why are call center agents resigning?... just curious

[FendeR_21]

why call center agents resigning... just curious

Im not a call center agent and im curious whats it like being one. First ive observed that these people are one of the best payed workers in the country. They earn twice as much as licensed engineers, Architects and medical workers do. The professionals cringe everytime they see their payslips when they compare it to a call center agent's payslip. As they say, Call centers beat any 8-5 job out there. Being a part of the fastest growing industry in the
nation certainly helps. Plus, it is extremely hyped in ads that being in a call center is full of fun, not to mention the "barkada - youthful" environment. From a point of view, sounds like a perfect job.

Despite all the financial perks and rewards, i still hear a lot of people resigning which alarms me. What could be the possible reasons?, and when they do resign are these people prepared to work in a low paying job again? For now, your guess is as good as mine. Proven testimonials are welcomed here.

[FendeR_21]

sorry wrong grammar, should be titled : why are call center agents resigning?... just curious. im excited sa mga replies. :)

[KuyaDanny]

Title edited.

[Ellheym]

siguro sobrang pressure sa work.. wala na kasing night life. :)

[neth_row]

There's a thread a few months back titled "Call Center Burnout" or something to that effect. I think everything is pretty much summed up in that thread. Anyone care to look it up?

[belliecute]

eventually you'll find out that you're getting bored on the job. others say that they are not contended with their work. the only skill that you could exercise here is your communication skills. i have a big salary in my previous call center but i'm not happy anymore so i resigned. and there is not much room for growth.

[bigbadwolf]

90% of the agents who resign from call centers transfer to other call centers. Since they've gained enough experience, they move to newly established call centers for a higher pay and/or promotion.

[mark_mark]

routine. :shedtears:

[fairychild]

There are dozens of reasons for this. To mention some:
1. High pay = high level of pressure
2. Some call centers are too big/populous to even perceive promotion. That is why most agents move on to new centers just to have a better shot at promotion.
3. Personal reasons=most of them feel that they need to get back to their "normal" lives
4. Professional reasons= there are better chances of working in their line of profession outside the call center industry
5. They hate their bosses?
6. Administrative concerns (not satisfied with how the adminstration handles matters).
7. Safety = working in the night shift poses not only health concerns, but also issues in public safety (being nabbed, holdup, rape, etc.)
8. and the list goes on for whatever reasons a regular employee might want to resign...

[piQuAnT]

fairychild has pretty much answered the question..

to add to what s/hes said....since u have limited skills that u have learned in a call ctr...more often than not it wouldnt qualify you for a better job outside the call ctr industry.

[DukotKing]

Originally posted by piQuAnT
fairychild has pretty much answered the question..

to add to what s/hes said....since u have limited skills that u have learned in a call ctr...more often than not it wouldnt qualify you for a better job outside the call ctr industry.

Tama...kaya ako...wala na ako sa call center!

[dothe101]

hi ferry child, are u from Cebu?
I'm from cebu myself but working in manila (but not in a call center). I've heard that the industry is starting to pick up in cebu.
anyway my third party analysis on the issue is that as attractive as the compensation sounds, there is a question about the long term prospects of the job. (do u still see yourself working in the industry in 3,5 or 10 years time?) for most people THEY DON'T.

Working in shifts, and answering to client call is not everyone's idea of a career. Should you be interested to join a call center though (in Cebu) I suggest the best time to join is now, since it is still starting to pick---therefore chances of promotion is higher since you'll be part of the pioneering batches. What's your major btw? Maybe you could also work in a call center company but not in operations but with support dept. (HR, Finance, IT)--I think they pay just as well and you don't have to work odd hours and skills/experience garnened in this functions are more transferable/relevant should you choose to switch to other industries later on.

[fairychild]

Originally posted by piQuAnT
fairychild has pretty much answered the question..

to add to what s/hes said....since u have limited skills that u have learned in a call ctr...more often than not it wouldnt qualify you for a better job outside the call ctr industry.

Ditto on that statement. This generally happens (but not to all). I've seen licensed PT's, OT's, and even MD's take this job!

