LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — India's largest telecom company said it plans to bring call center jobs to Africa, months after it bought out a major mobile phone network on the continent, the global CEO of Bharti Airtel announced Monday.

CEO Manoj Kohli and other officials with the world's fifth largest telecommunications company declined to put dollar figures to their plans. The company said it will create call centers with partners including IBM Corp., Tech Mahindra and SPANCO, with initial contracts of five years. The move comes as Indian outsourcing firms began hiring sprees this year to take advantage of job losses stemming from the global economic downturn.

"We are confident that Africa will revolutionize" the outsourcing sector, Kohli told journalists. "Today is only a germination."

The contracting companies declined to say what specific services they would provide to Bharti, which has 183.4 million customers across 19 countries.

Bharti announced in June it would invest $600 million in Nigeria's mobile phone market, but the company faces a fight in its hopes to expand in the nation of 150 million people. South Africa-based MTN already holds a 50 percent market share in the country while other networks also vie for customers.

However, Nigeria's state-run telephone company's fixed-line network sits in ruins, awaiting a potential privatization deal. Estimates suggest nearly 63 million mobile phones are used in the country.

Bharti faces challenges in its Indian market, as a price war has driven costs down to less than 1 cent a minute. The company's most recent quarterly report saw profits fall 32 percent to $361 million.

Kohli declined to say whether he anticipated a similar price war coming to Africa, as his company tries to make a name for itself in countries like Nigeria — where more than 80 percent of people earn less than $2 a day.

"We are here to create market," the CEO said.

Bharti's other holdings in Africa include networks in Burkina Faso, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

KENNESAW, GA -- If you've got patience, are a good listener and have a positive attitude, you could land one of 1,000 seasonal jobs or one of 400 permanent ones in the Ryla Call Center in Kennesaw.

You'll be taking customer calls from top companies and helping resolve questions and complaints.

"With the growth that Ryla is undergoing right now, we feel really confident that a good majority of the individuals on seasonal who are interested will have an opportunity to stay on with us," said Karen Clay of Ryla.

For call center candidates, it's been a tough road looking for work.

"Really hard," said job candidate Cameron Sankey. "Looking for a job since January after my birthday. It was ugly. Everywhere I go they say 'We'll give you a call back.' I'm frustrated, very frustrated."

"I've been out of work since 2008," said another Ryla candidate Jazzsmine Howard. "I graduated from high school in May of 2008 and I worked a little while after I graduated, and I've been of work ever since then."

Both candidates got the jobs and will start training at once and start answering phones in about a week.

And whether it's on a phone call or in an interview, it's all about attitude.

"The person on the phone doesn't know you," said Ryla's Andre Malone who had been in the call center business for years. "How can you get upset about what they are upset about? Let them be upset and see if you can help them."

To apply visit www.Ryla.com

With both Verizon and Apple are yet to officially confirm the arrival of the CDMA iPhone on Verizon early next year, it is left to tech bloggers and enthusiasts to look for clues that point towards either of these companies prepping themselves up for a launch.

Yesterday, there were reports about AT&T training its staff to handle queries related to other smartphones, which they have been concentrating on lately. This also points towards the possibilty of AT&T preparing itself to be less dependent on the iPhone as it might be losing its iPhone exclusivity.

Read More at http://www.iphonehacks.com/2010/10/verizon-hiring-call-center-staff-for-iphone-launch.html

A Clovis call center is still in the process of hiring hundreds of workers.

Ryla, a company which specializes in customer service, held the first of several job fairs on Monday.
They plan to hire between 500 and 600 new workers.

Mark Wilson, Ryla’s CEO, says very little experience is needed. “We are not looking for anything more than folks who have a real pleasant, customer service focused personality. They do have to have some modest typing skills and a high school education.”

