A Special Project in the Real Sense

One of the dynamics of human resource and management consultancy engagements is working with different types of people from all levels of the organization; and to bid the same people goodbye at the end of the project.

One Core Business Innovations has a diverse list of clients who take on their human resource and management consultancy services. A most unforgettable account is worth sharing (except for the name of the client) due to how it has touched the OCBI team in more ways than one.

This account is quite different from the usual corporate clients we have ; mainly due to the composition of its team. Theirs is a combination of able bodied employees and employees with different kinds of physical disabilities.

Our first few weeks on site were interesting; simply trying to communicate with each other became an instant challenge ;  although explaining a key result area is not difficult, being able to understand the questions and clarifications from a supervisor who has cleft palate problem is!

You start being mindful of things; if an OCBI staff member takes an ocular inspection on the client’s site; one needs to pace his strides if he is walking along with a supervisor who walks with a defined limp. I remember one time, we were having a meeting with the client’s team in their conference room; I noticed a child walk past by the door in my peripheral vision. I was about to ask one of the managers if they allow employees’ children in the premises when I realized that what I saw was a worker who was simply a midget!

Several months into the project brought many realizations; although the client’s team were mostly physically handicapped, that was all there is to it! Their amazing positive attitudes surpassed whatever physical limitations they might have. They were very open to coaching and mentoring; when One Core Business Innovations designed a 10-week Supervisory Training for them it was welcomed with enthusiasm and excitement.

The Supervisory Training series included modules on self-discovery, effective leadership, quality/productivity enhancements, business english to name a few. The team were slowly transformed from shy and self-doubting to supervisors with more confidence and skills with their roles in the organization. They have proven that a positive mental attitude never allows any form of barrier when it comes to embracing change in a good way.

Their supervisory training “graduation” was quite bittersweet; each participant prepared a speech expressing their appreciation and cited skills they learned and applied at work. I say it was bittersweet because it was that time to let go and move on to another engagement.

The One Core Business Innovations team however is pleased to have served the needs of its client at a critical time of their organization. The long months of consultations, planning and implementing were not in vain. As OCBI moves on it will still fondly look back and be happy at the thought that once again, it MADE A DIFFERENCE…

Call Center 101 Training for the Academe

One Core Business Innovations has designed a customized training module just for teachers! After interviewing faculty members from different colleges and universities, it seems that not many of them fully understand the nature of the industry and their teaching impact in producing a quality labor pool.

Although some of them underwent trainings conducted by trainers from call centers, they had varied feedback. Their responses were quite interesting as well as being an eye opener. Some of them commented that the trainers were too “American” with their accents and way too young to be teaching in the first place. These perceptions unfortunately created more of a gap than a bridge to learning. I could not help but chuckle with these comments as I imagine very articulate call center trainers, full of energy and babbling with endless nasal sounds teaching a mixed group of twenty to fifty year old teachers! I also understand both sides of the spectrum having come from each of those sides!

 First of all, we need to understand that teachers in general are quite set with their ways, I say that with conviction having been a teacher myself If your “trainees” are teachers, the training approach may have to be slightly modified as opposed to training a regular class; for one thing, this is not your regular class! There are two possible reactions when a trainer’s accent is more American than a regular American; it’s either your special “trainees” become fascinated or intimidated. I’d recommend the following:

1. Choose a trainer who’s accent is simply neutral.

2. The trainer must always tie in call center competencies with improving teaching methodoligies so the teachers go back to their respective classrooms with more targetted activities.

3. Always include the affective domain in your training; in other words, encourage the “trainees” to consistently teach values in their classrooms. What’s the use of great communication skills when the call center agent gets terminated for fraudulent transactions anyway?

4. Don’t call them by their first names. If you find out that they have a post graduate degree, by all means call them Dr. so and so . We cannot apply the call center first basis way for this group even if they are taking the role of students in this special training.

As we continue to bridge the BPO industry and the academe, we need to realize the significant role of our beloved teachers. We need to acknowledge their importance, keep them inspired to be passionate and effective with their jobs and continuously find ways to keep them current with global trends.

One Core Business Innovations’ first Call Center 101 Training for the Academe kicks off in November… See you in class!

A Call Center Trainer’s Dilemma

I recently had coffee with my former trainers from a major call center in Cebu; they are a jolly bunch with great English speaking skills, energy, enthusiasm and not to mention a hefty appetite

We got to talking about possible options as trainers in other industries as some were expressing their concerns about health and long hours. Very interesting realizations took place during our discussion; I playfully offered to have a mock interview with them. Since One Core Business Innovations handle clients from diverse industries the interview was on the premise that they were ready to leave the call center industry and that they were applying as a trainer for a multinational manufacturing corporation.

The conversation went very well as  I was not surprised with how they positively carried themselves. The twist came when they were given situational questions that would test their abilities in basic trainer skills like training needs analysis and training design. Four out of five did not know how to make a simple TNA and a straightforward training design! I had to tell them that their trainer skills are inadequate. They will more than likely be turned down for the job.

What normally happens for most call center trainers is that they are taken in for two main reasons – communication skills and product knowledge (if they are a product trainer). What takes place after  is usually a one time Train the trainer workshop. Not a lot of centers offer continuous trainings for trainers, most trainings are Operations centered – Team Lead Development etc. This is alarming and is cause of concern as the quality of agents on the floor is partly dependent on the quality of training they get.

