Women Employees in BPO

Today women play a vital role in Indian BPO sector. According to survey out of 400 million of workforce in India, around 30-40 percent are females. They are one of the driving forces behind the success of call center industry in India.

The Indian BPO industry accounts for a revenue US$ 39.6 billion and has emerged as one of the largest private industry providing direct employment to 1.6 million professionals.

The participation of women in BPO industry has been seen as a critical enabling factor for continued growth of the industry. Today BPO companies are recognizing women on board at all levels and this helps the organization to make good business sense. Therefore BPO companies are trying to develop and involve women for higher roles and functions.

Most of the people talk about exploitation of women in call centers. Despite the physical stress, mundane nature of the job and low status of call center work, women constitute about 70 percent of the total workforce in BPO sector. According to an independent research it has been found out that women are satisfied and enjoy their work at call centers. A call center job gives them more freedom and autonomy.

Women especially in India have found out that, the wages that they earn through a BPO job help them to experience freedom and autonomy. In India the women mobility has always been controlled by men even in case of highly educated and independent women. According to a study carried on call center workers in India, it has been found that women are happy to learn new skills and have learnt to become more assertive.

The acquired call center skills ranging from soft skills like communication, interpersonal and listening skills to product knowledge and technical knowledge have given a sense of confidence in women. This helps them to deal with customers as well as society at large. However there are women who opt for call center career for short span of life while others continue to pursue their careers in call centers.

The interpersonal skills of women are now being recognized and valued in call centers. In most of the call centers, a premium is attached to women's voice and interpersonal skills. This is because the quality of customer care jobs ultimately helps a company to gain huge profits. The exact number of women working in Indian BPO's is not exactly known but the development of IT industry in India had a clear impact on emancipation of women.

According to the studies of village pay phones in Bangladesh, advancement of computer aided technologies and networking in India show that the household income has increased and women have a say and mobility in household matters. With introduction of communication technologies and new information the workload of every woman has increased. They have to do the unpaid household chores in addition to the paid work in the BPO industry.

There is no doubt that technology itself is gendered and is strongly shaped by the patriarchal yardstick of class and gender. Despite all these the most important issue is to restore and carry forward the empowered participation of women in the development of technology and enhance the participation of women through skills, education and creative knowledge. The Indian BPO industry has set high standards in gender inclusivity. Today women play a vital role as the part of the BPO workforce. It has been suggested that the professional skills of women needs to upgrade therefore a number of mentorship programs are being organized.

These programs help women working in BPO to have a definite career path and fulfill a certain criteria in the empowerment of women. India has the largest number of women working in BPO's than any other single country in the world. This can be partly attributed to the growth of BPO's in India.

Ivana Lewis has written a wide range of articles on business process outsourcing. Moat of her write-ups are about BPO, inbound customer service and inbound call center.

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Types of Call Centers

There are different types of call centers, namely, inbound call centers, outbound call centers, web enabled call centers, CRM call centers, telemarketing call centers and telephone call centers.

Inbound call centers aid to handle calls coming from outside, mostly through toll free numbers. The services of inbound call centers are designed to handle catalog orders, and desk queries. They also incorporate customer care services, predict customer behavior and take action while the customers are still on the line. Inbound call centers employ teams of live operators, account representatives and program managers.

The success of outbound call centers depends on their extensive experience, technological solutions, quality assurance programs and commitment to customer service excellence. They ensure maximum results from direct marketing efforts. The integrated call management systems in outbound call centers systematically direct calls to consumers and transfer successful connections to a selected marketing representative (MR).

The use of web-enabled call centers are also on the increase these days. Web enabled call centers can fetch answers to questions or resolve customer service issues without having to disconnect from the Internet. A web enabled call center improves e-commerce initiatives by offering high quality customer service.

Telephone call centers offer flexible call routing and predictive dialing systems. Utilizing advanced telephony and Internet technology, the customer service representatives (CSR's) at the phone call centers provide accurate and timely information for the most complex inbound or outbound programs. Phone call centers offer personalized call management by a team of professional operators who personally know about the client and his business.

Call Centers provides detailed information on Call Centers, Inbound Call Centers, Outsourcing Call Centers, Conference Call Centers and more. Call Centers is affiliated with Call Center CRM Solutions.

