Sunday, July 27, 2003

Call Center Services India - A career option

With the newspapers having atleast one column on call center services and BPOs, most people would consider it as a career option of substance. there are various agencies that come up with mind boggling statistics and call center industry pitches. '50000 jobs by 2000 something' or '$ x billion call center market by 2008' are common sales pitches found in leading dailies. How much of this true, one wonders?

Call Center jobs are the hottest in the market at the moment. Graduates who have a daunting task of searching for jobs can get jobs easily in call centers, as long as they have good English with a neutral accent. This is quite common in metro areas and often can be achieved with training. It has undoubtedly created many more job opportunities for young graduates in India.

On the downside, call center service operators in India cater to the US market and mostly have to work in the night-shift. This has resulted many call center operators with health problems. They, most often, don't socialise enough, to the extent of not meeting friends for months. The social problems caused by this industry might take some more time to come into focus, but it might be incurable by then. Many reports claim that it has resulted in increase in the number of extra marital affairs. More youngsters are smoking to stay awake at night.

In spite of this, call center services in India are profitable and here to stay.

Friday, July 25, 2003

Call Center Services India - News...

As the call center services market in India is hotting up, more companies are investing here. This upward trend in investment will surely benefit charge up the economic scene in India. In the latest news, Silicon Valley VC-firm Sequoia Capital has invested $22 million into the Indian call center services operation, 24/7 Customer. This VC firm has always invested in high-tech companies like yahoo, oracle, cisco and google.

The call center services and outsourcing industry has been able to draw millions of dollars of investments to India and will continue to do so for the next few years.

More on Call Center Services India - news...

ebix.com Inc. receives ISO 9001:2000 certification for its call center services operation and software development units in India. A globalsupplier of ecommerce solutions and software to the property and insurance industry was given the certificaiton for design, development, maintenance and service of software and IT solutions, providing business process outsourcing and call center services including transaction processing, voice and Web-based CRM.

Companies in America are invested in the call center and outsourcing industry to cut costs that they incur by operating from local centers. In countries like India, they get highly talented human resources at one-fifth the price and better quality and performance.

Thursday, July 24, 2003

Call Center Services India - News....

With a net 11.6% rise in quarterly net profits, Satyam Computer Services has shown commendably that outsourcing and call center service operations do make a lot of difference to their bottom lines. They are also negotiating for an international fund to invest in their call center services operation in India, Nipuna Services Ltd. It employs 164 people with an initial investment of $4 million in june 2002.

More on call center services india

As many more companies start outsourcing and call center services operations in India, the market is sure to consolidate. Many companies have already upset the apple cart by charging much lesser rates creating a huge imbalance in the market. It might be difficult for them to sustain their projects for such low charges but it sure has affected the prospects of even some big players. Some companies that are in the outsourcing and call center services market for the short term are cutting rates to increase market share. This phenomenon will surely affect the outsourcing market. But as they say, quality of services will be the ultimate deciding factor for outsourcing and call center services. Whether small players will be able to sustain their quality of service and focus on the customer is the big question. This race might result in many players closing shop overnight. The shake down is in the offing. Only time will tell who will survive!

Wednesday, July 23, 2003

Call Center Services India - reflections...

With the backlash to outsourcing and call center services from America, many feel that the American IT industry is just using this as pretext to blame someone for their economic problems. The core problem they have is their stagnant economy. America is trying to blame the outsourcing industry in India and other countries in Asia for the jobs they have lost.

Outsourcing and call center services are here to stay. The ultimate solution to American woes is to solve their economic problems instead of sending armies to Iraq. The onus is on Mr. Bush!

Tuesday, July 22, 2003

Call Center Services India - Certifications

Improvement of any industry can be accomplished when best practices are documented and a set of standards are drawn. The role of certifications is essentially in that you can compare your call center services performance to the best practices in the call center services industry. It's important not just to do some process but to also document its methodology.

