents, as well as improve remunerations (special incentives and holidays) and other benefits

10. To advocate a government administrative body that will address all concerns of every BPO workers in the Philippines. This administrative body, which is similar to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) shall function as an umbrella agency that will address the following concerns:

* Provide pre-employment audit of BPO workers contracts to ensure their company’s compliance with existing Philippine labor policies
* Provide pre-employment seminars that will ensure BPO workers’ awareness of their rights under Philippine labor laws
* Provide free call center training and employment assistance to aspiring callcenter/ BPO workers
* Extend financial assistance and temporary shelter to its constituents in events of dire financial trouble, work displacement and emergency situations
* Extend health care assistance through their HMO coverage
* Provide a 24/7 helpline for all conceivable concerns of BPO workers
* Provide free legal assistance especially for labor cases
* Offer a cooperative that will promote better financial future and free the agents from credit card debt (should also address financial needs of BPO workers in terms of providing good education for their families and improvement in their quality of life)
* Provide assistance in availing government mandated benefits such as Pag-Ibig, Philhealth and SSS
* Provide assistance for its constituents in exploring alternative avenues of financial freedom

If you guys are still wondering who are the people behind ACCAP are, check out this youtube video created where call center agent, ACCAP founder and Secretary General Kevin Carreon talks about his Call Center Agent party-list group.

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Our Call Center Blog Just Got Better!

Its been almost 2 months since I've revived this call center blog and planned to make it even better. Since then, I've gotten in touch with some old blog friends and connected with new call center readers. I'm forever thankful to those who have voluntarily aimed their browsers to this website regularly and I promise even more interesting and relevant call center articles that is in tune with your call center life.

The past few weeks have been tremendous in therms of reader feedback and traffic. I'm happy to find a lot of people opting to leave their 2 cents in most of the blog articles we have published. To engage readers in meaningful discussions about issue that affect call center agents' lives is the primarily goal of this simple blog. it makes me happier to have found that many have also opted to add this call center blog in their social networks Facebook and Twitter. My whole-hearted thank yous to the 95 Facebook users and 225 Twitter followers who have decided to include us in their online social networking lives. I especially want to thank those who have opted to receive call center blog updates by subscribing through their emails and feed readers. Please continue to follow our blog and kindly invite your call center friends to join us in our discussions.

As we have increasingly become more visible online in our call center niche, we have also gained business partnership that we deemed to be helpful to our call center masses. Callcenterblogger.com is now a proud media sponsor for the 2nd Call Center Olympics to be held in 2010. A sports event to show who's call center agents are best in selected events, it is also a perfect avenue for call center agents to socialize and mingled with colleagues from other companies. It is also a great event for call center companies to promote their brand to potential employees. I have included an event poster below this post for this 2010 call center sports event. Callcenterblogger.com is now also collaborating with the Association of Call Center & BPO Agents of the Philippines Party-list group as it advocates to promote BPO employees welfare and endeavor ideas that will be beneficial to both call center employees and companies. A press conference to launch ACCAP to the media will be held tomorrow November 24, 2009 starting 10:30 AM. I hope to see you all there!

As we move towards 2010, we shall make it a point to publish engaging and relevant call center information for you to enjoy. We also encourage you to initiate any discussion or suggest ideas for this blog to tackle so we can get the collective wisdom of our call center readers. They say the greatest wisdom comes from the people because the voice/wisdom of the people is the voice/wisdom of God.

Thank you all and I hope to see you all here in call center blogger dot com.

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Call Center Salary Survey Update

 The call center salary survey I've conducted just last month got enough response that I've decided to deduct conclusion this early. Forty-five percent (26 out of 58) of the respondents have indicated that a starting salary of greater than 18,000 pesos a month is the most desirable. Thirty-four percent of call center employees who answered the simple survey said a call center starting salary with the range of 15,000 to 18,000 is attractive. Only 8% of these call center survey participants said 13,500 to 17,000 is OK. While 12,000 to 15, 000 pesos call center salary only got the nod of 4 call center employee respondents.

What does this informal salary survey tell us? First and foremost, it is evident that salary expectations have dramatically changed over the years. In 2003, when call centers were only a handful and they were barely standing on solid ground, a 12,000 peso salary for customer service reps and 14,500 for tech support reps were the norms. Fast forward to 2009 where call center companies are a dime a dozen and work demands have become heavier in pursuit of better performance, the the 2003 salary norms now seem distasteful.

