In the last decade, the Philippines has emerged as a global leader in the outsourcing industry. It is well known for its thriving call centers. It is a success story made possible by the highly skilled and English-speaking workforce available in the country at a very competitive labor cost compared to peers in South-East Asia or India. However, the call center industry in the Philippines faces some challenges. This article will delve into these challenges and look at the possible solutions that can effectively deal with them.
Four Major Challenges And Possible Solutions
Language Barrier:
While many call center workers in the Philippines speak English, their fluency and vocabulary vary significantly. These workers also have a very different accent, diction, and intonation than native English speakers in the United States and Europe. As a result, some need help to hold a productive conversation with these call center workers.
Any call center in the Philippines that faces this challenge must introduce an intensive language training and practice module as part of their English language learning program. It will help improve the quality of English spoken by customer care executives in accent and vocabulary and enable them to help native English speakers without any barriers.
High Attrition Rate
Many call center employees, including customer support professionals, leave their jobs within the first year. This trend presents a staffing challenge for the management of call centers and an economic challenge. Call centers invest heavily in training employees to speak better English and operate highly sophisticated equipment efficiently. When they quit within months of joining, the effort and money invested in training go to waste.
To combat this trend, call centers must create strong human resource management departments to address employee concerns. The department can be tasked with creating a positive work environment at the workplace and making policies that consider the employees’ welfare. Moreover, incentives and bonuses can be offered to ensure employees do not feel undervalued.
Lack Of Technical Competence
While many Filipinos speak and understand English, only some people who wish to work in the call center have the requisite technical competence. Since call centers use a sophisticated technical infrastructure to improve customer experience, the workers must be technically competent to operate the equipment.
To ensure technical competence, the call center industry can contact colleges and training centers in the country and inform them about the technical qualifications required for those training to become call center employees. Call center operators can also introduce in-house training modules to equip their employees with the technical skills needed. It would also boost the confidence of those who wish to outsource call center services to the Philippines.
Cultural Differences
Cultural difference is one of the many challenges that is often ignored. Regarding call centers in the Philippines, it poses a significant challenge. For example, customers in the United States or Europe being served by a call center in the Philippines may have different expectations when it comes to customer service and communication styles.
This challenge can be overcome by providing cultural sensitivity training to call center employees. It will help them understand and respect their customers’ cultural norms and values and enable them to build trust and rapport with customers, resulting in improved customer satisfaction and a higher rate of problem resolution.
Key Takeaways
Call centers in the Philippines face significant challenges like language barriers, cultural differences, high attrition rates, and lack of technical competence. The solution to most of these challenges lies in greater investment in training. The call center industry would benefit from clearly outlining its requirements when it comes to language and technical requirements. It can also communicate the challenges to institutions involved in training call center employees, who can then evolve customized solutions to the unique challenges faced by these establishments.