The Edge of Philippine Call Centers

The BPO industry is one of the most profitable business ventures in the Philippines. While the rest of the world is experiencing the pinch of the recession, Philippine call centers continue to flourish. In fact, in a recent business survey, the call center industry in the country has shown a 22% to 30% increase in terms of growth and expansion rate.

Philippine call centers have learned to capitalize on flexibility to keep the industry alive. By implementing higher standards on service quality and marketing strategies to acquire new clients and keep existing clients, call centers have been getting by the economic downturn unscathed. The growth is coming from the flux of new client referrals and existing clients.

The industry also remains a good standing in the global business arena because of its strong professional workforce. Known in Asia as the one of the leading nations in terms of English proficiency, Filipinos are fit for the telemarketing profession. It is also a lot easier for Filipinos to adopt an American accent compared to other call center workforce in Asia. Aside from skills, Filipino agents also have commendable work ethics that clients appreciate.

Working with Philippine call centers gives investing companies the edge of global quality and this is irreplaceable. There is no substitute for excellent customer service so it is not a surprise that many companies in the US, Australia, and other parts of Europe outsource their telemarketing business functions from the Philippines. They get global quality for a competitive price, something that all businesses need at this time of the economic downturn.

Business experts are saying that the future is bright for the Philippine call center industry. Through the help of the government and private business sectors, the industry is expected to generate more revenues and bring more sophisticated call center solutions to companies around the world.

Call Center in the Philippines: The Worst Types of Callers

There are many annoying callers. When you work at a call center in the Philippines, you get to meet them all. But there are annoying customer callers, and then there are really bad callers. These are the types that you would dread to have.

The time Consumers
In every call center in the Philippines or anywhere else, there will always be a time limit set for the call center agent. Generally, each call should just amount to five to ten minutes each. When an agent takes to long to close calls that consumes time and money. It also means that the agent might not be that capable of handling explanations and what-not. But there are time consumers out there that just break one’s track record. Those callers who ask about everything, who are too chatty, or who are clueless and undecided are usually the culprits.

Lost in Translation
There are people who are lost in translation. This means that they either have very incomprehensibly thick accents, or they have very bad English, or both. This is one tough challenge for anybody who works in a call center. There is just almost no chance for an agent to make this call go smoothly.

Angry
This perhaps needs no explanation. A lot of callers call angry because those who are having problems with their product or service are the ones with the most reason to call.

Angry and Irrational
This is the deadliest combination of them all. This is very different from people who are merely angry. The angry people, you know have some reason why they are angry. However, those who are angry and irrational are just enough to make any agent from call center in the Philippines or anywhere else to want talk back. Imagine if a person yells and cusses you on the phone while spouting irrational statements. It is truly the worst type of caller.

Do you Have what it take to be a Philippines Call Center Agent?

A lot of Filipinos have already considered working in a Philippines call center. And this is perfectly acceptable. There is definitely a lot of perks when one decides to work in a Philippines call center. For one thing, you can be entry level or you do not even need have finished college to work in a Philippine call center. All that one needs is the right stuff and good English speaking skills and you will become a definite candidate to be accepted in a call center. However, this is actually a big misconception. Not all call center jobs are easy. And not everyone can get in. There are many other details that one needs to keep into account.

First of all, just because one can speak fluent English, it does not mean that one is already a good Philippines call center candidate. One also needs to be able to process English speaking skills quite well. This means that one must be an excellent communicator who can quickly comprehend what the caller needs and issues are. One also needs to have a neutral English accent. Those who speak with a heavy accent and with bad pronunciation will have a difficult time getting into a call center. This is because it may get in the way of the communication process. Fortunate for us Filipinos, our English accent is a lot more neutral as compared to other countries. And this can also be developed and improved through training.

Secondly not all call center accounts are the same. This means that there are different skills that are required per project. One might have to do a lot of computations in some accounts. Computer literacy is a must as well as typing skills for any Philippines call center agent. Some accounts such as trouble shooting accounts also really on technical knowledge.

