As the lab strives to keep up with competitors, top talent leaves As the firm continues to pivot toward the metaverse, Meta has lost some of its top artificial intelligence scientists this year. According to persons acquainted with the situation and LinkedIn analysis, at least four important members of Meta AI have left in recent months. The experts have scores of scholarly publications published in prestigious journals between them, as well as numerous advances that Meta has used to improve Facebook and Instagram. Karl Hermann, an AI entrepreneur who previously worked at rival DeepMind, told CNBC on Monday that the true number may be closer to a half-dozen, and that the company's London AI lab had witnessed an alarming amount of exits. "In the space of six weeks, Meta's London office just disintegrated, and they lost the majority of their [best] researchers," he claimed. Professor of machine learning at the University of Cambridge, Neil Lawrence, told CNBC that he wasn't surprised by the news. "Now Mark [Zuckerberg] has gone all Meta... He added, "and they never genuinely invested in anything in London in the first place." Edward Grefenstette, a research scientist who led Meta's efforts on a branch of AI known as reinforcement learning and left in February, is among those who have left the company. When approached by CNBC, he declined to comment. Heinrich Kuttler, a Meta AI research engineering manager, just quit to join Inflection AI, a start-up founded by Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind, and LinkedIn billionaire Reid Hoffman. Kuttler joins Meta in January 2019 after working at DeepMind for almost two years. Ahmad Beirami, a Meta research scientist who departed in January to join Google in the same capacity, is another recent departure. In December of last year, after five years at Meta, Douwe Kiela departed his position as a research scientist. He's now the chief of research at Hugging Face, an AI start-up. Kuttler, Beirami, and Kiela did not respond to a request for comment from CNBC. A number of additional Meta AI employees have gone or are slated to quit in the coming weeks, according to a source familiar with the situation who asked to remain anonymous owing to the sensitivity of the situation. They went on to say that there was no single reason for people to leave. “Some people jump to another big lab because they feel it will advance their career or research agenda better,” the source said. “Others go because comp or hiring potential for their team is better elsewhere,” the report states. “Others just want to do a start-up or get involved with a smaller company. It could be linked to the drop in Meta stock for some, but I wouldn't say that's the main cause." Yann LeCun, Meta's Chief AI Scientist, told CNBC via email that "people have changing interests[s] and move on" after co-founding the firm's AI lab in 2013 after a dinner at Zuckerberg's residence. "Ed [Grefenstette] is joining an undisclosed start-up," he continued. I'm disappointed that he's gone. However, I recognize that people's interests change with time. Heinrich's ambitions are unknown to me. I am not aware of any underlying shared cause. "Neither FAIR (Facebook AI Research) London nor the other sites have seen any noticeable movement." It's also worth mentioning that several people from DeepMind and other AI labs have joined Meta in recent years. U.S. tech giants have been investing heavily in AI over the last few years, fueled by the belief that AI will change the world, with the majority of the money going toward hiring top talent from leading colleges such as Oxford and Cambridge in the United Kingdom, and MIT, Stanford, and NYU in the United States. The newest departures at Meta AI follow many previous high-profile departures in the last two years. In 2020, Rob Fergus, a co-founder of Meta's AI lab, departed Meta to join DeepMind and establish a DeepMind team in New York. Marc'Aurelio Ranzato, meanwhile, quit Meta AI's research scientist manager position in August to join DeepMind. In addition to Meta's AI lab, the corporation saw a number of big exits in 2021. [Courtesy: CNBC]

To save labor expenses, American enterprises and small businesses have traditionally outsourced work to freelancers in emerging nations. A new twist on the trend has emerged: developing-country businesses are turning to freelancers in nations with greater labor expenses, such as the United States and Canada. As corporations from underdeveloped nations attempt to build a stronger presence in developed markets, reverse outsourcing is exploding. The reason for this is that hiring people who are familiar with the local culture may help you obtain a competitive advantage and reach favorable profit margins rapidly. According to Freelancer.com, a huge worldwide freelancing platform located in Sydney, there is a significant flow of work from developing nations to developed economies such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Germany. Argentina (17.49 percent), Thailand (12.32 percent), Mexico (10.76 percent), Egypt (10.68 percent), China (10.3 percent), Pakistan (8.05 percent), India (7.45 percent), Turkey (7.35 percent), Saudi Arabia (7.12 percent), and Nigeria are among the emerging economies with the greatest flow of work assignments to developed economies (7.12 percent). According to Sarah Tang, Freelancer.com's head of global operations, the site is seeing some demand from business clients in countries like India that offer professional services and want to engage freelancers who live in the markets they serve. They have informed her staff that because they operate with clients in the United States and the United Kingdom, they must recruit freelancers from those countries. Higher-paid freelancers result in increased earnings. Hiring in developed markets is more profitable for Estuardo Orriols, who manages a 10-person graphic design firm in Guatemala City that made half a million dollars in sales last year, than attempting to make do with local workers who lack the deep experience he