This is the step-by-step procedure including some tips on what you need, what to expect, the pros and cons of applying/working at Singapore call centers.
Find out which call centers rank best and worst based on employee feedback from the most active call center forum in the Philippines.
Coming prepared on a call center interview requires research, personal assessment and emotional readiness.
Based on personal observations, call center salaries have been skyrocketing in the Philippines. Fueled by competition amongst call center
For those of you frequenting the Alabang area. Ever wonder why so much construction going on?
Any blogger or SEO enthusiast would surely be interested in this! This is a map representation of how major websites link to each other. Not too interesting for call center people but it should really be something for web strategists, SEO's and bloggers looking to get more traffic. Check out the source of the map here!
I'd like to feature any call center in the Philippines needing more exposure! This blog would be a great avenue to publicize your company and get more people interested to apply. If you're ramping up, this would be great too! As you can see, there's a lot of inquires for more information about the recent callcenters and BPO companies in Alabang. I'd love to feature Genpact, Firstsource and Verizon but so far nobody has contacted me yet. Hmm... For those callcenter professionals who want referrals, this would be good avenue to exchange email addresses so you can refer those applicants and get that referral bonus.
I've also been checking out some cool blogs I recently stumbled on and tried to get some ideas on how to make my blog a little bit better like getting the 3 column template. I messed up while in the process actually. I inadvertently deleted all my links from the old page! Hence the obsession in getting those call center directory links down there. Haha!
Another thing, we encourage participation of our call center people by increasing their ranking/authority as their participation and referrals increases. How does this work? Well, you start out as a newbie and as you post more and refer more people to participate in the forum, you will get "promoted" to call center professional levels like senior agent, Team Leader, Operations Manager and so on. For those who are still dreaming of getting promoted in their call center, you can do it here! Be an Operations manager or even Site director in our call center forum! :D
Beyond that, I can't really imagine how I'm going to support my family if I had been working somewhere else. If I had been working a daytime job, I probably would only be earning 12K right now, which is about equivalent to my monthly tax at the moment.
For those of you waiting on the Verizon Call center, here's the chance you've been waiting for. They will soon be starting operations in Alabang already. It's going to be technical support and most probably for DSL. My source says Verizon is located in the Firstsource building and she will be part of the pioneer batch. Tomorrow, I will be posting an update regarding more details about Verizon and how you can apply there.
Success story number 2 - Gae, Account Manager in Teleperformance Philippines, Pasig City. Gae started out in local Citibank collections. She moved to Etelecare where she spent most of her career in leadership. She is one of the most loved team leads. People loved the way she handled her teams and herself. After spending some time in Etelecare Cebu and with several years of leadership experience gained from Etelecare, she moved on to become an Account Manager in TP. The last update I had, she is handling 2 accounts for TP. Like Vince, she also started as an agent. She persevered and worked to be the best at what she does.
This is for my fellow call center managers. Most of you may have been "headhunted" already. But to some who haven't, you have been missing a lot. Executive Search Companies can boost your earning potentials by providing "marketing" for your talents. They have all the inside information about a job requirement. Most importantly, the salary range of a job requirement. They also have the insider news on the latest BPO companies opening here in the Philippines. They can match your needs with the potential company requirements and build your profile. Most of you may still be apprehensive about using their services, but trust me you application can reach a lot more places and give you the best options possible without the hassle of walking-in or going through a call center referral program.
Basically, these BPO companies are setting up shop here for a few reasons. Littlle known to most people, inflating wages of BPO employees in India is a big concern. BPO company are now looking at other locations not only to avoid this cost but also to set-up a disaster recovery venue for their main site in India.This becomes a surprising opportunity for those who are looking for a call center alternative. So to those who are bent looking for “back-office” work, look forward to be working for an Indian boss.
Hazel Chua from GENPACT has sent me a message they still are looking for 9 TL's to fill in their requirements for the Wachovia account in GE. 1 year experience as a TL is required. Those interested may send their resume before July 19 to hazel.chua@ge.com. The work assignment will be in North Cybergate Alabang.
Right now, credit cards are so easy to get because of easy requirements to get one. Call center people easily fall into this trap and may soon be living beyond their means. This contributes to a lot of stress inside and outside of work. Especially when you think that you haven't even been paid yet but the bills are waiting to be. For those of you who haven't gotten into the credit card mess, don't even think about getting a credit card. It will only mess up your financials and may eventually lead you to live beyond your means. Do not think it's an emergency fall-back. That's what everybody thinks at first. Then the temptation of spending will always haunt you as long as you have that credit card in your wallet.
