Considering the phenomenal growth of call center companies, the high attrition rate is the huge problem that these companies are facing. It is the greatest challenge that the Human Resource (HR) Department is encountering and that they need to instill desirability among agents to balance the attrition rate. The HR manager should not only fulfill this responsibility but also find the right kind of people who can keep up the pace with the unique work patterns to this type of industry. This should be given much attention by the management because it gives out wrong impression that the call center is not a stable industry to work for.

The increasing rate of attrition prompted the call center industries' management to take a closer look at the root causes to this problem to ensure the industries' long-term sustainability and growth. According to a survey by the Incoming Calls Management Institute or ICMI, the three major reasons for call center turnover are: better opportunities elsewhere, lack of career development, and repetitive work. In addition to having to work at night, agents experience a fair amount of abuse and racist remarks from overseas customers.

Solutions and strategies have been made since these industries depend heavily on worker supply for the continuing growth of the business. Call center agents are as important as doctors, teachers, or bankers. Without these agents, no one would take the calls at emergency call center lines and save lives, no one would answer the help desk support 24/7 to answer customer's concerns and complaints, or nobody would respond to the live web chat services from the visitors of your website.

Companies should focus more on how to keep their employees happy and satisfied with their work in order to retain them. Good compensation package and benefits are not always the answer to attract applicants to work for your company. Most job seekers look for the sense of stability and security in the company that they are going to work for. When they start building their career, they look for self-improvement, development, and growth within the company. Companies should avoid fast tracked trainings, and instead, offer constant training to help ensure that the employees are fully equipped to do the tasks that are assigned to them. Aside from the high salary rate and constant training, a good and safe working environment should be more than enough to ensure that employees would see a long career in the company. This is very beneficial to the company in the long run.

Successful companies work with their employees to find out what motivates them and then offer incentives to make them aware that their work is being valued. It maybe monetary rewards for achieving set goals, it maybe as simple as verbal recognition for a job well done, gift checks or certificates for hitting the quotas, or by means of developing a skill or career path either within the call center or the organization as a whole. A career in a call center should not just be limited only as an agent but they should also be encouraged to apply for other positions within the company especially for those who have high educational attainment particularly in Information Technology field.

The Call Center industry has been earmarked as the Sunshine industry due to its rapid expansion within the last few years employing hundreds of thousands of people. It is the most looked after company because they offer attractive compensation and good benefits to their employees. The sudden rise of employment rate from these industries help in booming the economy especially in countries like India and Philippines. It also helps in providing a good life to thousands of families. Without the call center industry, there will be no agents who would answer the help desk support 24/7, no one would take the calls at emergency call center lines, or no one would provide customer service to all of the customer's queries and complaints.

Since the emergence of call center industries, the attrition rate is a huge problem that these industries are facing and is increasing every year. Why? Because in the real world, employees leave their jobs because they want a higher salary rate, want a change or better opportunities, hate the working conditions, hate their colleagues, or their spouse gets a better job in another place or country. In call centers the high percentage of females in the workforce adds to the high attrition rate due to the reason that most women leave their job after marriage or because of social pressures caused by irregular working hours in the industry. The fast turnover is very costly and causes huge losses for the company that invested a lot of money upon hiring and during training.

According to some research, the attrition rate in the United States is 50%, nearly 35% in the United Kingdom, 19% in the Philippines, and a whopping 80% in India. The rate continues to grow considering the fast growth of these industries every year. According to a survey by the Incoming Calls Management Institute or ICMI, the biggest reasons for the turnover are:

• Better opportunities outside the organization
• Better opportunities inside the organization
• Repetitive work
• Low pay
• Dislike handling complaints and problems

However, the common reasons are long working hours and monotony of the jobs. These agents are being paid to sit at a desk and talk on the phone all day reading a pre-scripted conversation from the computer, which actually is a fairly stressful job because they are dealing with the public and customer service on a daily basis. These agents receive a fair amount of abuse over the phone and they also have to hit quotas. In India, young people said it is no longer worthwhile going through sleepless nights serving customers halfway around the world because of this stressful job that offers few career advancement. Thus, making them as the country with the highest attrition rate.