Can we blame the reps for expecting too much? No. It is only human nature to maximize earning potentials as employees get more experienced. In an industry where salaries are as deregulated as the prices of oil in this country, where would you expect employees to troop to? They go to companies where they get a lot more for the relatively same amount of work just like the motoring public would prefer to gas up where they can get the most amount of fuel for the same amount of money.

The bigger implication of this informal survey is how this call center agent perception about their salaries play out in the much larger issue of call center agent attrition. Without salary standardization in our outsourcing industry, employees will continually shift around companies where they can get paid better. There are other things to consider ofcourse: work environment and tasks load, benefits and career advancement opportunities and even sign-up bonuses. However, the most basic consideration always come first: who is going to pay me the most money for my talent?

In my opinion, there is no other party to be blamed but call center companies. They are feeding this problem that may one day cause them to bottom out. Salary benchmarking is useless if call center companies are constantly outdoing each other in terms of salary offers. CCAP President Benedict Hernandez has already warned this issue is leading the industry towards unsustainability. If we want to identify one single threat to the call center industry here in the Philippines, burgeoning call center employee salaries may well be number 1.

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Call Center Agent Party-List: the Truths and the Misconceptions

It is human nature to fear what is unknown. There is no denying that fact. However, to Hope is also naturally human. The power of hope gives us inspiration, strength to strive better and makes life easier to deal with.

When I came on board with ACCAP - Association of Call Center and BPO Agents of the Philippines, there was no doubt in my mind that this group aiming to represent the ideals and aspirations of thousands of call center agents will face a big challenge to overcome stereotyping and misconceptions about their cause. Call center agents like most nonchalant Filipinos are naturally disgusted by traditional politics and virtually anything related to it. It is natural for them to feel indifferent to a cause which they feel do not address their needs. It is natural for them to feel nothing about a group who they don't know the real people behind. It is natural for them not to care if it doesn't answer "what's in it for me?"

As part of the ACCAP team, let me now address these fears and misconceptions so call center agents can tell between the truths and the myths behind this call center agent party-list group.

Misconception #1: The ACCAP or the Association of Call Center & BPO Agents of the Philippines is backed up by unscrupulous politicians looking to take advantage of the Partylist system and handle special privileges that comes along with getting elected.

The Truth: ACCAP is grassroots-organized group formed 2 years ago led by its founder Kevin Carreon, a call center agent of Eperformax along with several of his friends. The concept of this partylist group was created solely to address the special needs of call center agents as a gainfully-employed sector of society. The people behind Kevin's group are also pioneers of the industry who have years of experience within the call center industry.They are also friends and relatives of Kevin and his group. ACCAP prides itself with its principle of being an independent group which means it does NOT have ties with big business, leftist or extremists and no politician backers. It is truly a group formed of call center agents, by call center agents and for call center agents.

Misconception #2: A call center agent party list will scare off call center companies and BPO clients.

The Truth: The major agenda of ACCAP is to improve the welfare of call center agents through creative means. The one of the biggest goal of ACCAP is to help call center employees when the need arises. Proactive concepts are in the pipeline to anticipate their future needs as an employee which will hopefully make them realize that there is a future in working for call centers and make them stay longer. Making them stay longer and building a fruitful career out of what they are doing now will eventually lead to employee satisfaction and lower agent attrition. On the business side, outsourcing companies will soon realize that efforts by this call center agent partylist are beneficial to their business because it lowers their cost to operate, it helps them keep the employees within their fold longer and lowers their overall attrition rates. When these goals are finally realized, I doubt there would be one single BPO company that would take their business elsewhere.

Misconception #3: Money is the root of all evil. To get pork barrel is a sole driving force behind this call center agent party-list group.

The Truth: In the event a call center agent representative gets elected, all legislative funding privileges down to the single centavo will be allotted to the conceptualized projects aimed towards uplifting the lives of their constituents. Full transparency, regular audit and accountability will be exercised.

Misconception #4: ACCAP is only using this opportunity to take advantage of the call center agent voting population.

The Truth: I have sat down and listened to the leaders of ACCAP and in just a short span of time I have come to realize we share the common vision of improving the lives of call center agents and helping the society as a whole. We are also from the call center industry and while some of us have loved ones also working as call center employees. It is not in our best interest to take advantage of people we love and the business/employment which keeps our families alive.