[jazzy]

realizing that it's not the career path they want to take.

[LinuxMandrake]

1. may opening sa bagong call center, and lahat gustong maging pioneer

2. mas malaki ang offer sa kabila, so unahan na naman mag-apply...

3. may balitang magaganda ang mga babaeng agent sa kabilang call center, kaya lahat ng lalaki, unahang mag-apply sa call center na un...

hehehe... my two cents.

love peace and menudo grease!

[FendeR_21]

so if people are transferring from one call center to another, das dat mean thats the major reason for resignation? parang vicious cycle...

[Una_dagmar]

Originally posted by FendeR_21
so if people are transferring from one call center to another, das dat mean thats the major reason for resignation? parang vicious cycle...

Sorta...I mean, "regular " jobs don't really pay as much and provide promotion opportunities as much as call centers do, right? And another thing is, the working population in this industry is pretty young. I'm not generalizing but young people(like me...and I'm not kidding) tend to want to explore more about life and what we really for ourselves.

[Una_dagmar]

Originally posted by Una_dagmar
Sorta...I mean, "regular " jobs don't really pay as much and provide promotion opportunities as much as call centers do, right? And another thing is, the working population in this industry is pretty young. I'm not generalizing but young people(like me...and I'm not kidding) tend to want to explore more about life and what we really for ourselves.

...what we really WANT for ourselves rather.

To continue (may pumasok na call kasi kanina - hehehe!):

A wise decision should be made, however, before transferring to a new call center. Factors such as stability of the company, compensation,etc. Hindi lang basta basta kung lilipat ka ng workplace (even if it's not in the call center industry).

[otakusenshi]

just to add:

SALARY COMPARISON
A good example is my friends acct and my acct. We're both Cust Care Reps of a Telecomm industry
His basic salary is 18k and mine is just 15k
He works 6am-3pm and I work 2am-11am
He only takes call about 10-20 calls talking about the same issue (WLNP) and I take 60 and above++ calls a day, no avail, queueing. Plus, the kind of calls i take are from gen info, changes on the acct, billing concerns, troubleshooting AND WLNP.
We're both located in Global City as of this moment and if there is something that will make me feel better is that their acct will be moved to Roxas Blvd within this year, maybe before end of summer.... BUT again, we both work on the same company but we don't get paid based on the kind of workload.

[Una_dagmar]

Originally posted by otakusenshi
just to add:

SALARY COMPARISON
A good example is my friends acct and my acct. We're both Cust Care Reps of a Telecomm industry
His basic salary is 18k and mine is just 15k
He works 6am-3pm and I work 2am-11am
He only takes call about 10-20 calls talking about the same issue (WLNP) and I take 60 and above++ calls a day, no avail, queueing. Plus, the kind of calls i take are from gen info, changes on the acct, billing concerns, troubleshooting AND WLNP.
We're both located in Global City as of this moment and if there is something that will make me feel better is that their acct will be moved to Roxas Blvd within this year, maybe before end of summer.... BUT again, we both work on the same company but we don't get paid based on the kind of workload.

By the way, what's your take on agents who prove to be more effective on the floor despite having lower pay than the "seasoned agents" who perform less optimally than they do?

[rabbaddal]

An article below from an Indian perspective. As per what the article implies, call centers and other BPO jobs should be seen as career stepping stones rather than an end objective. People still need to invest in their own career development:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Attrition rate at 25 -30% in the BPO segment"

A survey puts attrition in the BPO segment to be around 25-30% and states that this happens in a timeframe of just couple of weeks after joining. The reasons cited for this trend are non-standard working hours and lack of enrichment potential.

CIOL Bureau
Thursday, October 31, 2002

BANGALORE: A random survey in Bangalore, by one of the leading HR consulting firm Peopleone Consulting, puts the attrition rate in the BPO segment to around 25-30%. Besides, more attrition takes place within a few weeks of the joining the organisation.

