Free:: 14 Common Call Center Job Interview Questions and Answers

14 Common Call Center Job Interview Questions and Answers
FREE: Tips on how to improve your English Grammar
In this blog post, I will be discussing the most common and hardest to answer call center interview
questions for beginners, first timers, and freshers. I also would be equipping you (our dear readers)
with valuable tips on how to answer these call center interview questions. While call center
interview questions will mostly resemble interview questions found in job interviews in other
industries, the content of your answers will have to be tailor-made for the needs of call center
companies. Job interviewers in call center companies will primarily be on the lookout for skills such
as flexibility, customer service, multitasking, good communication, and critical thinking. This blog
post featuring call center interview questions and answers is presented in a question and answer
format and will help you pass call center interviews. The answers are given in a script format. This
will be followed by a short explanation on each call center interview question and answer.
Call Center Interview Question 1: Tell me something about yourself.
Call Center Interview Answer 1: Well, I can say that I am a person with varied interests. During my
spare time, I like to sketch anything that I see on the street such as a dog passing by or a little girl
buying candy from the neighborhood store. These things fascinate me. I guess I like to observe
people. On Sundays, I do volunteer work at an orphanage. My volunteer work consists of
encouraging wealthy people to donate money to the orphanage. What we do is we go to the
upscale neighborhoods of the city and tell them about the orphanage. When I have the time, I also
like to read novels, and play basketball.
Explanation to Call Center Interview Question and Answer 1:
This call center interview question is probably one of the most neglected and least prepared for by
interviewees. The question seems very simple and direct to the point. Your answer though to this
question will set the course of the interview. From this very simple question, interviewers can likely
guess at whether you are a good candidate or not so please do not take this question for granted.
Most applicants will answer this call center interview question with information already found on
their resumes like their name, address, and school information. Do not make this mistake. When
being asked this question, you are supposed to answer with information not found on your resume.
Why would the interviewer want to know about your name, age, and address when this
information is already on your resume?
A very good answer to the call center interview question would be to talk about your hobbies.
When you do talk about hobbies, remember that by doing this, you are also providing the
interviewer with information about your skills. For example, if you say that you play sports like
basketball or baseball, this tells the interviewer that you are competitive. If you say that you like to
play chess, this means you’re analytical. If you tell the interviewer that you are involved with
various organizations, this spells leadership and people skills. So do not take this call center
interview question for granted. Make sure to answer this question by giving the interviewer an idea
that you are who they are looking for. If you do not have any “good hobbies” (like all you can say is
watch HBO, eating, and sleeping), another approach you can take is talking about your family.
Describe your relationship with your family. Talk about your brother, the pilot, or your mom, the
actress. Say that you are very close to your family, that you guys go to church every Sunday and
watch a movie afterward. If you like to watch TV, amuse your employer by saying something like I’m
addicted to Lost. I watch all Lost episodes on DVD every day. If all you have in your arsenal is
reading, then make it sound better and more interesting by saying that you are a voracious book
reader. Rack your brain. Make sure that when you tell something about yourself, it sounds
interesting and will make you shine.
Call Center Interview Question 2: What is your idea of a call center?
Call Center Interview Answer 2: My idea of a call center is that it is a place where people take calls
from customers and deliver superb customer service experience. I know that the people who work
for call centers are extremely flexible people who adapt to different cultures, different people, and
different schedules all at the same time.
This call center interview question aims to gauge how correct your expectations of a call center job
are. Answer this question by giving out your general expectations of a call center job. Describe the
work (selling if it’s a sales account, instructing callers if it’s a technical support account, etc.) or the
people working in call centers. This call center interview question will only be asked if you don’t
have any call center experience yet.
Call Center Interview Question 3: Why do you want to work in a call center?
Call Center Interview Answer 3: I’d like to work in a call center because I have the skills to match the
ones needed for this job. I graduated as a nursing student and during our on-the-job training, I
learned a lot about communication skills and how to deal with people. As a nursing graduate, I am
skillful in dealing with difficult people and patient in working with irate clients. In my course, we
were taught how to be good listeners which I know, is a very valuable skill in this industry. Another
reason I want to work for a call center is because I know that the benefits and pay in the call center
industry are better compared to those in other industries. I also know from my friends that the
chances of career growth in this industry are high. In the past, I have heard of people getting
promoted overnight.
This is another question that is only directed to applicants without any call center experience.
Please do not answer this call center interview question by saying that you need money to help
your parents. The interviewer wouldn't want to hear that you are in this just for the money. For
Filipinos, please do not answer this call center interview question by saying that you want to
improve your English. By applying for a call center position, you should already be confident with
your communication skills in English. The above response, by the way, is a good example of how
you can relate your college degree to a job in a call center. I purposely chose to give a response that
a nursing graduate could give to this call center interview question because of the many nursing
graduates in the Philippines trying to look for a job in the call center industry.
Call Center Interview Question 4: What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Call Center Interview Answer 4: I am a very patient person capable of dealing with irate and
demanding customers. I can think out of the box, so I have exceptional problem-solving skills. I have
good communications skills, and I can learn how to operate new computer programs very fast. I am
a team player, and I get along with people very well. Those are my strengths. As for my weaknesses,
I guess my biggest weakness is working too much and not knowing when to stop. I would say that
this is a weakness because sometimes, I would render too much over time that it becomes
detrimental to my health.
READ: How to make a Call Center Resume
The call center interview answer 4 is pretty much self-explanatory. With this call center interview
question, you would want to enumerate skills that are needed as a call center agent. These includes
(but are not limited to): flexibility, adaptability, good communication skills, good listening skills,
patience, proficiency in Microsoft Office programs, good typing speed, and excellent multi-tasking
skills. Of course when it comes to your weaknesses, you don’t want to say that you don’t have any
as this will make you look egotistic. So make sure to be prepared to come up with at least one
weakness that isn’t too negative. Examples of weaknesses that aren’t very negative are: being
workaholic and being too friendly. Answer this call center interview question with a lot of
confidence.
READ: What is a Call Center?
Call Center Interview Question 5: What makes you qualified to work in a call center?
Call Center Interview Answer 5: I am qualified to work in a call center because I possess qualities
which makes one a good call center agent. I am very flexible; I don’t have complaints with shift work
or working at nights and with split days off. I am willing to learn, and I am not intimidated with
learning new things. I am very patient, and I know how to deal with stress. I believe that these
qualities make me qualified to work in a call center.
Answer this call center interview question by just reinforcing your answers to the previous call
center interview question presented. You can also answer this question by expounding on your
strengths and good qualities.
Call Center Interview Question 6: Why do you want to work for our company?
Call Center Interview Answer 6: I have heard nothing but good things about this company from
people who have worked here. People say that the accounts here are very stable, the management
is kind to its employees, and everyone is friendly.
In answering this call center interview, simply cite the company’s positive attributes.
Call Center Interview Question 7: What has been your most significant achievement?
Call Center Interview Answer 7: My most significant achievement would have to be graduating from
college. I say this because for four years, I have labored so much to get good grades and recognition
and it all culminated in my achievement of a college diploma.
READ: 6 Advantages and Disadvantages of Working in a Call Center
This call center interview question aims to look at how you see yourself as a person. Most of us
would apply for a job at the age of twenty and at that age, it is presumed that you already have
some achievement even if it is only in your own right such as motherhood, marriage, etc. Rack your
brain. You’ll think of something.
Call Center Interview Question 8: Give me one quality that you have which will not make me hire
you.
Call Center Interview Answer 8: A lot of my friends say that I am a perfectionist. I never consider
something done as long as I don’t find it perfect. In my previous job, I sometimes would go on over
time just to make sure that I complete all my tasks; and they are done to perfection. I show up for
work every day, and I am never late. I remember that when I was still in school, I never missed an
assignment or a project. I also remember that whenever we were tasked to come up with a play, I
would always be the one who would be insisting that we practice three times a week, and all my
classmates would complain and get mad at me saying that they only want to practice once a week.
Being a perfectionist can be bad especially when the people around you are lazy but I believe that in
certain situations, it can be a valuable trait.
READ: How to Handle your very First Call in the Call Center