If you missed Monday's job fair, don't worry, the job fair continues into next week.
A recruitment open house will take place at 170 West Shaw Avenue in Clovis on the following dates:

• Monday, October 18, 9:00am - 4:00pm
• Tuesday, October 19, 9:00am - 7:00pm
• Wednesday, October 20, 9:00am - 4:00pm
• Thursday, October 21, 9:00am - 7:00pm
• Friday, October 22, 9:00am - 4:00pm
• Monday, October 25, 9:00am - 4:00pm
• Tuesday, October 26, 9:00am - 7:00pm
• Wednesday, October 27, 9:00am - 4:00pm

Job Requirements

• Must be PC literate and pass a computer based pre-hire assessment
• Inbound call center and excellent customer service experience a plus
• High school diploma or equivalent required
• Professional dress is required
• Bring a copy of your resume and two forms of government-issued ID
• Must not have any felonies or misdemeanors
• Must be able to pass a drug screening and national background check

Sitel, a global business process outsourcing provider, and SATMAP (News - Alert), which sells technology for matching customers to call center agents, have announced a partnership to offer clients “optimal call center routing based on customer and agent characteristics,” according to Sitel officials.


This collaboration is a part of Sitel’s investment in new call center technologies, “building on the company’s call center products to drive a better customer experience at a lower cost,” company officials say.
SATMAP gains intelligence by continually analyzing outcomes and updating agent information and performance after each unique customer interaction.

Working with neural networks and artificial intelligence technology used by the CIA and NSA, Sitel officials say, SATMAP pairs call center agents with customers through a list of more than 100 demographic, psychographic and geographic variables -- “Everything from gender and age to location and education are analyzed in billions of combinations to optimally connect calls with specific agents who are most likely to succeed with a specific customer.”

Amit Shankardass, chief global marketing officer of Sitel, said the company’s partnership with SATMAP “ensures that we are getting the right call to the right agent at the right time and building personal relationships for some of the world’s most renowned brands.”

Call center providers such as Sitel “know that a customer or an agent should never be randomly selected as the ‘next one in the queue,’ but handpicked and aligned to the best agent to effectively address the customer’s unique needs,” said Bruce Wolff, EVP of Business Development at SATMAP.

Earlier this week TMC (News - Alert) hadthenews that Sitel announced that it is actively expanding its customer care call center in the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The facility is expected to increase its staff by more than 140 associates with this recruitment drive.

Sitel is working closely with the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions and is hosting an on-site job fair on Wednesday, October 20, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. at 4420 the 25 Way, Albuquerque, NM 87109. The recruitment drive will support the continued expansion of Sitel's growing client portfolio including a digital satellite television provider, a hospitality holding corporation and a global coffee company that are outsorcing their calls to provide superior customer service.

Sitel's newly hired Albuquerque associates will provide inbound customer care support.

Source: Tmcnet.com

Whenever there’s news about typhoons hitting the country, we have to make sure that our safety is our primary concern. Same thing goes with your call center as they also help their call center agents come to office or arrive home safely after work.

How do you keep yourselves safe on the road? Here are some tips:

    * Always listen to the latest news regarding the latest weather situation through company bulletins
    * Make sure to bring extra money, clothing, bottle of drinking water and food on your bag, you’ll never know when you’re going to need it
    * Enable your mobile phones to call, this means to charge your phone’s batteries and have enough credits to call someone in emergency situations
    * Also stash an umbrella (three folds is okay, but the longer umbrella is proved to last longer). This goes even if you have your car going to work (better to be safe than sorry)
    * Keep the number of your call center hotline or your immediate supervisor’s number to inform them if you will be late or absent or if you need some immediate help in nearby areas

So those are some helpful tips to remember to keep you, call center employees safe on the road. Can you add more to the list?

West Corp. said Monday that it will hire 700 more full-time employees at its two San Antonio area call centers to support the needs of an existing wireless client and the expansion of West’s mortgage services business.

West would not divulge the identities of the clients, nor would it release financial details.

Omaha, Neb.-based West already employs 1,500 workers in Northwest San Antonio and 400 workers in Universal City. The new hires are in addition to West’s recent announcement back in September that it would separately hire 500 people in Universal City.

Once hiring goals are reached, West will have 3,100 employees in the San Antonio region.

West will host job fairs on Tuesday, Oct. 19, from noon to 7 p.m., and on Wednesday, Oct. 20, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Individuals may apply online at www.westemployment.com.

A small business phone answering service or call center service can help you proactively manage your business and keep in constant contact with customers. You can focus on growing your business, while a team of professional agents acts as your full-time, peak-time or after-hours call center. A call center service provides 24-hour service, and helps you increase sales and improve customer loyalty. If you’d like your small business to improve sales and present a more impressive corporate image, sign up for a small business phone answering service or call center services.