requires. Because he couldn't find employees in Guatemala with some of the specific technical abilities he required to pursue larger projects, his company, Perinola, began employing freelancers from nations such as Canada. He tried teaching college-educated generalists from the region and putting them on payroll, but he discovered that they were not as fast as abroad freelancers he found on the freelancing portal Upwork, even after being taught, and he finally shrank his business from 25 to 10. He identified highly skilled freelancers in places like Canada and Sweden who did the same task over and over again, allowing them to function very effectively, he claimed. A front-end developer from Canada was one such freelancer who assisted on a hurry job to construct a WordPress site. "She helped us push it through in record speed," Orriols claimed, despite the fact that she cost significantly more than he would spend locally. "We got a fantastic review." When Orriols calculated the profit margins on ten recent projects, he discovered that the average profit margin for local staff was 37.56 percent, compared to 64.43 percent for freelancer-completed jobs. Orriols also discovered via his calculations that recruiting higher-paid, specialist freelancers has been more lucrative than hiring less specialized and lower-paid freelancers, regardless of where they are based. Orriols is now in discussions with a new freelancer from the United States who he hopes to hire. The problem is that in the economies where he has to acquire talent, freelancers are often suspicious that he will be able to satisfy wage requirements. The firm's track record on Upwork, where it has completed more than $20,000 in work and received great reviews, is beneficial. "They look into us, and then they reach out," he explained. Tamma Ford, a freelancer in Santa Clarita Valley, California, has also received work from developing-world charities. She helps customers draft business plans and ghostwrites nonfiction and business books, drawing on her experience operating a management training organization in Europe. Not long ago, she was contracted by an African NGO to create a series of nonfiction books about its socioeconomic message for distribution to European influencers, including prime ministers. Ford feels that her experience working in Europe contributed to her being a desirable candidate for the project. Ford was able to charge the NGO a lesser amount than she does on other projects because she loved what the group stood for — "I had some passion going," she remembered — and had previously done research on the themes the NGO focused on. Ford, who retired in 2011, had some price flexibility, but "nothing was pro gratis by any means," she said. It also helped that authoring the books wasn't her primary source of income at the time. She explained, "I had other freelancing tasks that kept me going." The United States is the world's third-largest freelancing market Work is done in markets with cheaper labor costs in the majority of international freelancing partnerships. According to the University of Oxford Internet Institute Online Labor Index worker supplement, which uses data from the freelance platforms Fiverr, Freelancer, Guru, and PeoplePerHour, India is the most popular place for freelancing, followed by Bangladesh. The United States, on the other hand, is ranked third, and part of the work done by its freelancers comes from underdeveloped countries. For example, Alex Wood, a researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute, interviewed American freelancers in Los Angeles who were performing business development for an Indian software company that required assistance navigating the US market. When enterprises made up of highly qualified individuals in emerging economies like India try to expand into markets like the United States, they run into cultural difficulties, according to Wood. "Adding a U.S. freelancer to help you with the U.S. side of the company is going to be a bigger market there in many circumstances," Wood said. Wood, on the other hand, doesn't see the trend taking off on a significant scale unless it becomes a need for corporate development. "It'll be such occasions where bringing in a U.S. freelancer will be quite beneficial." Software development shops in Eastern Europe and South America are also hiring Americans for business development, according to Steve King, a partner at Emergent Research, which studies the freelance economy. This allows them to establish a presence in the United States and interact with their clients in the same time zones. "These businesses are seeing the benefits of having a local presence," King added. "It should get better over time." Commercials tend to flow both ways once you've established trade links with a country. That's how trading usually works." The accessibility of large freelancing platforms like Upwork is a crucial aspect that allows firms in developing nations to recruit freelancers in countries like the United States. "Without them, firms in other countries would be unable to discover and schedule engagements with individuals," said Andrew Karpie, Azul Partners' research director for services and labor procurement. "They ostensibly perform a crucial function." In sectors like software development and web design, several organizations in developing nations are boosting their team's capabilities. They ended up hiring Americans, either full-time or on a contract basis, to help them grow their business. This frequently means that business owners must push their freelance and salary budgets much beyond what they normally spend, and the wage gap is shrinking. "If someone is employed in a U.S. capacity for one of these businesses, they would most likely be paid less than they would from a U.S. or European firm," King said. "I would imagine they would be paid similar to their typical U.S. wages or they would move somewhere else," he continued. Ford uses her business planning talents to help her customers with restricted budgets discover solutions to cover the expenditures of a project. For example, one customer in the Caribbean wanted to organize a multi-nation African tour for a well-known musician. "They went on the job board and said, 'This is exactly what we want to do.'" Is it possible for anyone to pull this off? ’” Ford had previously worked on a similar idea but discovered they lacked the necessary financial flow to complete it. She assisted them in developing a strategy for securing in-kind donations and corporate sponsorships, as well as writing a template for letters to send to contacts. They got off to a good start, but due to a lack of time, they decided to postpone the event until this spring. "That's going on right now," she replied. [Courtesy: CNBC]