This call center interview question is tricky and will stump a lot of people. In effect, this question is
asking you for your weakness. Do not say that you don’t have any qualities that are negative. If you
do this, you will look proud and conceited to the interviewer. The best approach to answering this
call center interview question is to present a trait of yours which is not that negative. Examples of
traits that are bordering positive and negative are being a perfectionist, overly friendly, too loyal,
and workaholic. Of course, reinforce your answer by explaining this trait of yours to the interviewer.
Make sure as well that you know how to turn your negative attitude into a positive one (just like the
interviewee did in the response provided above). Remember to answer this question with a lot of
conviction and confidence.
READ: 5 Call Center Interview Questions And Answers For Fresh graduates in the Philippines
Want to improve your English grammar? I highly recommend using Grammarly, a virtual grammar

tutor. Click here to sign up for free.
Call Center Interview Question 9: How do you see yourself five years from now?
Call Center Interview Answer 9: I see myself working for this same company but with a higher
position.
In this question, the interviewer wants to know if your goals in life are in line with the company’s
objectives. It is good to be honest with the interviewer on this question so that expectations will be
properly set.
Call Center Interview Question 10: What are your goals in life?
Call Center Interview Answer 10: My short term goal is to have a stable job with this company.
After working for a couple of years with this company, I would like to see myself take on more
responsibilities like maybe become a supervisor or a trainer. Meanwhile, my long term goal is to
have an upper management level position with this company.
This call center interview question is almost the same as the previous one presented.
Call Center Interview Question 11: What do you know about this company?
Call Center Interview Answer 11: I know that this company is one of the leading companies in the
call center industry. You have several sites in the world, one in Atlanta, and four in Dallas. You have
several accounts; most of them are medical and financial accounts. I also happen to know that most
of the accounts in this call center company are very stable because this is what my friends who
work here tell me.
READ: Do you need an accent when working in a call center?
This call center interview question is simply for the interviewer to know if you know anything about
the company. It isn't necessary to know when the company was established or how much they
made in the last quarter. You can answer this call center interview question by just giving out
general and insignificant information about the company. Of course if you know tidbits like the
name of the company president or a recent merger between the company and another call center,
then by all means, do impress the interviewer with this information. So as not to be caught empty
handed, it is advisable to do some research about the company before the interview. Obviously,
please avoid telling anything negative about the company.
Call Center Interview Question 12: What is your idea of quality customer service?
Call Center Interview Answer 12: My idea of quality customer service is going out of your way or
going the extra mile to provide customer service or to help customers. It is not simply providing
assistance according to what you are expected of.
READ: Pros and Cons of Working in a Call Center
This call center interview question is simply for the interviewer to know how you view good
customer service. The idea when answering this question is to say that good customer service is
going out of your way to help the customer.
Call Center Interview Question 13: What is your expected salary?
Call Center Interview Answer 13: Whatever amount you give to people with my qualifications would
be fine.
As much as possible, do not answer this question with a figure. The best way to answer this call
center interview question is by saying that you are okay with whatever the company decides to give
you. If the interviewer asks you to give a figure, then that is the only time that you should give a
figure. Of course, make sure that you can defend your answer. Do not give a figure that is very
small. The interviewer might think that you don’t value yourself, and you have a low self-esteem. A
good practice is to come up with a figure that is a few thousands higher than the industry average
or what you were given previously by your old company. When the interviewer asks why, then you
can simply say that this is the average salary in the industry or that you want to have a job that pays
more than your previous one.
Of course, if you are in the position to dictate the salary you want the company to give you
(meaning you have a lengthy experience in the call center industry already) then by all means, give
them a figure right away when answering this question.
Call Center Interview Question 14: Why should we hire you?
Call Center Interview Answer 14: I have all the qualities that a good call center agent should
possess. I am punctual, disciplined, patient, and flexible, and organized. You won’t have any
problems with me when it comes to attendance and my behavior. I have good communication skills,
multi-tasking skills, and I am a fast learner. I can guarantee you that I will be able to deliver what is
being asked of me, and I will give my one hundred percent to this company. I know that I have what
it takes to become a good customer service representative.
READ: 10 Last Minute Reminders for your Call Center Job Interview
This call center interview question isn't intimidating as it sounds. To answer this question, simply
reinforce your position by enumerating your strengths and how these strengths can relate to being
a good call center agent. Answer this call center interview question with a lot of confidence and
conviction.
These call center interview questions and answers are not by all means perfect. They have been
provided to you as a sort of guide.

Please do not just memorize whatever was written in this post and use it in your interviews. Do not
be tempted to lie to the interviewer. Remember that interviewers will always try to catch you lying.
The call center industry is one of the fastest growing in the Philippines these days. In the past few
years, call center companies mushroomed all over Makati, Ortigas, and Cebu. As recently as ten
years ago, there were only a few call center agents, and the word call center was hardly ever used
in the country. Today, almost every family in the Philippines has at least one member working in a
call center company. The reason for this boom is partly economics. In the Philippines, low paying
jobs are very notorious, and while call centers set up shop here because of the low labor costs,
Filipinos decide to work for the call center industry because it pays higher than average wages.
Consider this: if you are an average worker in the Philippines with an entry level position, you are
probably getting paid seven to ten thousand a month; meanwhile, an average employee in a call
center company with an entry level position will get around fifteen thousand pesos a month, plus
free dental and health benefits (HMO). Call center companies also will pay your SSS (Social
Security), PAGIBIG (home building fund), and PhilHealth (health insurance) from day one on the job.
It is no wonder then that almost every day, you see hundreds of applicants in the top call center
companies in the country. If you are reading this post, then you are undoubtedly one of the many
Filipinos aspiring to work in a call center company. Even though the demand for call center agents
outpaces the availability of qualified workers, having the qualifications to become a call center
agent alone does not guarantee you a job in call center companies.
Furnishing a resume is easy, and then the hardest part begins: the job interview. Some people who
are very much qualified to work in call center companies seem to question at times why they aren't
able to pass call center interviews. The answer is simple. They are most probably not giving very
good answers to the interview questions directed at them.
Most people say that it is not what you say, but how you say it. While it is true that how you deliver
your answers to the interview questions hurled at you matters a lot, the content of your response
would also be significant. So please do not dare to think that you can pass a call center interview
with just confidence as your weapon.
One valuable tip that I can impart to you is to make a script. Yes, make your own script for the call
center interview questions listed above. After making your own script, try to make an outline for
each answer. Let’s take the call center interview answer 1 as an example. For this particular answer,
your outline can be: varied interests, sketch, and volunteer. Memorize these keywords (not the
script) so that you will be able to deliver your answer smoothly. This will minimize the need for
fillers like uhms and ahhs. Remember that fillers can make you look like you don’t have a chain of
thought and can make you feel less confident. Try to sprinkle your response with some fillers,
though, If you don’t have any fillers, you will look like you have just memorized all your answers.
You do not want this to happen. This is why I recommend memorizing just an outline or the
keywords of your response and not the entire thing. Not memorizing your entire responses will
make sure that you will still have some fillers and pauses while formulating (or trying to remember)
your answers. It won’t be a big obstacle, though, as you already have a ready outline of keywords in
your head. Do not sound like a robot, just have a ready and organized response in your head.
Please remember as well to come up with answers to possible follow-up interview questions the
interviewer may have. If the interviewer asks you what your hobbies are, and you say reading,
please expect the interviewer to ask as well questions like what is your favorite book or who is your
favorite author and why.
When the interviewer asks an interview question that you haven’t prepared for, remain calm. Take
a second or two to think of your answer. Two-second pauses are definitely accepted. Pauses which
are longer than two seconds though might give an impression that you can’t express yourself well in
English
It is also a good idea to conduct job interview simulations or role plays. This will help you practice
and gain confidence. Practice with your parents or with your friends. Make sure to act serious about
it, though (as if it were the real thing).
Always remember that the interviewer is on your side. The interviewer is not a wicked witch sent
out to make you squirm. The interviewer wants you to pass. No matter how inquisitive the
interviewer is, know that behind that wall of indifference is an office employee who has to meet a
quota on hired applicants.
Regarding out of the box call center interview questions in call center companies, you really have to
use your imagination. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers when it comes to these
interview questions.
A common out of the box call center interview question is how to describe colors to blind people.
You may answer that you will ask the blind person to imagine something that represents that color
(for example war for the color red or peace for the color white).
Another example of an out of the box call center interview question is how to sell boats in a desert
or ice to an Eskimo. So how does one sell ice to an Eskimo? Try making ice candy. And how does one
sell boats in a desert? Maybe, you can say that it's a boat that runs both on water and sand. As you
can see, it's pretty much a battle of wits, and again, there really are no right or wrong answers when
it comes to out of the box call center interview questions.
In call center companies, it is very important to possess a chain of thought and confidence. Why do
you need confidence? Simple. You will be speaking with Americans. Remember that America is an
industrialized and fast paced country. This means that most Americans are living with a lot of stress.
When they talk to you, they will be impatient. So when you deliver them bad news, you will have to
be firm and confident.
In your call center interview, this is one of the many things that the interviewer will look for. Will
you be able to carry out this job? When the customer on the phone will shout at you, will you cower
in defeat or will you stand your ground? When under pressure, will you lose your control or will you
manage to uphold decorum gracefully?
Finally, just a few last minute reminders before you go on to that job interview. Please maintain eye
contact no matter what. Maintaining eye contact will tell the interviewer that you are a confident
person. When thinking about your answer, you can momentarily glance sideways, up or down, but
make sure to make eye contact with the interviewer again when you begin speaking. Averting the
eyes of the interviewer will give that person an impression that you are lying or that you are
uncomfortable. Assume a good posture the moment you see the interviewer. This will make you
look confident and sure of yourself. Make sure that you sit up straight. No slouching. The next thing
that you need to remember is to smile. Give your interviewer a warm and confident smile. You
don’t know the wonders a smile could work on a job interview. Why is smiling important? Aside
from the fact that it will make you look charming and confident; it will disarm your interviewer. In a
job interview, you will want the interviewer to feel at ease and relaxed. Smiling will also calm your
nerves down and will make yourself feel comfortable. Be sure to talk slowly and clearly. Enunciate.
Do not mumble.
For Filipinos, watch how you pronounce the following: b, v, f, p, and th and please pronounce the
letter h as ‘eych’ and not ‘ech’.
READ: Do you need an accent when working in a call center?
Minimize hand gestures. Excessive hand gestures could make the interviewer feel uncomfortable
especially if you look like you’re debating. Excessive hand gestures will also make you look like you
are having a hard time expressing yourself. The same goes for mannerisms like cracking knuckles.
Keep these in check during the job interview. Now when you meet the interviewer for the first time,
and that person introduces him or herself, don’t forget to shake that person’s hand. This friendly
gesture works just like wearing a smile. It will disarm your interviewer and will make you look at
ease and confident with yourself.

