Each Call Center in the Philippines has their very own lingo and vocabulary. Obviously, when a Filipino call center agent is conversing with you, you may not be able to comprehend him. Listed here is a listing of the most typical used call center lingo in the Philippines:
* Graveyard shift is work schedule from 10 pm until 6 am.
* Night Diff (night differential) can be a benefit payment each hour worked within the graveyard shift.
* Queuing is when phone calls are waiting around to be responded. When an agent hangs up, another call also comes in. this can be a usual reason for anxiety.
* TSR or tech support (tech support team representative) helps with troubleshooting with telephone, cable and internet services and products trying to solve issues over the telephone to avoid needless service calls.
* CSR (customer support representative) or “agent” interacts with customers to deliver info responding to queries concerning the products and also to manage and take care of issues.
* High avail (agents available) is really a time where there aren't a lot of calls arriving in.
* Dress down or casual day is an American business custom have been adapted by call centers where employees have a semi-reprieve from constrictions of a formal dress code.
* Floorwalkers, formally called floor support, are representatives that “walk the floor,” helping other representatives regarding queries, “sup calls” (callers that demand a supervisor) and overbreaks or long handle time.
* Stations are cubicles or computer units that the agents work with.
* Sup/TL for a supervisor or a team lead, who is in charge of metrics and work, and act as a direct superior to agents.
* Team is really a unit inside the Production Floor where agents interact to create team scores and operation measurements.
* Floor could be the production spot (sea of cubicles) where phone calls are obtained.
* ATT could be the mean discussion time, otherwise known as Average Talk-time.
* AHT may be the mean dealing time, otherwise known as Average Handling Time.
* Service Level may be the percentage of calls recieved in a determined time period.
* CPH/IPH is the amount of calls/inquiries each hour an agent handles.
* ACW/NR is the amount of time spent whilst not talking with a person asks for without talking with a customer.
* FCR may be the percent of calls that is totally take care of the customer’s concern (when the customer doesn't call back about the same problem in a particular period, it's regarded an effective resolution or FCR – first call resolution).
* Calls Abandoned may be the percentage of calls in which a customer hangs up the call.
* Idle Time may be the percentage of time agents spend simply because they're not yet prepared to take calls.
This might be only a total absurdity list for many but for many who are curious about trying their chance in the call centers in the Philippines, this can be list is their lifeline. The Philippine call centers have gradually crawled into the American culture as Filipinos gradually re-discovering the change.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Learning the Lingo of the Call Centers in the Philippines!
Every Call Center in the Philippines has their own lingo and jargon. Needless to say, if a Filipino call center agent is talking to you, you might not be able to understand him. Here is a list of the most common used call center lingo in the Philippines:
* Graveyard shift is work schedule from 10 pm until 6 am.
* Night Diff (night differential) is a benefit payment per hour worked in the graveyard shift.
* Queuing is when calls are waiting to be answered. When an agent hangs up, another call comes in. this is a usual cause of stress.
* TSR or tech support (technical support representative) helps in troubleshooting with telephone, cable and internet products and services attempting to resolve problems over the phone to prevent unnecessary service calls.
* CSR (customer service representative) or “agent” interacts with customers to provide information in response to inquiries about the products or services and to handle and resolve complaints.
* High avail (agents available) is a time where there are not too many calls coming in.
* Dress down or casual day is an American business custom which is adapted by call centers where employees enjoy a semi-reprieve from constrictions of a formal dress code.
* Floorwalkers, formally called floor support, are representatives that “walk the floor,” assisting other representatives in case of inquiries, “sup calls” (callers that demand a supervisor) and overbreaks or long handle time.
* Stations are cubicles or computer units that the representatives work on.
* Sup/TL for a supervisor or possibly a team lead, who is in charge of measurements and work, and act as a direct superior to agents.
* Team is a unit in the Production Floor where agents work together to come up with team scores and performance metrics.
* Floor is the production area (sea of cubicles) where calls are received.
* ATT is the mean conversation time, otherwise referred to as Average Talk Time.
* AHT is the mean dealing time, otherwise referred to as Average Handling Time.
* Service Level is the percentage of calls answered within a determined time frame.
* CPH/IPH is the number of calls/inquiries per hour an agent handles.
* ACW/NR is the amount of time spent while not speaking to a customer requests while not speaking to a customer.
* FCR is the percentage of calls which is completely resolve the customer’s issue (if the customer does not call back about the same problem for a certain period of time, it is considered a successful resolution or FCR – first call resolution).
* Calls Abandoned is the percentage of calls where a customer hangs up the call.
* Idle Time is the percentage of time agents spend because they are not yet ready to take calls.
This may be just a complete nonsense list for some but for those who are interested in trying their luck in the call centers in the Philippines, this is list is their lifeline. The Philippine call centers have slowly crawled into the American culture as Filipinos slowly embracing the change.
* Graveyard shift is work schedule from 10 pm until 6 am.
* Night Diff (night differential) is a benefit payment per hour worked in the graveyard shift.
* Queuing is when calls are waiting to be answered. When an agent hangs up, another call comes in. this is a usual cause of stress.
* TSR or tech support (technical support representative) helps in troubleshooting with telephone, cable and internet products and services attempting to resolve problems over the phone to prevent unnecessary service calls.
* CSR (customer service representative) or “agent” interacts with customers to provide information in response to inquiries about the products or services and to handle and resolve complaints.
* High avail (agents available) is a time where there are not too many calls coming in.
* Dress down or casual day is an American business custom which is adapted by call centers where employees enjoy a semi-reprieve from constrictions of a formal dress code.