The federal government has agreed to pay roughly $44 million to resolve allegations that it discriminated against hundreds of elderly workers by outsourcing their employment to the private sector 16 years ago. Lawyers representing the 761 workers claim that the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Department outsourced the positions because many of the employees were over 40 and were, or would soon be, eligible for full federal retirement benefits. They worked as flight service professionals, which are air traffic controllers that provide weather, route, and emergency assistance information to private jet pilots. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded Lockheed Martin a contract in 2005 to administer the experts' flight servicing facilities in all states except Alaska. About 100 experts were permitted to stay at FAA and preserve their pensions due to congressional legislation, while 1,900 others, the most of whom were over the age of 40, were transferred to Lockheed. Some of them filed a lawsuit. 25 people will get enough service credit to qualify for an air traffic controller's retirement as part of a $43.8 million settlement announced Wednesday. According to the deal, the others would be compensated for missed retirement benefits from 2016 to 2020. "We hope this serves as a warning to federal employers and all employers that, as our workforce becomes older, businesses should be particularly cautious about making personnel decisions like layoffs based on age," said Joseph Sellers, the employees' primary attorney. Beyond the deal, in which the FAA and the Transportation Department denied any misconduct, the FAA declined to comment. The FAA also cited a 2016 inspector general's report, which indicated that outsourcing the job helped the agency accomplish its savings goals. Over the course of ten years, Lockheed Martin consolidated offices and reduced the number of specialists by more than half, according to the report. When the flight support experts' employment was shifted to Lockheed, where there were no pensions, only a 401(k) savings plan, and where their service time in the government didn't matter, Kate Breen was 45 and president of the union. She left Lockheed after a year and a half and worked part-time for the Postal Service and the Transportation Security Administration before returning to the FAA. Breen is retiring for real this week, but she estimates that her traveling around cost her $20,000 per year in retirement benefits. Some of my old coworkers suffered far worse. "This agreement serves to alleviate some of the sufferings... "They deserve far better than what they received," she continued, "but it's still not making everyone whole." [Courtesy: U.S. News]

The governor announced Thursday that the site of a former coal-fired power station in Somerset will be turned into Massachusetts' first offshore wind manufacturing facility. To commemorate the plans, Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito paid a visit at the former Brayton Point power facility. Brayton Point, the state's last coal-fired power station, closed in 2017 as environmentalists campaigned for better energy sources. Prysmian Group, an Italian cable manufacturing business, has agreed to buy a 47-acre piece at the site to build subsea transmission cables that would connect offshore wind power to the electrical grid. Baker explained that they are bringing what was previously an energy producer from another age into the twenty-first century. "I believe that if we continue to play our cards well, we will be able to make a significant investment in the Commonwealth and this region in the future, and support a lot of deep-water activities all along the Atlantic Coast," he added. Avangrid Renewables' successful offer to the state for a future offshore wind project off the coast of Massachusetts, south of Martha's Vineyard, included the investment in Somerset. Massachusetts chose the Commonwealth Wind project in December to continue forward with contract talks to produce 1,200 megawatts of power to the state in 2027. This is enough to power around 750,000 homes each year. Brayton Point, New England's largest coal plant, had been burning coal since 1963. In the year 2019, two 500-foot cooling towers were knocked down in a couple of seconds. At the time, they were thought to be the highest structures ever brought down in a controlled demolition. The new production plant will cost Prysmian Group over $200 million. The property was chosen by Avangrid and Prysmian Group because of its waterfront industrial position and acreage, according to the companies. Salem Harbor will also become the state's second offshore wind terminal as part of the Commonwealth Wind project. Vineyard Wind, a distinct offshore wind project off the coast of Massachusetts, is progressing as the country's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm. The almost $3 billion project is a key component of Vice President Joe Biden's ambition to expand renewable energy in the United States. Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners have formed a joint venture. The Associated Press owns the copyright to this image until 2022. All intellectual property rights are retained. It is forbidden to print, broadcast, rewrite, or disseminate this content.

