I'm curious, pano ang career development ng call center agents?

[jisc]

for example, call-center ka ngayon, mataas ang sweldo mo, pero after few years, tataas din ba sweldo mo? will it still be at par with cost of living? at anong position after call center agent? meron bang senior call center agent? na mas mataas ang sweldo at mas malaking responsibilities? or most call-center agents is just a temporary job for them, and they will shift to a job that corresponds to the degree theyve finished if an opportunity arrive?

[pinoynetwit]

Salary appraisals normally take place every year some every 6 months. Some even have an automatic increase after 6 months.

Some accounts may be a perfect fit for your professional license or degree - like my current work. And I don't need to take calls for months at a time.

It's hard to describe in detail an industry that is very large in scope with the line of work it offers to people.

The cost of living issue normally crops-up for entry level work. There are sweat-shops. I should know since I did a study on BPO profit margins years ago in my former office job. The return-on- equity can be up to 40 percent[official data which is consrvative] in some instances.

[superbad]

Salary appraisals normally take place every year some every 6 months. Some even have an automatic increase after 6 months.

Some accounts may be a perfect fit for your professional license or degree - like my current work. And I don't need to take calls for months at a time.

It's hard to describe in detail an industry that is very large in scope with the line of work it offers to people.

The cost of living issue normally crops-up for entry level work. There are sweat-shops. I should know since I did a study on BPO profit margins years ago in my former office job. The return-on- equity can be up to 40 percent[official data which is consrvative] in some instances.

do they get promoted?:bop: or call center agent forever?:bashful:

[pinoynetwit]

do they get promoted?:bop: or call center agent forever?:bashful:


Ofcourse they do. I've known of former call center agents who are now managing operations in the Australian unit of a certain contact center. Or getting promoted and transferred to non-contact center units...i.e. Accenture.

If you want to go beyong being an Operations Manager that earns 100 to 200k per month...May barat din na 50K/mo[known for labor code violations].. I suggest that you try companies that service a whole range of services in the BPO/IT sector.

Problem is a lot of people misconstrue the nature of BPO/call center work. It's much more broad and dynamic than working in government...and the transfer from one business unit to another is far easier. That is aside from the online learning resources and management learning programs like Six Sigma that come in handy.

[talipandas9]

But of course, if you are aspiring for a promotion, you have to contend with the dreaded company politics that is prevalent esp. in the call center industry.

Modesty aside, from my experience, after being cited already as a best agent, I don't see a bright future ahead of me with my present BPO. Politics sucks big time here. :grrr:

[pinoynetwit]

^^^
I know of one account in a certain call center that only promotes beautiful chicks!

I wonder if there is a "road test" so as to be promoted!

[varian1]

lucky "testers"...

[supremo elyag]

Dito sa current account namin medyo puro young guys ang napopromote as OMs...pero anyway yung senior specialist na nakausap ko minsan nung tinanong niya ko sa plano ko sabi ko if ok dito then itutuloy ko pero sabi niya saken parang mawawalan ka daw ng direction sa call center. At talagang mapolitika. Kaya tuloy nag-iisip na ko ng mabuti pero bago pa man ako magapply dito may plano na talaga ako at sana matuloy na. Natuklasan kong hindi ko rin gugustuhin ang ganitong work in the long run.

[silvertooth26]

I've been in this industry for 6 1/2 years now, I got promoted 3x within the span of 3 years, the latest being a year ago.

I thought I was gonna stay for 2 years only, but responsibilities grew bigger at home so I found myself wanting to pursue higher rings on the ladder. Plus the fact that I met my fiancee here so these are the reasons why I stayed.

My company is not located in Manila, hence the lower (much, much lower rate for everyone else above an agent), but we'll be opening a Manila site early next year and I'm planning to be there.