Revealing the survey results, during the BPO summit of the ongoing Bangalore IT.com 2002, CEO of Peopleone consulting, Ajit Isaac, said, "The reason for the high rate of attrition in the BPO sector, particularly the call centre segment range from lack of comfort to lack of enrichment potential in terms of career growth. The other issues cited were non-standard working hours and adjusting to western work culture".

To address these, he suggested few remedial measures such as introducing fun at work concept, encouraging the staff to take up continuing education or managerial programs and providing job enrichment incentives.

Speaking on the same occasion, CEO of Ernst and Young, Shared Services (India), Sharda Cherwoo, said, " By 2010, the employment potential in India would rise to 360,000 across all states as against a mere 24,000 currently in the BPO segment that includes the non-captive market. The Millennium BPO policy by the government is a step in the right direction and play a key role in ensuring to reach that target."

Listing out key priorities towards continuing excellence, she pointed out that decision-makers need to modernize and change the educational program and effective people management. This should involve a 'people-first' culture and ensure career growth patterns. The last and important thing is to enhance employee retention policies where organisations need to counsel their employees and involve them in all their decision making process, Cherwoo added.

[HoRnY4NiE]

stress!!!!

[leftwinger]

sobrang stressed out ka na ba fornie boy?

[TiNyCuTiE]

boredom, no nightlife & pressure....& some doomsayers thought this will not last longer....

[otakusenshi]

Originally posted by Una_dagmar
By the way, what's your take on agents who prove to be more effective on the floor despite having lower pay than the "seasoned agents" who perform less optimally than they do?

well, money matters, its definitely unfair, I work for a living. I dont wanna get paid less and work more. On the other hand, if i am exerting a lot of effort today even if i am paid lower than others who exert less effort, there are more chances of me getting a better job if i resign and look for another job...

I still prefer to get paid based on the effort i exert. Kahit naman ba na may medical benefits ako na lahat ng anitbiotics eh kaya nilang ibigay sa akin eh... kaya naman ako nagkakasakit dahil sa acct ko eh... (dami ko ba reklamo?! ahihihihi)

did i answer your question? or i lost my point?

[HoRnY4NiE]

Originally posted by leftwinger
sobrang stressed out ka na ba fornie boy?


bwahahah!!! ndi na *** ng powers ko 'to! bahala na...

[mari^pola]

Originally posted by otakusenshi
well, money matters, its definitely unfair, I work for a living. I dont wanna get paid less and work more. On the other hand, if i am exerting a lot of effort today even if i am paid lower than others who exert less effort, there are more chances of me getting a better job if i resign and look for another job...

I still prefer to get paid based on the effort i exert. Kahit naman ba na may medical benefits ako na lahat ng anitbiotics eh kaya nilang ibigay sa akin eh... kaya naman ako nagkakasakit dahil sa acct ko eh... (dami ko ba reklamo?! ahihihihi)

did i answer your question? or i lost my point?

that's really unfair. it should be "equal pay for equal work" but in your case it's "less pay for more work"

and you work from 2am-11am so i assume you are getting your night shift differential pay, i hope.

[shrimpo]

nakakabobo,totoo yan!,hehehe!!! pero hindi ako,yung iba lang,haha!!

[otakusenshi]

Originally posted by mari^pola
that's really unfair. it should be "equal pay for equal work" but in your case it's "less pay for more work"

and you work from 2am-11am so i assume you are getting your night shift differential pay, i hope.

ay nku eto pa!!!
our night diff only covers 10pm - 6pm and since i work 2am-11am ang night diff lang eh 2am-6am - only 4hrs are covered by night diff... kaya ndi ko nararamdaman ang night diff sa amin...

mahirap ang shift , i mean i have to go to office early, sleep in the flr sa quiet room dahil jampak na *** (kakahiya d buh?) then by 11am we need to finish all the calls waiting before logging out, which is gnun naman talaga pero we work more and get paid less... la lang...

[mark_mark]

pero we should be thankful there are call centers around...paano na kung wala?

[FendeR_21]

call center na lang ata (or one of d VERY FEW) na nag papabuhay sa philippine economy

[chuva10]

for me emotional stress...