Philippine Call Center - English Only Policy

Working in the call center in the Philippines is extraordinary because of their strict English only policy replicated in the entire working force of the company. The company imposed this policy to further enhance the English communication skill of their people.

Call center agents are required to speak the international language while inside the premises of the company. The employees are prohibited to speak their native dialect especially if they're on call and staying inside the company. The English only policy is created not to demerit the Philippines national language. The call center workers should understand that they are working in a highly regulated management in response to the high demand in the booming business process outsourcing industry. Any agent who caught speaking in Tagalog is subject for verbal and written warning. The English only policy is often misunderstood in per say that it is a violation.

Call center employees are trained efficiently in handling their customers. The policy will give them adept understanding in applying the American culture in a unique working environment. Whether you like it or not, the agents are willfully advised to speak English all the time because speaking English does not mean replacing or degrading your native language. The success of the company also depends on how effective the agents in handling customers support inquiries. Oftentimes, the customers are complaining because of the language barrier and the accent of the agents. If the agent failed to satisfy their customers, this might affect the reputation of the company. American consumers like to criticize the quality and the productivity of the products, which also include criticizing the customer support service of the company. If the support center isn't effective, the output of the customers' satisfaction is also a failure.

If you try to analyze, the source of the problem is due to the very simple language barrier which was not given immediate solution. This will not happen if the agents were trained properly of what's the product information. Product knowledge will serve as guidance and window of opportunity to allow the agents to help their valued customers all the time. Accurate details and advises are needed by the clients to help them understand before and after buying the products. Making the customers happy is an achievement not only by the agents but also with the company.

Undoubtedly, Filipino customer service has strong communication skills because of their culture and recognizing English as one of their primary language. There customers will understand them better because of their capability to blend with the American way. The success of the call center industry in the Philippines is attributed with the magnificent workers. Filipino customer service representatives are trained to be efficient in understanding their customers. The English only policy is very helpful in improving their accent, their intonation, and speaking like in an American music. No wonder that any call center in the Philippines is improving and gives outstanding service with their clients worldwide. Potential locators who want to invest in the Philippines continue to believe that there's future on their business if they partnered with the Filipinos. Meanwhile, any school institutions in the Philippines implement the English policy in order to boost the international language and help the students overcome problem in communicating with their friends in English. This is inline with the success of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the world today, which fuel the country's economy.

To date, you notice how really good are these people from communicating in English because of their training background and their school institution they came from. In the next following years, the outsourcing industry will provide millions of job to every Filipino eliminating poverty and other economic crisis.

Philippines Call Center - BPO Capital of the World

The growth of the Information Technology sector coupled with the steadily rising need for faster and efficient customer service by major service and manufacturing companies has prompted the rise of Philippines call center companies to meet their stringent client demands. Instead of adding company resources to meet their after market service, major companies now turn to specialized third parties like the call center companies from the Philippines.

Philippines call center services includes inbound customer service, outbound telemarketing, lead generation, customer contact services, finance and accounting, legal and medical transcription, logistics, administration, technical support, web development, software development, language training and human resources management. In the demand of quality customer service, these companies are now major players across the globe.

Recent technological advancements has even made it much more easier for Philippine call centers to work effectively even cross over borders and countries, of which opened up doors for the establishment of small and medium outsourcing companies in Philippines not only for United States clients but also for United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Companies from these countries are now eyeing the Philippines as the premiere resource for the workforce. Small and medium companies have 100 to 500 call agents while the renowned call center has 1000 to 5000 call agents across the country. This is primarily due to the effectiveness of business pattern which is cost-efficient, quality and quantity leads and most of all professional competence among the call center agents.

Knowing Philippines Business Process Outsourcing as an economic arm, the Philippine government also lent its support by allocating appropriate places and aiding BPO companies both local and foreign managed companies prepares their requirements in putting their facilities in the country. Hence today, BPO park can be seen sprouting in places such as Manila, Makati, Pasig, Alabang, Cebu City and Bacolod with Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Angeles, Dagupan, Davao, Dumaguete, Lipa, Ilo-ilo, and Legazpi City also being put in the limelight for optimized offshore operations.