The Big Step Forward

It seems that life, for me, began at 33. I've never had this kind of clarity ever before. I've decided to take a major step forward in my life, and yeah, it's just awesome.

It would really be great to do nothing but sit around at home all day, playing games and watching DVDs- but after 2 months of that- it got incredibly boring!

Which made me think, really. What did I really want to do? I definitely want to make cash, but none of the responsibilities (at least as little as I could possibly have). So that's goal #1: Finding a fairly laid-back, but just as financially and mentally rewarding day job. Why laid-back? Because I also wanted to do other things OUTSIDE work: I'd like to hit the gym, I'd like to learn me some new skills, like SEO, internet marketing, etc, I'd like to have my own businesses. And more importantly, I'd like to spend time with the important things in life- my family and friends.

Yes, it can be done. And all this- this blog- is all about my new life. I love it that I have been in radio for the past 12 years, that I've run a floor with as much as 120 agents at any given time, and that I've been directly involved in making business better for the last radio station I worked for.

This is a time for making new friends and allies. A time for discovery and a time for learning. This blog, ambitious as it may be, is for everyone who has taken a brave big step forward- scary, yes, but terribly fulfilling in the end.

Good luck to us all! Cheers!

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The Sorry State of Contact Centers

Sign o' the times, indeed.

I feel real bad that all these contact centers are forced to hire borderline English-deficient agents just to fill their quota of warm bodies to get their operations going on.

Back in 2001, I was already running campaigns (for Easycall and E-performax), and to be honest- as a radio dude- I could only consider a few to be really effective communicators; people who had the proper skillsets and mindset for the job. Fast forward to today, 6 years later- the quality of agents seems to have really gone down.

I suppose it can't be helped- 1) More call centers than ever before, 2) Your talent pool hasn't exactly grown to meet that need, so all these companies are forced to hire more people with just the bare set of English skills to get the job done, 3) The ones WITH decent English choose to do other things, as they feel getting into a contact center is beneath their skills, or simply not worth the time, money or effort.

Can't deny it though: The BPO industry still commands a sizeable chunk of money to be made (by anyone- enterprising individuals, foreign investors, the lowly CSR, etc.), and there are still so many opportunities for growth and development. But don't expect me to run your operations for chump change. I know these companies can afford to cough up a little extra cash if they really think they have to.

Right now, I'm just happy what I'm doing at the moment- doing something I really like (writing), for better-than-average pay (it pays the bills, plus you have some extra left over), with almost no responsibility whatsoever (no teams to manage, etc), and just the right amount of time to do other things outside work (work out, do some business, etc).

So who do I feel sorry for? This bunch of CSRs chattering in Tagalog next to my workspace, right next to a sign that says "English-only Zone". Instead of honing their craft with a genuine desire to be better at their jobs, they waste their time griping about how someone hung up on them (no surprise there), and how they can jump to another call center two buildings away offering (what they think is) a better package for them. I feel sorry for them because, in two years, they will wonder why their contemporaries have moved on to better companies and better positions, while they will still be complaining incessantly about their lot in corporate life.

And with that, I fire up my player and drown myself to the sounds of The Fray, following up some leads my editor just sent me. I'm just not being paid enough to care about these CSRs. And in a way, I'm really happy I don't have to.

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