Industry benchmarks have been set in the call center services industry in India. You can check your call center performance with these standards. Call Center operations certification examines call center service quality and performance. Certifications can help in checking a call center's accuracy in call handling customer and employee satisfaction, problem resolution and correction, and agent staffing and training.

Call Center Operations certifications

There are two call center certifications, the ISO 9001 certication and COPC-2000. The ISO 9001 is part of the 9000-series of quality standards.
ISO certification is a process where auditors from an accredited registrar examine your management process or product. In the US there are several accreditation organizations, such as the Registrar Accreditation Board (Milwaukee, WI).
COPC-2000, a standards program administered by the Customer Operations Performance Center, Austin is for general call centers and technical support desks.

The certification procedure examines the specific service that the call center provides and all the processes that go into it, such as voice, e-mail, fax, US mail handling, agent training, credit card processing and new program setup. Each call center must be separately certified.


Call Center Services India - News

In the latest news on the Call center services front, Ebix.com inc an international supplier of software and e-commerce solutions to the property and casualty insurance industry has received ISO 9001:2000 certification.

After a detailed audit of the company's BPO and development units, the certification was given for design, development, maintenance and service of software and IT solutions, providing business process outsourcing and call center services including transaction processing, voice and Web-based CRM.

Monday, July 21, 2003

Call Center Services India -- onus on American economy

Newspapers writing on call centers and the outsourcing business speak of the cost cutting and the major changes caused by this, in the industry. In the same breath they mention news about Americans losing jobs, as if to say that the onus of outsourcing of business processes and call center operations lies with Asian countries like India. 'Blame the east,they are taking our jobs' could be an apt slogan for American woes.

Reality could be very different though. The American economy is in the doldrums with a worsening political handling of the situation in Iraq. The US President is facing more pressure from European countries, the presidential elections next year and his own soldiers in Iraq to bother about the current deflating economy. To blame any country other than America for their situation is too simplistic.

If the American economy takes a further downturn, more American companies will have to cut costs and the simplest move to do so would be to outsource. At the moment the hottest outsourcing and call center services destination is India.

On the other hand, if the American economy swings back to normal within a few months, more Americans will get jobs and their general frustration over outsourcing to India will be reduced. They will recognise India as a genuine outsourcing destination more on the basis of high quality and skill rather than cost.

So, whether the American economy improves or not, India is sure to gain. India would definitely prefer the American economy to improve as this would help it in the long term. The real consolidation in the call center and outsourcing industry would set in. The small and 'for a quick buck' short term players would be shrugged aside by the industry. It might also result in higher value jobs be outsourced to India. Quality will be the deciding factor rather than the present scenario where lower costs are the bottomline.

This surely is a better scenario to end up with, rather than bitter laws against call center services and outsourcing to India.

Sunday, July 20, 2003

Call Center Services India - more role for government...

Call Center Industry sources have admitted that India is the back office of the world. More and more outsourcing jobs are heading for India now and India will be the first country that companies think of while outsourcing their business process. Most companies in the US find India the ideal destination for starting or operating their call center services. With a huge talent pool of English-speaking graduates working at nearly 1/5 salaries compared to the same in the US, the call center services and BPO sector is on a high. Outsourcing to India actually gets companies highly skilled workers, i say highly skilled, because a majority of these workers are often tech-graduates with backgrounds in software or engineering.

Starting call center service operations in India is often a task in itself, what with the numerous permissions required and the prevalent and oft-talked about redtape. But as the govenment has realised the significance of the call center and outsourcing sector, they have taken it upon themselves, atleast in some states, to give all help to investors in this area. States like Karnataka with their now famous IT Secretary, Vivek Kulkarni have taken the task of promoting Bangalore and Mysore as call center destinations. Delhi and Mumbai are already call center havens with some plush offices in the best areas of the city. It is very important that more states use this business opportunity fully.

