handout- intro to call center

San Pedro Manpower Development Institute Intro to Call Center

CALL CENTER HISTORY

Timeline

1873 – Seeking for answers and help started through answering each other neighbors’ problem.1876 – Telephone was invented by Alexander Graham-Bell1877 – First telephone was installed in Des Moines at Equitable Life Insurance, 2nd phone installed next day at

Terrace Hill.1878 – Victor Unthe was the first one to be hired to staff phone in Equitable Life Insurance1904-1905 – International Call Center was established during the outbreak of Russo-Japanese War. 1918 – Increasing Call Center Volume leads to creation of switchboards1944 – First hold music was recorded by Andrews sisters1969- Call Center jobs has become popular –Shots of NASA Control Center increases headset popularity.1973 - Automatic Call Distributor developed by US firm Rockwell (the Rockwell Galaxy) to allow

Continental Airlines to run a telephone booking system.

ACD systems allow calls to be filtered and assigned to the best possible agents available at the time. An algorithm determines which agent receives which call.Private Automated Business Exchanges (PABX) began to be used to handle large numbers of customer contacts. In the 1990s the call centre industry continued to grow, spurred on by the rise of the internet. From 1995 onwards internet-based ‘dot com’ companies attracted vast amounts of investment from venture capitalists excited by the potential for rapid growth offered by the online economy.

As websites became the central point of contact and sales for an increasing number of companies, call centers were essential in dealing with customer service and technical support. Unfortunately it didn’t last, and by 2001 the ‘dot com crash’ saw many internet-based companies go bust.

The call centre was still on the rise. By 2003 the industry consisted of 5,320 call centre operations employing 800,000 people in the UK. 500,000 of these people were working in agent positions. The industry had grown by 250% since 1995, and was still growing.

The early 2000s saw a trend for large companies to transfer customer service departments overseas. Cheaper labor costs and in some cases better skills in the workforce made offshore call centers attractive to businesses seeking to cut costs.

CALL CENTER IN THE PHILIPPINES

CALL CENTER

- It is a centralized office environment wherein agents either answer inbound calls or make outbound calls. - is a centralized office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone- is a booming industry in the Philippines

What is a CSR?CSR stands for CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE. Other names for a CSR are Call Center Agent and

Telephone Sales and Service Representative.

Call Center Finishing Course of 3


A CSR does the following:- sells products and services that meet specific customer needs.- resolves customer issues as efficiently as possible- retains current customers and ensures their satisfaction- provides the most accurate and relevant information available to clients before sending product brochures or

catalogs- handles account inquiries- provides customer support in technical or non-technical matters

BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING- is a subset of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of specific business

functions (or processes) to a third-party service provider.

OUTSOURCING - refers to the process of contracting to a third-party.

OFFSHORE OUTSOURCING- is the practice of hiring an external organization to perform some business functions in a country other than the

one where the products or services are actually developed or manufactured

CONTACT CENTER

- A part of an enterprise’s overall customer which manages customer contact, including letters, faxes, emails, newsletters, mail catalogues, Web site inquiries, and other gathered information.

INBOUND AGENTS

- handle calls from people needing support, asking for information, and filing complaints.

OUTBOUND AGENTS

- call people on behalf of a business or a client for the purpose of telemarketing, surveys, debt collection, verification, and updating services

TECHNICAL SUPPORT REPRESENTATIVES

- deal with computer software and/or hardware concerns and queries and provide assistance on technical aspects

QUALITY ASSURANCE PERSONNEL

- monitor recorded calls and handling time (average length of call), how agents handl the transaction, evaluate the performance of agents such as average number of calls per week; analyze the call flow, provide input to the team leader.

TEAM LEADERS

- supervise 12 – 18 agents working under them. Team or shift leaders are given leadership training programs to enable them to evaluate agents’ performance and productivity.



HUMAN RESOURCES PERSONNEL

- in charge of recruitment, compensation and benefits, payroll, employee communications and relations.

TRAINERS

- provide training on the English Language, local accent reduction/neutralization, understanding American culture, and other topics related to call center work..

The benefits of outsourcing

1. Take advantage of the cost-advantages!2. See an increase in business3. Save Big!4. Get access to specialized services5. Concentrate more on core business6. Make faster deliveries to customers7. Improved customer satisfaction8. Benefit from time zone advantages9. Increased efficiency10. Give businesses a competitive edge!11. Outsourcing countries also benefit from outsourcing.

Why is the Philippines emerging as a global BPO hub?

- Cultural compatibility with the West- Philippines is the third largest English-speaking country in the world- Philippines has one of the highest literacy rates (94%) in the world.- Attrition rates in Filipino call centers are lower at 20% as compared to others.


handout- intro to call center

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