So will there be promotions within? The answer is definitely yes. I recommend trying to work somewhere else before joining the BPO/call center industry so that you could bring a little maturity once you're in. Yes, a lot of complaints are valid, like office politics, but we have yet to find an office completely devoid of one.

So, if you want to be promoted, play your cards right, find a mentor (that's how I've aspired for my first 2 promotions), ask what you need to know and know what you need to do. Sometimes, it's as simple as saying, "Sir/Ma'am, gusto ko pong maging teamlead, turuan nyo po ako".

Yeah it sounds cheesy, but that's how I escaped the queue calls, the limited breaks, etc, etc, etc.

P.S. in our company, here's the possible career steps: agent --> coach --> supervisor/teamlead --> Manager (either Ops/Client Services) Just contemplate what do you think would be your best talents and look out for the people above you what steps they took so that you'd have an idea where you'd want to go.

PPS, after being an agent, you can also become a workforce analyst, traffic coordinator, scheduler, analyst, etc etc. so there

-------------------
http://carpediem26.blogspot.com

[xxx_vix_xxx]

2 years pa lang ako sa industry and every year nappromote naman ako. malaki ang call center industry. don't limit yourself sa ops. meron pang hr, payroll, it, facilities, training at kung ano ano pa.

[|wyatt|]

To answer the question, in my current company, yes of course, you can be promoted. Here, we have levels depending if you're in a simple or complex program. Agents here are classified into 5 levels, CSA5/TSR5 being the highest. Every level means an increase in your salary and additional respnonsibilities as you are also honed to be one of the high-pots. You have options to take if you want to take the leadership path, the training path, QA, support and all. It might sound easy but it's not as not everyone can be promoted. For one, you have to pass all metrics for 3 consecutive months before you can be promoted plus competencies. My client manager started as an agent here in our company, and that could be one of the living proofs that it can be done. Ü

[pinoynetwit]

lucky "testers"...

Sometimes these "testers" detest the "attention" given to them. mantakin mo **** lahat na lang ng contact center na nilipatan nung isa kong kaibigan halos mag-palit palit yung mga nang ha-harass sa kanya na mga managers at agents. The girl got paranoid tuwing 15-minute break, lunch break at uwian kailangan may escort na kaibigang lalaki na parang "scare crow" niya against the would-be sexual harassers.

[talipandas9]

Eh paano naman yung situation wherein during your qualifying make or break interview to become a TL, you will be told that they find you more suitable for a promotion but not within Operations - say within Workforce or Training or what have you yet you really want to become a team lead?

What about the situation whrerein you gave your best during your qualifying interview and then the OMs who interviewed you did not even give any feedback (whether you're in or out) after 6 long-agonizing months?

Still I maintain politics sucks at the call center located in front of SM Mall of Asia.
:grrr:

[pinoynetwit]

^^^
Why not bypass your superiors who are conniving against you and report this to higher management?

[silvertooth26]

Eh paano naman yung situation wherein during your qualifying make or break interview to become a TL, you will be told that they find you more suitable for a promotion but not within Operations - say within Workforce or Training or what have you yet you really want to become a team lead?

What about the situation whrerein you gave your best during your qualifying interview and then the OMs who interviewed you did not even give any feedback (whether you're in or out) after 6 long-agonizing months?

Still I maintain politics sucks at the call center located in front of SM Mall of Asia.
:grrr:

I agree with pinoynetwit. If you 're unable to approach the OM's bosses or what not, you can go and ask feedback from your HR department probably.

[talipandas9]

^^^
Why not bypass your superiors who are conniving against you and report this to higher management?

How I wish this can be done! There is a thick level of bureaucracy and it would be virtually impossible to get to higher management if you're just a humble lowly-paid CSR. Para nga akong nagtatrabaho sa gobyerno.

Kung hindi lang midshift (afternoons) Monday to Friday non-voice account itong work ko, matagal na akong umalis.

[pinoynetwit]

^^^
"Langit" pala yang trabaho mo! OK yan, keep your job!