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Call Center Facts and Fallacies

Planning on working for a contact center? Good decision. You'll be able to see yourself in a whole new light and gain a little more respect for yourself. But, do you really know what you're getting yourself into? Here are some facts and fallacies you may or may not already know which will probably help you gain some insight into the wonderful world of the contact center industry.

• Not all shifts in a call center are 'graveyard.' Although choice is a luxury you may not have as of the moment, your schedule will depend on the time zone of the country you will be assigned to and whether or not you will be assigned to 'voice' or 'non-voice' support like email and chat (although chat requires real-time support).

• The quality of sleep you get during the day does not measure up to the quality of sleep you will get at night. Say what you will, but the reality is that the human body was NOT designed to work at nights and sleep during the day. Nonetheless, get used to it.

• Stress is no laughing matter. It is a reality and it affects everyone, no exemptions. Sadly the effects are sometimes more than just physical but also psychological. Long work hours, intermittent night shifts, high work targets, and loss of identity are just some of what a call center agent is to expect. The odd schedules and nature of work keeps people planted to their chairs 9 hours a day, reading scripted conversations repeatedly - more often to irate customers from all parts of the globe. Since we're all about facts, here's a sad reality: Every single second of an employee's time is recorded, measured and automatically logged onto a computer for praise or censure on a weekly basis. Even walking down to the water or coffee station for a drink and a chat with a friend can mess up your performance metrics, salaries, and benefits. It's just challenging to juggle listening, watching and talking - all at the same time. Left untreated or unresolved, the burnout can lead to repeated sickness absenteeism.

• The BPO industry is fully aware of these health issues and is doing their best to address it timely and properly. Call centers provide agents with sleeping quarters, recreation rooms, out-of-town activities with their respective teams, not to mention competitive compensation and benefits including health packages to address their health concerns.

• Contrary to some beliefs, drinking coffee may not be that beneficial for your performance during your shift. Caffeine is generally accepted as a mild diuretic which speeds up the urination process (meaning frequent bio-breaks), but at the same time depletes calcium, which is lost through urine. Caffeine can dry out the mouth, which would lead to difficulty in speaking (not to mention that nasty 'coffee breath').

• Smoking contributes to stress and in no way, shape or form is stress diminished from smoking.

• Being fashionable is an acceptable way of expressing yourself.

• BPO agents receive higher salaries and benefits, unfortunately for some, saving are an alien concept. Except for those agents supporting their families who're capable of sending bigger amount of money.

There are still other things you'll discover in a call center that might shock you, surprise you, or even both. These are things you must discover without prejudice. Alongside the assurance of increased knowledge in both technical knowledge and soft-skills is culture enhancement. This means the manner on how you deal with inter-office politics and gossip, being able to deal with both the young and old, and most specially, being politically correct at all times so as not to offend the people in your office surroundings.

Contact Center - any 'call center' that offers not just 'voice' related services (answering services, order taking, appointment setting, etc) but also 'non-voice' services (chat and email support, postal mail catalogs, Web site inquiries, etc).

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Call Center Interview Questions And How To Tackle Them

If a company has a large number of customers, but doesn't have the capability to handle calls from those customers, they might contract a call center. These firms help with airline reservations, directory assistance, computer technical help, and other important customer service functions. They are generally staffed with both technically trained and non-technical employees, depending on the job needed. Many students apply for call center jobs because the schedules are flexible in most cases.

All call centers screen their employees, just as any other job would. If you're applying for a job at a call center and are nervous about the interview, you might be wondering what kind of questions you'll be asked. Following are the top 5 call center questions, and the best way to be prepared for them.

- "Tell us about you previous experience working for a call center services. Describe how you helped the customers."

This question might arise in the middle of the interview, or at any other point during the process. It's important to review and consider your past work history before interviewing with the call center. Be prepared to describe highlights of any past call center work you've done, and describe any times when you've worked successfully with others. Call centers like to look for people they would consider team players. Be sure not to make up any exploits at previous jobs. It's important to always tell the truth in a job interview.

- "Are you proficient with different kinds of software? What kind of computer experience do you have?"

Internet telephony is common in most call centers. This kind of technology is less expensive than using a landline. Call centers also maintain computer databases of customers, and are concerned with your ability to rapidly learn to navigate and use such software. Log files must generally be created after each call, and most employees must also know such basic office software as MS Word, Excel, etc.

- Question number three isn't a spoken question, but rather the interest of your interviewer in how you conduct yourself. They will be judging you on your communication skills and grammar to see how you might interact with a customer on the phone. Remember to speak clearly and concisely. Choose your words carefully.

- "What does a call center mean to you?"

This seemingly harmless question is a way for your prospective employer to gauge how serious you are, and what your commitment to the job will be. This standard question should be replied to earnestly, and it's important not to give the impression that you are planning to leave as soon as a better opportunity comes along. Interviewers are usually looking for employees that will stay with the company for a long time and make a career out of their job.

- "What do you consider to be the important of teamwork?"

Employers tend to prefer people who like to work in a team. Loners have a lower chance of being hired. Be sure to let your interviewers know that you can work in a team without becoming stressed or hostile. Management books about the value of teamwork can help you find the words you need to express the value of teamwork in the workplace.

These top 5 call center interview questions are among those you might expect to hear when you're applying for a job. Technical jobs will have more questions on the technical subject, while non-technical jobs might focus more on teamwork and interpersonal interaction. Whichever job you're applying for, be sure to be prepared to answer these questions and be on the ball. For more information about call center interview questions visit our bpo services blog. 

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Pros And Cons of Offshore Call Centers

Off shore call centers provide business owners with the ability to outsource important business tasks. We have heard a lot of hype stating that most Australian companies rather go offline than staying local by employing the services of an offshore call center. This might be true for larger corporations but it also poses many risks of which the biggest would be customer dissatisfaction. Business owners are well advised to weigh the pros and cons of going offshore when considering call center management solutions. We have looked at the pros and cons of offshore call centers and came up with a list of pointers to consider before you make your decision.

Pros:

- There is no doubt that offshore call centers offer very high competitive rates. This start with the fact that overseas wages (India mainly since most offshore call centers are based in India) and the cost of living is a lot less than in Australia. Were Indian workers might have a sufficient lifestyle with some $5/hour; Australians would never be able to do the same.

- Another bonus is the fact that India has some of the highest trained IT professionals in the world. If you’re outsourcing requires an IT help desk, then going offshore might be beneficial to your business after all. Obviously costs would have to be compared against each other as well as usability.

Cons:

- The fact remains that staying local will provide a better service. Having the ability to drop into your local call center will provide many business owners with peace of mind. Not only does this help them to get to know key staff but it also helps the staff itself being able to get an insiders view (by means of direct conversations) about the business in question.

- State regulations are sometimes very strict. With the increased security of no call lists, call center operators have to abide by the official rules. No call lists offer private individuals to be blocked from telemarketing calls with certain restrictions.

- A great pro of going local is the quality standard control. It's not that India doesn't provide some form of standards whilst dealing with clients, but often our own standards seem somewhat higher than theirs. This is especially important since customer service is directly related to a high standard. If there is a lack of control and quality, chances are that customers will run.

- With increased security issues we are dealing with an ever-evolving level of awareness by consumers. People are getting smarter all the time when giving out private information and by going local your clients are assured top quality privacy protection.

- Last but not least there is a huge language barrier between offshore call center staff and local staff. Customers are increasingly becoming frustrated by straining to understand an overseas call center operator. Often their knowledge of the English language is next to none but the problem starts with the way it is being phrased. Many Australians prefer to hear a familiar accent when marketed to. It provides them with a sense of familiarity and security and they are more receptive to offers.

In the end, whether you are choosing to go offshore or not depends on two things mainly. First, if your budget is more suited to an offshore call center, then you have no other options. But if you rather place client service before everything else, you might be better suited to go local.

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Call Center Outsourcing Service - Pros and Cons

Many mediums to large sized businesses are shifting towards outsourcing customer service operations. As a result, many call centers are known as 'customer care centers' 'contact centers' or 'service bureaus'. Due to the increasing popularity of customer services, call centers are becoming huge business enterprises in themselves. Typically, the call center works 24/7, with employees coming in shifts to carry out their designated duties.

In the West though, there is a raging controversy about the benefits and drawbacks of outsourcing work. So, what are the pros and cons of call center outsourcing service?