In this world of advanced technology, a lot of computer-related works were introduced. These made the jobs easier and accessible even across the country. Hence, many schools and universities are now specializing computer education and information technology since these are the demands of most businesses nowadays.

The advancement of technology through outsourcing have helped a lot of entrepreneurs not just in terms of financial matters but in the quality of services as well, and this is the biggest benefit that one can get while outsourcing their services. That is why Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industries emerged to outsource some of the company's services such as outsourcing event registration, research, and development, to help them maximize their revenue and minimize their expenses. It also helps small or big companies to concentrate more on their core competencies.

The fad about online shopping is very rampant. From tiny jewelries to huge buildings for sale, from laundry shop services to construction services, almost all kinds of foods, beverages, transportation, fashion trends, online education, funeral services, and even human trafficking. Name it and you can Google it. And they are instantly delivered at your doorstep.

Despite the easy access of World Wide Web (WWW), still most people think that placing an order online is not reliable specially when they are being asked to fill up for the bank account or credit card details. They prefer to speak to a live person to place for an order. The confidentiality of bank account or credit card details entered into a data base are sometimes not one hundred percent secured and are easily hacked by some computer wizard. Because of this problem, there are outsourcing companies who are offering service to take orders over the phone. Order taking service companies cater to business merchants and establishments, with special packages that are tailored to their own needs.

Order taking service companies help customers place their orders from website or any other means of advertisement. When a tremendous volume of orders are coming in, these order taking service companies help them answer those calls. Hence, it is very important to speak to a live person when placing for an order to process accurately, to record and facilitate all data securely. This service is commonly used by small to medium sized companies who do not have the capabilities to spend for a 24/7 in house staff to facilitate orders, and who do not want to miss an opportunity for an order when they are not available.

When a customer visits your website or catalog and would like to purchase your product or service, a phone call is usually the customer's preferred method of ordering. When a product or service is advertised on televisions, radios, or billboards, you reach a call center agent who would take your order when you call the toll-free customer service number they provide. Whether you just started out your business or you have been in the industry for quite some time, outsourcing your order taking needs is very cost efficient and can help heighten revenue.

It is imperative for every business to provide their customers a toll-free number to accommodate easier communication. It is not just the best thing to do but it can definitely do a lot for your business. It establishes trust between the company and the customers in a business relationship that may eventually result in repeat purchases. It also allows customers to conveniently call at anytime and anywhere.

Furthermore, it is best to talk to a live person when dealing with businesses even with online companies. Even though online business is now the latest fad, yet, these online merchants still must provide a toll-free customer service number included into their website's contact information column. The easy access of World Wide Web (WWW) may not suffice the needs of the online viewers or the clients once huge problems occur in the midst of business transactions. There are some times in a business transaction when voice communication is the mere solution.

Acquiring a toll-free customer service number is affordable and accessible rather than spending your establishment with expensive Private Branch Exchange (PBX) phone system or fax machines. With toll-free customer service number, you can take calls on your cellphone, at the office, at home, or at the vacation hotel. Since your customers always dial the same toll-free number, they would think that you are always in the office as far as they are concerned.

These toll-free numbers provide call hunting, voice mail, or fax services via email at no extra cost, and you can access your messages and faxes from any internet connection. When it comes to marketing, it can be used to track the effectiveness of your ad campaigns or your latest promotions. It can also project a corporate image and offer local numbers that can also project a local image as well.

When a company is growing and expanding such as call center companies, there is a chance of moving the operations to other places or to other countries because it would increase the productivity and profit. Having a toll-free customer service number will keep up the continuity of business relationship with the customers. Most importantly, when a small accident or a major catastrophe occurs, a forwarded toll-free number is simply directed elsewhere and ensures a seamless experience for your customers.