For Filipinos, my last and most important reminder for you is to speak absolutely zero Tagalog. Do
not let a single Tagalog word slip out of your mouth. You are most likely to utter Tagalog words or
fillers whenever you are having a problem expressing your thoughts. Normally, job applicants in call
center companies would utter words like ano and parang when thinking about how to articulate
their thoughts into words. When this happens, and the interviewer heard it, you are a goner.
Nevertheless, when this happens, carry on as if nothing happened. The interviewer might just let it
go. If you wish to improve your English grammar, I highly recommend using Grammarly, a virtual
grammar tutor. Click here to sign up for free. Oh and by the way, please do not overdress. Dress
casually.
Now I know that you’re nervous, and you are probably losing hope already. But pray to God and
remember that there are numerous call center companies in the Philippines or wherever you may
be. If you don’t get into the first five call center companies in Makati or Ortigas that you applied for,
know that there are hundreds more out there. So relax, have fun, laugh. It is the company that
needs you and not the other way around.
Looking for other call center related articles? Visit the Call Center section now! If you have any
questions at all about this article, please feel free to contact me and please don't forget to follow
me on Facebook!
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Call centre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the contact centres in family law, see children's centre.

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A 1970 police call centre inBrierley Hill, England
A call centre or call center is a centralised office used for receiving or transmitting a large volume
of requests by telephone.
An inbound call centre is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or

information enquiries from consumers.
Outbound call centres are operated for telemarketing, solicitation of charitable or political donations,
debt collection and market research.
A contact centre is a location for centralised handling of individual communications,

including letters, faxes, live support software, social media, instant message, and e-mail.[1]
A call centre has an open workspace for call centre agents, with work stations that include a
computer for each agent, a telephoneset/headset connected to a telecom switch, and one or more
supervisor stations. It can be independently operated or networked with additional centres, often
linked to a corporate computer network, including mainframes, microcomputers and LANs.
Increasingly, the voice and data pathways into the centre are linked through a set of new
technologies called computer telephony integration.
The contact centre is a central point from which all customer contacts are managed. Through
contact centres, valuable information about company are routed to appropriate people, contacts to
be tracked and data to be gathered. It is generally a part of company’s customer relationship
management.
A contact centre can be defined as a coordinated system of people, processes, technologies and
strategies that provides access to information, resources, and expertise, through appropriate
channels of communication, enabling interactions that create value for the customer and
organisation.[2] Contact centres, along with call centres andcommunication centres all fall under a
larger umbrella labelled as the contact centre management industry. This is becoming a rapidly
growing recruitment sector in itself, as the capabilities of contact centres expand and thus require
ever more complex systems and highly skilled operational and management staff. [3]
The majority of large companies use contact centres as a means of managing their customer
interaction. These centres can be operated by either an in house department responsible or
outsourcing customer interaction to a third party agency (known as Outsourcing Call Centres).
Contents
 1History
 2Technology
o 2.1Premises-based technology
o 2.2Virtual call centre
o 2.3Cloud computing
 3Description
o 3.1Services
o 3.2Dynamics
o 3.3Outsourcing
o 3.4Call centres in healthcare
 4Evaluation
o 4.1Mathematical theory
o 4.2Metrics
 5Criticism and performance
 6Unionisation
 7Media portrayals
 8See also
 9References
 10Further reading
 11External links
History[edit]
This section needs expansion.You
can help by adding to it. (November
2014)
The earliest call centres were created during the 1960s, and were known as "Private Automated
Business Exchanges" (PABX). The earliest example of a call centre was in the UK is at the
Birmingham Press and Mail.[4]They had a GEC PABX 4 ACD, installed in 1965.
The coining of the term "call centre" is more recent, with the first published use of the term in 1983. [5]
Technology[edit]
Workstation
A typical call centre telephone. Note: no handset, phone is for headset use only
Call-centre technology circa 2005
Call centre technologies include speech recognition software to allow computers to handle first level
of customer support, text mining andnatural language processing to allow better customer handling,
agent training by automatic mining of best practices from past interactions,support automation and
many other technologies to improve agent productivity and customer satisfaction. Automatic lead
selection or lead steering is also intended to improve efficiencies, [6]both for inbound and outbound
campaigns. This allows inbound calls to be directly routed to the appropriate agent for the task,
whilst minimising wait times and long lists of irrelevant options for people calling in. For outbound
calls, lead selection allows management to designate what type of leads go to which agent based on
factors including skill, socioeconomic factors and past performance and percentage likelihood of
closing a sale per lead.
The universal queue standardises the processing of communications across multiple technologies
such as fax, phone, and email. The virtual queue provides callers with an alternative to waiting on
hold when no agents are available to handle inbound call demand.
Premises-based technology[edit]
Historically, call centres have been built on Private branch exchange (PBX) equipment that is
owned, hosted, and maintained by the call centre operator themselves. The PBX can provide
functions such as automatic call distribution, interactive voice response, and skills-based routing.
Virtual call centre[edit]
See also: Software as a service and Telecommuting
In virtual call centre model, the call centre operator pays a monthly or annual fee to a vendor that
hosts the call centre telephony equipment in their own data centre. In this model, the operator does
not own, operate or host the equipment that the call centre runs on. Agents connect to the vendor's
equipment through traditional PSTNtelephone lines, or over voice over IP. Calls to and from
prospects or contacts originate from or terminate at the vendor's data centre, rather than at the call
centre operator's premises. The vendor's telephony equipment then connects the calls to the call
centre operator's agents.[7]
Virtual call centre technology allows people to work from home, instead of in a traditional,
centralised, call centre location, which increasingly allows people with physical or other disabilities
that prevent them from leaving the house, to work. The only required equipment is Internet access
and a workstation.[8] The companies are preferring Virtual Call Centre services due to cost
advantage. Companies can start their call centre business immediately without installing the basic
infrastructure like Dialer, ACD and IVRS.[9]
Cloud computing[edit]
Main article: Cloud computing
This section may be too technical for most readers to understand. Please