Pros:

• Availability: Businesses with a global presence are required to provide round the clock service to their customers. For the average business owner, matching business hours with clients located in different parts of the globe is a challenge. Round the clock availability is often vital to customer allegiance. By employing for customer service, it becomes possible for the business to offer immediate service to customers, any time of the day and night.
• Time: When a business makes use of call center outsourcing service, it frees up precious resources for more useful activities like developing core competency or sales and so on. Thus, the company can dedicate its trained resources to business developmental activities.
• Cost: One of the most important reasons for the development of call center outsourcing service is the cost savings. If a company were to employ their own trained personnel for the job, they would have to invest in new equipment or scheduled upgrades in equipment over and above the cost of hiring, training and retaining employees. If round the clock service is required, the cost may go up even more. On the other hand, customer services are much more affordable as the outsourcing partner generally charges competitive rates for the same.

Cons:

• Communication problems: One of the main concerns that some companies have when outsourcing work is the problem of communication. Serious problems could arise if terms of service are not laid down properly and if requirements are not laid down accurately at the time of engagement.
• Security: Reputed outsourcing partners generally employ powerful information security tools to encode data and thus prevent the theft of data. That said, data transfer could never be 100% foolproof. That is why it is vital that you shop around for an outsourcing company that has established credentials in the market.
• Regulations: Since most companies employ offshore outsourcing, laws and regulations pertaining to these may vary from country to country. Terms of service may be subject to regulations and policies, and these need to be considered carefully.

As you can see, the cons of outsourcing may largely be avoided by working with a reputed company.
 
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Cleave Global – A Quality Organization

Cleave Global is a leading BPO services provider in India with an aim to deliver very high quality standards. The spokesperson of the company re-iterated that “Cleave Global has always been committed to excellence in delivering high quality call center services across variety of industry verticals.” Cleave Global strives to meet or exceed client’s expectations all the time. There are quality policies in place to monitor benchmark and continually improve the bpo service processes and employees performance to serve the clients efficiently. These policies are designed by industry specialists who have considerable amount of experience and are six sigma professionals. They thoroughly train the bpo service agents to ensure the best service to the clients. The continuous positive feedback on the customer satisfaction makes them competent and very efficient all the time.

The primary objectives for the quality team of Cleave Global are to exceed customer expectations and to sustain business growth. Cleave Global management is committed to the quality endeavor by providing all the necessary resources in terms of manpower, skills and tools etc. The Review meetings are conducted regularly to monitor the effectiveness and continuing suitability of the system. They make sure that the international standards within call centers worldwide are being followed by every Cleave Global representative.

Regular training sessions including soft skills is provided to every representative to sharpen their skills and knowledge to sustain continuous improvement and to promote customer-centric approach. All projects follow a well-defined set of quality programs and procedures, which involves detailed estimations and clearly defined goal setting for every individual on the floor. This model-based approach has a strong process focusing on continuous improvement and comprises of guidelines, standards and templates adhering to the requirements of ISO 9001 and ISO 27001. Cleave Global is a certified BPO Services provider for Quality by Moody International, UK. Cleave Global provides specialized solutions on improving customer retention and increasing revenue per client. We strive to continuously improve our processes and performance to continue ISO certification. We are aiming to continually deliver the best services and remain as one of forerunners in the outsourcing services industry in India…

Call Center Outsourcing - The Real Benefits

Your business is growing and so does your base clientèle. Customers no longer originate from your neighborhood nor in one city only but now spread across state borders and countries. Your staff experiences heavy influx of telephone calls. The company's phones lines gradually get congested. Customer transactions suffer because they could not reach your office. As the manager, you know you must implement solutions fast or your business will suffer.

Under these conditions, it's time you switch to call center services.

A call center, equipped with the right call center software, offers the following essential benefits:

1.) ENHANCE CUSTOMER RELATION

Because callers can immediately connect to your office, they can transact business with no more waiting time. It eliminates wasted calls. It gives your
customers quick access to the information they want and thus results in improve relationship with them. And too often, because clients can reach your office
immediately, it enhances their perception of your company. You getter more customers, more deals, more revenues.