India has been projected to generate some amazing numbers in the call center and business process outsourcing industry with $ 13.8 billion by 2007. whether these numbers will turn to reality and revenues for companies and generate jobs will depend a lot on how the goverment projects other cities in India and reduces red tapism in getting permissions. Expediting the entire process of setting up a call center shop in India could attract more dollars than any amount of speeches or publicity. It has been estimated that it takes nearly 4 times the time to set up an entire call center operation in India. This might be excused now, with just 3 and a 1/2 years of outsourcing. But as the outsourcing industry consolidates every detail will count.

The goverment will have to make sure that power problems, roads and general infrastructure problems are taken care of. That will create the ideal atmosphere for business. It's time for more action and less words from the government...

Friday, July 18, 2003

Call Center Services India - the future???

As the call center and outsourcing markets have become the most featured news in recent times, it's imperative that we discuss some of the main issues that might mar the soon-to-happen consolidation phase in this industry. Many call centers and BPOs have already started slashing their price rating in a bid to get a bigger share of the call center services market in India. The crux of the issue is whether they will be able to survive and sustain operations on such rates.

Many players are in this industry just for the short term, with pans to exit after making their booty. Such players might not be harmed if they can maintain the quality of service they provide. Its the players who are in it for the long haul that have lost deals to smaller or cheaper players that are being affected. In the next couple of years, players in the call center and bpo industry might have to cut operating costs like a household functioning without water.

In an industry where margins are low, its imperative that they will have to reform their hiring and human resource managing machinery. Hiring errors might turn out to be costly when it comes to call centers, where the attrition rates are pretty high. Retaining call center personnel might be a war that will have to be fought on a day-to-day basis. Finding personnel with the limited aspirations required for a call center could be an interesting task for your company psychologist. ya, its true, no person with aspirations to discover something new, write interesting software or make lotsa money will aspire to work in a call center.

Helping personnel cope with health and time schedule problems could drive a call center manager mad. There are already signs that graduates working in call centers, most with haphazard hours, are having health disorders. If one industry loses, another gains. It might be party-time for some doctors near your office!

To hell with pessimists...industry players and people working in it will have to just cope to the new job on hand!

Thursday, July 17, 2003

Call Center Services India - news...

ADP has decided to lay off 50 of its staff from its Rockville center. Industry sources claim that they plan to move these jobs to India. India, Philippines and China have emerged as major outsourcing markets. ADP handles technical details of processing paychecks, insurance claims and even stock transactions at facilities around the world.

This is one among many American companies shifting operations to India. AOL Time Warner and General Electric both have call center services operations and back-office support centers in India.

Call Center Service operations in India are having to keep tight budgets and optimize HR practices to deal with the high attrition rates. As the time for consolidation in the call center services industry approaches, the men will be separated from the boys!

Wednesday, July 16, 2003

Call Center Services India - a new trend should come soon!

A local market for call center services is building up - As the neo-urban customer in India is becoming less tolerant to government-style delays in the banking and services sector, companies will find it to their advantage to start their own customer-focused call center services. This will give them an edge in terms of quality and focus of responses and streamline their business process.

Indian or foreign companies operating in India will be able to better serve their local customers better with call centers. The Indian market, being far more varied and diverse, Indian call center service operators will be able to handle customers more efficiently. Most call center services in India like icici's onesource offer a toll free phone number thus creating a single window for all customers. This has simplified the compliants section of the industry for customers. Customers do not have to go from pillar to post just to register their problems.

As more and more companies start providing this kind of efficient service, companies that don't, will left wanting in the customer-care department. Even the government of India will have to at-some-point use the call center kind-of set up to handle the massive number of complaints they get. The Andhra Pradesh government has already set up a call center services operation for advise on agriculture. If these kind of services are extended to more sections of the government where human interaction is involved, it could only reduce red-tape in the governments day-to-day functionings.

Call Center Services definitely have more scope of diversification in India...

Tuesday, July 15, 2003

Call Center Services India - News...