Christmas is the most awaited season for everybody. It is the best time for families to gather, eat luscious foods, and exchange gifts during Christmas eve. But not with those people who are at a great distance from their families because of work or important business trips. Nevertheless, there are always reasons to celebrate Christmas no matter where you are, maybe alone, and far away from home.

People tend to forget the real essence of Christmas. Apart from expensive gifts and sumptuous dinner, there are other ways to observe and celebrate Christmas in its truest sense even when you are far from home. This usually happens with BPO industries specially with call center companies, because these companies operate 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

Most call center industries do not shut down their operations during holidays because they are customer service companies that answer calls at anytime of the day. A live receptionist answers questions or takes messages from customers who might call on a Christmas day, and might have queries and complains about the product they bought or they received as a gift, or a special service they have been offered as a reward from their employer.

If you happen to be away from home this Christmas, plan ahead on what you are going to do. A lot of Christmas traditions will give you an idea on how to enjoy the holiday season.

• You may visit the nearest church where there are group of people who might be of the same situation as you, and start up a light conversation to see what the evening brings them.
• Ask the people from your office about local Christmas happenings. A colleague might hear about your plight and she or he might invite you over to spend Christmas with them.
• If you love to dine out, ask your friends who are also far from their families and enjoy a sumptuous dinner at a cozy restaurant.
• Visit the local orphanage if there is one and be a volunteer this Christmas. Cheer up the season with less fortunate kids who need families and friends.

Most importantly, stay connected with your family on Christmas eve. Make a call an hour before the clock strikes at 12 midnight, otherwise, the network gets busy when a myriad of people call their love ones on Christmas eve. If not, use the internet and chat with them using the web camera to watch each other as activities are celebrated.

Nov 13, 2010 - marked as another world history for Filipinos on the ring with one of the greatest boxers of the world, Emmanuel Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao. He undoubtedly won his latest fight over Antonio Margarito, a great Mexican boxer as well. It was Manny's eighth-division world championship title. Pacman, as the people fondly call him, is a history maker to win ten world titles in eight different divisions, and to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He is currently the World Boxing Council (WBC) -Super Welterweight World Champion and the World Boxing Organization (WBO) – Welterweight World Super Champion. He was named with a lot of titles by athlete critics, famous boxing writers, and several sporting news and boxing websites, for being a phenomenal boxer of all time.

Manny was born and raised from a less fortunate family, whose mother left her husband after finding out that the latter was having an affair with another woman. His mother together with his five siblings had to earn a living, and Manny was working hard selling bread around the neighborhood. He left his family at the age of 14 to seek a better life in another place far away from his hometown because his mother was not making enough money to support all of them. After he left his family, Manny had lived a destitute life and at times he had to sleep on the streets, but he never gave up and continued to work hard to earn a living. It was then he started boxing and made it to the Philippine National Amateur Boxing Team where his room and board were paid for by the government.

Manny completed his elementary education but dropped out of high school due to extreme poverty. Aside from skills and perseverance, poverty is one of the reasons that brought the boxers to the ring. It is a fact that most boxers in the Philippines are not degree holders. Had BPO industries emerged before, these boxers may have been call center agents, because they only need to be proficient in English, and need not to be punched by strong opponents in the ring. If call center companies have not emerged today, there may have been more Filipino boxers, idolizing Manny, how he became famous and a millionaire, from rags to riches.

His fame in boxing brought him to the world of acting and endorsing products. Then he eventually became a recording artist where one of his songs was dedicated to his fellow Filipino people for his triumphant fight with one of the greatest boxing opponents he had. His greatest challenge in life was not in the world of boxing but in public office. He recently ventured into the world of politics and was elected to the House of Representatives in the 15th Congress of the Philippines representing the province of his wife, Jinkee. He is the only professional boxer to become an elected public official and one of the most influential people in the Philippines.

