Life in a call center

Working in a call center can get monotonous after a while if you don't change positions. For example if you have been an agent for a long time now then all you do is call people or listen to people bitch about things that are not even a part of their lives. It can get to your nerves if this process is repetitive. And you don't get enough days off to take your mind off things either. So, it's important to pay attention to what you are doing and before you know it you will be due for promotions in your job.

Now this is not specific to a particular job. After a while any and every job can get to your head like that. If you get to the level of the supervisor or a team leader or a manager then life becomes one bit easy. Then its more of a responsibility than it is just 'work'.

When you are at the frontline agent level and you get bored of your job. You only have to think about how to get your ass to office everyday when you get up from your bed. But if you are a manager or a team lead then you not only have to do that for yourself but also for all the other members of your team. You have to think of ways of getting them or convincing them that their job is interesting enough for them to attend regularly and with all enthusiasm. This is a challenge we all face at this level. I can tell from experience what do you guys think?

And then there comes a point in time where you think to yourself 'what? is this all there is left to do?' Is it the end of the road? is there nothing else exciting to do about life?. When these questions start popping in your brain then its time you did something innovative with your job. To make it more interesting. Try your hand at doing someone else's job for them and see the thanks on their faces when you do it. Or introduce something new in office something you and your team can do while they are on the calls. Like get a basketball net and pass the ball around and see how much each person can score by the end of the day. Every one can contribute Rs.10 at the beginning of the day and the winner gets the sum. 

Different people deal with problems in their lives differently. So, you and your mind might not think of these ideas as practical. In that case you need to get the basic idea and then implement it and innovate something new and creative for yourself and your team. 

These are my thoughts for today.....come back tomorrow for more talk informative and midless.....lol ;)

Change of Subject

This Blog page is really old now so ill add some fresh stuff into it...

Today i feel like writing about call centers so here goes...

CALL CENTERS

We all are now to some degree familiar with this term. What a contact center means is a place or a division of a company or an organisation that communicates with the customers or consumers on a regular basis. This is done in basically three ways either by call, chat or emails. Of these three the most common one is calls. Which is now a 10 Billion dollar industry and which is estimated to grow almost double by the end of the yr 2012.

Let's get a broader understanding about the call centers. In a call center there are three types of functions performed. 1. Sales, 2. Customer Service and 3. Technical support. All the three are important but the sales are the ones that are the most sought after. It may not be everybody's cup of tea but for people who can nail it, it's a gold mine that never gets exhausted. After a product is sold customer services come into the picture. From the time the order is placed to the time it is delivered and beyond is handled by the customer services. This department is in fact the first point of contact for any customer who calls a call center. From here the calls are routed to technical support and sales as per the caller's requirement. Technical support is only applicable to those centers where an electronic and more specifically a computer related equipment is sold. This department is responsible for troubleshooting any issues the customer might have and if they can't they need to schedule a technician visit as per the customer's convinience.

That's about call center's functions. Now let's talk about the heirarchy. The call center Heirarchy starts at the front line agents or executives and then team leaders and managers and floor managers. Assistant VP and VP and then the Site Leader or the President of the company. Now of these the most important job is that of the agents. Because if not for them the company would not need the other positions. Most higher level officials in call centers tend to forget this very important detail. However, a manager or a team leader's job is also very important because they are responsible for the training and development of the team per se. They are also responsible for overlooking day to day business of a call center. The other positions are mainly involved in meetings and decision making that affects or changes the future of the company.

How does it feel to work in a call center? Stay tuned to my blog and check back again in a few days for the answers.....