Impact of call center on culture

No other industry had a stronger effect on the culture of the people as the BPO industry. As reports of the NBC show ‘Outsourced’ hits the headlines, one cannot help but take a pause and look at the call center industry. You have the customer service functioning out of a world that is diametrically different from the world of the customers. You have several time zones in between, not to mention the geographical distance, and yet a customer in USA is taking instructions from an answering service agent in India on how to fix the micro-oven! It’s surreal in a way how your daily lives are being assisted and helped by call center services agents working so far away from you. If there is something called global village, this is it!

As obvious, the industry has a strong and significant impact on the lives of the employees. As a BPO agent in India, you are expected to work night and graveyard shifts. You are expected to have your biological clock go for a toss as you fight to adapt yourself to working at night and sleeping at day. The very social fabric of these offshore call center destinations looked down upon the idea of working at night. No educated professional would be caught dead working at night! That usually meant that the person was not qualified enough to find a day job. All of that changed with the BPO service industry. The best minds were picked up by this industry and you had thousands of workers headed for work while the others returned home. The taboo was suddenly the trend.

The BPO units threw open the doors for women to work at night. Unwilling parents thwarted many requests from daughters who wanted to work at call centers. Parents were concerned about the safety and also about the social stigma that would come with the job. Respectable women in countries like India were not to be seen heading for work at night. However, as the call center culture made forays into the Indian framework, the guardians of society relaxed their hold. Women in metros like Bangalore and Gurgaon flocked the telemarketing units at night. Soon, other cities and now even the rural areas are comfortable with the idea of working at night. The adaptability with the American time zones blew away many deep-seated inhibitions.

The cultural context was not just off the scene. The call center agents in India and the Philippines, along with the other offshore destinations, had to learn the American way of life. Telemarketing services cannot see the light of day without knowing the lifestyle, tastes and preferences of the customers. In order to do that, the BPO units trained the agents in the American way. The burgers and soda became a way of life for the agents. Coffee got the thumbs-up over tea and there was a gastronomical change as well! No other industry has been able to change things the day call centers have done. It has redefined several social norms.

We offer call center services like answering service, telemarketing and lead generation to a global clientele and customer base. –http://www.freeezinearticles.com/2010/09/30/impact-of-call-center-on-culture/