Despite his fame and financial success, Manny still knows how to look back where he came from. During the Christmas season, he personally gives presents to the poor. He also gives over half a million dollars worth of tickets to his childhood friends during his title fights. He simply feels blessed to be able to give back and to help those who were a part of his roots and early suffering.

The cool breeze at night, the sparkling lights everywhere, the bells and mistletoe hanging on the walls, the busy shoppers rushing for holiday sale, the children caroling anywhere, and the music of happy and glee, reminds us that the spirit of Christmas is in the air. For many people, it is the best season of the church year because every family gathers during Christmas eve and exchange their gifts as a traditional way of celebrating the season.

Christmas is a major holiday in most Christian countries. Each of them has their own way of celebrating this season as a part of their culture and tradition. Participating in a religious service plays an important part in the recognition of the season particularly in the Philippines. Even for some countries whose population are mostly non-Christian, they also have a variety of Christmas celebration that is not associated with religion.

In the Philippines, Christmas is the most awaited season of the year. This is because some employed people receive extra remuneration apart from the additional one month pay after a whole year round which is obligatory for all companies. For some companies, they give a basket of goods or a sack of rice as a sign of being thankful to their employees after successful years of working with them. It is common for every Philippine company to administer an annual Christmas party for their employees to enjoy and exchange gifts from one another.

The same thing is true with other companies abroad. They celebrate a delightful Yuletide season as much as the Philippines do. Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Yuletide season involve economic activity, the season has become a significant event and a key sales period for businesses. This is specially true with telemarketing call centers. The economic impact of this season is a great factor that has substantially grown over the past few centuries.

Since this season is critical to telemarketing call centers, most Philippines call centers do not observe this special holiday because they operate 24/7 and 365 days a year. The Yuletide season is the perfect time for telemarketing call centers to launch their new products and services, or to offer special price for their products or services because of bulk orders. It is a peak season for call center industries and most of their employees celebrate Christmas eve at work because they usually operate in the evening. Unless you are scheduled on a rest day, you are lucky enough to celebrate Christmas eve with your family.

Call center industries are trying to compensate more than what their employees earn with those who are scheduled to work on a Christmas eve. They provide bountiful foods, drinks, and giveaways for free. These companies are somehow breaking the traditional way of celebrating Christmas in the Philippines because they do not observe this holiday but definitely, they are not spoiling the celebration as the whole nation enjoys.

Philippines is one of the largest archipelagos in the world located in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. A country comprising 7,107 islands with Manila as its capital city. The country is categorized broadly into 3 main geographical divisions namely, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. These geographical divisions are comprised of small and large islands with Mindanao as the largest among them. Its population was estimated about 92 million people, making the Philippines as the world's 12th most populous country.

The country contains a myriad of different cultures and influences from the western world rather than from its nearby Asian cultures. Most of these influences are the products of previous colonization from Spain and USA, a little from Japan, and with other influences from Chinese people who migrated to the country.

Philippines is a famous tourism destination for foreigners because of its amazing natural wonders, beautiful beaches, and warm people. The country is known for its glorious beaches, some of which are now preserved for luxury resorts catering world class businessmen and famous people. This helps the Philippine tourism further strengthen its competitive edge not just in the Asia-Pacific region but globally.

The Filipinos are worldly known for their hospitality, for being talented people and hard-working. They are also very courteous specially to the elderly people. It is only in the Philippines where you can hear younger people use special names as a sign of respect to elder people even if they are not closely related by blood.

Philippine tourism started to flourish in the 1970's to the 1980's but somehow started to slow down in the middle of 1980's. One of the major reasons was that the average length of stay of tourists in 1988 decreased because it was at this time when Marcos Administration declared Martial Law. It started in 1990's when signs of faster growth showed up and it is still increasing up to the present time. This gave the Department of Tourism a reason to forecast an affirmative perspective for the future years.

