We apologize for not delivering a January 19th issue of In Queue. The NACC has been changing networks, servers, hosts, DNS, and all sorts of other technical words for the past two weeks to accommodate our growth-thanks to readers like you. We missed sending you an issue and hope that you missed seeing In Queue in your inbox on Friday morning. With all of the upgrades completed, we should be back in your inbox every-other Friday morning from now on keeping you informed and smiling. Thank you for waiting for us.

Call Center Workers in India Not Going to Hell

India has received hundreds of thousands of back office and call center jobs over the past decade. Most people, however, are less familiar with the cultural changes produced in these call center cities of India. Working nights, having much disposable income, soaking up American and British culture are all taking a toll on the traditional Indian cultural fabric.

Conservatives in India are worried that these new generations of young and educated Indians who earn 4x the typical wage are adopting “an alien set of values.” Rumors in the media of condoms filling the toilets of Indian call centers due to bouts of sex and rampant drug taking have elders worrying about the future of the Indian culture and values.

Though clearly the media has exaggerated single events into patterns, it is clear that one cannot import hundreds of thousands of jobs that have a western outlook, put people on the phones with these people all night long, and expect that no cultural change will occur. This trend of culture change associated with call center offshoring worth watching over time to see how it plays out.

If you were not aware, a 5.0 magnitude undersea earthquake struck 16.7 miles off the coast of Taiwan on January 18th. Though no deaths were reported, the quake occurred along a fault line where numerous undersea phone and telecom cables from Asia to North America are laid. These lines were damaged causing problems in The Philippines' call center operations with disruptions to 40% of services. Call center and data traffic are now being routed to to North America through the Middle East, Hawaii, and Singapore, reports ASB-CBN Interactive. Though repairs were expected quickly, rough weather and tough working conditions were extending repairs up to two weeks, reports the China Daily.

Why is all this important? One word, REDUNDANCY. As more companies seek to lower operational costs of call center operations sometimes they forget to cover their back end. As hurricanes cross Florida each season, earthquakes and tsunamis rock southeast Asia, and blizzards strand people on Interstates 40 and 25 in Colorado and New Mexico, it is worth noting that having multiple centers in multiple geographical locations as well as multiple channels through which customers can contact a call center is good for business and good business practice. Keeping the lights on no matter the challenges thrown at a company or organization makes the customers (and more importantly the employees of that company) feel confident in the leadership and management of that organization.

As part of the mission of the National Association of Call Centers (NACC) to help professionalize the industry we offer a free job board. That is correct; you pay nothing for this service. We are pleased to provide it to the industry. Are you are looking for a call center job? if so, you send in your resume and we post it until you want it taken down. Are you are looking for a call center employee?  We put the job listing until you find the right person. For more information on this free professional service, visit http://www.nationalcallcenters.org/jobboard.html and/or send an email to jobboard@nationalcallcenters.org.  We do our best to post all request within one business day.

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