Recently, the Philippines took top honors for call center outsourcing when it grossed billions of dollars in revenues within a single year- surpassing even India.
…a guest post by Philippines freelancer Aubry Ann:
Many say our economic stability depends mainly on what our overseas workers remit- which is in the billions annually. I say the call center industry is now an equal contributor.
Though the Call Centers in the Philippines are slightly more expensive than others around the world, many choose the Philippines because of the high quality.
There are as many as 150,000 vacancies in our call centers at any one time. Skilled agents are in high demand. Those not qualified to become call center agents can still take other positions within the industry and look forward to promising careers.
Working as a Call Center agent
To be honest, I don’t have any experience working as a call center agent, but I do have friends working at companies such as Convergies, Aegies, and Concentrix.
When they first applied for work, they had to choose between customer service or technical support. A customer service representative or CSR deals with basic tasks such as order taking, refund processing, or general questions. A technical service representative or TSR provides customers with technical assistance for their products.
Most of them applied for customer service because they weren’t tech savvy.
Some of them went straight to project training. Some needed to undergo intensive basic-skills training before they could join projects. In any case, whether a good candidate or a promising one, the job always starts with training.
After their training, which lasted nearly two months, they went to their assigned positions. Some of them remained within their hometowns while others had to move to remote branches. Those who assigned to remote areas received relocation packages that included additional pay as compensation.
It’s been almost 5 months since my friends began working at their new careers.
They visited me last month while on short breaks. They shared their experiences working as call center agents. Each one of them had different stories, but the thing that they all shared was that they loved their work.
This wasn’t the case at first.
They had to adapt to unfamiliar working environments (like me, most of them trained as nurses). They had to learn to deal with impatient and abusive customers. They refused to give up too easily and continued on until they got used to it and started to enjoy their work.
Filipino Call Center Agent Traits
They say call center agents in the Philippines are the best trained individuals in the industry around the world.
Not only that, Filipino call center agents also have the most pleasing attitudes towards customers that include patience, courtesy, respect, caring, and many more.
When my friends got used to the work, they quickly developed an attitude of always caring for their customer’s welfare, which is the most important factor during any interaction.
Eventually, they became so good at their positions that some of them got promoted.
They are proud and satisfied with their jobs and couldn’t ask for more promising futures
They feel they are part of something bigger as the industry continues to grow and support the national economy.