AOL Time Warner plans to add 400 more workers to its 1500 strong Call center service operation in Bangalore, India. It has plans to double its call handling in the next 12 months. With 10,000 customer support staff worldwide, 6 call centers in US, 1 in Manila, the expansion will make the Bangalore call center service operation one of the largest of its kind. Its spokesman also claims that this expoansion will not replace its existing workforce.

Arizona-based Efunds Corp. plans to add 200 workers to its call center services operation in Bombay, India. This will help it offer better service to its customers in banks, insurance firms and credit card companies in the US and Britain. It already has a workforce of 2,700 in India.

More on Call Center Services India...

Call Center Service providers in India are going through a phase of expansion and consolidation with many software players in India seeing a market for a call center operation. Software companies till date considered the call center market too low valued to be a part of. But with the outsourcing and call center boom in india hotting up, many software companies in India like Infosys, Wipro have become a part of the call center scene. It might be not too long before more and more companies start call center service operations in india.

Monday, July 14, 2003

Call Center Services India - Better city options.

Call Center Service operations that started in Mumbai, Delhi and hyderabad could have plenty of competition from players in B-class cities like Chandigarh, Pune, Mysore etc. One of the main reasons for this trend is that these cities are now on par with metros with respect to telecom infrastructure and facilities.

After a couple of years of operating from metros, call center service companies have found high attrition rates because of better job opportunities and the fact that a bunchful of companies are chasing the same talent pool. Besides this, wage levels and infrastructure costs are much lesser in B-class cities. Most top-class call centers have plush offices, so that they dont look like sweatshops, having a center in a B-class city cuts costs on many fronts.

B-class cities also have an enormously large talent pool of English-speaking graduates and a lesser population compared to metros. Hence their is lesser competition for jobs and eases competition for labor. Working in their hometown also reduces the attrition rate.

On the downside, clients often like to check out their call center operations in India. In such cities where roads are often in bad condition, the location of the call center service operator is often more important. Locating call centers near airports is often impossible. Besides most small cities don't have international airports. It is often impossible to upgrade these call center facilities to make them like A-class call centers!

Inspite of these drawbacks, call center services in India are heading for a boom that might last for a long time. Whether B-class cities will actually suffice to fulfill the needs of the overseas market, only time can tell!

Saturday, July 12, 2003

Call Center Services India - News

Voice-based Call Center Service operators in South India are having a tough time with hard-to-crack south accents. This has resulted in nearly double the voice training time for south indians than for call centers in north and west india.
This might prove a major set back for the call center industry which aims to cut costs and improve quality of service. A heavily accented voice is definitely not what the call center industry is seeking at any point.

This has resulted in more voice-based call centers service operators in the north and western india region where finding neutral accent voices is much easier. This drawback in the south has led call center service operators to hire from upmarket colleges and hospitality institutions and absorb only voice-neutral candidates.

Some argue that the call center attrition levels are much less in South India than in the rest of the country and this might be the saving grace for the ROIs of a service provider.


Call Center Services India - Air-India Call Center at Deonar

Air India, India's global passenger air carrier has set up a 25-seat call center in Deonar. This cost-cutting effort is sure to improve its service and flexibility of operations. At the moment the call center services are to be offered for its UK and US passengers but in due course the services are to extended to its local passengers.

With an excess of 50% capacity in passengers in the US, Air India's improvement in service is surely going to increase its profitability and efficiency in the long run.

Unique call center service for farmers in India

In a unique pro-farmer initiative than will help the farming community, the Andhra Pradesh government has set a call center service for farmers that will offer solutions to their agriculture-related problems.

This unique call center service will operate from 7am to 8pm with scientists from the state’s agriculture university offering solutions to problems. Co-ordinated by 16 scientists and two senior agricultural officers, the call center is a one-of-a-kind facility in India. For general issues such as loans etc, your query will be communicated to the local joint director along with the particulars of your query and telephone numbers.

More on call center services and news in India...tomorrow

Friday, July 11, 2003

Call Center Services India - News...

Redmond in the blues...