* Floorwalkers, formally called floor support, are representatives that “walk the floor,” assisting other representatives in case of inquiries, “sup calls” (callers that demand a supervisor) and overbreaks or long handle time.
* Stations are cubicles or computer units that the representatives work on.
* Sup/TL for a supervisor or possibly a team lead, who is in charge of measurements and work, and act as a direct superior to agents.
* Team is a unit in the Production Floor where agents work together to come up with team scores and performance metrics.
* Floor is the production area (sea of cubicles) where calls are received.
* ATT is the mean conversation time, otherwise referred to as Average Talk Time.
* AHT is the mean dealing time, otherwise referred to as Average Handling Time.
* Service Level is the percentage of calls answered within a determined time frame.
* CPH/IPH is the number of calls/inquiries per hour an agent handles.
* ACW/NR is the amount of time spent while not speaking to a customer requests while not speaking to a customer.
* FCR is the percentage of calls which is completely resolve the customer’s issue (if the customer does not call back about the same problem for a certain period of time, it is considered a successful resolution or FCR – first call resolution).
* Calls Abandoned is the percentage of calls where a customer hangs up the call.
* Idle Time is the percentage of time agents spend because they are not yet ready to take calls.
This may be just a complete nonsense list for some but for those who are interested in trying their luck in the call centers in the Philippines, this is list is their lifeline. The Philippine call centers have slowly crawled into the American culture as Filipinos slowly embracing the change.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Call Center Environment in the Philippines: A quick perspective on the sunshine industry
The call center industry in the Philippines is now considered the biggest employer in the country, in terms of growth rate. The trade and industry department said call centers are hiring 1,500 to 2,000 people every week.
The call center life in the Philippines is fast paced that you wouldn’t know exactly what would happen next. The job itself is not redundant, and definitely not a routine. Issues that are brought about by customers maybe similar but the manner by which they are presented and the way an agent deals with it are not the same. The Filipino call center agents, technical support representatives or customer service representative, provide a refreshing voice in the call center scene. The Filipinos depict hospitality and courtesy and they match it with quality service in a way that other nationalities cannot deliver.
There maybe a lot of disadvantages in the business but so do other businesses. It always depends on the mindset of an individual.
In the call center industry, the rise to corporate ladder doesn’t depend on the tenure but on the skills and capacity of the person that the management sees that he is fit for the job – it is the performance that counts. Unlike other companies or government offices, they count the years of service to get an increase or promotion.
There are already about 45 Filipino and foreign players in the Philippines’ booming call center business, which has generated 30,000 jobs in just five years here. The country already ranks second to India in attracting call center business and government officials are confident it will overtake the latter in the next five years.
With its attractive salary amid low-paying and joblessness, thousands of graduates have been lured into the call center business in the last five years. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) estimates that a Philippine agent receives starting pay of P12,000 to P15,000 to as much as P40,000 for higher positions every month.
Yet while call centers get higher salary than ordinary rank and file employees, DTI admits that Filipino call center agents get only a fifth of their American counterpart.
The department also says that Filipino call center workers stay an average of 2.5 years on the job compared with about eight to nine month for Americans, which is also on a part-time basis.
Even call centers confess that while there seems to be a large pool of English speaking college graduates being churned out by Philippine schools, only a few qualify. Out of 100 applicants in a call center firm, for instance, only 5 to 10 are hired.
The environment in the call center in the Philippines is highly toxic. The call center hub is becoming like the American rat race the Filipinos love to dream of going.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Why Philippines is the Best Offshore Destination for telemarketing services?
The trend today for young professionals is working in a Call Center even if they finish a college degree unrelated to that profession. In return, these Call Centers have continued to strive in the country. Outsourcing is a booming industry in the country. What is outsourcing? Outsourcing is the purchase by a company of labor or parts from a source outside the company rather than using the company’s staff or plant. These foreign companies establish offshore offices to provide service of their products in the fast paced growth of the company. Numbers of offshore companies were being set up around the world; lucky for us, Philippines is a frontrunner of this offshore destination.
It is said that the call centers in the Philippines started out humbly by handling the responses and services through email. It is then that some of these companies eventually decided to set up offshore companies in developing countries – so that is how call centers was conceived in the Philippines. Today, the manpower of these offshore companies is handling data and voice calls usually for customer service or technical support.
The advantages of Call Centers in the Philippines:
- Low operational costs, scalability and unrestricted contacts of skilled workers are among the reasons why companies prefer offshore locations. Also, setting up call centers in other developing countries, like the Philippines, is cheaper compare to their domestic operations. Outsourcing for some companies is a cost effective way to recruit new employees.
- Every worker of the call centers is highly proficient and educated. Since the Philippines has adopted the Western culture, it is safe to say that call center workers can pretty much relate to the company’s foreign clients. Also, English has been the second language of the Filipinos, so employers might as well capitalize on it. Call centers provide trainings for their agents to phase out the local accent and adopt the American accent or either neutralize their accent.
- Filipinos are known to be excellent workers. Aside from that, they are polite and patient. With these traits, they are perfect candidates to handle customer service and tech support.
- For everyone’s information, outsourcing is not only limited to call centers. The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) companies have already established a name in the country. Also, these outsourcing companies are inclined to hire experienced professionals such as lawyers and writer. Because of this, there is always a high demand for manpower.
- The laws of the country regarding foreign investment are not that strict so outsourcing companies take advantage of the special zones.
- It is always an advantage for both the company and the service provider if there is an outsourcing. Both can get an excellent service quality at a minimum rate.
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