[new_mamon]

depends on the company.

i've worked w/ small ones, and also with the big ones. the big ones have a career development program in place. and they are the ones that have enough accounts and enough expansion to assure a steady demand for supervisory and managerial positions. usually, 90% of management staff is taken from the ranks, only 10% or less is hired from the outside.

in my opinion, convergys probably has the best agent development program amongst all the centers right now. personal opinion ko lang un, but im speaking from personal experience. in cvg, all the OMs right now came from an agent position, and maybe 95% of the TLs also rose from the ranks. bihira sila maghire ng management from outside, although it happens.

if u look at the record of those who are now on top, the general profile of these mgt people who got promoted are as follows: around 2 to 4 years in company already, perfect attendance consistently, very high metric scorecards while they were agents. these are the people who really stood out during their calling days, so what do you expect. given time, people like these usually rise to the top.

[haberdasher]

i find some cvg agents to be full of themselves...i had a job offer last week and i was with these cvg agents..they cant believe they were offered that much with this cc..sayingthat they deserve more...apparently,they only had this much exp handling tech support..they have the mentality that if you come from cvg, they should be getting more ... just a thought

back to the topic .... i just find it a little weird when your om is a lot younger than you ... it's hard to take orders from someone whos like 24yo.. esp if you know he's just there because he's tenured or seomthing and not because he has the skills

[pinoynetwit]

How I wish this can be done! There is a thick level of bureaucracy and it would be virtually impossible to get to higher management if you're just a humble lowly-paid CSR. Para nga akong nagtatrabaho sa gobyerno.

Kung hindi lang midshift (afternoons) Monday to Friday non-voice account itong work ko, matagal na akong umalis.

Why not gather incidents of corporate corruption against these people and email these to your higher management.

[talipandas9]

Why not gather incidents of corporate corruption against these people and email these to your higher management.

Thanks for the advice. It is definitely something worth considering.

For now, tama ka, I'd probably just hang on to my job. Enjoy pa naman ako yun nga lang napagiwanan na talaga ang sweldo compared to peers in the industry.


back to the topic .... i just find it a little weird when your om is a lot younger than you ... it's hard to take orders from someone whos like 24yo.. esp if you know he's just there because he's tenured or seomthing and not because he has the skills

I totally agree haberdasher . I received an unclassifiable (whether it's a pleasant suprise or a sad development) news last night before I went home from my shift. Our TL introduced our new OM - guess who? He was the one who interviewed me when I applied to become a TL last August. Grabe. Fit na fit sa description above - parang inutusan lang bumili ng suka dahil sobrang bata yet alam mong hindi naman ganoon ka-experienced pa. Hay, buhay, kung sinusuwerte ka nga naman.

Okay na rin - at least off kami today (Christmas day) from work. Back to the grind tomorrow.

[eegelsI]

This is an interesting thread. How's the career development of a call center agent. The truth is, it really depends on that agent. There are a lot of career path that an agent can take. As discussed somewhere in this thread, there's leadership, developmental, support, etc. So if you're an accounting grad fresh from college and is really interested in pursuing your degree, you can take that path. But of course, you have to do good first. You have to prove yourself to be a performer, one with good work attitude, etc. This is a requirement even if you're not working in a call center.

Others opted to take a path away from the degrees they've earned. A friend who studied to become a Physical Therapist took on an outbound call center agent job. She was promoted to QA and is now an account manager for another call center. She's been in the industry for more than 5 years now. Some agents like her can have a really booming career. Others won't be so lucky at all. I started in the industry in 2001 as an outbound call center rep. After a little over a year I was promoted to QA. Two companies later, I'm stuck in the same job. I'm not complaining, not really. Experience pays you well. Although I really hope to be promoted next year.