Over the last decade, a shift in economic growth from the West to emerging markets has resulted in the emergence of new corporate hubs all over the world. Rapid economic growth has occurred in regions such as Asia, the Middle East, and South America, which has been accompanied by greater infrastructure and, in some cases, less regulation. Multinational corporations have hurried to take advantage of this, hiring more personnel in these nations and opening new offices in rising markets. Banks such as HSBC and Barclays, for example, have stated that they will increase recruiting in Asia while reducing employees in developed economies. GE, for example, has relocated its X-ray business from the United States to Beijing. The emergence of these new business centers has sometimes come at the expense of the traditional centers such as New York, Frankfurt, and London. But it hasn’t always been smooth. Dubai, which experienced huge investments in real estate over the past decade, faced a property bust in 2009. So here are 10 leading business cities in the world: Hong Kong Hong Kong is the most preferred city for multinational corporations in the world, indicating a recent shift in economic dominance to Asia. Because of its location and lack of foreign ownership limitations, Hong Kong is in a unique position to allow enterprises to operate globally while yet having access to a highly trained and low-cost workforce. Cities like Hong Kong and Singapore are considered as important corporate hubs with access to the expected expansion in new countries nearby. Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, and Credit Suisse are among the world's leading financial giants with headquarters in Hong Kong. Annual office rentals increased by 51% in 2010 over the previous year, and high demand and limited supply are likely to push rates up another 15 to 20% this year. Singapore The highest-ranking Asian city on the list is Singapore. It has become a point of entry for firms and investors looking to get into one of the world's fastest-growing consumer markets, China. Being in the same time zone as key Asian markets including mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Indonesia has helped. Flextronics, a contract electronics manufacturer, and Wilmar International, a commodities trader, are both headquartered in the city. Many foreign corporations and their expatriate personnel choose the island nation because of its high-quality infrastructure, efficient administration, low taxes, and busy shipping port and airport. Many banking and financial services firms have offices in the city, which ranks fourth after London, New York, and Hong Kong in terms of the number of financial services firms with offices there. In 2010, office rents increased by as much as 16 percent, with more hikes projected this year as businesses expand and demand rises. Tokyo Honda, Sony, and Mitsubishi are among the 47 Japanese Fortune 500 firms headquartered in Tokyo. Several of the world's major investment banks and insurance businesses have their headquarters in the city. Along with New York and London, it is also known as one of the three command hubs of the global economy. Tokyo, which is frequently at the top of the list of the world's most expensive cities, has suffered multiple setbacks in recent years as a result of stalled economic development and natural disasters that have crippled the Japanese economy. Tokyo, which was the most expensive office location in the world in 2009, fell two places to number three in 2010. Rents dropped by more than 11% year over year as the city transitioned to a "tenants market," with vacancy rates rising and rental levels falling. London Although London has a long history as one of the world's top business capitals, a number of rising markets have recently challenged its global standing. The city continues to attract the largest number of foreign corporations in Europe and continues to lead the world in banking, financial, and professional services. London is home to global heavyweights such as Rio Tinto and has over 480 offshore banks. The city attracts the most international visitors in the globe and contributes more than 20% of the UK's GDP. Following the global financial crisis in 2010, prime rents in London began to rise again in 2010. Due to a scarcity of new buildings, annual rent increases in the city's West End topped 27%. Rents in Ireland, Spain, and Greece, on the other hand, declined by 19 percent, 7%, and 3%, respectively, over the same time. Shanghai Shanghai, which receives considerable capital inflows from Hong Kong, is home to China's major financial institutions and mainland stock exchange. Because of its location on the Yangtze River Delta, businesses have quick access to China's massive manufacturing base, research and development, and back-office activities. As a result of these reasons, the city has a high concentration of mining, construction, and commodity enterprises. However, many businesses are beginning to relocate to the west in order to take advantage of lower labor costs. Government measures to decrease economic disparities between cities have resulted in improved infrastructure in other regions, with the goal of Shanghai and Beijing becoming service-based cities, with inland markets handling manufacturing and distribution. Shanghai has also established itself as a major Asian regional hub. Honeywell, a U.S. technology and manufacturing company, transferred its Asia-Pacific headquarters to Shanghai in 2003, while Infineon, a German chipmaker, shifted its regional headquarters from Hong Kong to Shanghai. Annual office rentals in the city increased by as much as 28 percent in 2010 as a result of increased demand. Moscow Russia's importance as a developing market is demonstrated by Moscow's rating as the sixth most popular business hub in the world, and the second most popular in Europe. Due to high levels of bureaucracy and corruption, international enterprises find it difficult to do business in Russia without a local office, which is one of the reasons why the city is so crucial for foreign companies. Another factor is that Moscow has superior infrastructure and development levels compared to other large cities. Given its highly qualified labor population and its role as a hub for activities in Central and Eastern Europe, the 13-million-strong metropolis has a significant concentration of enterprises in the professional services industry. The creation of the Moscow International Business Center and the reconstruction of Moscow's city center have also contributed to the city's status as a hub. Beijing With almost 20 million citizens, Beijing is one of the world's most densely inhabited cities. It is one of five Asian cities on the Top 10 list. Mining, construction, and agricultural businesses are all concentrated in the city. Firms that engage often with government agencies and state-owned enterprises, as well as those in highly regulated industries like energy and mining, are more likely to