help improve this section to make it understandable to non-experts, without
removing the technical details. The talk page may contain suggestions.(November
2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Cloud computing for call centres extends cloud computing to software as a service, or hosted, on-
demand call centres by providing application programming interfaces (APIs) on the call centre cloud
computing platform that allow call centre functionality to be integrated with cloud-based customer
relationship management, leads management, and other applications. Computer telephony
integration APIs provide developers with access to basic telephony controls and sophisticated call
handling on the call centre platform from a separate application. Configuration APIs provide
programmatic control of administrative functions of the call centre platform which are typically
accessed by a human administrator through a graphical user interface.
Description[edit]
Services[edit]
A very large call centre in Lakeland, Florida (2006)
Contact centres run support or help desks, which regularly answers technical questions from
customers and assists them using their equipment or software. Support desks are used by
companies in the computing, telecommunications and consumer electronics industries.
Customer service contact centres answer specific queries relating to customer issues, in the banking
and utility sectors these are frequently used to answer customer questions relating to their account
or payments, this type of service may even be used to respond to customer complaints and
undertake retention strategies for unsatisfied customers.
Contact centres also carry out sales and marketing activities; these can be performed through cold
calling strategies and increasingly through live chat applications on company websites.
Dynamics[edit]
Call centre worker confined to a small workstation/booth, usingCallWeb Internet-based survey software
A contact centre supports interaction with customers over a variety of media, including telephony, e-
mail, social media, and internet chat. A telephone answering service is a more personalised version
of the call centre, where agents get to know more about their customers and their callers; and
therefore look after calls just as if based in their customers' office. [10]
Calls may be inbound or outbound. Inbound calls are made by consumers, for example to obtain
information, report a malfunction, or ask for help. In contrast, outbound calls are made by agents to
consumers, usually for sales purposes (telemarketing). A "blended" centre combines both inbound
and outbound campaigns where each type of agent (inbound or outbound) can handle the overflow
of the other.[11]
Call centre staff are often organised into a multi-tier support system for more efficient handling of
calls. The first tier consists of operators, who initially answer calls and provide general information. If
a caller requires more assistance, the call is forwarded to the second tier (in the appropriate
department depending on the nature of the call). In some cases, there are three or more tiers of
support staff. Typically the third tier of support is formed of product engineers/developers or highly
skilled technical support staff for the product.
Outsourcing[edit]
See also: Outsourcing
In contrast to in house management, outsourced bureau contact centres are a model of contact
centre that provide services on a "pay per use" model. The overheads of the contact centre are
shared by many clients, thereby supporting a very cost effective model, especially for low volumes of
calls. Outsourced centres have grown in popularity. There is criticism of the outsourcing model. [citation
needed]
Companies that regularly utilise outsourced contact centre services include British Sky
Broadcasting andOrange[12] in the telecommunications industry, Adidas in the sports and leisure
sector,[13] Audi in car manufacturing[14] and charities such as the RSPCA.
Outsourced call centres are often located in the developing countries, where wages are significantly
lower. The call centre industry in the Philippines and call centre industry in the Bangladesh serve as
good examples.
Call centres in healthcare[edit]
The healthcare industry has used outbound call centre programmes for years to help manage billing,
collections, and patient communication.[15] The inbound call centre is a new and increasingly popular
service for many types of healthcare facilities, including large hospitals. Inbound call centres can be
outsourced or managed in-house.MountainStar Healthcare is one of the first companies to build an
inbound call centre in-house.[16] American Health Connection is an American healthcare call centre
corporation with a focus on inbound call centres that use outsourcing. [17]
These healthcare call centres are designed to help streamline communications, enhance patient
retention and satisfaction, reduce expenses and improve operational efficiencies.
Evaluation[edit]
Mathematical theory[edit]
See also: Erlang distribution
Queueing theory is a branch of mathematics in which models of service systems have been
developed. A call centre can be seen as a queueing network and results from queueing theory such
as the probability an arriving customer needs to wait before starting service useful for provisioning
capacity.[18] (Erlang's C formula is such a result for an M/M/c queue and approximations exist for
an M/G/k queue.) Statistical analysis of call centre data has suggested arrivals are governed by
an inhomogeneous Poisson process and jobs have a log-normal service time distribution.
[19]
Simulation algorithms are increasing being used to model call riival, queueing and service levels. [20]
Call centre operations have been supported by mathematical models beyond queueing,
with operations research, which considers a wide range of optimisation problems seeking to reduce
waiting times while keeping server utilisation and therefore efficiency high. [21]
Metrics[edit]
Some vital call centre performance metrics[22][unreliable source] are listed below:
 Customer Satisfaction: a measure of how products and services supplied by a company

meet or surpass customer expectation. C-SAT is based on customer’s experience with the
support or service. The scoring for this answer is most often based on a 0 to 10 scale.
 Average Handling time: a key measure for any contact centre planning system, as it tells you
how long a new item of work takes to be handled and not just the talk time.
 Revenue Per Call: usually used in sales projects which calculates the effort of a
representative with respect to increasing sales. RPC can be calculated by dividing the total
amount of sale by total number of calls.
 First Call Resolution: properly addressing the customer’s need the first time they call, thereby
eliminating the need for the customer to follow up with a second call.
 Total Problem Resolution: percentage of time the problem has been completely resolved
from the customer point of view. This KPI is mostly used for: Operational Excellence. This keeps
troubleshooting time to a minimum, which, according to industry averages, currently accounts for
as much as 80 percent of total problem resolution time, and gets the problem fixed.
 Net Promoter Score: measures the loyalty that exists between a provider and a consumer.
NPS is based on a direct question: How likely is it that you would recommend our
company/product/service to a friend or colleague? The scoring for this answer is most often
based on a 0 to 10 scale.
 Quality Scores: by far the most common metric used. It provides the ability to look at the
overall caller experience and the conversations that agents are using on their phone calls.
 Service Level Agreement: an agreement between two or more parties where one is the
customer and the others are service providers. The contract may involve financial penalties and
the right to terminate the contract if the SLA metrics are consistently missed.
 Active & Waiting Calls: measures current volume of active calls compared to the number of
callers waiting to be patched through to an agent. This is a real-time status metric that should be
shared with all the agents to offer them insight on their performance. Agents should be
encouraged to resolve calls on a timely basis in order to get to the next caller in queue and not
keep the callers on wait.
 Call Abandonment: measures the number of calls that are disconnected before they can be
connected to one of your agents. This metric is closely related to Service Level and Customer
Satisfaction. Customers are not expected to be patient. They will hang up and possibly switch
their brand loyalties.
 Forecast Accuracy: better described as forecasted contact load vs actual contact load. It is a
performance metric that reflects the percent variance between the number of inbound customer
contacts forecasted for a particular time period and the number of said contacts actually
received by the centre during that time period.
 Staff Turnover/Retention: The best way to measure the satisfaction of your workforce is to
look at the percentage of staff that leaves. There can be some telling information in these
numbers and it is crucial to track and analyse the turnover rates in many ways.
 Up-Sell/ Cross-Sell Rate: simply the success rate of generating revenue above the original
intention of the call. It is becoming an increasingly common practice, not just for pure revenue-
generating call centres but for customer service centres as well.
 Staff Shrinkage: the percentage of time that employees are not available to handle calls. It is
classified as non-productive time, and is made up of meeting and training time, breaks, paid time
off, off-phone work, and general unexplained time where agents are not available to handle
customer interactions.
 Blockage:a measure of accessibility that indicates what percentage of customers will not be
able to get in touch with the contact centre at a given time due to insufficient network facilities.
 Cost Per Call: A major factor determining revenue is the cost of running the organisation. A
common measure of operational efficiency is cost incurred for each minute of handling the call
workload, commonly referred to as Cost per Call. This cost per call can be simply a labour cost
per call, or it can be a fully loaded rate that includes payroll in addition to telecommunications,
facilities, and other services costs.
Criticism and performance[edit]

This article's Criticism or Controversy section may compromise the article'sneutral
point of view of the subject. Please integrate the section's contentsinto the article
as a whole, or rewrite the material. (November 2010)
Some critics of call centres argue that the work atmosphere in such an environment is
dehumanising.[23] Others point to the low rates of pay and restrictive working practices of some
employers.[24][25] There has been much controversy over such things as restricting the amount of time
that an employee can spend in the toilet.[26] Call centres have also been the subject of complaints by
callers who find the staff often do not have enough skill or authority to resolve problems, [27] while the
staff sometimes appear apathetic.[28] Other research illustrates how call centre workers develop ways
to counter or resist this environment by integrating local cultural sensibilities or embracing a vision of
a new life.[29]
Telephone calls are easily monitored, and the close monitoring of call centre staff is widespread.
[30]
This has the benefit[31] of helping the company to plan the workload and time of its employees.
However, it has also been argued that such close monitoring breaches the human right to privacy.
[32]
Most call centres provide electronic reports that outline performance metrics, quarterly highlights
and other information about the calls made and received.
Criticisms of call centres generally follow a number of common themes, from both callers and call
centre staff. From callers, common criticisms include: [33]
 Operators working from a script

 Ignoring or delaying the calls from the more difficult customers (call screening)
 Incompetent or untrained operators incapable of processing customers' requests effectively [34]
 Obsequious behaviour by operators (e.g., relentless use of "sir", "ma'am" and "I'd be more
than happy to assist you")
 Overseas location, with language and accent problems
 Touch tone menu systems and automated queuing systems
 Excessive waiting times to be connected to an operator
 Complaints that departments of companies do not engage in communication with one
another
 Deceit over location of call centre
 Requiring the caller to repeat the same information multiple times
Common criticisms from staff include:[citation needed]
 Close scrutiny by management (e.g. frequent random call monitoring)

