subject: Call Center Flashback [print this page] This year was a transitory phase for the call center industry. There were some sweeping changes made, and some of them were fundamental shifts in outlook. The BPO industry was put through tough tests of character and mettle. The employees and agents of call centers were subjected to these changes and tests. Many of them fought their way through, while some of them decided that it was time to try their luck elsewhere. The basic change in the way call center services was perceived threw off many age-old ideas and practices. For example, business process outsourcing changed paradigm to being dictated by quality rather than by costs. Business firms working out of USA or UK outsourced to call centers that were providing them with quality services as opposed to cost cuts only.
There is a reason for thinking on these lines. The BPO sector is no more viewed as taking care of your non-core business set-up. Its taking care of some essential functions of a business firm, including several back office functions. In a way, the call center was running a virtual office for these business firms. They were taking care of everything from lead generation to customer services. Many of the call center services branched out from voice calls to include more of non-voice services like web marketing and even software development. Its obvious, therefore, that business firms will want to guarantee that the quality of the work that they receive is top notch. Any compromises here will bring down their brand reputation in the market. It will also lose them the race against their business rivals. The stakes are too high and no business firm would want to risk it.
The protectionist measures of USA have exposed a can of worms. It has brought to light some uneasy issues like the dependence of the global telemarketing services on USA. When some senators of USA decided to put an end to the outsourcing to offshore call centers, delegates from countries like India and Philippines ran off to try and stall the bill from being passed. They went to New York and spoke to the senators, explaining how their economy would crumple if they didnt get the outsourcing projects. The lack of back-up in case such a situation arose was far from what the secure BPO sector foresaw. Damage control exercises resulted in another new chapter in call center history.
That change is diversification. Call center services have branched out into diversified services and not all of them are dealing with voice calls. Email marketing, social media marketing, web marketing, search engine optimization: these are the buzzwords that you hear in a modern day call center. Agents and employees are working and training themselves in the new techniques of survival. Call centers were suddenly hiring content writers and web designers, software programmers and technical experts. Projects dealing with aspects of market research, brand management and hardcore marketing started coming to business process outsourcing units. The next year will see further developments in the chain. Stay tuned!