Tourism is one of the engines of economic development in the Philippines. At the start of the 21st century, the net income of tourism in the Philippines totaled to $2.1 billion. The emergence of Business Process Outsourcing or BPO industries, as well as the arising call center industries have also played a fundamental role in the improvement of tourism in the country. Foreign investors from big countries such as USA, UK, Canada, and Australia contributed a huge positive effect in the economy. These foreign businessmen together with their families brought a lot of tourism to the Philippines and employed a lot of Filipino people.

Many of us are not aware of the repercussions of working in a call center company. Being a call center agent is not a simple job. Some people took it lightly as the easiest job nowadays because a bachelor's degree is not a requirement. Nevertheless, if you take a deep look into the real entity of a call center agent, you would realize how arduous and challenging their work can be. Not to mention the health risk that one gets from this nocturnal job and the danger of traveling to the office at night or at wee hours in the dawn.

This type of career is a good opportunity specially for the young professionals. It helped a lot of people in the Philippines, employing 372,000 jobs and contributed $6 billion to the national revenue in the year 2008. However, these companies do not want to admit that employee retention is now a common problem in the call center industry. The commencing salary of the newly hired agents today is getting low, the incentives of a regular agent is disappearing, and the poor mentoring of the basic telecommunication skills to novices, are just some of the issues that these companies are facing. In fact, these companies have gained an attrition rate of 19% according to the Call Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP). This attrition rate indicates that there is a demand of these agents for an increase in the cash component of their remuneration.

The parameters of providing a high salary rate for these agents should be administered by the human resource department, and they should implement necessary measures of setting up a high standard rate. The necessary benefits should be provided by every company in order to avoid future mass resignation and tardiness, and most importantly, to maintain complete daily head counts. The number of agents in a team per day would greatly affect the workforce specially for the commission based projects.

Working at night shuts down the body system of an agent during day time and keeps them alive during sundown. This extraordinary work hours can cause various health problems such as eye strain, voice strain, hearing problems, and musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). The drastic change of one's natural biological clock can also contribute to some health problems such as insomnia and anemia. To compensate for this common health problems the management should provide health care coverage through Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) once these agents become regular employees or when they have tenured for at least 3 months. It is also best to have nurses on duty for 24 hours since these companies operate 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, and a doctor for a regular consultation at least once a week. A daily dose of vitamins maybe supplied and healthy meals should be given rather than cups of coffee to keep them physically fit.

Philippine education is strongly viewed as a pillar of national development and a primary avenue for social and economic mobility. It has undergone several stages of development from the pre-Spanish time to the present. It is handled by three government organizations, namely, the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports (DECS), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). The DECS govern both public and private education in all levels, with its mission “to provide quality basic education that is equitably accessible to all by the foundation for lifelong learning and service for the common good.”

The Filipino people have deep concern for education because it occupies a central place in political, economical, social, and cultural life in the Philippines. The government allocates a high budget every year for Philippine education and guarantees that every Filipino has the right to quality education. However, there are some important issues that needs to be looked closely and resolved by the government. Among the issues are:

The advancement of technology in this millennium age has introduced a lot of flourishing careers with attractive compensation for the Filipino people. The development is growing rapidly because of the emergence of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services particularly in the call center industry. The unemployment rate that used to be a top problem in the Philippines is now gradually decreasing and the government has finally provided more decent and good-paying jobs for the Filipinos.

The past administration was being recognized by top businessmen of the world for bringing back the positive momentum of the economy. International businessmen have acknowledged the Philippines its competence of becoming a developed country in the near future. Top businessmen in the BPO industries who have established in the major cities are expanding their businesses in some other areas of the country, thus, providing more jobs for the Filipino people.

One of the industries who are offering good-paying jobs in the Philippines is the call center industry. In the last 6 years, this type of industry has boomed. An exodus of call center agents was employed in different major cities of the country with a starting salary of not lower than PhP12,000 a month plus additional bonuses and allowances. This is a good start for a young professional who do not have a work experience yet, or any individuals who did not even finish his or her bachelor's degree. The basic skill that a call center agent must have is to be proficient in the English language.

