Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
The Growth of a Strong Middle Filipino Class Points to the Call Center
What draws an individual to the life of a call center agent? Is it the opportunity to talk to hundreds of people every day? Is it the fast-paced environment? Is it the challenge of meeting performance goals while still delivering customer satisfaction?
For some, each of these represents a challenge and even a motivation. For others, they are just part of a job that delivers incredible flexibility and opportunities for advancement. Managers in a progressive center focus on call center scheduling according to the needs of the center and those of the agent.
But is that the same across the board? Does it translate throughout the global industry? According to a Business Mirror report, call center jobs are trending in the Philippines. A study conducted by Nielsen Philippines found that call center agents are well-paid there and are a growing and formidable segment of the middle-class. And their spending habits reflect an affluence that is more than that of the general population, which is helping to spur consumer spending.
The flexibility afforded with call center scheduling also helps to support this higher lifestyle level adopted by these employees. They can adjust their lifestyle to fit the demands of the job. Likewise, the flexibility of the job ensures these energetic individuals can still live out the lifestyle they have come to adopt. Gaining an understanding of their lifestyles and choices provides marketers with an opportunity to target this segment of the population specifically.
For instance, call center agents tend to consume more pre-packaged and processes food during the breakfast meal and breaks. They have a higher consumption of breakfast cereals, gum, hard candies, chocolates and cookies. When interviewed for the study, many agents revealed that they rely on candies and gum to keep them awake and alert during night shifts. For the dinner hour, they often rely on pre-packaged food or dining out.
Preferred beverages included those with sugar and caffeine to help provide the added boost. These included energy drinks, iced tea, milk and ready-to-drink juices. Many perceived these drinks as an added indulgence to satisfy a need. At the same time, these employees also consume a higher percentage of alcoholic beverages at 76 percent compared with 40 percent of the general population.
The life of the call center agent in the Philippines definitely differs from that of the typical Filipino. For marketers hoping to promote their wares, studying the habits of this population is beneficial. For the call center manager, relying on call center scheduling according to desires of an effective agent can produce better performance. After all, a happy agent is generally a productive agent.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi