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