One call center services operation that caused some panic in the industry is the Microsoft pilot project in India that started in April. This call center in Bangalore is to provide product-support services. The Redmond-based software giant has 6 call center with 3 of them in the US.

In their India call center services operation they plan to hire about 150 people. This has caused many people in the call center services industry to take notice. They fear that this shift of call center services to India could result in many more such call centers moving to Asian countries. This move could result in 800 layoffs at the Irving customer support center.

Microsoft's strategy seems clear. Instead of paying $45,000 to $70,000 to their Irving workers, they can get the same quality of service from outsourcing destinations like India. In all probability they will have more such offshore outsourcing plans for their call center services operations.

Thursday, July 10, 2003

Call Center Services India - When will the BPO bubble burst?

The world just woke up to the dotcom burst some months back and its again in a dizzy. The call center services and BPO sector has infused a new dynamism in the markets besides investors who are flocking to its shores to get quick returns. The natural question to ask is, when will it end? Optimists are sure to say that this call center services sector is forever, after all, are companies going to stop outsourcing to asian call centers?

The BPO and call center services bubble might not be as hot as the dotcom bubble but it sure is making waving in changing government policy in India. The government is backing investments in this sector and giving plenty of
encouragement to investors which is an encouraging sign. But as with the dotcom bust, what does the government got to lose?

There are nearly 300-350 companies in the BPO and call center services sector in India(actually many more), many of them with 'on-the-paper-napkin' business models. There are already signs that many are in the red and are finding it difficult to sustain their existing operations. It will be shakeout time soon and the boys will have to give way to the men, in this case, better business models, capital investments, Quality of service, new contracts and projects. With many software companies getting a scent of the good returns in the BPO and call center services sector, the consolidation phase has already set in.

There are nearly 90 call center service operator in India that are just leasing out idle space since they have no projects. Small players in the BPO and call center services market will find it difficult to sustain themselves unless they get a continous spate of projects. Tight budgeting and managing HR problems must be their strengths; what with high attrition rates in this sector, they will never be able to sustain their quality of service.

The shake-out in the call center services and BPO space in India will most likely see many well run but unsustainable operations being taken over by big players and the rest of them shutting shop.

On the other hand, outsourcing is in, and will remain so for quite some time. As long as BPO and call center operations can sustain themselves in terms of quality, flexibility and business models, they are in the race. Thats easier said than done.

One of the conclusions one can draw from the early shakeout in the call center services and BPO segment in India is that, from now on any new trend or business is going to peak early and consolidate in months. So be quick, have deep pockets, remain flexible and run for it if you must!

Wednesday, July 09, 2003

Call Center Services India - Time for consolidation?

Call Center Service providers in India are going through a consolidation phase after realising realities of the outsourcing market. Many companies are searching for buyers and the end result could be a half a dozen big players by the end of next year.

In the last 4-5 years many companies jumped on to the call center and outsourcing bandwagon without understanding the nuances of the trade. As of March 2003, there were nearly 200 offering BPO and related services. The need for top quality work and keeping low costs was often overshadowed by short term tactics, resulting in non-scalable operations. Many state-of-the-art facilities which promised a lot are not able to scale their operations to the need of the market and need more capital. Such and badly run call center operations are up for sale. Many BPO and call center services operations are lying empty with no clients and capital to get sustain operations.

Even companies that have been doing well like TransWorks Information Services Pvt. Ltd., a Mumbai-based, VC-funded BPO company, have been acquired (for $13 million) by the Aditya Birla Group. TransWorks was short on capital for its expansion plan and with a revenue run-rate of about $1 million a month, had just broken even in this fiscal year.
Another BPO and call center services operation to get acquired was CustomerAsset, a Bangalore-based BPO company, for $19.3 million by ICICI OneSource.

Even mnc BPOs and call center service providers operating in India like British Airways PLC (BA) have divested about 70 percent of the equity in WNS to Warburg Pincus, a New York-based private equity investor.