establish a presence in China's political core. Companies attempting to tap into the city's burgeoning consumer markets are likewise well-represented. Beijing's vehicle industry has exploded in recent years, as China has surpassed the United States as the world's largest car market in terms of volume sales. Last month, Daimler launched a Mercedes-Benz design center in the city, while General Motors has joint ventures with state-owned automakers SAIC Motor and FAW Group. Following a government push to build the central business area, Beijing has been rapidly developing prime office space. Because of rising domestic demand for high-quality office space and limited supply, office rents soared by a whopping 48 percent in 2010. Madrid More than 75% of enterprises in the media, technology, and telecommunications sector are based in Madrid, roughly on par with New York, giving Madrid comparable bragging rights as a media city. Telefonica, Europe's second-largest phone carrier, is headquartered in the city. After London and Paris, Madrid is the third-largest city in the European Union (EU), accounting for more than 12% of Spain's gross domestic product in 2009. The city has fared better than the rest of the country, which has been hit hard by a housing bubble and debt crises. In the first quarter of 2011, its unemployment rate was 4.5 percentage points lower than the national average of 21.3 percent. However, due to limited demand, office rental prices have fallen by 7% in 2010. Madrid benefits from Spain's appeal among overseas corporations as the country's capital. In fact, when it comes to recruiting multinational corporations, Spain is among the top five countries in the world. In total, Europe is home to five of the top ten countries where the world's largest corporations have offices. The scale of the European consumer market, as well as the ease with which EU corporations can grow into adjacent nations, is a key lure for these companies. Dubai Dubai is the most important business center in the Middle East and Africa, demonstrating the government's success in promoting the city as a regional hub. During political upheaval in the Arab East, the city has also benefited as a "safe haven" for foreign companies. In the industrial products and services industries, Dubai attracted more than 70% of the enterprises questioned by CB Richard Ellis. It frequently acts as the headquarters for higher-level decision-making due to its strategic location—halfway between Europe and Asia. Dubai has been a popular destination for expatriate personnel due to incentives such as tax savings and a more permissive attitude toward Western culture, such as women not needing to cover their heads in public. The Dubai International Financial Center, which runs the emirate's tax-free business park, announced that 64 firms entered in the first half of 2011, up 8% from the previous year. However, several government regulations make it difficult for overseas businesses to operate in the local market. For example, a citizen of the United Arab Emirates must hold 51 percent of a company. The property market in Dubai has yet to fully recover from the property slump and debt crisis that hit the Gulf state in 2009. In 2010, the Middle East and Africa were the only places in the globe where office leasing costs continued to fall. Rents in Dubai fell by as much as 20% as a result of severe oversupply and high vacancy rates in the domestic market. Paris Only three Western European cities made the list of the world's top ten business centers, including Paris, one of the world's main cultural centers. In terms of the number of foreign enterprises present, France ranks third in Europe. Because of its mature economy and skilled workforce, Paris, like its Western equivalents, is home to numerous front-office corporate operations. Professional services and insurance companies are well-represented in Paris, but automobile and mining companies are underrepresented. BNP Paribas, a French bank, and AXA, an insurer, are both based in the city. In fact, the Paris region is responsible for about 30% of France's GDP. Despite continued economic debt concerns in France and the Eurozone, office rents increased by 9% in 2010. Because of a shortage of new supply, business rents have risen. THOUGHTS TO PONDER: 1. Global financial hubs are cities with high concentrations of trade, trading, real estate, and banking. 2. These key cities are home to stock exchanges and investment bank corporate headquarters, and they employ a considerable number of financial experts. 3. New York City, Frankfurt, and Tokyo are just a few examples that may be found all over the world. 4. The location of the company should be such that it can attract customers and create a customer base in the area. The firm should choose a location that is easily accessible by public transit and appealing to clients and employees. 5. The component "Economy" examines the city's economic strength and advancement. The component "Business environment" focuses on infrastructure and logistics. 6. Cities are becoming increasingly important to the global economy, which is linked to the phenomena of urbanization. Currently, urban regions house slightly more than half of the world's population. This only applied to around a third of the world's population in 1950. Physical urbanization is expected to continue in the coming decades, according to UN predictions. More than two-thirds of the world's population will live in cities by 2050.

Asia is, without a doubt, the most important business region in the world today. For the past decade, China has been the world's development engine, but India has begun to take up that role. Asia's business travel industry is booming, thanks to the continent's plethora of commercial and financial hubs. In fact, according to recent research, Asia has eight of the top twenty most-visited business travel destinations. This provides the best places in Asia for business travel as well as interesting details about each city. Verdict, in collaboration with GlobalData Locations, has examined a variety of factors, including the availability of office space and competent staff, as well as transportation linkages and market access, to identify the best cities in the Asia Pacific to do business right now. Thus, here are the top 7 cities that are also best for corporate travel: Shanghai Shanghai is China's largest metropolis and a global financial center. The city is situated on the East China Sea, at the mouth of the Yangtze River. The Port of Shanghai is the world's busiest cargo port. Shanghai is a famous business trip destination in Asia, with the city focusing on manufacturing. The Bund, located in the heart of the city, is a well-known promenade that showcases Shanghai's pre-colonial architecture. The Pudong district's modern skyline, with the Shanghai Tower and Oriental Pearl TV Tower providing a spectacular backdrop to the city, is striking across the waterfront. Finance, retail, information technology, and