Misconception #5: The people behind ACCAP are so secretive. Their accap.ph website does not elaborate any platform they stand for. Maybe they have a hidden agenda.


The Truth: The Association of Call Center & BPO Agents of the Philippines group is an independent grassroots group formed by call center agents and so far only financially supported by their families and friends who believe the group can make a difference.Funding to support its cause has been difficult while gathering support to build a useful portal has just been obtained. After much collaboration with industry experts and call center agent friends, bigger and better things are lined up for ACCAP in the next few days. An all new and improved website will provide all the info people will need and encourage interaction between call center communities. News write-ups will feature ACCAP and the platform they will stand for. A press conference should be held next week to show the whole country what is ACCAP, who are the people behind it and what difference it will make to the call center community once elected.

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Call Center Agent Party-List Soon To Rise

The past few days have been relatively quiet here at callcenterblogger.com I must admit. However, those few silent days were well spent talking with my newly-found friends at ACCAP - Association of Call Center & BPO Agents of the Philippines.

Last week I was invited for a sit down by one of their leaders and we talked about our common goals for our call center nation. I was very delighted to find out that we share a common vision to improve the welfare of all center and BPO employees. We both agreed that in order for our vision to become reality and call center agents voices be heard by government, we need relevant legislation that will enrich lives, improve lifestyles and generally uplift the well-being of each and every call center and BPO agent in the Philippines.

This morning was another fulfilling day as I met more of ACCAP's team members. Cris, Kevin, Junie, Bob and I shared ideas on how we can reach out and touch lives of call center agents through our vision. I'm a born skeptic and rarely I would get easily convinced but I saw in their faces the sincerity and willingness to improve the welfare of all BPO employees working in the Philippines. We talked about plans and solutions we can present that will revolutionize call center life, bring about good change in the industry and improve perceptions of call center work as a career.

Right now, the ground work is getting laid down. The new and improved ACCAP website will soon be launched and our vision will take the mainstream in the next few days. I'm inviting all of you to visit ACCAP and take part in this noble cause. Share your ideas, volunteer or contribute in any way you can so we may all come to realize an even brighter tomorrow for all of us call center employees.

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Call Center Agent Legislation Ideas

Do you have any bright ideas on how we can make things better for our call center employees? I share mine here as some of our young ones still don't know what can our Congress do for us.

I came across a call center forum thread discussing the call center agent party-list topic which i have recently touched on this blog. Call center agents being apolitical in nature don't seem to realize the endless possibilities legislation (and privileges that come along with it) that can impact us as BPO workers. It seems that when we talk of Congress and congressmen the first thing that comes to mind is "pork barrel." Not good... While legislative allocations can do wonders for people entitled to it, it is not the reason why we want a call center agent representative in congress.

When we talk of legislation for call center employees, we need to consider 3 things:

1) What has troubled us in the past?
2) What specific needs do we have now as BPO employees?
3) What are the things we need in the future to make our professional and personal lives better as call center employees and our families?

These three should be our guiding principles in our quest to be represented in Congress. Additionally, in the spirit of the popular quote by JFK "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what YOU can do for your country", we should also consider possible contributions can we provide in Congress that will impact our society as a whole.

What has troubled us in the past?

There are so many different issues call center agents have had trouble with in the past. What we need to consider here are legislative agendas that will effectively curb our concerns. Reiterating labor laws is NOT a solution. We need to suggest ideas that will nip these problems once and for all. Salary disputes, mandatory contributions not paid in a timely manner, legal assistance, lack of awareness for labor policies and many more are common based on experience. We need to have legislation that will create a system that audits and verifies enforcement of laws to prevent these from happening again.

What specific needs do we have now as BPO employees?

Right now, even as call center companies grow and call center agents rise in numbers companies still have trouble hiring qualified applicants. This results in delaying of business growth and more importantly more work are spread over existing employees because the number of calls may increase but the number of qualified individuals answering the phones can't cope with the demands. This will eventually lead to more problems later on on both sides of the call center floor, management and rank & file. We must author legislation that will provide solutions at the roots. Revising the educational system to include business process outsourcing subjects and intensive English subjects in college may be a good idea. Creating a curriculum specific to BPO (say for example Bachelor of Science/Arts in Customer Service or Business Process Outsourcing Management) can also help. Providing more intensive verbal communications re-training for Elementary and High School teachers will definitely help solve this problem in the future.