 Low compensation (pay and bonuses)
 Long hours
 Restrictive working practices (some operators are required to follow a pre-written script)
 High stress: a common problem associated with front-end jobs where employees deal
directly with customers
 Repetitive job task
 Poor working conditions (e.g. poor facilities, poor maintenance and cleaning, cramped
working conditions, management interference, lack of privacy and noisy)
 Lack of support for employees with impaired vision and hearing problems
 Rude and abusive customers
 Lack of advancement opportunities (Most call centre positions tend to be dead-end jobs until
the employee decides to leave the company, resulting in high turnover rates within the call
centre)
The net-net of these concerns is that call centres as a business process exhibit levels of variability.
The experience a customer gets and the results a company achieves on a given call are almost
totally dependent on the quality of the agent answering that call. [35] Call centres are beginning to
address this by using agent-assisted automation to standardise the process all agents use.[36] Anton
and Phelps have provided a detailed manual on how to conduct the performance evaluation of the
business,[37] whereas others are using various scientific technologies to do the jobs. [38][39][40] However,
more popular alternatives are using personality and skill based approaches. [41][42] The various
challenges encountered by call operators are discussed by several authors. [43][44][45][46][47]
Unionisation[edit]
Unions in North America have made some effort to gain members from this sector, [48] including
theCommunications Workers of America[49] and the United Steelworkers. In Australia, the National
Union of Workersrepresents unionised workers; their activities form part of the Australian labour
movement.[50] In Europe, Uni Global Union of Switzerland is involved in assisting unionisation in this
realm[51] and in Germany Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft represents call centre workers.
Media portrayals[edit]
Indian call centres have been the focus of several documentary films, the 2004 film Thomas L.
Friedman Reporting: The Other Side of Outsourcing, the 2005 films John and Jane, Nalini by Day,
Nancy by Night, and 1-800-India: Importing a White-Collar Economy, and the 2006 film Bombay
Calling, among others.[52] An Indian call centre is also the subject of the 2006 film Outsourced
(film) and a key location in the 2008 film, Slumdog Millionaire. The 2014 BBC fly on the
wall documentary series The Call Centre gave an often distorted although humorous view of life in a
Welsh call centre.[53]
See also[edit]
 Automatic call distributor
 Business process outsourcing
 Call management
 List of call centre companies
 Predictive dialling
 Operator messaging
 Queue management system
 Skills based routing
 Virtual queue
Global Distribution System
A Global Distribution System (GDS) is a network operated by a company that enables automated

transactions between travel service providers (mainly airlines, hotels and car rental companies)
and travel agencies. Travel agencies traditionally relied on GDS for services, products & rates in
order to provision travel-related services to the end consumers. A GDS can link services, rates and
bookings consolidating products and services across all three travel sectors: i.e., airline reservations,
hotel reservations, car rentals.
GDS is different from a computer reservations system, which is a reservation system used by the
service providers(also known as vendors). Primary customers of GDS are travel agents (both online
and office-based) to make reservation on various reservation systems run by the vendors. GDS
holds no inventory; the inventory is held on the vendor's reservation system itself. A GDS system will
have real-time link to the vendor's database. For example, when a travel agency requests a
reservation on the service of a particular airline company, the GDS system routes the request to the
appropriate airline's computer reservations system. This enables a travel agent with a connection to
a single GDS to choose and book various flights, hotels, activities and associated services on all the
vendors operating in the same route who are part of that GDS network.
Contents
[hide]
 1Example of a booking facilitation done by an airline GDS

 2Systems and vendors
o 2.1List
o 2.2End-user reservation portals run by GDS companies
 3Future of GDS systems and companies
 4References
Example of a booking facilitation done by an airline GDS [edit]

A mirror image of the passenger name record in the airline reservations system is maintained in the
GDS system. If a passenger books an itinerary containing air segments of multiple airlines through a
travel agency, the passenger name record in the GDS system would hold information on his entire
itinerary, each airline he flies on would only have a portion of the itinerary that is relevant to them.
This would contain flight segments on their own services and inbound and onward connecting flights
(known as info segments) of other airlines in the itinerary. e.g. if a passenger books a journey from
Amsterdam to London on KLM, London to New York on British Airways, New York to Frankfurt on
Lufthansa through a travel agent and if the travel agent is connected to Amadeus GDS. The PNR in
the Amadeus GDS would contain the full itinerary, the PNR in KLM would show the Amsterdam to
London segment along with British Airways flight as an onward info segment. Likewise the PNR in
the Lufthansa system would show the New York to Frankfurt segment with the British Airways flight
as an arrival information segment. The PNR in British Airways system would show all three
segments. One as a live segment and the other two as arrival and onward info segments.
Some GDS systems (primarily Amadeus CRS and SABRE) also have a dual use capability for
hosting multiple computer reservations system, in such situations functionally the computer
reservations system and the GDS partition of the system behave as if they were separate systems. [1]
[2][3]
Systems and vendors[edit]

List[edit]
See List of global distribution systems.
End-user reservation portals run by GDS companies[edit]

The table below lists the various portals run by GDS companies. A customer can view their
reservations held in the GDS's own database or using the airline's booking system itself. If a
reservation is made through a GDS, there are usually two reservation references: one is called a
GDS locator code and the other the actual reservation or PNR number.
Portal Name GDS Company URL link Sector
ViewTrip Travelport (Galileo, Apollo and Worldspan) https://viewtrip.travelport.com/ Airline
Check My
Amadeus https://www.checkmytrip.com/ Airline
Trip
Tripcase Sabre http://travel.tripcase.com/ Airline
Pegasus Pegasus Solutions http://www.pegsconnect.com Hotel
Future of GDS systems and companies[edit]

GDS in the travel industry originated from a traditional legacy business model that existed to inter-
operate between airline vendors and travel agents. During the early days of computerised
reservations systems, a flight ticket reservations was not possible without GDS. As time progressed,
many airline vendors (including budget and mainstream operators) have now adopted a strategy of
'direct selling' to their wholesale and retail customers (passengers). They invested heavily in their
own reservations and direct-distribution channels and partner systems. This helps them to minimise
direct dependency on GDS systems for meeting their sales and revenue targets as well as
dynamically responding to market needs. These technology advancements in this space facilitate an
easier way to cross-sell to partner airlines and via travel agents, eliminating the dependency on a
dedicated global GDS federating between systems. Also, multiple price comparison
websites eliminate the need of dedicated GDS for point-in-time prices and inventory for both travel
agents and end-customers. Hence some experts argue that these changes in business models may
lead to complete phasing out of GDS in the Airline space by the year 2020. [4]
Lufthansa Group announced in June 2015 that it was imposing an additional charge of €16 when
booking through an external Global Distribution System rather than their own systems. They stated
their choice was based upon that the costs of using external systems was several times higher than
their own. Several other airlines including Air France–KLM and Emirates also stated that they are
following the development.[5][6]
However, hotels and car rental industry continue to benefit from GDS, especially last-minute
inventory disposal using GDS to bring additional operational revenue. GDS here is useful to facilitate
global reach using existing network and low marginal costs when compared to online air travel
bookings. Some GDS companies are also in the process of investing and establishing significant
offshore capability in a move to reduce costs and improve their profit margins to serve their customer
directly accommodating changing business models.
Computer reservations system
A computer reservations system or central reservation system[1] (CRS) is

a computerized system used to store and retrieve information and conduct transactions related to air
travel, hotels, car rental, or activities. Originally designed and operated by airlines, CRSes were later
extended for the use of travel agencies. Major CRS operations that book and sell tickets for multiple
airlines are known as Global Distribution System (GDS). Airlines have divested most of their direct
holdings to dedicated GDS companies,[2] who make their systems accessible to consumers
through Internet gateways. Modern GDSes typically allow users to book hotel rooms, rental cars,
airline tickets as well as activities and tours. They also provide access to railway reservations and
bus reservations in some markets, although these are not always integrated with the main system.
Airline reservations systems may be integrated into a larger passenger service system, which also
includes an airline inventory system and a departure control system.
History[edit]
Origins[edit]
In 1946, American Airlines installed the first automated booking system, the
experimental electromechanicalReservisor. A newer machine with temporary storage based on
a magnetic drum, the Magnetronic Reservisor, soon followed. This system proved successful, and
was soon being used by several airlines, as well as Sheraton
Hotels and Goodyear for inventory control. It was seriously hampered by the need for local human
operators to do the actual lookups; ticketing agents would have to call a booking office, whose
operators would direct a small team operating the Reservisor and then read the results over the
telephone. There was no way for agents to directly query the system. [citation needed]
Remote access[edit]
In 1953, Trans-Canada Airlines (TCA) started investigating a computer-based system with
remote terminals, testing one design on the University of Toronto's Manchester Mark 1 machine that
summer. Though successful, the researchers found that input and output was a major
problem. Ferranti Canada became involved in the project and suggested a new system
using punched cards and a transistorized computer in place of the unreliable tube-based Mark I. The
resulting system, ReserVec, started operation in 1962, and took over all booking operations in
January 1963. Terminals were placed in all of TCA's ticketing offices, allowing all queries and
bookings to complete in about one second with no remote operators needed.
In 1953, American Airlines CEO C. R. Smith chanced to sit next to R. Blair Smith, a senior IBM sales

