Global Staffer

I received a message from Global Staffer on my Facebook fan page in 2014 and it’s only now that I had the chance to look at their work on YouTube and it’s very interesting. Here’s the copy of the letter and some of their videos:

Hi Elmer,

I noticed that you have been writing interesting articles about trends in the Filipino workforce.
We are currently working on an initiative that captures a very interesting trend in the industry. Are you interested in talking to me about an exclusive article on this topic?

We have been noticing a trend that many multinationals are no longer only moving into the Philippines to outsource their mundane tasks. Many of them have realized that Filipino workers are smart and they have much more to gain from having their Philippines operations do the heavy lifting for tasks that require a lot of brain power (not only tasks that don’t require a lot of thinking).

One example of such a company is our company, Global Staffer. Our parent company in Los Angeles thought that they will come to the Philippines to outsource some basic tasks such as setting up appointments. They soon discovered that there is an enormous talent pool with smart and capable people here. They therefore chose to move over their higher skilled positions that require a lot of thinking to Manila. We are about to launch a mini video series that articulates to Filipino workers that they don’t have to be stuck in a BPO job where they don’t have the opportunity to develop higher level skills. The video series illuminates that opportunities exist for many Filipino workers to work at a company where their job is fun and challenging.

The first draft of the video can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX2f4QCPGbY
We’re intending to fully launch this video in a few weeks from now. Are you interested in speaking with some of our staff or founder on this topic?

Thanks,

Tom GS

Watch more of their videos on YouTube.

Technorati Tags: Global Staffer,Work Force

My 4th Year as a Callboy

Callboys are synonymous with Call Center Agents here in the Philippines. I’m a certified callboy, more technically known as a Technical Support Representative.

I started as a callboy in February 2007 at Alorica Philippines in Wynsum Corporate Plaza, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. I last 8 months there. I worked for a US computer brand (the most expensive Windows-based computer brand I believe) and I became a subject matter expert on the latter part of my stay there. My apologies if I’m unable to mention the exact account that we handle. Although I’m no longer connected with the company, I believe I’m still bound by our oath of confidentiality when it comes to mentioning our accounts/brand in blogs.

I’ve learned tons of things about computers (both desktop and laptop) from Alorica. Our ultimate tool in this account is reformat. When all else fails, reformat the computer to the factory settings.

My second call center was with Sykes Asia in Burgundy Corporate Tower, Makati City. I worked for a DSL account, for a US ISP company. My knowledge of computers was supplemented by their expertise with DSL and Internet connection. This is where I learned the “ping” command and the basic troubleshooting step determining if the ip address is valid, followed by pinging the router/modem, pinging the website and pinging the IP address of the website. When all else failed, dispatch a technician. I last 1 year and 2 months here.

My next call center company was with Convergys (CVG). It was another DSL account, for a US company (of the the 2 biggest US telecommunications companies). Our line-of-business (LOB) here at Convergys is with home networking, particularly wireless connection. This is where I got the knowledge of getting the network name and wireless network key first before establishing a wireless connection. I lasted 5 months and 29 days here. I was terminated a day before regularization due to non passing of Customer Satisfaction (CSAT).

My 4th call center was with Teleperformance (TP). Again, I handled a US Internet Service Provider (ISP) and I believe they are the #1 in the US when it comes to telecommunications. I learned about remote access from this account. I learned how easy it is to resolve a customer’s concern via remote access. I also learned about email clients (MS Outlook and Outlook Express) and their configurations. I lasted 3 months here. Why? I was terminated for rudeness to the security guard. Well, I filed a complaint about this in the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) and I won (sort-of). Tell you more about it soon.

My 5th, and current, call center is based at the Philplans Corporate Center, Bonifacio Global Center, Taguig. There are only two call centers at this building, as far as I know, so feel free to guess. I’ve been here for 1 year and 4 months. I’ve handled 3 accounts already – a British Pay-For-Support account similar to Geek Squad, an antivirus company (the most expensive one I guess), and the same ISP Company I’ve handled at CVG. but this time, we are on the TV-Internet-Phone Line of Business. 

I’ll probably tell you more about the details of my experiences from those companies, including pay and compensation, soon. One thing you’ll notice is that, after being in the call center industry for 4 years, I haven’t mastered one of the most basic knowledge a call center agent should have: a mastery of grammar and composition. LOL.