real estate are some of Shanghai's other major businesses. Check out our fantastic selection of serviced apartments in Shanghai when planning your trip. Singapore In Southeast Asia, Singapore is a city-state. Formerly a British colony, Singapore has flourished since its independence from Malaysia, boasting the greatest GDP per capita of any Asian country. Singapore is one of the Four Asian Tigers, a group of economies that includes Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan, all of which have witnessed fast industrialization and economic expansion. Singapore's primary businesses are finance and manufacturing, with the city serving as a digital technology hub. The state is located to the south of the Malay Peninsula and is known for its Marina Bay. The Singapore Grand Prix arrives in town in September and is held at night, providing a magnificent sight! Discover our vast range of serviced apartments in Singapore for the greatest quality lodging in the city when traveling on business to Singapore. Hong Kong Hong Kong is a Chinese Special Administrative Region on the Pearl River Delta, bordering the South China Sea. The city is one of the most densely populated in the world, with a population of 7.6 million people. Hong Kong was a British Empire province until 1997 when it was handed over to China. Hong Kong's four major industries are financial services, trading, professional services, and tourism. The city has full of things for business travelers to see, including Victoria Peak, which offers a breathtaking view of Hong Kong. The Avenue of the Stars is the perfect site to witness the fascinating Symphony of Lights, which is located near Po Lin Monastery. Tian Tan Buddha is an iconic monument located next to Po Lin Monastery. Explore our selection of serviced apartments in Hong Kong to find the best accommodation in the city. Tokyo Tokyo is Japan's capital city and the world's most populous metropolitan area, with 37.3 million citizens. The city, which is located on Honshu, Japan's largest island, has a significant industrial economy, as Japan is known for making and exporting autos and electronics. Tokyo is also a famous tourist destination, with the Imperial Palace, Senso-Ji Temple, and Tokyo Skytree among the top seven must-see attractions in the Japanese city. Tokyo is well-known for its Japanese food, with a plethora of excellent sushi establishments. Mount Fuji, which stands tall at 3776 meters and dominates the Tokyo skyline, looms in the background. For business travelers, our Tokyo serviced apartments provide the highest level of lodging. Check out our tips for your first business trip to Tokyo to make sure your trip is a success. Beijing Beijing is the People's Republic of China's capital city and the country's political, cultural, and educational hub. With a population of 21 million people, the city is the world's most densely inhabited capital. Beijing, previously Peking, is one of the world's oldest cities, with a three-millennia-old history. Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall of China, and the Forbidden City are just a few of the ancient attractions in the city, which is known for its blend of modern and traditional architecture. Beijing's economy is post-industrial, with the service sector accounting for more than 80% of GDP. Beijing, like Shanghai, has become a popular business location worldwide. Check out our selection of serviced apartments in Beijing for the highest level of comfort in the Chinese city. Mumbai On the west coast of India, Mumbai, originally known as Bombay, is a heavily populated financial city. The city is India's largest and is known for the iconic Gateway of India arch, which was completed by the British Raj in 1924. The Elephanta Caves, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, and the Victorian and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai are three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Mumbai, which have the highest concentration of billionaires in India. In addition, the city is home to the world-famous Bollywood film industry. Mumbai has become a hotspot for business travel in India, as it houses a lot of financial institutions and several corporate offices of multinational firms. Explore our corporate accommodation in Mumbai to start arranging your vacation to the City of Dreams. Seoul After Tokyo, New York, and Los Angeles, Seoul is the capital of South Korea and the world's fourth-largest metropolitan economy. With hubs in Gangnam and Digital Media City, the city is a major technology center. Hyundai, LG, and Samsung are among the 15 Fortune Global 500 firms headquartered in the Seoul Capital Area. The city has grown in importance as a global business travel destination. Seoul has major industrial, trade, and technology industries in addition to being a financial center. Seoul is a contemporary city with a cutting-edge subway system that is seamlessly linked with skyscrapers. The pioneering Dongdaemun Design Plaza and the venerable Gyeongbokgung Palace, both among the city's many notable attractions, provide different vistas of the capital. When conducting business in Asia, our serviced apartments in Seoul provide the ideal corporate housing. WHY ASIA IS A PERFECT PLACE TO PURSUE YOUR BUSINESS ENDEAVORS? Asia is enormous, for lack of a better phrase. It is home to some of the world's most vibrant and diversified Asian economies and cultures, as well as the world's largest and most populous continent, regulatory environment, and regulatory environment. However, it also provides one of the most significant business and expansion prospects anywhere on the planet. Let's look at five reasons why organizations with a global mindset should prioritize Asian markets when considering doing business in Asia. Asia's marketplaces make up the world's second-largest consumer market While it may take some time for any country to reach the United States' massive consumer economy, combining the pre-COVID markets of only three countries – China, Japan, and South Korea – the cumulative expenditure of almost nine trillion dollars dwarfs the eight trillion spent by EU member states. Furthermore, the combined GDP of China and Japan, the world's second and third-largest economies, is rapidly nearing previously inconceivable US levels. More impressive is a recent McKinsey estimate predicting that by 2040, Asia might account for 40% of world GDP, 40% of global consumption, and over 50% of global GDP. And the trend appears to be intensifying in the near future, with China set to overtake the United States as the world's most vocal purchaser of luxury goods. China, together with its regional rivals Japan and South Korea, already has a combined luxury goods market worth 25% more than what American consumers spend on the same high-end items. Most western economies consider it a commercial partner because it imports a variety of critical products. Consumer spending and luxury items are surely not the whole stories, as Asia is home to four