2.) IMPROVE EFFICIENCY

A call center allows staff to deal with more customers at any a given time.
Richard Burgess, CEO of a large pharmaceutical company can attest to this. " The rapid growth of our company entails more doctors calling for prescription
drugs and customers asking for product description. Our staff cannot handle this increasing volume of callers. A call center services solved our dilemna.
Now, our personnel can take the growing calls and dispense the necessary services in less time, making customers happy. This translates to greater overall
efficiency."

3.) MINIMIZE EXPENSES
With call center that has the right call center software, the same number of staff will be able to handle more calls. Sarah Danitz, an insurance company
manager, has this to say, " We would have incurred large overhead expenses if we hire additional personnel to handle incoming calls. Instead, we turned to
call center. It satisfactorily meets our demand. And we were able to save money in the long run."
As you can see, you need not hire additional personnel or install extra phone lines to meet caller volumes.

4.) DISPLAY STATISTICS

In an ordinary helpdesk, your office can not track the number of calls you receive each day, how many of these calls were positively resolved, how many
callers turn away,etc. A call center makes these statistics available so you will know measures to take in order to improve your business.
"We didn't take any interests on our calls in the past, " says Michigan-based farm tools company owner Chris Laverdale. " But with a call center giving us
these data, we see some patterns and seek ways for improvement. These call center statistics are really helpful."

5.) BETTER OFFICE COMMUNICATION HANDLING

A call center, aside from handling live calls, can also process emails. In addition, it can handle fax, web-based queries, web-cam conferencing, Instant
Messaging, and other means of communication for the company.
" Our struggling staff could hardly deal with the number of calls we receive, and we hardly have time for incoming emails. A number of deals were lost because we neglect emails. But now, we know better. Our call center which has an excellent call center software, processes our calls and emails. Now, we receive favorable business transactions out of these emails."

These are just some of the many benefits your company can enjoy from a call center.

 
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India - Strategic Outsourcing Hub

Almost a decade ago, cost reduction became focus for some companies looking for short-term solutions from outsourcing services and received equal benefits. Now, it has become a do or die situation and outsourcing services are no longer about just cost savings but for the growth strategy and essential revenue for most of the organizations.

India is still the leading nation in providing bpo services to western countries like the US and the UK. The basic question for any company is that why should they outsource to India. One of the biggest advantages that India has is that for well over a half century it has been a stable secular democracy. Today’s India has the best of the educational institutions and infrastructure in place that makes it comparable to every developed first world economy.

Advantages:

The economic scenario

· The personnel advantage

· Cost effectiveness

· The Location advantage

Various Services offered by Indian BPO’s:

Back Office Processing – One of the specialized services offered by Indian call centers is the back office processing services. It can be in form of raw data and scanned documents sent to bpo service providers in India, which carries out data entry and reconciliation. The client gets continuous access to its data through high-speed data links between themselves and vendors. Various service categories like administration, finance, HR and payment services require Back office Processing outsourcing services.

Call Centers – Call centers provide the backbone for many other services given their infrastructure and manpower requirements multitude of services spanning transaction processing to data mining. Call centers in India are equipped with adequate telecom infrastructure, trained consultants and access to requisite database, internet and other online data infrastructure to provide enough information to international customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The call center support can be any form from customer service, technical, selling or information sharing.

Other Services:

· Medical Transcription

· Digital content development

· Geographic information services

Outsourcing BPO services to India offers benefits not only in terms of cost reduction, but also in terms of increased productivity and quality. Companies along with their customers benefit since they can access some of the best talent and expertise at lower rates.

India is a head of competitors such as China, Philippines, Ireland and Australia etc. The Indian call centers have unique capabilities and to set measure and monitor quality targets.

India is leading all the way in terms of outsourcing. The minimum qualification required for anybody to join call centers here is graduation in any field. The manpower is motivated enough to perform tasks to higher standards and professionalism is maintained throughout the operational hierarchy. The Indian BPO services have time again proved that the industry standards followed are the best in the world when it comes to effective customer service. The management is highly capable of turn things around and always strives for perfection.

Description: BPO is one of today’s key management tools. Companies across the globe have realized the importance of outsourcing their non-core functions whether to reduce cost or support expansion. India continues to be a preferred destination for outsourcing globally.