Job Description

What: Information Technology (IT), the greatest change agent of the twentieth century, is changing the way we live, work, communicate, shop and study practically everything we do. IT is also changing the way we do business. Not only does it remove the barriers of distance and geography, but it also dramatically alters ‘how’ business is done. It is here that India with its vast pool of intelligent, English speaking, IT-savvy workforce, has made a mark for itself – in the sphere of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and IT Enabled Services (ITES). As the name suggests, ITES encompasses all those activities that are made possible by using information technology. These include inbound and outbound, voice and web-based call centres (handling customer support, technical support, transaction processing), medical and legal transcription, animation and multimedia, content creation, back-end operations like revenue accounting, insurance claims and payroll processing, debt recovery, loan approval, e-learning and creating legal, medical and other databases. What you’ll make? A call centre executive typically earns between Rs.8, 000-12,000 per month (Rs.6, 000 at start in local centres) at the entry level. Within one to two years, as you go on to become a team leader, you could make anywhere between Rs.12, 000-16,000 per month (plus incentives). Within two or three years you could earn up to Rs.20, 000-25,000 per month as a Customer Service Supervisor. It usually takes about three to four years to become a Shift Manager earning Rs.25, 000 -30,000 per month and four to five years to become a Manager with a monthly salary of Rs.40, 000-50,000. How: The call centre services can be ‘inbound’ where in calls are received from customers enquiring about a service or product that an organisation provides. The call centre services can be ‘outbound’ where in calls are made to customers to sell products or collect information/money etc. Instead of working in a bank, credit card company or telecom company where you get to interact face-to-face with the customer, in a call centre you solve problems and provide information over the phone or Internet from a remote location. As in the IT industry, call-centres work round-the-clock and are air-conditioned and ergonomically designed (the better ones even have their own gyms and coffee shops to help you unwind). The atmosphere is informal yet professional. You work in shifts and meals plus pick-up and drop services are offered to every staff member. On the flip side you must realise that while all this may sound very hi-tech and the money may be fairly decent, the work can become somewhat routine and monotonous. The stress of working long hours, night shifts, irregular eating habits and the demanding pace can be a big challenge. The job is surely not just about having fun. It requires a lot of grey cells and hard work. Where: Call centre training typically covers many or all of the following: communication skills, voice and accent training, grammar, fluency, articulation, choice of words, customer service, culture sensitisation and basic industry knowledge. However, most call centres conduct their own training programmes for selected candidates. If you are very unsure of getting in you could look at courses offered by reputed training schools like those run by NIIT and Hero Mindmine. Here are some of the leading call centres which you could contact directly.

• American Express Global Service Centre, New Delhi
• Convergys, Gurgaon
• Daksh e-Services, New Delhi
• GE Capital India, Gurgaon
• HERO Mindmine, Gurgaon