Stay connected with your customers with a small business phone answering service or call center service. For a reasonable price, you’ll receive an individual phone answering solution to meet your business’ needs. The small business phone answering service or call center service will partner you with a team of agents who handle calls professionally, accurately and efficiently. You’ll be able to choose a customized greeting, and your team of agents will answer customers’ questions however you choose. A small business phone answering service or call center service will even act as your sales staff, taking and processing your orders; this takes the administrative task of answering phones away from your employees, freeing up time and saving you money.

Your customers will appreciate reaching a helpful, live person rather than an automated messaging system. Call agents gain a thorough understanding of your business, so they can provide customer support, take orders, qualify leads, schedule appointments, run surveys and more. They’ll handle emergency calls professionally, matching each call to the correct person. Agents will handle work-hours calls, taking over during your lunch break or whenever you’re busy. Call-answering services also handle bilingual calls and provide translation services. Agents will also handle after-hours calls—a small business phone answering service or call center service provides 24-hour phone answering service 365 days per year, so you can feel secure even on sick days or vacation days.

You’ll begin by letting the small business phone answering service or call center service gain an understanding of your business, and your goals for inbound calls. The small business phone answering service or call center service will work with you to develop scripts so agents will handle phone calls to appropriately meet your objectives. You’ll then receive call data to track how the service meets your goals. A small business phone answering service or call center service will provide you with call trends, source code data and conversion rates. A CSS, or Customer Service Specialist, will listen to all calls to track individual team member performance, so you can revise scripts as needed and keep track of progress.

Hundreds of job-seekers lined the halls of the TriPointe building in Evans this morning hoping to land a position with Afni Inc., which plans a 500-person call center.

The company plans to hire 250 jobs initially, then another 250 by February.

Almost 250 people lined up within the first 40 minutes of today's job fair, which will run until 7 p.m. at TriPointe, 3001 8th Ave.

“This by far exceeds our expectations,” Dave Usrey, Afni's human resources director, said of the job fair turnout.

By comparison, about 500 people turned out at an all-day job fair for a recently opened Afni call center in Florida, Usrey said.

Most of the positions at the Evans facility are entry-level call representatives, starting at $9.50 an hour with incentive opportunities. Afni will also hire at least 25 front-line supervisors as well as positions in human resources, information technology, operations, instructors and quality control. The front-line positions will start, depending on experience, in the low $30,000 range, Usrey said.

Among the job seekers in line for management positions was Bob Boswell, Republican candidate for House District 50 in the state Legislature. Boswell has been unemployed since the restaurant he owned, Western Sizzlin', closed eight months ago after more than 20 years as an Evans institution.

“It's a godsend,” he said of call centers arrival. “It ought to lay to rest, too, some of the comments made about people who are on unemployment. The vast majority of people on unemployment weren't looking to get on unemployment. Obviously, there are hundreds of us out here that are doing our damndest to get off of it.”

Nebraska human services officials ushered in a new way of offering economic assistance services on Tuesday.

The celebration focused on the first customer service center, where Department of Health and Human Services staff members will do interviews, take customer changes and provide information and referral services over the telephone.

By 2012, the state will have four customer centers to process and approve requests for economic assistance including food stamps; Aid to Dependent Children; energy assistance; Kids Connection health insurance; Medicaid; assistance to elderly, blind or disabled people; child care; job training; education; meals; respite; transportation; and employment preparation.

"More than ever before, we're working to bring efficiencies to the people in our state," HHS CEO Kerry Winterer said in a news release. "That means doing our best to provide great customer service and make it easier for people who are eligible for our services."

Through ACCESSNebraska, people can apply for services online. The system also offers document scanning and economic assistance case file retrieval.

By 2012, these customer service centers will be open.

    * Lincoln: approximately 100 staff; to take calls in November

    * Fremont: 150 staff; the target date is February 2011

    * Lexington: 50 staff; fall 2011

    * Scottsbluff: 100 staff; January 2012.

Todd Reckling, director of the Division of Children and Family Services, said the centers are not designed to be open to the public. The focus is on customer service over the phone.

"However, I want to emphasize that people will continue to have the option of going to a local office and talking to someone in person even after all four centers are in place," he said.

The local offices are equipped with computer kiosks and telephones.

The Lincoln center will be the test site for a new universal case management system. Instead of having one assigned caseworker, clients will call an 800 number for assistance. They won't have to wait for workers who might be on vacation or home sick.