representative, on a flight from Los Angeles to New York. C.R. invited Blair to visit their Reservisor
system and look for ways that IBM could improve the system. Blair alerted Thomas Watson Jr. that
American was interested in a major collaboration, and a series of low-level studies started. Their
idea of an automated airline reservation system (ARS) resulted in a 1959 venture known as
the Semi-Automatic Business Research Environment (SABRE), launched the following year.[3] By the
time the network was completed in December 1964, it was the largest civil data processingsystem in
the world.
Other airlines established their own systems. Pan American World Airways launched

its PANAMAC system in 1964. Delta Air Lines launched the Delta Automated Travel Account
System (DATAS) in 1968. United Airlines andTrans World Airlines followed in 1971 with the Apollo
Reservation System and Programmed Airline Reservation System (PARS), respectively. Soon,
travel agents began pushing for a system that could automate their side of the process by accessing
the various ARSes directly to make reservations. Fearful this would place too much power in the
hands of agents, American Airlines executive Robert Crandall proposed creating an industry-wide
computer reservation system to be a central clearing house for U.S. travel; other airlines demurred,
citing fear of antitrust prosecution.
Travel agent access[edit]

In 1976, United began offering its Apollo system to travel agents; while it would not allow the agents
to book tickets on United's competitors, the marketing value of the convenient terminal proved
indispensable. SABRE, PARS, and DATAS were soon released to travel agents as well.
Following airline deregulation in 1978, an efficient CRS proved particularly important; by some
counts, Texas Air executive Frank Lorenzo purchased money-losing Eastern Air Lines specifically to
gain control of its SystemOne CRS.
Also in 1976 Videcom international with British Airways, British Caledonian and CCL

launched Travicom, the world's first multi-access reservations system (wholly based on Videcom
technology), forming a network providing distribution for initially 2 and subsequently 49 subscribing
international airlines (including British Airways, British Caledonian, TWA, Pan American World
Airways, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa, SAS, Air Canada, KLM, Alitalia, Cathay
Pacific and JAL) to thousands of travel agents in the UK. It allowed agents and airlines to
communicate via a common distribution language and network, handling 97% of UK airline business
trade bookings by 1987. The system went on to be replicated by Videcom in other areas of the world
including the Middle East (DMARS), New Zealand, Kuwait (KMARS), Ireland, Caribbean, United
States and Hong Kong. Travicom was a trading name for Travel Automation Services Ltd. When BA
(who by then owned 100% of Travel Automation Services Ltd) chose to participate in the
development of the Galileo system Travicom changed its trading name to Galileo UK and a
migration process was put in place to move agencies from Travicom to Galileo.
European airlines also began to invest in the field in the 1980s initially by deploying their own
reservation systems in their homeland, propelled by growth in demand for travel as well as
technological advances which allowed GDSes to offer ever-increasing services and searching
power. In 1987, a consortium led by Air France and West Germany's Lufthansa
developed Amadeus, modeled on SystemOne. Amadeus Global Travel Distribution was launched in
1992. In 1990, Delta, Northwest Airlines, and Trans World Airlines formed Worldspan, and in 1993,
another consortium (including British Airways, KLM, and United Airlines, among others) formed the
competing company Galileo International based on Apollo. Numerous smaller companies such
as KIU have also formed, aimed at niche markets not catered for by the four largest networks,
including the low-cost carrier segment, and small and medium size domestic and regional airlines
A global distribution system (GDS) is a network operated by a company that enables

automated transactions between third parties and travel agencies in order to provide travel-
related services to the end consumers.
Amadeus is a computer reservations system (or global distribution system, since it sells tickets
for multiple airlines) owned by the AmadeusIT Group with headquarters in Madrid, Spain. The
central database is located at Erding, Germany.
A computer reservations system or central reservation system(CRS) is a computerized

system used to store and retrieve information and conduct transactions related to air travel,
hotels, car rental, or activities. Originally designed and operated by airlines, CRSes were later
extended for the use of travel agencies.
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Business process outsourcing (BPO) is the contracting of a specific business task, such as
payroll, to a third-party service provider. Usually, BPO is implemented as a cost-saving measure
for tasks that a company requires but does not depend upon to maintain their position in the
marketplace.
BPO is typically categorized into back office outsourcing, which includes internal business
functions such as human resources or finance and accounting, and front office outsourcing,
which includes customer-related services such as contact centre services.
Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a subset of outsourcing that involves the contracting of

