Skills needed to excell as a CSR

In an international call centre environment, the following skills are critical:

·        You need to have a good command both verbal and written over the English language.

·        Clear voice and diction (pronunciation) if you are interested in a job that will require you to answer calls (also known as voice-based programme).

·        Familiarity with Western cultures or a willingness to learn/ adapt to the US/ UK culture.

·        Strong customer support or sales or technical abilities.

·        Basic proficiency with computers and a familiarity with the Windows environment.

·        A good typing speed is an asset.

·        You must be willing to work night shifts.

·        You must have at least completed high school, though some companies insist on undergraduate (you should be doing your B Com, B Sc, BA, BE, etc) degrees.

Typically, a CSR earns about Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per month to begin with.

Various CSR positions available

The alternatives available to a CSR are varied, considering the kind of services the Indian BPO industry provides the world. Here are some of them:

·        Customer care programmes that help resolve customer queries and handle complaints.

·        Technical support or help desk services.

·        Telemarketing/ sales programmes.

·        Collections (outbound calling to collect from customers).

·        Back-office data/ transaction processing.

Similarly, CSRs can switch between different channels of customer support like voice-based support and e-services (e-mail management or web chat) for example. 

They also have opportunities to cover different industry verticals (a particular sector like financial services, retail, telecom, IT, etc) or move between different companies in the same vertical/ sector (like AOL, MSN, HP, etc, in the IT sector).

CSR's and scope for growth

There are various career opportunities within BPO companies and how you avail of them will depend on your interest, aptitude, skills and the positions available. 

Some potential career growth areas include:

·        Operations: Team Leaders/ Supervisors

·        Quality: Quality Coaches/ Quality Controllers/ Quality Assurance Supervisors

·        Training: Voice/ Accent/ Culture Trainers or Product/ Process Trainers

·        Client Services: Account Managers/ Client Relationship Executives

·        Project Management: Project Managers/ Migration Executives

·        Human Resources: HR Executives/ Managers

·        IT: Network Administrators, ACD/ Dialer Managers, System Administrators

If you enjoy teaching and sharing your knowledge and expertise, you could consider a career in training. This is very popular and the pay is good.

If you enjoy interacting with people and have a flair for managing client relationships, then Client Services is your growth area.

If you have the flair or the background in quality control, do explore Quality Control and Assurance.

Many Technical Support Associates prefer the technology area and can pursue careers as part of a call center’s IT team. You can specialise in specific areas like networking, application development and maintenance, systems administration or telecom management. 

There are also roles in infrastructure management which require both relationship management as well as technical skill sets.

If you have a strong aptitude for soft skills (people interaction) and people management, Human Resources could be your forte. 

If you are interested in sales and marketing, there is plenty to do in the business development area within the BPO and call centre industry. This often involves direct interaction with senior executives in the West over the phone or in one-on-one meetings.

You can also pursue a career in project management if you enjoy working in a project-based environment.

Tips to evaluating and select the right BPO/ call centre to work for.

Step One: The Management Team

This is the strongest indicator about the viability and future growth of a BPO. Start with the web site of the prospective employer and check the following:

1. Do the promoters and the founders come from professional service industry backgrounds?
2. Do they have international experience, which is critical to succeed in this business? 
3. Do they have a strong operations background with well-known, successful service companies? 

Step Two: Quality of Infrastructure

Determine the quality of the infrastructure that the company has developed in India and overseas. This is how: 

1. From the facility tours on the web sites or, even better, by visiting the actual facilities, you can quickly evaluate the quality of the work environment, which is an excellent gauge of how well a company will look after its employees. 
2. 
   A strong international network of offices indicates that the company has a strong front-end presence, which again is vital for sustained growth and development of the organisation and of its people.

Step Three: Financial Stability

Try to find out the financial stability and the client lists of the prospective employers. True, these are often not easy to determine, but a little of research can yield vital clues: 

1. A strong financial investor indicates that the company has access to funds to fuel growth and expansion. 
2. By talking to current employees, you can easily find out about the size of operations.

c.      A strong client list is always a very positive sign -- if top global corporations are willing to place their trust in the company, that organisation must be financially and operationally strong!
 

Step Four: Work Culture

Globally, transparent and open work-environment companies tend to be the best employers, who care and look after their people. Use the interview process intelligently to actively find out about such practices: 

1. What are the reward and recognition programmes that the company has in place?
2. How accessible is the top management? 
3. What kind of attrition is the organisation facing? High attrition rates are always a very bad sign and point toward an organisation that does not take care of its employees.

Step Five: Specific Roles Available

Once you understand the organisational aspects, you must understand the specific role being offered by the company: 

1. Does it match your skill sets?
2. Do the job description & function excite & interest you? 
3. What is the reporting structure? 
4. What sort of responsibility & accountability will be provided to you? 
5. Does the role allow creativity, personal growth & development?
6. What kind of career growth prospects are being put forward? 
7. Is the compensation being offered commensurate with experience & educational background?

The bottom line

1. Research the company and the role being offered extensively. 

2. Don't be afraid to ask questions and don't jump at the first available opportunity if you are not 100 percent convinced that you could fit into that job and the company. 

3. Do go in with a long-term perspective, rather than with the mindset that you can always jump jobs if you don't like the company or your role in it. Sure, that is always an option, but it is not the best strategy to experiment with jobs in the hope that it would work out.

Ideally, you should have 100 percent belief in your decision and in the company you plan to join.

4. Always remember that your job stability and commitment to your previous employer are some of the most important traits that potential employers are looking at. When you stick to the company of your choice, you will be able to achieve a far more rewarding and stable career, both monetarily and personal satisfaction.

Do your homework well, take a thoughtful decision and then believe completely in it. There is no way you can go wrong with this approach.