Another thriving top caliber profession in the BPO industry is being a Website Developer or IT Professional. One must be very adept at computer technology and internet applications. This profession really gives fortune to those who are expert in the World Wide Web (WWW) scripting languages such as javascript, joomla, HTML, PHP, and a lot more.

Filipinos by far have the easiest-to-understand accent for people who use English as their first language. This skill also helped them provide another good-paying job by teaching English as Second Language (ESL) through online to some non-English speaking countries such as Korea, Japan, and China. Other Asian nationals would stay in the Philippines for a few months to study English on a one-on-one base or enroll themselves at arising English learning schools in the country.

There are lots of opportunities for every Filipinos. However, it all depends on how they make an effort in searching for the best job that would favorably fit their personality and skills.

The high unemployment rate was used to be a major problem in the Philippines way back in the late 1990's and early 2000. Employment growth was not sufficient to decrease unemployment because of the rapid growth of the population and increased labor force participation. This made lots of Filipino people leave the country and seek greener pasture in foreign lands.

The Filipinos leave the Philippines to work in foreign lands, and the foreign companies or establishments take advantage of their talents and skills. It is sad to know that these Filipinos could have stayed in their own land and contributed their skills to the development of their own country. This has been an ongoing problem by the Philippine government in the past few years.

Every year, millions of Filipinos leave the Philippines to work abroad to support their families. Most of the jobs filled by Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) are doctors, nurses, accountants, engineers, architects, seafarers, caregivers, physical therapists, IT professionals, teachers, technicians, and domestic helpers or housemaids. The exodus includes an increasing number of experienced skilled workers with training and certificate in the mechanical and electrical field regardless of whether they have completed a bachelor's degree or not. An exodus production of skilled workers mostly fly to middle eastern countries and some parts of Africa.

The past administration gave importance to this unemployment problem and established job campaigns by promoting tourism with foreign investors. It was remarkably seen as a successful campaign because of the increasing demand of workers particularly in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industries. The recent report from National Statistics Office (NSO) showed that the unemployment rate dipped to 6.9% as of July 2010 compared to last year that was 7.6%.

The emergence of BPO industry is a significant factor that contributed a huge effect in the unemployment rate of the country. Call center companies comprise 80% of the BPO industry and it is now regarded as one of the fastest growing industries in the world. Thousands of young individuals ventured into this flourishing career that do not require a complete bachelor's degree and provides attractive compensation. The advancement of technology created a lot of prospering careers for the young Filipino people and made them choose to stay rather than work abroad and being far from their families and loved ones.

(The Philippine Government, its Economy and the BPO Industry)

The Philippines has the 4th largest economy in South East Asia. It has a mixed economic system and its industry's important sectors include food processing, textiles and garments, electronics parts, and automobile parts. Agriculture and mining also have great potentials in the Philippines. The lands mostly are rich in chromite, nickel, and copper, and the rich soil produces fruits, vegetables, root crops, and rice for the farmers. Most industries are centered in the urban areas like Metro Manila and Cebu.

Unfortunately, since the end of World War II, the economic situation of the Philippines has significant ups and downs. This country was at one time one of the richest countries in South East Asia before the period of chronic weak performance of several corrupt leaders that made the economy unstable.

After the protracted dictatorship of the corrupt leader, Ferdinand Marcos, the Philippines was able to gradually uplift its economy by the restoration of democracy from the succeeding administrations of the late Corazon Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos. At some point in time the economy deteriorated again due to political instability, major problem regarding the nation's electricity, multi-billion debts left by the Marcos regime, and a wave of major natural disasters which further damped economic activity.

The succeeding Joseph Estrada administration tried to continue the reform that was started by the previous administrations, yet, a major bank failure and political disturbances, following his impeachment and subsequent departure from office led to a slower growth of the economy. This made the Filipino people leave the country and seek greener pasture in foreign lands. The Philippines started producing overseas Filipino workers (OFW), where domestic helpers and personal service workers are the majority of the exported services and were filled mostly by women. The OFWs have contributed a lot to the economy through remittances, buying properties, and creating businesses.

