Praebeo Resources

A human resources company, Praebeo Resources is one of the newest recruitment firms that focuses on BPO companies here in the Philippines. 

It is the first of its kind in the country that offers online call center training within a virtual classroom environment.  No it's not run on a WBT or CBT platform but 100% done live on the Internet.  They've partnered with ProFora to make this possible. 

They boast of offering their clients customized recruiting and staffing solutions, shorter hiring time, lower hiring cost and reduced attrition.  For their talent pool, the benefits include career matching and satisfaction monitoring, talent management and personalized negotiation.

Its vision is to revolutionize the hiring process of BPOs and other industries through its screening, training and talent management systems.

Their first class will run for 4 weeks this coming May 12, 2009.  If you are interested in getting a job in the industry and experience their unique training method to give you that edge, you can email your resume' to recruitment@praebeoresources.com.  You can also call 63.2.2152283 to go through the assessment and be registered for the class.

Call Center Show: Mumbai Calling

One lazy day, I was surfing the channels trying to look for something interesting to watch.  Alas! One show caught my attention.  Mumbai Calling.

HBO Signature (Asia) just premiered a comedy TV series that focuses on the call center industry within India.  It tells a story of a UK born Indian who was sent to Mumbai to run operations of UK call center Teknobable.

It runs here during the weekends for an hour, with each episode about 20 minutes long.  I was hooked and have watched all 7 episodes last weekend. 

What compels me to watch it is not because I'm interested on how the characters' life story evolves on every episode, but for the tidbits that are presented when a scene transitions.  I can't help but feel "at home" and reminisce my own memories. I watch how the center is being run and listen intently to their agents' calls.  A friend even told me, "It's just too real!".

I like how the script was written --- hilarious and witty.  What's interesting is the nuisances of how it presents UK customers as not being perfect and combined with dialogue that insinuates the difference in cultures.  

I recommend you watch this weekend and tell me what you think.  Should we start our own TV series called "Manila calling?" It would be interesting to note the differences.

Watch PILOT EPISODE.

Exclusive Interview with the cast.

Call Center Recruitment Webinar Schedule

Okay, we now have the next schedules for my webinar.  Entitled "Maximize your Success in Getting a Job in the Call Center Industry", I will be discussing the recruitment process of most centers in the country plus give tips on some interview questions.

This is still at no cost to you.  So, just click on the links below to register for your preferred schedule.

Dec. 10, 2008 - 4:00PM

Dec. 10, 2008 - 7:00PM

Dec. 15, 2008 - 4:00PM

Remember, to fully enjoy the webinar, you need a fast Internet connection and a headset with a microphone.  You need it if you'd like to to interact with the speaker.

See you at the webinar!

Why is Stress Synonymous to Call Centers?

It was rather disappointing but not surprising to see, that the word "stress" is being searched on the Internet and Google happens to show this blog within the search results.  Interesting.

For someone who has been in the industry for quite some time, I agree it is rather a stressful job.  It would also depend on what part of the world you're in as well.  For the Philippines and perhaps other countries that accept outsourcing jobs, it is tough. 

There are several factors that make it stressful:

The Night Shift

We all know that being in the night shift screws up our body clock and with that our diet too.  Our  body gets the beating from the sudden change.  Schedules are also being changed ever so often and I'm not just talking about agents here.  Middle management and executives get it as well, sometimes even worse.

Number of transactions to be made

The demand for people is so high and because not everyone is equipped with the right skills, so many seats still need to be filled.  The calls keep coming and contracts can't be broken.  For those who have been hired have to deal with the transactions, they are bombarded with continuous calls, even after their shift is done.  Ever heard of skipping break because they need the bodies to do the work?

Culture differences & personalities

We don't just have to deal with American customers now.  There are Australians, the Kiwis (New Zealand), and the Brits.  It's hard enough to deal with different personalities within our own culture, but for call center personnel, there is that extra effort to understand and learn the culture nuisances. 

But, even with all of these factors, there is a way to cope with the seemingly endless stressful situations in the center.  Hey, I survived didn't I?  If I can, you can too!

A Repeat Performance of a Call Center Webinar

Thank you to everyone who participated in my webinar, Maximize Your Success: Getting a Job in the Call Center Industry.  It was a blast!  I read the survey results and it was all positive.  They found it very helpful and the tips and advice were going to be shared to fellow agents.  We even had a call center owner in the group.

Because we had little time to market this webinar, there were quite a few who couldn't make it.  I've decided to offer this again sometime in December.  If that goes well, I'm thinking of doing it at least once a month for aspiring call center applicants.  

I'll keep everyone updated once the schedule has been finalized.  If you are interested in joining, let me know and I'll send you a link to the registration page.  Better yet, you can join the mailing list by registering through the Philippine Webinars website.