[otakusenshi]

well, i'm still thankful for call centers, its just that they need to know how to me fair enough with their employees...

emotional stress --- hmmm.... pwede rin.. nakakabaliw ang mga kano?!... imagina pagtanggal lang ng battery, tinatanong pa sa akin?!

eto pa.. i had a call, the cust said: ei, i have a quick question...
ako naman: Sure, how may i help you?
cust: i just received my new phone and i tried to call the number... and its ringing... uh, umm... does that mean its active???
ako: (@$@#$@%)...... yes?!

la lang singit ko lang.. back to the topic na tau ahihihihi

[neurotic_dude]

top 10 reasons (not in any order):

1) most often you work nights: companies in developed countries outsource their services (tech support, customer care, etc.) to offshore companies like in India, China and the Philippines where labor is cheaper. It's the other side of the world. you're work is when it's daytime in the States or Europe.
2) pressure at work: they pay you well so you are expected to deliver. my opinion, any job has its pressures.
3) misinformed (especially fresh grads): call center work is physicall and emotionally draining. those who are pampered in school won't appreciate this type of work environment where you are pushed to deliver. customer relations is not for everyone, i would say.
4) health: working on the night-shift then get irregular and little sleep during the day. this is a perfect recipe for disaster.
5) they get lost: they realize later on that this is not for them though it pays well. they also think that this is a dead-end job. no chances to work your way up. this is only a limitation to those who are not risky enough to challenge their abilities and capacities.
6) other competitors: call centers are all over these days. if one can offer better compensation, you loose an employee just as that.
7) furhter studies: others opt to go to grad school.
8) no social life: if you had a non-existent social life way back then, this will not apply to you. but for those who do have one, this is an issue. the call center workforce is made up of very young people. go figure.
8) young crowd: though it's cool to work with young people, they are the most undecided people who change their minds so fast you wouldn't be able to figure them out. most are immature and don't know anything about being employed and being an employee. they are very idealistic.
9) work itself: routinary for some programs like directory assistance and sales.
10) unfamiliar territory: some people like to practice what they learned in school. most people here graduated in one of the top schools in the country and are professionals in their own field. they also want to do work related to what they learned.

[_S_H_I_N_M_A_]

well- most people in call centers are into technical support and sales

which are highly stressful

araw-araw ba naman na ginawa nang diyos- ay mumurahin ka nang client o customer

another eason would be the shifting scheds- erratic scheds, and long night shift assignments could take their toll on the agent's health

the third reason... competition- other call centers may offer better career paths and better pay..

and of course- personal and career growth (the lack of it) in the long run

[deepSubmerge]

nababagot na ako.

pero kahit call center ang hirap pasukan a.

[doris_is_my_gal]

hrap kc on your toes ka lagi tipo bang out of 2,3,400 calls mo at nataon na may 3 palpak calls ka naminalas namonitor OUT ka ..meaning under pressure ka lagi lalo pa at very competitive mga nakapaligid, but this is not to say na d *** nice..nice nga *** *** nakakatagal ako pero one day at a time lang ako bahala na c batman ang attitude kc nga mahrap magplano na cge ** nako sa company na toh e kung malasin nga?d mo naman ciempre mapeperfect lahat ng kols ..draining at the end of the shift lalo na pag na victim ka ng mga racist.basta pag na last day ako at nagkataon may magsabi TRANSFER ME TO SOME1 WHO SPEAKS ENGLISH itatransfer ko sa spanish support :diablo:

[tidus1203]

And not to mention para bang merong negative conotation working sa call center. Well maybe for the elites that is, feeling kasi nila parang outsourced lang trabaho nila. Atsaka for people who aspire to be future business man, wala kang matututunan sa call center thus they still prefer those 8-5 jobs.

[DarthScully]

why call center agents resigning... just curious

Im not a call center agent and im curious whats it like being one. First ive observed that these people are one of the best payed workers in the country. They earn twice as much as licensed engineers, Architects and medical workers do. The professionals cringe everytime they see their payslips when they compare it to a call center agent's payslip. As they say, Call centers beat any 8-5 job out there. Being a part of the fastest growing industry in the
nation certainly helps. Plus, it is extremely hyped in ads that being in a call center is full of fun, not to mention the "barkada - youthful" environment. From a point of view, sounds like a perfect job.