It was under the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that pushed towards faster economic growth. Her stance towards economic improvement has remarkably re-emerged and restored the economy. Major infrastructures arose in the metropolitan areas of Luzon, while Metro Cebu also became an attraction for foreign and local investors. It was in her time that the Philippines ventured into a new economic boon that encompasses the Business Process Outsourcing or BPO industry. It was then that the Philippines became the second largest call center industry, next to India, according to the June 2008 study that was released by Oracle Corp.

The emergence of BPO industries in the Arroyo administration has a humungous effect in the country's unemployment rate, helping thousands of young individuals feed their families and provide them a comfortable lifestyle. Majority of the top ten BPO firms of the United States, operate in the Philippines and invested billions of dollars because of the quality of service that the Filipinos provide.

However, the country is still facing several challenging problems such as high oil prices and political instability and mudslinging. Recently the country suffered the destructive wake of two typhoons that wreaked serious havoc on the agricultural sector. It was also during Arroyo's administration where large-scale corruption activities were discovered and was divulged by some of her cronies who can not stand anymore her greed.

Money sent by OFW back to the country represents a huge chunk in the country's economy today. This makes the country the fourth largest recipient of foreign remittances behind India, China, and Mexico. The rising call center industries also provided a positive impact to the economy. Indeed, the call center industry will play a significant role as the country continues to develop its full potential and forges towards the millennium.

Philippines is the number one choice of foreign investors for a call center location because of its less expensive operational and labor costs. Aside from that, Philippines has the highest level of English proficiency than any other countries specially in Asia. They use English as the second official language, next to Filipino, and it is the medium of instruction in all educational levels in school, hence, making almost every Filipino speaks English naturally. They have by far the easiest-to-understand accent for people who use English as their first language.

Call centers started in the Philippines in the late 1990's wherein the services offered are plainly email response providers and managing services. Almost all types of customer relations such as travel services, technical support, online education, customer care, financial services, online business to customer (B2C) support, and online business to business (B2B) support, have the industrial capabilities. The emergence of BPO industries started arising in the major cities of the country namely in Makati, Ortigas, and Cebu.

Call center, being one of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) service industries, is regarded as an up-and-coming and the fastest growing industry in the world. Since 2006, BPO industry in the Philippines has grown 46% and is expected to earn between US $11 to $13 billion, employing 900,000 people this year. Philippine government is offering a substantial fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to draw attention to foreign direct investment to this type of industries and as part of the 2007 Investment Priorities Plan or IPP.

Foreign investors earn dollars, pounds, or euros from their clients but spend pesos with their investments in the Philippines. Thus, the outsourcing service is remarkably a good business for foreign investors in this country. Though call center companies in this country are 20% more expensive compared to other countries, but these foreign investors are satisfied with the quality of work that the Filipinos provide. Other foreign investors who have built their companies in other countries before, turn to the Philippines after a few years, because they were not satisfied and they wanted the quality that the Philippine call centers provide.

Meeting with prospective clients personally is usually more fruitful than selling over the phone. But seeking for the perfect prospect to meet with can be very sluggish. If you want to meet more customers in a short span of time, appointment setting service can help you pre-screen candidates from your mailing list and set up a face to face meeting with your sales representatives, and your sales representatives can aim attention at the prospect on presenting the valued proposition of your business.

Appointment setting service gives you soaring profits very easy and conveniently. It is very cost efficient and keeps you worry free from any additional responsibilities rather than hiring your own team of appointment setters. It is also beneficial even for small businesses such as doctor's offices, realtors, and insurance agencies that do not have their own resources to find new prospects on their own, and you get the full benefits of the service without the added expense of full-time employees in your own company.

