Saturday, September 13, 2014

An Insider's View on the Lives of A Call Center Agent in the Philippines


       
 I recently heard program on a national radio about what it’s like being a call center agent. The show’s guest was a veteran journalist who’s doing an investigative project about the lives of the employees in the BPO industry. And to get an insider’s view, the guest himself worked as a call center agent. He noted a number of things about the industry based on his experience. Being in this industry myself for sometime now, I agreed on most of his observations.


1. Most of the workers are young. Majority  of the workers are between the ages of 21- 29.This industry is in the Philippines for less than 20 years yet. This is also an industry that readily accepts anybody who are fresh out of college, (or even just some college) as long as you have excellent English communication skills. Since the business is  technology-driven, its the young ones who are very comfortable in working with different computer tools and applications.

This industry is a very good training ground to enhance communication and people skills. You get to learn to communicate different types of people – the irate and all— while keeping your cool and professionalism. These skill  would be very convenient should one decide to pursue a dream elsewhere in a different field.

2. Working in the BPO industry is a temporary thing. The show’s guest noted that workers will eventually get bored in the long run and will eventually pursue a different career. True for some, maybe. Each one of us has a calling where our skills will be used for a greater good. But there are people who are discovering that their true calling can be found here —be it sales, technical or customer service. Being in the industry myself, I’ve seen colleagues whose hearts are on fire while they are doing their tasks. Contrary to some beliefs, there are people who sees a life-long career here. being a young industry that it is in this country, the most tenured would probably just about 15 years. But mind you, they’re still counting. 

3. A call center job is very stressful. True. But so are other fields of work. Learning your way around a particular account can be very daunting at first. I was in technical support and I have to learn fast about all the parts of a computer, its functions and how to troubleshoot in case its not functioning properly. Mind you, there are a lot of them. Besides, I absolutely hadzero knowldge before the training. When my computer was not behaving I'd just had a technician look into it. But being in this industry forces you to learn. And learn fast. In my case, learning everything about computers was three weeks.

Call centers recognizes the stress they brought upon their employees, that is why there is only a 5 day work week. They also offer a lot of R n Rs in order for the agents to de-stress and at the same time bond with co-workers in a more relaxed environment. The work schedule and hitting the targets are the topmost contributors of stress.But if you are  flexible enough,  eventually, you will be able to adapt.

Some people ( at least in the Philippines ) think it is glamorous to be working in this industry. It because in theyonly see the photos posted in social media sited the team outings, eating out, or partying.But then again, its our way to unwind and get our minds off from the stresses of our jobs. Some people I know outside the industry thinks that agents are party goers who drinks and smokes a lot. Partly true, but I guess different people have different ways of trying to destress. Certainly there are also agents do that.

4. It’s composed of dynamic peopleworking together. True again. This is a melting-pot for all types of people with different background, of varied interests, and personalities. You have teammates who are registered nurses - which could be convenient  if you’re feeling funny. There are those who have had established careers, but decided to try on this one. Working in this industry made me realize how naive I was about the dealings in life and how small my world was. And it taught me to have a greater understanding of the human race.



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