Despite all the financial perks and rewards, i still hear a lot of people resigning which alarms me. What could be the possible reasons?, and when they do resign are these people prepared to work in a low paying job again? For now, your guess is as good as mine. Proven testimonials are welcomed here.

lousy management, that's usually the first cause and the root of most problems employees have with call centers.

[Una_dagmar]

lousy management, that's usually the first cause and the root of most problems employees have with call centers.


Mismo! Hey, even if the pay is not that bad as long as you have management trying to run things smoothly and efficiently, then what the heck, right?

[sixpencer]

Management na pa-bibo sa client. Yung tipong kung ano hilingin ng client inaako nila agad. Mga additional skills/scope of support na di naman napag-usapan o ikinunsulta sa mga reps. OK na sana dahil the best reps manage to pull through with it kaya lang they weren't even mentioning about upping the pay.

[dragonrower]

honestly, all reasons posted here are just the same in other industry & offices too. maybe a little different like the night life & day light slummbers. but other than that, it's very very identical to other office related work.

[cybernaut]

TOP 3
3. kup*al TLs and QAs
2. Nature of Work - buong araw ka ba naman tumatanggap ng reklamo, di ka kaya mabaliw!
1. Graveyard Shift - may pera ka nga, di ka naman maka-gimik. sira lagi tulog mo dahil sa shifting scheds. :zzz:

[david_james]

i agree. all reasons stated above are true. a call center job is just not for everybody. its a high paying industry compared to other "normal" jobs but it has its trade offs.

[speed_demon]

ok talaga yung sweldo, tiba-tiba. pero nakakalungkot yung lifestyle kasi lahat ng kaibigan ko normal yung oras ng trabaho nila. ang lungkot isipin na lahat ng kaibigan mo gising na gising hbang *** naman tulog. nakakadepress minsan. kaya kung reresign ako dahil sa lang sa lifestyle

[can2boy]

honestly, all reasons posted here are just the same in other industry & offices too. maybe a little different like the night life & day light slummbers. but other than that, it's very very identical to other office related work.
I have to agree with you on that. People leave their jobs for pretty much the same reasons regardless of the industry they're coming from. The only difference is the frantic pace that it's happening in call centers. This industry is not for everyone. But some still join the workforce for the wrong reasons and intentions hence you got attrition.

[winriver]

got tired of voice. nakakita kc ako ng email support na direchong GY naman which i got tired too... sigh!

[OTGirl]

IF THE MANAGEMENT SUCKS, THAT WOULD BE THE MAIN REASON WHY CALL CENTER AGENTS LEAVE. MOST CALL CENTERS ARE PRO CLIENT. THIS IS WHAT THE CLIENT WANTS AND THIS IS WHAT THE CLIENT NEEDS. AND ITO NAMANG MGA MANAGERS DONT GIVE A CRAP SA KANILANG MGA EMPLOYEES KASI NGA PARANG GLORIFIED SWEAT SHOP NGA LANG ANG MGA CALL CENTERS DITO SA PILIPINAS.

hELLO!!! ANG HIRAP KAYA NG MAGSAGOT NG PHONE AT MAKIPAGUSAP SA MGA BOBONG AMERIKANO? KALA NG IBA MADALI LANG. hUS!!

[moonster]

i resigned because i am going to have a baby soon :)

priorities first

[talipandas9]

From experience, aside from the difficulty in adjusting to GY, being assigned to the wrong account can be a good reason to consider looking for another job. As said in previous posts, its difficult to deal with American customers - akala mo kung sinong magagaling pero bobastic ever chuva tienes naman.

Consider the situation I'm in. I'm currently assigned to a travel account that handles airline reservations. We have to study 5 GDS and/or supplier links in able to support customers' concerns. Imagine, these 5 GDS and/or supplier links have their own commands. When you receive a call, you will have to be able to identify what GDS or supplier link you are going to use and then you have to recall about 20 basic commands that come with each GDS or supplier link. Hello - information overload here I come.

