More on Call Center Training

Call center training is vital for the agents working for you. However, with time and budget constraints, it’s not always possible to have them sent to institutions or other seminars and conferences for training. You never know when an emergency will crop up and you will need your best BPO managers to deal with it. So traveling for training is not a feasible option for many call centers. The way out is to have training modules in the BPO service unit itself. We have several conferences and interactive sessions with our agents in our campus itself. We like to include everyone in the loop and that is why we keep the entry unrestricted. We also schedule the sessions according to the work timings of the agents.

It is a discouraging trend that when time and resources run short, the call centers cut down on the training budget. They feel that because training is seemingly the most unproductive practice, they can cut down the modules and do a crash course for the agents. This pays off badly for the BPO. Untrained agents are difficult to work with. They may not know the ethics of the company of the seriousness of their role in it. They may not know about the telemarketing reports that they have to send across. It becomes difficult to keep them under the tab once they get to the floors. You would do well to ensure that only fully trained call center agents take the floor

Long and Short Terms of BPO

Every business has different techniques when it comes to long and short terms. The business that is visionary will never compromise the long term gains for short term benefits. In BPO parlance, this holds true as well. We have noted how some short term methods damage the prospects for the future. A basic example is how telemarketing services of some call centers violate the telemarketing laws to get more customers to their kitty. In due course, the law enforcers get wind and crack down on the call center. The damage causes a dent in the image that can never be straightened out. If the firm had done the right process, they would have done better.

Helios Outsourcing has planners who think of how certain call center services will be useful for us in the future. When the telemarketing market was under threat because of a weakening economy, we had our software development and web marketing services launched. They did well on their own and supported the revenue generation. We found more sense in venturing out into fresh territory than try to do something impossible and lose our advantage as a premiere BPO service provider. We are committed to do something different each time and we believe that short and long terms goals should complement each other.

Education for Call Center Agents

The need for education can never be undermined. Even for professionals, there is no end to how useful a formal education is. There are many call center agents who have started working without completing their formal education. The BPO communities across the globe are coming out to help these telemarketing agents to complete their education. The agents are provided with funds and other necessary help to attend schools and get their education complete. They may choose to study during the day and work graveyard shifts. The call centers are allotting their shifts in a way that makes it easier for these agents to be there in class.

It is important for the call center agents to complete their education because of several reasons. First, there can never be a substitute for what you can learn in class. Second, to go ahead in telemarketing services and contribute better to the BPO you are working for, you need to be educated. In that absence, you will get stuck after a particular phase in your career. You may never be able to get the time that you have now. Through career counseling and proper guidance, the business process outsourcing community hopes to get more agents into schools. This will also improve the talent pool in the telemarketing sector.

BPO Grips Popular Culture

The rising popularity of the BPO sector in mass culture is testimony to the fact that call centers are a way of life now. More members of the audience relate and identify with the characters on the stage or on the screen when they represent the world of business process outsourcing. A rising number of American viewers are curious about the life and times of the offshore telemarketing agents that they talk to on a daily basis. The success of the NBC show ‘Outsourced’ is a proof of the fact that people are waking up to accept the offshore BPO service world as part of the reality. With more viewers getting hooked to such shows, you can be prepared to view different takes on this interesting world.

Bpo , Call Center , Offshore call cenre

What makes these shows so popular in the West? The single answer to this is curiosity. When the average American relies on a call center agent located thousands of miles away to get their micro-oven and refrigerator fixed, they want to know more about these BPO agents who help them out. They want to know about the lives of the telemarketing agents and how they run the industry. They want to know the BPO service quirks and idiosyncrasies. The combined effect results in some astounding success for the show makers. Their success, in turn, fuels more desire in others to explore this subject.

Call Centers to Proliferate

Jobs at the call center have better chances of proliferating that any jobs in any other sector. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in the Philippines has listed BPO jobs as being the most in demand. Helios Outsourcing, as reported in yesterday’s post, has a call center services unit in this country. It’s a new unit and so we are excited about any good news that happens on the horizon of the Philippines business process outsourcing sector. This announcement by DOLE has reinstated our faith of investing in this country. We appreciate the interest that the workforce shows in working at telemarketing units.

Workers in the call centers of India are keen, enthusiastic and committed about telemarketing services, as opposed to other locations where youngsters view it as a compromised career option. This makes a whole lot of difference in how they perceive their jobs. There can be nothing on the table if the call center agents are not willing to dedicate all they have in picking up the nuances of the trade. That’s something that we have noticed in India. The employees here are willing to go and make a difference for themselves and for the company they work for. We have a lot of hope in terms of quality call center services from our unit here. And they are doing well!

Multilingual Call Centers in Vogue

Multilingual call centers are back in the business. After a forced hiatus because of the recession, these specialized call center units are in the reckoning again. The answering service of many businesses in a country like USA needs the option of many languages. Customers who call up don’t always speak English. In fact, in a pot-melting country, you cannot expect all your customers to come from the English-speaking community. So you have to be ready to tap those customers who don’t speak the universal language. It gives your business an added edge. The BPO units providing the phone answering service should also have this system in place.

Helios Outsourcing has always been a pride provider of multilingual answering service facilities. We are adept in Spanish and French phone answering service. We pick our agents according to the use of the accent and the easy with which they speak the language. We are committed to our motto of offering every assistance possible to further the cause of the client. We train our telemarketing agents according to the cultural contexts of different ethnic groups. We believe that telemarketing services cannot be done unless the seller and the buyer are on an equal footing. Our call centers try to bring our agents on par with the demographics they are catering to.

Improved Leadership for Call Centers

Improving the efficiency of call center services has a lot to do with leadership. The studies conducted by BPO experts have taught us that better team leaders and supervisors make for better work on the floor. As we keep reiterating on this blog, motivation is a prime mover to get the job done faster than it usually takes. Team leaders have a lot to do here. They can lead by example or by imparting valuable lessons in the task that remains to be done. Telemarketing embraces and discards methods each day. The leaders have to keep themselves abreast of all the development that is happening so that they can work towards incorporating them in their own processes.

Leadership skills have to be fostered in the call centers. Helios Outsourcing is proactive is coming up with leaders and supervisors at all times. We are always scouting for talent and looking in the corners to bring out the best in telemarketing services. We are committed to provide leadership skill training and also equip them with the soft skills that differentiate a great leader from a good one. We encourage our BPO leaders to build up a healthy work atmosphere, keeping an eye each on productivity and relationships. We are confident that relationship-building will work well for our call center units.