Thank you, Convergys: 8 Things I Learned in 8 Years of Working in a Call Center

While I am now on my sixth year of teaching, I will never forget the 8 years I spent working in a world-class customer management firm and one of the top call centers in the Philippines: CONVERGYS. This is perhaps my lengthiest blog post to date, so it needs no further introduction.

1.  Spend your money wisely.

The average annual income of an undergraduate call center agent in the Philippines is relatively higher than that of a private school teacher (like me) or a professional nurse who graduated from college and passed their board examination with flying colors. Most call center employees receive a hefty retirement pay after 5-10 years of continuous employment – in other words, money shouldn’t be a problem for people working in the BPO industry unless they fail to live within their means. I wish I had exercised frugality while I was earning much more than I do now, but I learned some things the hard way. Nevertheless, I am already getting better at managing my finances, and I want to encourage other people, whatever kind of work you do, while you still have the chance, to save money and plan for the future.

In Convergys, we always enjoyed perks, like free movie dates (or free pizza), as a token of appreciation for a job well done.

2.  Manage your time effectively.

One of my favorite quotes of all time is, “No one in their death bed ever said, ‘I wish I had spent more time in the office’.” If you think that your boss would be impressed because you are working harder and longer than everybody else, well, think again. Working for extended hours could mean you are not efficient in your job which means there’s no structure in the way you work on a daily basis. Your family also will not appreciate your lousy excuse that you are doing this all for the good of everybody, and all that drama. What they would really appreciate more is your real-time presence. So what I try to do now is to leave the school within 30 minutes after the end of my official time.

Convergys knows that its employees work hard...and party harder. It's all about time management. LOL.

3.  Sleep matters.

Despite unpredictable rotating shifts and rest day schedules, establishing a consistent sleep/wake schedule, avoiding caffeine late in the day (or night), and limiting your exposure to light at bedtime are just a few things that can help reduce the effects of sleep difficulties. Scientists are capable of explaining in detail to us regular people how energy is restored and why the brain rests during sleep. I think until now, I am still recovering from all those eight years of erratic sleeping patterns, but I am thankful that I have been able to establish a good daily routine within the first few months of leaving Convergys.

4.  Take time to listen and encourage others.

You will meet many, many people – team mates, cluster mates, team leaders, operations managers – even senior managers and site directors would be rubbing elbows with you. Listening is a powerful skill for learning valuable lessons, such as a new hobby or cooking tips from a colleague, or success tips from a boss. More importantly, listening will give you lots of opportunities to encourage others because many of us are going through something difficult in our lives at some point. Be generous with your time and use encouraging words as much as possible.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. (James 1:19)

5.  Customer service skills are essential to life.

Customer service involves much more than excellent communication skills on the phone. Soft skills for providing people support, such as empathy, the ability to gauge a customer’s emotional state, courtesy and friendliness are a top priority in most jobs and businesses. Even as a teacher, I find value in all those years of customer service training, because it makes my parent-teacher conferences easier and more insightful. I can also use this knowledge to protect the reputation of the school by demonstrating strict professionalism in and out of the workplace as well as when building relationships among my colleagues.

Convergys values its employees and commits to an environment where people treat each other with respect, recognize excellence, and challenge each individual to grow personally and professionally. 

6.  There is a root cause in human behavior and practically every phenomenon. 

As a team leader, one of the first few problem solving skills I learned was root cause analysis (RCA). A root cause is anything that traces the problem back to its origin. If you discover and eliminate the root cause of a problem, chances are high you will be able to resolve it. For example, if a service agent screams at a customer over the phone, his team leader needs to find out immediately whether it is a knowledge, skill, or will issue. Does he know that screaming is a terminable offense (knowledge)? Does he know how to speak to a customer politely (skill)? Does he know what to do, and how to do it, but because he had a fight with his wife this morning he decided to take it out on the customer (will)? Similarly, if my son’s yaya (nanny) forgot to feed him dinner, I can do a quick root cause analysis (if I don’t get upset first). Does she know that 6pm is dinner time (knowledge)? Does she know how to prepare a child’s dinner (skill)? Or does she know her job quite well, but was just too lazy to get up and do it (will)? I hope you get the picture.

TEAMWORK :: Convergys values team accomplishments and seeks opportunities to advance the success of its clients and employees.

7.  Ignorantia legis neminem excusat.

That is just Latin for “ignorance of the law excuses no one.” This is a legal term that ignorance is not an excuse, because when you get hired by any company, it is your responsibility to read your job description and understand that companies are governed by corporate law. Know your rights and limitations. You were given an employee handbook during contract signing – read it. I was not very well versed about policies, procedures, sanctions and things like that in the beginning as I was quite young and naive. The wonderful thing about working in Convergys is that I was blessed to have friends and co-workers that are knowledgeable, interesting and usually fun to be with. (You know who you are!) That is why building relationships in any work setting is highly advised as they do help you thrive and flourish in your career.

I miss my Convergys friends!
We all started as agents, and eventually, we all got promoted as team leaders.

8.  High EQ + High IQ = GREATNESS

Intelligence quotient (IQ) is what helps you graduate with honors or solve tough problems or invent a space ship or calculate one million moves per second in a chess game. Think of Albert Einstein whose brilliance and achievements were so immense that if you were brilliant you would be labeled an 'Einstein'. Then, there’s emotional quotient (EQ) which affects the way you behave and the way you interact with others. You might have heard some stories about people who were successful but didn’t know how to manage stress and cope with failure so they just killed themselves. I have seen people who got promoted mainly because they possessed good people skills but performed poorly in their job. And I have known people who were the best in their field but were not very popular because they failed to build meaningful relationships with others. Some experts suggest that EQ is weightier in terms of overall success, but practical common sense shows that a combination of high EQ and IQ can actually make you pretty awesome.

Convergys is a recognized leader in the customer management industry, and it also never fails to give us employees due recognition for our hard work and small successes.
Thank you for everything, CVG!