I agree that politics abound in the call center industry. But this is not unique to this industry. I've been to different industries before joining call center. Comparing the other industry to call center, I would say that this industry is far better than the others. There's more opportunity for growth -- career, financial, knowledge, etc. It's all here and I intend to stay for as long as the industry is here. And with the way business is going in the global perspective, the BPOs are here to stay.

[silvertooth26]

This is an interesting thread. How's the career development of a call center agent. The truth is, it really depends on that agent. There are a lot of career path that an agent can take. As discussed somewhere in this thread, there's leadership, developmental, support, etc. So if you're an accounting grad fresh from college and is really interested in pursuing your degree, you can take that path. But of course, you have to do good first. You have to prove yourself to be a performer, one with good work attitude, etc. This is a requirement even if you're not working in a call center.

Others opted to take a path away from the degrees they've earned. A friend who studied to become a Physical Therapist took on an outbound call center agent job. She was promoted to QA and is now an account manager for another call center. She's been in the industry for more than 5 years now. Some agents like her can have a really booming career. Others won't be so lucky at all. I started in the industry in 2001 as an outbound call center rep. After a little over a year I was promoted to QA. Two companies later, I'm stuck in the same job. I'm not complaining, not really. Experience pays you well. Although I really hope to be promoted next year.

I agree that politics abound in the call center industry. But this is not unique to this industry. I've been to different industries before joining call center. Comparing the other industry to call center, I would say that this industry is far better than the others. There's more opportunity for growth -- career, financial, knowledge, etc. It's all here and I intend to stay for as long as the industry is here. And with the way business is going in the global perspective, the BPOs are here to stay.

And I'd say amen to that. Working outside the BPO industry before entering it is really something that I'd recommend, seriously. I've had reps who had endlessly complained of this and that without realizing they have it better than other employees in other industries.

Where else can you work for 8 or 10 hours per day, get a 2 to 3 hour break from those 8 or 10 hours, have free food/drinks (at some call centers), get paid incentives, performance pay, bonuses, etc, get the chance to be easily promoted, etc etc and go home to only sleep without the worries of say, being a Teacher? We have to make these people realize that they are lucky than most people getting paid only minimum wage.

Nuff said, Happy New Year to everyone! *okay*

------------------------
http://carpediem26.blogspot.com

[|wyatt|]

depends on the company.

i've worked w/ small ones, and also with the big ones. the big ones have a career development program in place. and they are the ones that have enough accounts and enough expansion to assure a steady demand for supervisory and managerial positions. usually, 90% of management staff is taken from the ranks, only 10% or less is hired from the outside.

in my opinion, convergys probably has the best agent development program amongst all the centers right now. personal opinion ko lang un, but im speaking from personal experience. in cvg, all the OMs right now came from an agent position, and maybe 95% of the TLs also rose from the ranks. bihira sila maghire ng management from outside, although it happens.

if u look at the record of those who are now on top, the general profile of these mgt people who got promoted are as follows: around 2 to 4 years in company already, perfect attendance consistently, very high metric scorecards while they were agents. these are the people who really stood out during their calling days, so what do you expect. given time, people like these usually rise to the top.

Same here in eTelecare, even Client Managers started as agents...

[xxx_vix_xxx]

back to the topic .... i just find it a little weird when your om is a lot younger than you ... it's hard to take orders from someone whos like 24yo.. esp if you know he's just there because he's tenured or seomthing and not because he has the skills

well, wala naman siguro masama kung mas bata pa sayo ang boss mo. depende sa kumpanya, merong mas binigyan ng value yung performance over tenure. dahil mas mahalaga naman yung quality ng trabaho. anyway, uso lang talaga sa call center industry yung ganyan. :)

[stepehenyan@12]

performance based naman sa call center it's up to you if you wanna go up the ladder. meron mga senior csr mga level 2 to my knowledge escalated calls kadalasan tinatawag nila. nowadays you don't really get the job that correspond to what you took up in college.

