ONCE you survive the toxic—yet fun— environment of the call center industry, you realize you can survive anything.
These major headaches for millennials are also the key things you need to manage and to survive: the boss (your team leader), the schedule and your officemates. This is a guide on how to deal with each.
Let’s start with the officemates. You only have one type of officemate that will impact your life in the office: Your pseudo-bestie or PB.
This could be your smoke buddy or lunch buddy. Your PB is the one person you always go around with, may it be on your 15-minute break or lunch time, where designated PB could treat you. Oh, the 15-minute break, to note, turns into 10 minutes because you need the extra 5 minutes to go to the restroom, to grab free coffee or water, or chase your clock in time, or else break time’s over.
Pseudo-bestie
YOUR PB comes in many shapes and sizes: the loud bakla (gay) that helps you stay awake by making you laugh, the girl or guy your age to whom you spill your life, love, family and, well if you really are close, even your money problems. You most likely meet this person at the start of training, or when you get introduced to your team.
This special person in your life will end up as one of your motivations to actually stay in the company when things get too rough and complicated. They are your light. Even better is when you can be the PB to one or more people.
How to survive with your bestie?
Don’t get too attached to everyone else. Get to know everyone and learn to keep a specific personality with them. Save the drama, negative comments and all negative feedback. If they get involved with your personal life, consider yourself screwed. Your personal life is not anyone’s business.
Being professional in the office means keeping out of the way of others, respecting everyone no matter how annoying they are and accomplishing your goals together. Remember the real reason you got a job in the first place, and keep that as your goal and motivation.
I’ve seen some trainees go AWOL (Absence Without Leave) when their PBs quit. Well, don’t make the same mistake. Give others the chance to be your mentor or friend.
Mentor
THE second person that will impact you and that will matter most is your mentor—the boss, coach, trainer, team leader, your “mommy” or “daddy”. He or she is your life saver and the person that will help you grow. Be on their good side.
They’ll teach you techniques that you need to know: from how to avoid customers roasting you on call, how to get the lowest amount of minutes possible on call, (yes, it’s a requirement, and it’s annoying. Now you know why “Customer Service” always sound like they’re in a rush to get rid of you).
Millennials, heed my words! As much as this person is scary or too high up for you to rub elbows with, seek guidance from them. Most millennials can’t stick with their jobs because they don’t have anyone to guide them. The way to fill your hunger to get promoted or get a better pay is through your team leader.
More than this, they will be the one to save you when you mess up that one call with a really angry businessman that reports negatively about you. You’ll need to learn to love your team leader because at the end of the day, he or she will be the ones left behind cleaning up the mess you made.
Schedule
THE third thing you will need command of is schedule. If there’s anything that will literally kill you at work, it is schedule. You can’t complain about this, since you signed up for it.
One week, you’re on the standard 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. shift, the next week you have the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift (hello 10 percent to 20 percent night-difference pay!). This, however, can cause major illnesses if your body isn’t used to it.
One way out of this nightmare is if you get a certificate from a doctor stating that you need to stay in a specific shift (You’re welcome). If you don’t get lucky on having your day off on special days or can’t plot your leave on those days, deal with it because, again, that’s why you signed up for. Again, deal with it: That is the call-center life.
On the bright side, you get double pay. There is always a bright side!
The only way to survive your hectic schedule is to stay healthy and manage your schedule really well. Don’t schedule anything in advance unless you planned your leave on that day.
Don’t make it an excuse that traffic is bad. If it stopped going at a snail’s pace in Edsa, it would be a miracle. Until then, make it a habit to be 30 minutes to an hour early, so in case traffic becomes be a special treat of armageddon, you’ll be late by 5 minutes. That’s the worst case scenario. Another thing is, don’t ever experiment on routes before work. The minute you mess up is the minute that’s going to be on your clock in time. As you know, every minute counts.
If you want to survive in a call, center/business-process outsourcing industry, just stick to your main reason you joined one in the first place. Keep it close to your heart, and let it soothe you or those stressful days, and you’ll be fine. Stick to your schedule, follow your boss and be sociable.
France Ly describes herself as an old soul with a millennial brain.