The only thing that most of us convey we are proud of is how much money we get. And that's a fact. How many times have you told non call center people the good things you do in a call center? Maybe once or maybe none. But how many times have you encouraged people to join you in a call center because it pays well? I'm pretty sure at least one. Working in a call center, doesn't just mean you get paid better than most people, it means that you play an important role in everybody's life. Let me enumerate. Let's start within your work. You mean a lot to the customers because you are there to help them out. Even if they just want to vent or just be heard. You are important to your co-workers and supervisor/manager because their performance is based on how well you you do your job. You are important to your call center company because you are their backbone and you are a leader-in-training. Outside, you are important to your brothers and sisters because you can support them financially. Even just to share the financial load of the family. You are important to your parents because they can now depend on you. And shall I still say your importance to your wife/husband and kids? I think you get the picture.
These days, due to the unexpected growth of call centers, companies are left with no choice but to promote seasoned agents or low -level managers to the next rank. Gambling on the fact that they may not be able to cope with the demands of the fast-paced and pressured-packed job of being a call center manager. Adding to the fact, that most of the experienced senior managers are often poached by being offered something more lucrative by another call center company ( hopefully not a member of CCAP).
Finally last Monday, he finished most of the work in building the forum and it will be ready to launch in a couple of days or so. We will be providing special features that I'm sure most of you will be enticed to join and take part as we grow the call center & BPO community! I have signed up on the forum as the first moderator and will be looking for more as the community builds up. No more of that slow and server-busy error prone sites to post.
When I got home and faced my PC, I was surprised to see that I got a great view of the neon signage on the top of their building from where I'm sitting and blogging. Haha! Sometimes it makes me think the sign is beckoning me to join the Firstsource company. Haha! This is the first time Call Center Blogger has ever been excited of something new in the business! I tell you, for me, applying to first source right now seems very tempting and makes a lot of sense. I could just walk past the few houses here and BAM! Call Center Blogger is at work! Same thing when I go home. Practical...
In a call center setting, helping is the really hard part. You need to come through barriers to achieve this. And it takes great skill to get used to it. Much like blogging, I had envisioned myself helping people on the most pressing issues they have, which are showing them directions on how to get the jobs they want and advising them on how to do things better.
Then one more time, I asked ( as if baiting ), if they are looking for people for Wachovia. The person replied: How did you know? I told her that I am always updated with everything call center! Even before they had a go signal to hire, I know already. Hehehe! So those who are still interested on Wachovia, a piece of advice, don't wait for a call from GENPACT. Their screening processes are very stringent. It is very unlikely you can get a call from them directly unless you were referred by someone else. My second advice is actually more important. Look for the companies that does the recruitment for GENPACT. They can get you there easier. They have ways of making your image a little bit better. hehehe! Let me give you a head start here! The ones that Call Center Blogger knows conducting this for GENPACT are:
I can tell you at least a few good reasons why this idea is going to the dumpsters. Number 1, Monitoring and Support will not be effective. With the technology now, I'm pretty sure On-demand is fitted with call center monitoring tools. But what about QA and coaching? What about workforce scheduling? What about Tier 2 support? Call center are big on those things. I'm pretty sure whoever sells On-demand will have a hard time countering objections with these. Number 2, for disaster recovery I'm pretty sure all call center have their own and have thought about all the possibilities in case a massive work stoppage occurs. But having their own agents go home and take call center work there is kind of way out for now. Even in the Philippines, where natural disasters are aplenty and just waiting to happen, it is not likely we encounter a very massive disruption in internet connectivity and services that would make On-demand practical. I'm certain the call center have their own call center re-routing procedures which are better for now.
Call Center Blogger is going to write this call center post in increments as the book involves a lot of interpretation and it would be a huge amount of time to put it all in one sitting. Call Center Blogger will also divide it in chapters according to Sun Tzu’s book and more importantly quote an excerpt that I feel is applicable to call center situations. I will also relate how I used its principles and how my competitors have used it against me effectively as well.
Over | But Not Over | Rate |
| P10,000 | 5% | |
| P10,000 | P30,000 | P500 + 10% of the Excess over P10,000 |
| P30,000 | P70,000 | P2,500 + 15% of the Excess over P30,000 |
| P70,000 | P140,000 | P8,500 + 20% of the Excess over P70,000 |
| P140,000 | P250,000 | P22,500 + 25% of the Excess over P140,000 |
| P250,000 | P500,000 | P50,000 + 30% of the Excess over P250,000 |
| P500,000 | P125,000 + 34% of the Excess over P500,000 in 1998 |