In relation to this, most of the situations you will encounter on the floor once you go live haven't been discussed thoroughly in training. Ergo, you have a very strong chance of making a mistake and in this type of account, a mistake could mean a payout which is as stressful as running for public office.

Call center agents are indeed at the mercy of the client's needs. This is understandable but management of call centers must also consider the welfare of their employees. Most of the time - it does not follow that more or additional work will automatically translate to a corresponding pay hike.

Think twice, thrice, or a million times more before applying in a call center.

[talipandas9]

From experience, aside from the difficulty in adjusting to GY, being assigned to the wrong account can be a good reason to consider looking for another job. As said in previous posts, its difficult to deal with American customers - akala mo kung sinong magagaling pero bobastic ever chuva tienes naman.

Consider the situation I'm in. I'm currently assigned to a travel account that handles airline reservations. We have to study 5 GDS and/or supplier links in able to support customers' concerns. Imagine, these 5 GDS and/or supplier links have their own commands. When you receive a call, you will have to be able to identify what GDS or supplier link you are going to use and then you have to recall about 20 basic commands that come with each GDS or supplier link. Hello - information overload here I come.

In relation to this, most of the situations you will encounter on the floor once you go live haven't been discussed thoroughly in training. Ergo, you have a very strong chance of making a mistake and in this type of account, a mistake could mean a payout which is as stressful as running for public office.

Call center agents are indeed at the mercy of the client's needs. This is understandable but management of call centers must also consider the welfare of their employees. Most of the time - it does not follow that more or additional work will automatically translate to a corresponding pay hike.

Think twice, thrice, or a million times more before applying in a call center.

[Leif_Erikson]

Hi Talipandas9!

For most people, they resign because of bad management. The second highest ranking reason why people quit call centers eventually is the toll working at night takes on their physical and mental health. I myself found it difficult to sleep during the daytime--with the heat, street sounds of cars, tricycles, and kids playing outside my window--and found it depressing to be going to work while all around me jeepneys and FXs and Makati shuttles are unloading people coming home from work. Depressing indeed, as I make my way to work passing through neighborhoods where people relax and make ready to sleep while listening to late night TV (eh I happen to enjoy late night TV pa naman!).

For still some other call center agents, we quit for the same reason Talipandas cited--the stressful nature of the work brought about by incomplete training. I myself worked in a financial services account in Libis handling stocks, mutual funds, bonds, trusts, etc. No, we didn't do any trading or investing or financial advise. Why was it stressful?
1) The systems we used were too complicated, we noticed while we were still in product training.
2) We were told that we would learn most of our work on the floor while taking in calls (in short, by trial and error) and asking TLs and veteran agents. Very demeaning, if you ask me--because we were reduced to 'runners' who would answer client questions by asking our coaches and TLs and veteran coworkers. I've had instances where after running back to the client with an answer (which I myself couldn't understand fully), the client had a follow-up question, which I again had to 'runner' to a TL or coach or veteran agent. End result? Caller gets irate and asks if we do know our stuff.
3) Sometimes I learned some terms and procedures from the callers themselves! Yes, from the callers, not from product or systems training!
4) There were too many forms, too many screens, to many updates everyday, which were not at all simple. As Talipandas9 said, INFO OVERLOAD TO THE MAX! Sa lagay na ito, UP College of Law graduate na ako, yet I found it too overwhleming, even more than what I endured and survived in law school!
5) Then to my chagrin I would learn that other friends in other call centers with EASIER accounts would be earning much more than I did. My own brother who didn't even finish college makes almost 29k a month at Sykes handling cust service calls for an American phone company, and here I was making just half his monthly salary!
6) Many call center agents say they would stay at a job if only because of their friends there at work. Problem was, few people were friendly at my last account, and I always went home with the beginnings of a migraine! Bottomline was, I always had to psyche myself up at night when I would wake up just to get ready to go to work again!

You know when that happens--when you have to force yourself to go to work--that you should quit the job since you most definitely already hate it so much.