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. :)

Posted in: CallCenter Issues