[jisc]

ok, thanks guys, i happy to know na hindi "temporary" ang call center, yun kasi ang iniwang impresyon sa kin ng isang news report noong araw na nag sisimula pa lang call center, kesyo wala raw pupuntahan ang call center kundi sa pagiging call center lang.

[|wyatt|]

This is what's good in the industry, your performance over tenure. Mostly, this is very true.

[joei_18]

for example, call-center ka ngayon, mataas ang sweldo mo, pero after few years, tataas din ba sweldo mo? will it still be at par with cost of living? at anong position after call center agent? meron bang senior call center agent? na mas mataas ang sweldo at mas malaking responsibilities? or most call-center agents is just a temporary job for them, and they will shift to a job that corresponds to the degree theyve finished if an opportunity arrive?

Hmmm.. pagdating sa call center career development, napakalawak niyan. Most especially if you are going to work with bigger call centers. If I were you, if you are confident that you have enough skills, i will try to work in call centers that has names already. Why? Kasi, once na maganda ang performance mo, magu-undergo ka na ng career development with your TL or manager. Pde na bigyan ka niya ng additional task, be a subject matter expert or something. Until you hone your skills to handle a team or discover new capabilities that you may have wag ka dapat titigil to strive more. Kasi pag nakita mo na mga potential mo, marame kang choices. For example, tingin mo kapag may mga new hires sa team mo, natutulungan mo ng mabuti - consider training. mataas mga QA scores mo, consider QA. IT ang background mo - consider IT. magaling ka sa spreadsheets or managing your team's schedules - consider workforce, you think you are a people person and nakaka-influence ka ng mga tao -- consider to be a TL. alam mo iyon, marame... you just have to start at the bottom first. Basta, Do good, discover your potentials, developed them, then apply for what you really enjoy doing. :) I've been in this industry for 4 years, I am now an Operations Manager.

[daasnwer]

ummm career growth i guess pag na promote ka at d kana agent hehehehehhe

[ssshboom]

Hmmm.. pagdating sa call center career development, napakalawak niyan. Most especially if you are going to work with bigger call centers. If I were you, if you are confident that you have enough skills, i will try to work in call centers that has names already. Why? Kasi, once na maganda ang performance mo, magu-undergo ka na ng career development with your TL or manager. Pde na bigyan ka niya ng additional task, be a subject matter expert or something. Until you hone your skills to handle a team or discover new capabilities that you may have wag ka dapat titigil to strive more. Kasi pag nakita mo na mga potential mo, marame kang choices. For example, tingin mo kapag may mga new hires sa team mo, natutulungan mo ng mabuti - consider training. mataas mga QA scores mo, consider QA. IT ang background mo - consider IT. magaling ka sa spreadsheets or managing your team's schedules - consider workforce, you think you are a people person and nakaka-influence ka ng mga tao -- consider to be a TL. alam mo iyon, marame... you just have to start at the bottom first. Basta, Do good, discover your potentials, developed them, then apply for what you really enjoy doing. :) I've been in this industry for 4 years, I am now an Operations Manager.

That's absolutely correct. I agree to what joie_18 shared. Set your goals & strive hard to reach it. Anything is possible if you will just believe (believe in yourself, believe in your capabilities & believe in God).:)

[neckneck]

ok, thanks guys, i happy to know na hindi "temporary" ang call center, yun kasi ang iniwang impresyon sa kin ng isang news report noong araw na nag sisimula pa lang call center, kesyo wala raw pupuntahan ang call center kundi sa pagiging call center lang.

actually yan din ang maganda sa media na t*nga sila sa mga call center industry para hindi nila alam, na mas maraming mga professional managers in due time. maiiwan ang ibang managers sa klase ng professionalism na meron ang call center industry. though of course may mga kups na manager from call centers. pero ang maganda at less than 30 years old, ang isang call center manager eh sanay na sa trabaho ng isang general manager sa ibang industry


....depende nga lang sa call center na na-train ang manager na yun *okay*