These are just wild ideas for now as some may think. However, some of the greatest scientists and inventors were also laughed at first. Turns out eventually their weird ideas were in fact true and useful.

What are the things we need in the future to make our professional and personal lives better as call center employees and our families?

I, for one, love to think of possibilities. I think I am better at suggesting ideas that may solve future concerns. Suggested Call Center Laws:

1. Subsidized housing for call center agents' families to allow their families affordable houses.
2. A 401k-like plan for call center agents
3. Creation of an OWWA-like body for call center employees
4. Allocation of funds for a call center agents cooperative to help employees financially.
5. Create a body for training call center employees to invest their money well and to be entrepreneurs.
6. Create legislation to afford call center employees continuous education that will fit their current jobs.
7. Create a body that will serve as a call center helpline for those needing immediate assistance.
8. Create legislation that will ensure safety of call center agents' immediate work environment within the company, surrounding their companies' vicinity and travel/commute.
9. Create legislation to protect call center employees against discrimination from call center company associations.
10. A Magna Carta for Call Center Agents - that will TRULY embody us as an important sector of our society.

Warning:
The ideas above are patented intellectual property of the author protected by law. Do not use these ideas for your own covert political agenda. Ask permission in writing from callcentervet@gmail.com. :)

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Call Center Agents Deserve A Party-List Rep Too!

Some people question our need for Congress representation in the 2010 elections. People say we, as call center employees, are NOT marginalized that is why we don't qualify to nominate a partylist group. Does working in a call center then make us second class citizens?

In a recent move to effectively sift through the huge number of partylist groups applying for accreditation in the next elections, the Commission on Elections has reiterated two conditions that will be their guiding principles in approving them. Partylist applicants, like one that applied on behalf of call center agents,  have to represent a sector of society that is under-represented and marginalized. We, as call center employees due to our exponentially growing numbers and special niche in society, will be under-represented in the years to come or probably as soon as the present. However, earning above average salaries puts us in a predicament where some of our fellow countrymen do not consider us marginalized. Being marginalized to many is a situation where one experiences poverty. While this may not be true for call center employees, does this mean we don't deserve to be represented in this democratic country?

3 Facts and Arguments

1. We, as law-abiding citizens, need representation to Congress just like everybody else. If Migrante and and other leftist groups were allowed to have their own people to participate in the House in the past, we as income generating sector of society, deserve it now naturally because we are all equals in the eyes of law.

2. We are all tax-paying citizens. In the U.S., tax-payers are afforded the right for proper representation in their legislative houses. Being that our government is largely patterned with the democratic ways of  government in the U.S., we too deserve this right for recognition. Amongst all gainfully-employed Filipinos, as a sector/group call center agents pay probably the biggest income taxes on a regular basis and at obnoxious rates! Since our salaries are huge, depending on tax classifications, corresponding big taxes are automatically deducted from our salaries with us not having a say about it. If the government taxes us, in effect we pay for their expenses including the ones in Congress. Why should we not have a representative in the law-making body which we pay to sustain operations? If groups like Bayan Muna, Gabriela and others who have representation now but whose members don't present a clear cut evidence that they are paying their duties, why can't the high-tax paying call center employees be afforded such rights? My argument here is not who pays more taxes rather why can't we be given the same right to nominate and elect a representative in the 2010 elections.

3. If not us who else will raise our concerns? Last August 17, Kabataan Party Rep. Raymond Palatino in his own words, tried to generate awareness for call center agents. His presentation style left a lot to be desired to say the least. In my opinion,  his speech was a total disaster and perforated with lies, exaggerations and prejudice against call centers as an industry. His consequent House bill no. 6921 filed the same day was worse. I've already presented my case in the previous post here. This is what happens when people, who hardly knows anything about us and hasn't experienced a day in the life of a call center agent, try to "defend" our members and causes. Our lawmakers and countrymen will get false data and prejudiced statements against us. If big corporations can lobby in Congress through our solons, we as citizens need to have the same people. The most ideal person to represent us is somebody who embodies our ideals and aspirations.

The question of having a call center agent partylist group representative in Congress is not why should we but rather an argument of why shouldn't we. Some people may say the law is the law and it says you call center agents are not poor so you can't get representation no matter what your arguments are. However, laws can be amended and changed. It will just need us to unite and ask a respectable person to fully and unprejudicedly present our concerns.

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