Check Out These Call Center Companies

The business process outsourcing industry has been there as early as the 80’s but not until 2000 that the Philippines experienced a surge of hundreds of call center companies gradually put up within the next five years. This has prompted the industry to hire thousands of locals to meet the labor demand. However, with the ever increasing competition to pool in the best qualified candidates for specific call center accounts, there has also been studious candidate qualification requirements put in place. Along with it, better benefits, perks and privileges that varies among companies.

It has been observed that the most popular call center companies offer the best salaries and compensation. While it is a generally known fact, it is not quiet completely true. Garnering a survey from the latest call center salary spending among the different companies, we will now be able to gauge the current salary grade of an entry level candidate for a basic telemarketer position. Although it would not be accurate to nail down the specifics, consideration must be taken into account that call center companies base their pay grade on numerous factors like tenure, experience, account specifics, evaluation performance, capabilities, sales and metrics. And since I’m not at a liberty to discuss confidential salary agreements, we can only indicate here the range of salary and compensation packages of some of the highest paying call center companies in the Philippines.

I’ve experienced working for numerous call center companies ranging from the top tier corporate industries to call center start-ups. Not much has change in terms of salary and compensation however they do give premium pay for experienced telemarketers. And if we can make out any difference, there are a lot of call centers simply unnoticed that pays even much higher than those presumably on the top five in the industry.

But before we delve into that, let’s take a look at the entire call center system from the application process to its basic candidate portfolio.

Requirement:

A decade ago, applying in a call center company was a breeze. Today, stringent hiring mechanics are in force to only pool in high quality agents. The following are what they’re generally looking for:

1. Candidate must possess at least a vocational diploma or short course certificate or a bachelor’s and college degree. N.B. Top tier call center companies only accept candidates who have rendered for at least two years in a bachelor’s degree.

2. Must have an average 35 word-per-minute typing score.

3. Willing to work in a graveyard shift including regular and special holidays

4. Must have a good personality

5. Must have good listening skills

6. Must be proficient in written and oral English

The above mentioned is technically required however, some call center accounts would place additional requirements to tender account specifics, for example, the willingness to sell, amenable to be relocated, 1-4 years customer service experience and others.

Application Process

There are currently thousands of call center applicants each day and only a few hundred are ever get hired. Be sure you know how to make a resume. Call center companies have a huge resume database and it would take a couple of days, sometimes more than a week for your resume to be sorted out. And that’s when the first step of the evaluation process begins. Human resource personnel try to do a job matching profile with your resume. Here’s an overview of what happens during the application process.

1. If you are shortlisted, be ready for the testing and initial interview. It is advisable that you know your resume firsthand especially when asked to cite references or experience.

2. You will then submit yourself to a second set of interview if you pas the first one, an English grammar test and a psychological exam. This would take for about 2-3 hours.

3. If you pass the exams, you then proceed to a call mock-up or call simulation. Basically they’re gauging your communication skills at work.

4. Finally, if you pass this too, you go through a panel or the final interview. When all goes well, you receive the job offer wherein you can negotiate for a higher pay if applicable or simply sign the contract for immediate training or deployment to your specific account.

Take note. Different call centers have various means of screening applicants. Others will just conduct the interview by phone. Some are also known to jot out applicants right after the initial interview which is usually conducted one-on-one or either set in a group. The testing would also differ. Most commonly used is the online grammar and I.Q. test. The result is almost immediate. You will know that you have not passed a certain test because you will receive a letter right after the test telling you politely that you did not meet their criteria and can reapply again after 6 months. There are however instances that you have passed everything yet there are no current vacant positions. You will have to wait then for a final call for the job offer and contract signing. This is the part I hate most…the waiting part.