Updated on: Friday, February 18, 2011
Getting a call center job seems to be the aspiration of many youngsters in the country as it provides lucrative income, pomp lifestyle and several other factors.
In the previous episode, we briefed about a call center, its set-up and the way it functions.
At this point of time, youngsters also need to know certain facts of this industry though it provides a nifty lifestyle.
Firstly, as most of the call centers function at night catering to their overseas customers from UK, USA, Australia and other European nations, increasingly stressful to work at nights.
Working at nights can drain a great amount of energy from the body. Getting adapted to such night shifts, sleep during day will take months to adapt. The entire human biological clock will have to function in a different time.
Secondly, in the west, an ordinary call center personnel would earn around 2500 USD that is about Rs 1,25,000/-. A typical call center executive in India earns less than a fourth of that! Isn't it shocking?
But, the pay package seems to look big when it comes to night allowance, transportation allowance, and other types of allowances and benefits. For your surprise some companies thrive by paying mere Rs 6,000, exploiting poorly informed individuals who do not know their actual worth and have poor industry exposure.
However, there are some exceptional companies operated directly by their foreign counterparts who pay actual to their employees.
Majority of the call centre employees also suffer from aches related to arms, hands and wrists due to continuous use of keyboard, mouse and postural problem. This is aggravated by the fact that they have to multitask.
Furthermore, due to excessive exposure to computer screens and headphones for a period of 8 to 10 hours per day, auditory and visionary problems also take over them.
At the same time the fact that call centre employees need to speak a lot for the time they are at work, as a result they also likely to suffer from voice impairment.
Moreover, while taking calls an employee is under a lot of pressure as so many people are observing the call -- the voice trainer, the team leader or probably even an official of the company, which has outsourced the process. One has to keep all of them happy.
Next, not exaggerating, but call center executives constantly face the dangers of traveling at night.
Across the state and nation, day by day there is a steady increase in the number of call centers that require personnel who can communicate well in English or in specific native language. As result there is great requirement for call center executives.
Human Resource personal of call centers look for exceptional spoken language in English or a specific local language particularly for domestic call centers, superior communication etiquettes and the willingness to work in shifts with any basic degree.
Some employers are not particular even about completion of degree provided the candidate has other skills mentioned above, since they are the rudiments for a call center job.