BPO and call center service operations need high capital investment of nearly $6000-$12000 per seat depending on the capability they need to develop. There is going to be further churning and consolidatyion in the BPO and call center services market in India. The true winners will be ones who can sustain their operations in these trying times!

Tuesday, July 08, 2003

Call Center Services India - Boon or bane??

In the last couple of years India has become the leader in the outsourcing and Call Center Services industry. With nearly 66% of the worlds outsourcing and call center services business in India, its time to step back and access the pluses and minuses of this industry that has become the panacea for the Indian economy.

Call Center Services and outsourcing services offered by a majority of Indian companies are in the low-end of the value chain. The call center services industry essentially requires low value skills. The learning curve is low but slow. It does not require high qualification or degrees to get into call center service companies. The compensation for such call center jobs is decent, compared to jobs for the same qualification in any other industry. This often results in mass complacency, where fresh graduates prefer to take up a call center job rather than study further or enter any core sectors of specialization.

Looking at the industry from a long term perspective, India can do itself more harm than good if it does not move up the value chain. India would not like to repeat American follies. America in the 50s and 60s had high school graduates who could get good jobs and a decent paycheck. This generation was caught in a kind of time-warp they are struggling to get out of even now- a general acceptance of low education levels. In fact this is one of the many reasons that Asian countries have become the outsourcing and call center havens for America and Europe.

Inspite of being underdeveloped, India has always given respect and importance to higher education and this has paid off. India is now a major player in the outsourcing and call center services game.

On the up-side, call center services have increased the availability of jobs for fresh graduates substantially. Now, a fresh graduate has more chance of getting a good paycheck than ever before. Engineering graduates prefer to join Call Center Service operations as transit jobs before opting for more technical jobs. This has made call center job retention a major issue for the HR department of call centers.

For the short term, the call center services industry will be a boon for the Indian economy and its peoples. whether it remains so depends on how will it is nurtured and utilized to move up the value chain. Thats the tough part!

Monday, July 07, 2003

Call Center Services India - Tough on HR!

Call Center Service operations have sprouted in India in cities like Gurgaon, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi etc. It has been a window of opportunity for young graduates who would have been busy hunting for a job, to head for entrance tests of a BPO outfit or call center. Call Centers have created jobs for india, theirs no doubt about that.

Call Centers face a major problem though. Since call center operations do not require a stringent graduate education like an engg degree or likewise, call centers find it extremely difficult to retain jobs. The HR department is hard at work to retain the people it has, after all, they would gladly shift for better salaries.

Call Center Agents need to be continually motivated to avoid those days of frustration when the client shouts at them. Employees on the telephone talking to US destinations enact an American accent which is often stressful to maintain. Added to this the nightshifts and odd timings can get frustrating quite often. This is where the HR and their team can play an important role. They try to maintain a friendly and hep atmosphere in office. They often have displays with the latest news from America, so that if any client got chatty on the telephone, the call center representative won't be in a fix. Very often an HR manager in a call center will have to contend with office romances and ask them to keep their cool. Besides trouble shooting personal problems, the HR has to handle many daily operations problems, both on a personal and group basis.

While most ambitious youngsters see call center services and BPOs as temporary jobs, since starting salaries are often better than average engineering jobs and jobs hard to find, many prefer to enter the call center services market on a long term basis.

Saturday, July 05, 2003

Call Center Services India - No more tele-sales pitches!

Call Center Service operators will have to follow strict rules when it comes to telemarketing as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its decision to create the national "do not call" registry on December 18, 2002. All professional call center service telemarketing companies will have to follow these Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) rules.

Call Center Service operators will have to guarantee that not more than 3% of all calls connected to live callers are abandoned. Besides, telemarketers will have to connect the call to a sales representative within two seconds of the consumer's greeting. This will reduce the number of "dead air" or hang-up calls the Clients receive from telemarketers.