the operations and responsibilities of a specific business process to a third-party service provider.
Originally, this was associated with manufacturing firms, such as Coca Cola that outsourced large
segments of its supply chain.[1]
BPO is typically categorized into back office outsourcing, which includes internal business
functions such as human resources or finance and accounting, and front office outsourcing, which
includes customer-related services such as contact centre services.[2]
BPO that is contracted outside a company's country is called offshore outsourcing. BPO that is
contracted to a company's neighbouring (or nearby) country is called nearshore outsourcing.
Often the business processes are information technology-based, and are referred to as ITES-BPO,
where ITES stands for Information Technology Enabled Service. [3] Knowledge process
outsourcing (KPO) and legal process outsourcing (LPO) are some of the sub-segments of business
process outsourcing industry.
Benefits and limitations[edit]
ITPL, Bengaluru, India, the hub of information technology companies
The main advantage of any BPO is the way in which it helps increase a company's flexibility.
However, several sources[which?] have different ways in which they perceive organizational flexibility. In
early 2000s BPO was all about cost efficiency, which allowed a certain level of flexibility at the time.
Due to technological advances and changes in the industry (specifically the move to more service-
based rather than product-based contracts), companies who choose to outsource their back-office
increasingly look for time flexibility and direct quality control. [4] Business process outsourcing
enhances the flexibility of an organization in different ways:
Most services provided by BPO vendors are offered on a fee-for-service basis, using business
models such as Remote In-Sourcing or similar software development and outsourcing models. [5]
[6]
This can help a company to become more flexible by transforming fixed into variable costs.[7] A
variable cost structure helps a company responding to changes in required capacity and does not
require a company to invest in assets, thereby making the company more flexible. [8]
Another way in which BPO contributes to a company’s flexibility is that a company is able to focus on
its core competencies, without being burdened by the demands of bureaucratic restraints. [9] Key
employees are herewith released from performing non-core or administrative processes and can
invest more time and energy in building the firm’s core businesses. [10] The key lies in knowing which
of the main value drivers to focus on – customer intimacy, product leadership, or operational
excellence. Focusing more on one of these drivers may help a company create a competitive edge.
[11]
A third way in which BPO increases organizational flexibility is by increasing the speed of business
processes. Supply chain management with the effective use of supply chain partners and business
process outsourcing increases the speed of several business processes, such as the throughput in
the case of a manufacturing company.[12]
Finally, flexibility is seen as a stage in the organizational life cycle: A company can maintain growth
goals while avoiding standard business bottlenecks.[13] BPO therefore allows firms to retain their
entrepreneurial speed and agility, which they would otherwise sacrifice in order to become efficient
as they expanded. It avoids a premature internal transition from its informal entrepreneurial phase to
a more bureaucratic mode of operation.[14]
A company may be able to grow at a faster pace as it will be less constrained by large capital
expenditures for people or equipment that may take years to amortize, may become outdated or turn
out to be a poor match for the company over time.
Although the above-mentioned arguments favour the view that BPO increases the flexibility of
organizations, management needs to be careful with the implementation of it as there are issues,
which work against these advantages. Among problems, which arise in practice are: A failure to
meet service levels, unclear contractual issues, changing requirements and unforeseen charges,
and a dependence on the BPO which reduces flexibility. Consequently, these challenges need to be
considered before a company decides to engage in business process outsourcing. [15]
A further issue is that in many cases there is little that differentiates the BPO providers other than
size. They often provide similar services, have similar geographic footprints, leverage similar
technology stacks, and have similar Quality Improvement approaches. [16]
Threats[edit]
Risk is the major drawback with business process outsourcing. Outsourcing of an information
system, for example, can cause security risks both from a communication and from a privacy
perspective. For example, security of North American or European company data is more difficult to
maintain when accessed or controlled in the Indian sub-continent. [citation needed] From a knowledge
perspective, a changing attitude in employees, underestimation of running costs and the major risk
of losing independence, outsourcing leads to a different relationship between an organization and its
contractor.[17][18]
Risks and threats of outsourcing must therefore be managed, to achieve any benefits. In order to
manage outsourcing in a structured way, maximising positive outcome, minimising risks and
avoiding any threats, a business continuity management (BCM) model is set up. BCM consists of a
set of steps, to successfully identify, manage and control the business processes that are, or can be
outsourced.[19]
Another framework, more focused on the identification process of potential outsourceable
information systems, identified as AHP, is explained.[20] L. Willcocks, M. Lacity and G. Fitzgerald
identify several contracting problems companies face, ranging from unclear contract formatting, to a
lack of understanding of technical IT processes. [21]
Technological pressures[edit]
Industry analysts have identified robotic process automation (RPA) software as a potential threat to
the industry[22][23] and speculate as to the likely long term impact. [24] In the short term, however, there is
likely to be little impact as existing contracts run their course: it is only reasonable to expect demand
for cost efficiency and innovation to result in transformative changes at the point of contract
renewals. With the average length of a BPO contract being 5 years or more [25] - and many contracts
being longer - this hypothesis will take some time to play out.
On the other hand, an academic study[26] by the London School of Economics was at pains to counter
the so-called "myth" that RPA will bring back many jobs from offshore. One possible argument
behind such an assertion is that new technology provides new opportunities for increased quality,
reliability, scalability and cost control, thus enabling BPO providers to increasingly compete on an
outcomes based model rather than competing on cost alone. With the core offering potentially
changing from a "lift and shift" approach based on fixed costs to a more qualitative, service based
and outcomes-based model, there is perhaps a new opportunity to grow the BPO industry with a
new offering.
Industry size[edit]
India has revenues of US$10.9 billion from offshore BPO and $30 billion from IT and total BPO
(expected in FY 2008). India thus has some 5-6% share of the total BPO Industry, but a
commanding 63% share of the offshore component. This 63% is a drop from the 70% offshore share
that India enjoyed last year: despite the industry growing 38% in India last year, other locations
like Philippines, and South Africa have emerged to take a share of the market.[citation needed] By the year
2016, the BPO Industry in the Philippines will employ 1.2 million workers with $25 billion in revenues.
[27]
The South African call centre industry has grown by approximately 8% per year since 2003 and it
directly employs about 54,000 people, contributing 0.92% to South Africa's gross domestic
product(GDP).[28] China is also trying to grow from a very small base in this industry. However, while
the BPO industry is expected to continue to grow in India, its market share of the offshore piece is
expected to decline. Important centres
in India are Bangalore, Gurgaon, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, and New Delhi.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, along with the People's Republic of
China and India—known collectively as ACI countries—are likely to see services like BPO figure
strongly in their economies over the medium term. Services trade among ACI countries has been
growing at a very rapid rate over recent years, despite starting from a relatively low baseline.
Although data are scarce and must be interpreted with caution, an analysis of applied services
sector policies in the region suggests there is much policymakers can do to intensify this process,
and increase the pace at which the transformation to a service economy is taking place. [29]
Eastern Europe is also an emerging BPO destination. McKinsey & Company reported that in 2010,
33,000 jobs were moved to Eastern European countries. [citation needed] While the overall size of the
industry and the number of developers in Eastern Europe is lower than India, the knowledge of
European languages like French, Spanish, German, and Italian by many Eastern Europeans, as well
as the overall high quality of education in these locations, allows the BPO industry in this region to
continue to grow. For example, the region has an estimated 17.2 million people with a tertiary
education, compared to 13.6 million in India, making it an attractive choice for BPO, especially if
more specialised projects are to be outsourced.
See also[edit]
Call center industry in the Philippines

A typical call center production floor in the Philippines
Call centers began in the Philippines as providers of email response and managing services then
broadened to industrial capabilities for almost all types of customer relations, ranging from travel
services, technical support, education, customer care, financial services, online business-to-
customer support, and online business-to-business support. The call center industry is one of the
fastest growing in the country.
The Philippines is also considered a location of choice due to its less expensive operational and
labor costs, and a constant stream of college-educated graduates entering the already mostly young
workforce. The Filipino people also generally show proficiency in American-style English as well as
slang, and a strong familiarity with U.S. and European cultures. [1] Today, the Philippines remains a
top business process outsourcing (BPO) destination for the estimated $150-billion BPO industry.
Types of support[edit]
The calls managed by a number of Philippine call centers can be categorized into one of two types:
outbound calls and inbound calls. Outbound calls include advisories, sales verification, customer
services, surveys, collections and telemarketing. Inbound calls include account inquiries, technical
support, sales and various customer services.
Recruitment and training process[edit]

The recruitment process for new call center agents may include (but is not limited to) the following:
 Phone Screening – this stage determines the voice quality over the phone and how the
applicant responds to the call;
 Initial Interview – conducted by the company human resource department or another
outsource staffing firm to test the speaking skills, attitude and confidence of the applicant in
responding to questions;
 Examination – this includes aptitude tests, computer-based call simulations and emotional
quotient (EQ) tests; and
 Final Interview – to assess customer service, technical, or sales skills.
There are various ways in which one may initiate a career in call centers, the most common of which
is to apply directly to a call center's recruitment office. This process is commonly coined as a "walk-
in" application. Another procedure includes an employee referral, where an applicant is referred by
an existing employee of a call center. A person may also apply through an employment agency,
which will conduct its own screening procedures, before endorsing an applicant to any call center.
An emerging manner to apply for a career in a call center is through online application, as it provides
applicants with an easier way of acquiring more information on the call center or business, an easier
application and resume submission and allows Filipinos in more far or remote areas to apply. [3]
Outsourcing[edit]
The global recession in 2008 resulted in the loss of jobs for many Overseas Filipino
Workers (OFWs). This prompted the Philippine government to assist OFWs transition to call center
agents.[4] The government program, funded by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration
(OWWA), is part of the government's vocational scholarship program of OWWA and reintegration for
OFWs returning to the country.
This low cost industry has come under threat due to steadily-appreciating local currency.
[5]
Philippines is now 30 per cent more expensive than India due to a 30-per cent difference
in peso and Indian rupee exchange rates with the US dollar.
Outsourcing
In business, outsourcing involves the contracting out of a business process (e.g. payroll