If you put a trainer in class with only his product knowledge and communication skills as his ammunition; do not expect him to produce quality agents after. If he does not know basic things like different learner types, learning domains etc. he will be very deficient in knowledge transfer. More than likely, the class will be trainer centered instead of learner centered. Then the classic blaming game between Operations and Training takes place.

Call Centers should not take their trainers for granted…they need training too you know. Trainers, take the initiative also. Learn things on your own, take online courses for trainer development or attend public trainings. If you don’t have a defined career path right now, and the last time you had a training was when you first got hired, your credentials are on red flag! Don’t wait for things to happen, you have to make things happen NOW!

A Call Center Employee’s Survival Kit- Career Management

Twenty years ago, the booming side of town in Cebu was the Mactan Export Processing Zone which houses  different multinational companies. Familiar and established names like Timex, Fairchild Semiconductor, Pentax to name a few hired as many graduates from different fields but mostly in the  area of Engineering.

The employment climate has changed quite a lot with the arrival of the Business Process Outsourcing industry in Cebu, specifically the call centers. Most call centers do not require a college degree, two years of tertiary education is sufficient to get one hired as long as one has the communication and computer competencies to pass the usual application process.

All is well with the world, as most call center employees feel. Despite the graveyard shift, they are paid way above minimum wage, collect a higher night differential than most industries, enjoy extra perks and allowances for transportation; gets to drink unlimited coffee, iced tea and mineral water in the pantry and the list goes on and on…

Check this actual scenario – I know of a former call center agent who did not know how to manage his new found wealth. After all, who would pay him P15,000 a month as a starting salary without a degree to his name? So he excitedly joined the sunrise industry workforce working on graveyard shift, slowly eliminated a regular excercise regimen and started puffing cigarettes in his building lobby during breaks.

Less than two years into this kind of work lifestyle, his physician not only advised him to quit smoking but to quit his job or his life would quit on him. He had no choice at this point but to look for a job elswhere.

Not only was he not very competitive in other markets (no college degree), he expected to get a similar salary range when he was an agent!

Based on this story, my friend and countless of other former call center employees failed to work on a fundamental strategy- career management. One can no longer rely on the “career path” your current company offers; one has to take the initiative to prepare his academic and work credentials to stay competitive.

Here is a basic checklist to stay competitive:

1. Have I completed an undergraduate degree?

2. Did I undergo further education in relation to my field? Trainings, graduate school

3. If Supervisor or manager – did I undergo a formal supervisory or management training

4. Do I have an excellent work record? – no incident of FRAUD, No Call No Show etc.

Always have a plan B, C etc in  your career. Anything can happen in a split second; you go to work and they announce the campaign pulled out, then you get your last pay.  This is a harsh reality in the industry.

That is the reason why One Core Business Innovations provide proper career management advise to its clients. People come and go during our corporate and call center trainings but OCBI still makes it a point to share valuable career management guidance to every trainee. This becomes a value added benefit to its clients from multiple industries especially from the call centers.

One still needs to be a scout at heart…BE PREPARED, make your survival kit always handy!

Corporate Trainings in Cebu

One of the most requested trainings One Core Business Innovations get from their corporate clients is their Conversational English for Professionals. It has received positive feedback from previous participants since the workshop has a very practical approach filled with activities and trainee interactions.

This and all other workshops distinguishes One Core Business Innovations from other training organizations. They strive to design learning sessions which are sensible to the learners and that which they can immediately apply upon returning to their workplace.

When creating corporate trainings, One Core Business Innovations partners with the organization in its truest sense. Ongoing communications take place between OCBI and the client to make sure that specific skill issues and challenges are directly addressed; and the training design is modified as appropriate. This is what makes it more effective to the organization.

Selected trainings are also publicly conducted by One Core Business Innovations to cater to small and medium size companies who cannot provide in-house trainings for various reasons. A few examples of a public training rolled out two months ago which was also well attended were the Effective Business Writing Workshop and the Customer Service Essentials.

The participants who attended were happy to have undergone these types of trainings that are otherwise unavailable within their organizations.

More in-house and public trainings are lined up by One Core Business Innovations not only for the business community in Cebu but in the other neighboring cities as well.

Check the OCBI website for training schedules.  See you in class!

English Proficiency Training for Tech Support in Cebu

One Core Business Innovations recently facilitated a 3-day English Proficiency Workshop for Tech Support staff;  participants from different multi-national companies attended the workshop.

First of all, I have to admit that it is fun and quite refreshing to interact with “techies”, it is a given that they are smart and you also learn so many new things from them. As the facilitator, not only did I find myself teaching them techniques to improve their language skills they also enlightened me on many facets of their jobs that are often unappreciated.

The OCBI workshop had back to back activities which required each participant to talk while immediate feedback was given after each session. One of the most important highlights of the training was teaching the participants how to adjust their communication skills according to their listeners; it was noticed that they have a general tendency to use jargon regardless of their customer or listener. That was a good realization for the group.

More English Proficiency Trainings specific to Tech Support staff will be carried out by One Core Business Innovations in the next few months.