Amitabh Sharma, Features Coordinator

The customer is at the centre of the service-driven economic boom. Almost every product one buys has a 24-hour customer help line, which one can call in case of any problem. Outsourcing is the name of the game and many experts feel this is what the world is coming to.

All this has translated into a plethora of job opportunities, especially for 'freshers' in customer care.

As scores of graduates, and sometimes, even undergraduates vie to fill up the call centre seats, the competition in the customer service segment is immense.

So, if one is aiming to get a seat in that snazzy BPO, possessing the requisite skills and those essential 'frills' will go a long way in giving one candidate an edge over the rest.

Qualifications and traits

At the entry level, the minimum qualification required is a basic graduate degree. Since most call centres have training programmes to gear up fresh incumbents for the task ahead, a graduation is but an entry ticket.

However, for a help desk pertaining to technical areas, specialised qualifications would be required. For instance, computer-based help desk incumbents would require an engineering degree in hardware or software.

If qualifications get you in, certain other skills are what will propel an individual higher up the ladder. One of these primary abilities is good communication skills.

What is popularly known in current parlance as 'neutral accent', a diction devoid of mother tongue influence is a primary requirement.

Call centres look for candidates with excellent English for handling international clients. For domestic clients, organisations require candidates with reasonably good English, with maybe slight traces of mother tongue influence being permissible.

However, their speech shouldn't be heavily accented.

In addition, there is a greater accent on emotional intelligence, for this is a relatively high-pressure job. One needs patience, for sometimes customers can become difficult to deal with, even unreasonable; professionals work on the principle that 'The customer is always correct.' Handling customers is in fact an important part of the training programme for 'freshers'.

The international and domestic challenges

Customer care executives deal with all kinds of people daily. This involves multifarious challenges, as an executive is required to be sensitive to the socio-cultural background of the customer.

In fact, the cultural factors of international clients may have a fascinating impact on the duties of an offshore executive making outbound calls.

This poses a new set of challenges. When it comes to international customers, most clients don't respond, and the call often goes into an answering machine.

When you can't get in touch with the client, it becomes difficult to meet the target.

Domestic clients are equally tough. Customer service professionals may face challenges when handling calls from rural areas. Their understanding level isn'tgood. Some of them may speak in the regional dialect of a language.

Growth

As scores of college graduates can get into service roles in a call centre, a concern often expressed is about how high one can grow from a junior position.

While there are some who continue handling calls even three years into a company, a person with excellent skills has plenty of potential to grow in terms of remuneration and designation.

Also, salary depends on the company and the role in which one works, qualifications and individual talent.

In terms of designations at the lower end entrants get involved in customer first sservices and then the growth trajectory proceeds to call centre officer then, senior call centre officer before, team leader after which the position of subject matter expert beckons before finally, supervisor and project manager await.

amitabh.sharma@gleanerjm.com