processing, claims processing) and operational, and/or non-core functions (e.g.
manufacturing, facility management, call center support) to another party (see also business process
outsourcing). The concept "outsourcing" came from the American Glossary 'outside resourcing' and
it dates back to at least 1981.[1][2] Outsourcing sometimes involves transferring employees and assets
from one firm to another, but not always.[3] Outsourcing is also the practice of handing over control
of public services to for-profit corporations.[4]
Outsourcing includes both foreign and domestic contracting, [5] and sometimes
includes offshoring (relocating a business function to a distant country)[6] or nearshoring (transferring
a business process to a nearby country). Many people confuse outsourcing and offshoring –
however they are different. A company can outsource (work with a service provider) and not offshore
to a distant country. For example, in 2003 Procter and Gamble outsourced their facilities
management support, but it did not involve offshoring. Financial savings from lower international
labor rates can provide a major motivation for outsourcing or offshoring. There can be tremendous
savings from lower international labor rates when offshoring.
Outsourcing is a business practice that generates positive and negative connotations by the
American public. It is one that is beneficial to large corporations and causes strife to the American
people. If some sort of regulations are not placed on this tactic, it could be detrimental to the
American economy. The American government needs to make it beneficial to businesses to remain
in our country thus bringing benefits to companies, the country and its citizens.
The opposite of outsourcing, insourcing, entails bringing processes handled by third-party firms in-
house, and is sometimes accomplished via vertical integration. However, a business can provide a
contract service to another organization without necessarily insourcing that business process.
Call Center Interview Question 1: Tell me something about yourself.
Call Center Interview Answer 1: Well, I can say that I am a person with varied interests. During my
spare time, I like to sketch anything that I see on the street such as a dog passing by or a little girl
buying candy from the neighborhood store. These things fascinate me. I guess I like to observe
people. On Sundays, I do volunteer work at an orphanage. My volunteer work consists of
encouraging wealthy people to donate money to the orphanage. What we do is we go to the
upscale neighborhoods of the city and tell them about the orphanage. When I have the time, I also
like to read novels, and play basketball.
Well, I can say that I am person with varied interests. During my spare time, I attend seminars about
leadership and businesses,
I also like to read books and watch clips about American history and their culture and during my off I
also play basketball, I can say that though Im not that tall I can shoot a long range 3 pointer, just to tell
you a story when I was playing. One time in a tight and crucial situation meaning that the game is tied
and we just need a point or 2 , my team mate will pass the ball to me, as I will look for an open spot in
the point line and most of the time it went in ,by the way that is in relation to my 6 years in customer
service interaction with different jobs and and more than 3 years in call center industry I can say that Im
competitive and Im a team player I like my team mates to be involved to achieve our goals. And in
addition I can multi task plus I can work under pressure in a highly stressed environment.
1. Knowledge Retention
An agent’s mission is to provide the highest quality support to customers. To
accomplish this, they need to be able to learn and memorize a good amount of
information about your company. By the time they get up and running, they should at
least know the ins and outs of your product or service and be on board with your
brand’s philosophy.
Call center agents should know when they can’t resolve the issue and who to transfer
the call to if this is the case. As time progresses, they should be able to remember
answers to frequently asked questions and troubleshoot with ease. If your candidates
do not appear to be the type to be able to quickly learn and retain information, hiring
them could ultimately have a negative impact on your provision of support.
2. Attention to Detail
Being a call center agent can sometimes be monotonous. Agents often answer the
same questions and receive the same complaints day after day. The danger with this is
that agents can become complacent as a result. Agents that fall into this tend to assume
that they understand customer issues without seeking clarification and are prone to
offering a quick, canned response.
This recipe for disaster is unfortunately incredibly common. In fact, consumers say that
on average agents only answer their questions 50 percent of the time. Make sure your
agents stand above the rest by checking in with customers to make sure their issues
are resolved to their satisfaction before ending the call. Also, during the hiring process,
if a candidate has errors in their resume, isn’t well groomed, or appears sloppy in some
other way, pass them up for someone that appears to pay more attention to detail.
3. Organization
Agents that work in a busy call center should be incredibly organized. They need to be
able to juggle multiple tasks at once (i.e., checking the knowledge base, updating the
CRM and taking notes in your helpdesk), all while attending to the customer’s needs.
Staying organized will help reduce errors during this process, ensuring that they are
completing after call work efficiently and allowing them to address customer needs more
effectively.
To make sure your call center agents are organized, hire people who met all application
process deadlines (i.e., arriving to the meeting on time, submitting requested materials,
etc.) and have a track record of being organized. Once they are on the team, make sure
they have the tools (i.e., call center software that integrates with your business tools and
an effective CRM and helpdesk solution) and the environment they need to stay
organized. These things can make all the difference in customer satisfaction and your
bottom line.
4. Flexibility
Not only do call center agents in a busy call center handle dozens of calls per day, but
they also interact with customers with challenging personalities. To make sure your
agents are flexible enough to meet the needs of your diverse customer base, hire
agents that can go with the flow.
They should be able to handle a chatty customer one moment and an angry customer
the next. They should be able to roll with the punches and let the bad stuff slide off of
them with ease (after providing a solution, of course). In addition, you may also need to
have some of your agents work challenging hours: holidays, nights and weekends.
Make sure that you remember this when scouting out new agents. Flexibility is key.
5. Friendly
Agents are the frontline of your company.
Make sure they are projecting a warm and friendly image and your customers will rave about
their experience. Agents should be able to consistently maintain a positive demeanor and keep
a smile on their face day in and day out. When hiring, make sure that your agents can go the
distance with a friendly attitude. Once you have hired your team, make sure you cultivate a
culture that encourages friendliness and discourages burnout. Your customers will thank you for
it.
6. Calm Under Pressure

A high quality call center agent isn’t easily flustered. Some would argue that this is one
of the toughest jobs to maintain, due to the number of frustrated callers agents interact
with on a daily basis. A good agent will remain calm when someone is yelling at them
over the phone or when they have a Chatty Cathy on the other end of the line who
simply won’t let them get a word in edgewise. Keeping their cool throughout all of these
situations and not letting the frustrated callers get to them personally will get any call
center agent far in the industry. During the hiring process, ask them how they handle
pressure and check in with their previous employers to see if what they say matches up.
7. Effective Communication Skills

This one is a given, but it’s still worth mentioning. Because a call center agent’s job is to
communicate with callers, they should have top-notch communication skills. But
communication doesn’t just mean speaking. Effective communication also involves
listening to the caller, digesting the information and conveying a solution quickly and
effectively. The agent should speak clearly, using basic vocabulary. If they can
communicate effectively, this will bode well for the quality of your service. In
fact, seventy-eight percent of consumers say that a competent service agent is the most
important part of a happy customer experience. You simply can’t have competence
without clear communication skills.
8. Speed
Quality agents should be fast and efficient. They should work quickly without sacrificing
the quality of their work. This is important to your bottom line because the more callers
an agent can handle, the fewer agents you need to keep your call center running
smoothly. It’s also important to the callers themselves. They don’t want to wait around
for a live agent (after all, 75 percent think it takes too long to reach a live agent). They
want their call answered as soon as possible. A fast-working call center agent can
reduce average speed to answer and service level for your entire team so your
customers are more satisfied.
9. Creativity
Finally, a strong agent needs to be creative. He or she should be able to come up with
workable solutions for any problems thrown their way. It’s important that they’re creative
because it’ll help them meet caller’s needs in the best way possible for both the
company and the customer. This can also increase customer satisfaction. When agents
resolve an issue effectively, 70 percent of the time, that customer will return and do
business with the company again.
Truly successful call center agents can be challenging to find. But it helps to know what
makes a good one when you’re looking to hire. Also, just because some of your current
agents don’t possess all of the skills of a successful call center agent, doesn’t mean
they won’t one day. Remember, most of these qualities can be taught and fostered over
time. You can even hold a training session to teach these skills to your existing agents
to get everyone on the same page.
Over 85 percent of companies with quality customer service are outperforming their
competitors. Don’t you want to be one of them?

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14 Common Call Center Job Interview Questions and Answers

FREE: Tips on how to improve your English Grammar

Call Center Interview Question 1: Tell me something about yourself.

FREE: Tips on how to improve your English Grammar

Call Center Interview Question 2: What is your idea of a call center?

Explanation to Call Center Interview Question and Answer 3:

FREE: Tips on how to improve your English Grammar

READ: How to make a Call Center Resume

Explanation to Call Center Interview Question and Answer 4:

READ: What is a Call Center?

READ: How to make a Call Center Resume

Explanation to Call Center Interview Question and Answer 5:

FREE: Tips on how to improve your English Grammar

Explanation to Call Center Interview Question and Answer 6:

READ: 6 Advantages and Disadvantages of Working in a Call Center

Explanation to Call Center Interview Question and Answer 7:

READ: How to Handle your very First Call in the Call Center

Want to improve your English grammar? I highly recommend using Grammarly, a virtual grammar

Explanation to Call Center Interview Question and Answer 9:

Call Center Interview Question 10: What are your goals in life?

FREE: Tips on how to improve your English Grammar

Explanation to Call Center Interview Question and Answer 10:

READ: Do you need an accent when working in a call center?

Explanation to Call Center Interview Question and Answer 11:

READ: Pros and Cons of Working in a Call Center

Explanation to Call Center Interview Question and Answer 12:

Call Center Interview Question 13: What is your expected salary?

Call Center Interview Question 14: Why should we hire you?

Explanation to Call Center Interview Question and Answer 14:

FREE: Tips on how to improve your English Grammar

READ: How to make a Call Center Resume

READ: Do you need an accent when working in a call center?

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 14 Common Call Center Job Interview Questions and Answers

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A contact centre is a location for centralised handling of individual communications,

Call-centre technology circa 2005

This section may be too technical for most readers to understand. Please

A very large call centre in Lakeland, Florida (2006)

 Customer Satisfaction: a measure of how products and services supplied by a company

Criticism and performance[edit]

 Operators working from a script

 Close scrutiny by management (e.g. frequent random call monitoring)

Global Distribution System

A Global Distribution System (GDS) is a network operated by a company that enables automated

 1Example of a booking facilitation done by an airline GDS

Example of a booking facilitation done by an airline GDS [edit]

Systems and vendors[edit]

End-user reservation portals run by GDS companies[edit]