The function of appointment setting service has become really crucial with the fast development of business market today. Your business needs to catch the attention of a larger client base to safeguard their success. When outsourcing this type of service, it is imperative that the appointment setting service company employs an advanced modern techniques and tactics for setting the appointments.

There are so many appointment setting service companies around the globe but make sure you choose the best company that can provide you with excellent quality of service. A company that has a proven track record of successful top performers and highly skilled professionals who can handle high levels of communication with top executives, managers, presidents, and owners of big establishments. When your business is planning to engage at these outsourcing companies it is important that they see you as an outsourced component of your inside sales organization and not simply as a business to business.

An outbound call center is one in which a call center agent makes an outgoing call to customers. An agent contacts a business establishment in behalf of the client for the purposes of helping them contact new customers, contacting existing clients more often to maintain good relationship, selling products or services, following up payment of bills, setting an appointment, fund raising, and a lot more. An agent may also contact a household member for the purpose of market research or political survey.

Outsourcing outbound call center service is very much helpful for your business. It is cost-efficient and helps you achieve profitable and long term relationships with your customers. It helps your business focus on your core capabilities and provides bottom line benefits.

An inbound call center is one that predominately handles incoming calls that are initiated by the customers. Inbound call center agents answer the calls in behalf of the client. They help businesses answer customer's queries or problems when the business representatives are not available. It is crucial that your business calls are answered and that your client's needs are met. Outsourcing inbound call center services keep your businesses on the go without the expense of hiring your own regular customer service representative.

The existence of inbound call center companies conveniently help customers to buy products online with no hassle of going to the store specially for the disabled or debilitated people. It helps consumers solve their problems when buying a defective product. It allows you to book a plane ticket or reserve a hotel and a lot more.

The increasing number of young professionals today that are employed as call center agents in different BPO sector are amazingly high especially with the contact center company. It helped a lot in decreasing the unemployment rate particularly in the Philippines. However, there are issues today regarding the health problems of call center agents that should be addressed by every contact center management.

Working in a contact center company may sound easy because a Bachelor's degree is not a requirement. All it takes is for one to speak fluently like Americans or British, and you get a good paying job. Apparently, a call center job makes an agent unhealthy if proper working habit is not being measured. This nocturnal job gives drastic changes to the life of a young professional and may be hazardous to your health if safety measures are not being practiced.

Regular night shifts, longer hours of work, sitting for a few hours while talking over the telephone and reading pre-scripted conversations from a computer, the incredibly high work targets and quotas, manage an irate caller, the coffee and cigarette, this is the life of a common call center agent. Where every minute counts for every agent, from the moment he or she logs in to the computer, a 15 minute break before dinner for a coffee and cigarette, a one hour break for a heavy meal, and another 15 minute break before the end of the shift. This performance monitoring contributes a whopping stress on the life of an agent.

Working at night on a regular basis gives drastic change to ones biological clock. This turned out to be the major cause of health-related problem of an agent. This causes insomnia to most people who have sleeping difficulties during daytime. It can easily be treated once you seek an advice from a doctor. However, it may lead to chronic insomnia if you do not address well to this kind of illness. This is a primary severe disorder that could last longer than 1 month and maybe more dangerous to your health.

Another common problem of a call center agent is eye problem. Soreness, dryness, blurred vision, light sensitivity, and headache, this is labeled as Computer vision syndrome or CVS. This is a very real problem for many people who spend many hours everyday in front of a computer. Sometimes, simply reorganizing your work environment to develop better ergonomics is all you need to do to reduce eye strain and other vision problems related to Computer vision syndrome. In some cases, a pair of computer eyeglasses may help you, but the best way to know above all is consult a doctor first. It is better to consult a doctor right away once you feel something unusual in your health before it is too late.

The development of BPO industry in this age of technology is growing rapidly. More and more people are needed to fill up the positions for the new call center companies that are arising in different parts of the globe. If you are interested in working with this type of industry, you should be aware with what type of services they are offering so that when you land at this kind of job you are already fully armed and ready.

Inbound Call Center