Another rule is when the telemarketer doesn't have a representative standing by, a recorded message must play to let the Clients know who's calling and the telephone number they're calling from. The new guide lines for telemarketing call center prohibits Sales pitches. The representative is to give the client time to answer the phone and may not hang up before 15 seconds or four rings.

Call Center telemarketing services will be required to transmit their telephone number, their name to clients' caller ID service. This will protect the clients privacy, increase accountability on the part of telemarketers and help in law enforcement efforts. These efforts will surely reduce the nuisance of services that have become necessary for problem handling.

Hopefully, consumer will be reinstated as king!

Friday, July 04, 2003

Call Center Services India - Asia hits back!

The last word on Call Center Services in India and outsourcing comes from technology forecaster and futurist Paul Saffo. In an exclusive with CIOL, he said that Americans are going to lose jobs as more Call Center Service operations and outsourcing jobs move to countries like India, Philippines, China, etc.

What started as sweat shops in asian tiger economies might end up back firing for the US, with intellectual jobs going out of the country. After all, aren't call center services in India and other asian countries just an extension of the sweat shop, in this case without sweat.

Call Center Services and BPOs are here to stay because they make economic sense to American and European companies. Otherwise, would they have started such call centers in the first place. While companies can just fire people and be done with it, its the governments that have to handle the resulting social, psychological and economic havoc caused by unemployment.

If Call Centers and Outsourcing is banned, US companies will lose money and investments they have made in India and other Asian countries. Some Americans might get their jobs back but many companies might close down resulting in a recession in which they could lose much more than gain. Essentially its a lose-lose situation. They would prefer to postpone the decision to ban call center services and outsourcing businesses as much as possible.

America will have to just find better avenues for jobs instead of cribbing about the call center services and BPO industry, that they themselves started!

Thursday, July 03, 2003

Call Center Services India - Moving operations to India

In June, Capital One Financial Corp. laid off 650 local employees by closing the Spotsylvania County call center services operation will close by Dec. 1.

In May, its work force had been reduced to 700, when news articles about the company moving part of its call center services operations to India were published. Some workers said that they had seen Indian workers training to handle call center jobs and a management team had traveled to India for training.

This will be one of many call center services operations moving to India.

Call Centers - A Race for india

LiveBridge, a Portland, Ore.-based call center management company, has opened an 800-seat call center in Delhi, India. The three-story, 75,000-square foot facility is completely integrated into the company's North American operations.

GE Capital, Citigroup, Standard Chartered, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan Chase, GreenPoint Mortgage have opened their call center services and business process outsourcing operations in India.

Wednesday, July 02, 2003

Call Center Services India-- Customer Experience.

In the call center business, where "what you say is what you are", it is very important to be precise and accurate in communication. Finally, its what the customer wants is all that matters. Most companies don't understand, recognize or plan a customer experience which would surely profit their business. Having a good call center to assist with your customer service can actually help you extend your business.

Todays fast paced economy does not warrant tardiness from call center professionals. Customers require immediate contact and satisfaction. By using the services provided by a call center it becomes possible to give customers multiple options like conventional telephone, web chat, web call back requests, or immediate email response. It can make or break your business.

Its truly an exciting real time business!

Tuesday, July 01, 2003

Call center Services India -- News

Out of the numerous Call Center Services provider in India, Wipro's Spectramind got the top call centre company award for 2001-02.

24/7 Customer, a Call Center Services provider from India, is the first firm in India to achieve COPC-2000® certification.It has demonstrated that it is a leader and has set an example for other CRM companies in India to follow.

Call Center Services India - Challenges

Maintaining Call Quality and customer satisfaction is the prime objective of a Call Center Services provider. In this regard, it is very important to find the hurdles to your call center operations and quantifying them. On Call quality monitoring, it was found that some of the hurdles were overcoming resistance by representatives, finding the time to monitor and provide feedback, accurate calibrating, and the lack of coach training.

Very few Call Centers have a call quality monitoring program. It was found that such a program reduces failure rate, increases customer satisfaction and reduced absenteeism.