of the top ten global oil consumers - not unexpectedly, China, Japan, and South Korea – with China and Japan ranking first and second, respectively. Japan, the world's fourth-largest exporter, also imports about two-thirds of a trillion dollars worth of commodities and goods each year, including everything from copper ore to integrated circuits to advanced weaponry. Japan is a hugely profitable business partner for the US defense sector, having invested about a billion dollars in drones, missiles, fighter planes, and a variety of other stuff that is too sensitive to discuss here. However, the relationship is more than simply a sale for the manufacturers; it is an investment, with corporations like Boeing and Lockheed Martin educating their Japanese colleagues to make domestic copies of cutting-edge technology. One example is the next-generation F-35 fighter plane, which has its final assembly in Nagoya, Japan. It boasts the most intra-regional trade of any country, as well as the most regional trade alliances With member states representing 30% of global GDP, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and six other regional countries will become the world's most significant trade partnership when it takes effect in January 2022, far outstripping similar agreements in North America and the EU. The agreement will make it easier for businesses to grow their footprint across several locations and will assist expedite the movement of products and services across member state boundaries. Furthermore, the financial and economic hubs of Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul, and Tokyo are all within a one-hour time difference of one another. However, RCEP is just the largest and most visible trade deal in a region where APEC, ASEAN, ASEAN Plus Three, and, of course, the Trans-Pacific Partnership already see a lot of productivity. Asian countries offer a large pool of talent in a variety of fields It's only natural that the world's most densely inhabited region would have a large labor pool to draw from. For years, US IT corporations have imported highly trained local labor from countries like China and India, but as the middle class expands in many parts of Asia, so has the amount of money available to invest in education. Continuously developing Asian economies, such as Indonesia and the Philippines (and to a lesser extent Myanmar and Vietnam, both of which have enormous populations and great economic potential), are notable examples. Having honed their talents in their neighbors' more advanced economies and not happy to wait for organic career progression, a growing number of competent local workers are expressing interest in non-traditional locales outside of Silicon Valley. In Southeast Asian nations like Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, medical workers are another important source of local trained labor. Care workers may be educated and trained for a fraction of the cost of similar experiences in the west, are fluent in English and other languages, and are prepared to meet the expanding demand for labor in aging societies like Japan and places like Western Europe. It boasts the fastest-growing technological hubs and the busiest shipping hubs in the world Many Asian cities are thought to be among the most important global centers for innovative technology. Singapore, on the other hand, has recently attracted the greatest attention, having been named the world's premier tech innovation hub by KPMG and home to 80% of the world's top tech enterprises. This "Small Silicon Valley" may one day no longer require the qualifier "little." Its rise is owed in no little part to a government that rewards tech companies for innovating locally rather than merely selling a pre-existing product. Sea freight is also one of the region's fastest-growing industries, with Asia home to eight of the world's biggest ports. Singapore fell to second place in total container volume in 2019 after Shanghai and is now followed by Shenzhen, Ningbo, Busan, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Qingdao. Only the port of Dubai may be considered a candidate for this select group outside of Asia. THOUGHTS TO TAKE-AWAY Regardless of these benefits, organizations who want to expand into Asia must do so from within Asia. The key to making the investment worthwhile is to understand how to develop a strong and sustained Asia presence, and the companies that have made a substantial, long-term difference all have the significant operating capability in the region.

Outsourcing in the Philippines BPO is defined as the "delegation of service-type business processed to a third-party service provider" by the Philippines Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The industry is divided into the following sectors: contact centers, back-office services, data transcription, animation, software development, engineering development, and game development. BPO is becoming a vital developing business in the Philippines, owing to the country's low cost of living and a workforce made up predominantly of young, educated Filipinos with high spoken English language abilities. The Philippines is the most popular outsourcing location, according to the majority of international research and data firms. In 2015, the Philippines surpassed Mumbai as the world's second-best BPO destination, and it is expected to remain in the Top 10 global outsourcing destinations (dominated primarily by Indian cities) in 2017. In the global outsourcing competition, Manila just defeated Mumbai and became the only non-Indian city in the top seven of the Tholons International Top 100 Outsourcing Destinations survey. Eight cities from the Philippines made the top 100 list in the 2015 edition of the survey. According to estimates by Asean Confidential, a research service of the Financial Times, the country's BPO sector now employs more than 1 million people, and the industry's revenue, which is currently $18 billion, might reach $25.5 billion in 2016. Is the Philippines on track to supplant India as the world's largest outsourcing destination? According to the IBPAP's IT-BPM strategy, the Philippines will consume 13% of the IT-BPO market and 41% of the off-shored voice industry. By 2016, the Philippines is predicted to consume 13% of the IT-BPO market and 41% of off-shored voice services, according to the IBPAP's IT-BPM plan. With current growth rates, the Philippine outsourcing industry could exceed $48 billion in revenue and treble its workforce by 2020, as companies continue to flock to the Philippines for substantial cost savings of up to 85 percent, making it the most attractive outsourcing destination in the world. The Philippines has become one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing economies in recent years. According to the International Monetary Fund, GDP would grow by 6.7 percent in 2015, up from 6.1 percent last year and 3.6 percent in 2011. Business process outsourcing (BPO) is the most important contribution to the Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP) today, out of all local industries (GDP). According to analysts, outsourcing may soon surpass the value of remittances from abroad Filipino workers, which presently account for 10% of the country's yearly GDP. What Awaits the BPO Industry in the Philippines? In 2016, BPO in the Philippines continued to grow at a healthy pace. The industry's activity appears to be strong enough that total revenue projections for 2020 range from US$ 40 to US$ 55 billion. The industry, which presently employs around 1 million Filipinos, is expected to expand employment by 1.3 to 1.5 million new jobs in the next three years, both directly and indirectly. The Philippines Development Plan considers the BPO business to be critical to the country's 10 high-priority development areas. Existing government programs include tax holidays, tax exemptions, and simplified export and import procedures to further entice investors. In addition, prospective BPO employees can enroll in university-based training programs. Call Centers are the leading sub-sector in local industry sectors. The Philippines' BPO industry has surpassed India as the leading call center country, and as a result, the subsector is expected to continue to contribute the most to the industry's growth in the coming years. The call center industry, according to a UA&P (the University of Asia and the Pacific) industrial economist, is expected to increase at a healthy rate through 2020. However, rising IT and computer-generated voice services may create a slowdown and decline by this time, according to speculation supplied by the Philippine Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas. In other words, there will be a shift away from relying on human voice sources of information in favor of computer-generated responses. The Philippines’ Possible Risk of BPO in the Future Though the industry's prognosis is generally optimistic, future issues remain, primarily owing to potential policy alterations by the Philippine government. One big concern is that planned changes to the current tax holiday advantages, which allow for temporary reductions or eliminations of corporation taxes, could be implemented. This proposal explored the elimination of tax breaks for the BPO business in exchange for a lowering in their income tax rate from 30% to 15%. According to industry experts, the risk here is that, while tax expenses will be lower, foreign companies will be less likely to enter the Philippine market since the country's competitive advantage will be reduced. Other potential issues and challenges for the BPO industry include a potential shortage of suitably educated employees as a result of Philippine universities' inability to cope with the high increase in an educated labor force, as well as high turnover rates and the rate at which employees are replaced, which can be as high as 50% of the workforce. The Philippines’ BPO Opportunities in the Future Though the industry will have to deal with a possible shift in demand for voice information services, the BPO industry is expected to keep up with the demand in terms of accommodating new businesses that want to invest or expand in the KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) sector, which could then cater to new demand and cover a wide range of new roles. Market research, fraud analytics, equity research and investment, banking insurance, actuarial engineering services, web design and development, data integration, project management research and development, medical transcript preparation, and legal processes are expected to demand more competence. However, it is important to note that the Philippine BPO industry continues to grow at a high rate, with an average annual expansion rate of 20%. According to statistics supplied by the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), the Philippines' export sales climbed from US$1.3 billion in 2004 to US$25 billion in 2016. The Philippines’ Salaries and Wages Due to economic expansion, salaries have been rising in Makati, Manila, Eastwood, Ortigas, Fort Bonifacio (BGC), and the rest of the Philippines, particularly in the BPO/IT/Call Center industries. Salaries, on the other hand, have now steadied, and in some cases, have even decreased slightly. Some international corporations with Call Centers and BPO offices in the Philippines have lowered product sales, resulting in some layoffs of Filipino workers. Nonetheless, this is thought to be a short-term issue. The salaries of IT specialists (developers, programmers, designers, and technical support personnel), as well as call center employees, are still much cheaper than in Western countries. Technical or customer support representatives earn between $300 and $500 a month on average in Makati, Central Manila, Eastwood, Ortigas, and Bonifacio Global City. Salary ranges from US$200 to US$400 outside of Metro Manila and throughout the Philippines. IT workers and developers can earn anywhere from $300 to $2,000 per month in the Philippines, depending on their expertise, skillset, and managerial abilities. A thirteenth month's wage must be added to the monthly salary. All employees in Metro Manila and the rest of the Philippines have earned a bachelor's degree and are fluent in English. Stats for Philippines’ Employees in BPO Offices Shared service offices, worldwide in-house centers, and third-party outsourcing companies make up the Philippines' offshoring/outsourcing business. International 3rd party providers provide services from the Philippines to foreign multinationals, and independent Philippine companies provide services to international clients. Multinational companies outsource functions of their operations to the Philippines, and international 3rd party providers provide services from the Philippines to foreign multinationals. Many offshore outsourcing services performed in the Philippines can be supplied to firms of various sizes and demands through these choices. Contact Centers and BPOs are the two main areas of specialization. Previously, the Philippines was ranked second in the world for outsourcing, just behind India. Recent changes in the global outsourcing business, however, have propelled the Philippines to first place in voice BPO and second place in non-voice complex services. According to analysts, the Philippines is among the top three IT-BPO locations globally, after India and China, in terms of the number of graduates employed in the industry, both at the graduate level and among professionals in IT-BPO sectors such as accounting, engineering, health care, finance, and other non-voice, complex services. As a result, the Philippines is among the top three IT-BPO locations globally, after India and China in terms of the number of graduates employed in the industry. Every year, the Philippines produces around 500,000 tertiary graduates. The outsourcing BPO industry is regarded as one of the world's fastest-growing industries. It has expanded at a 20 percent annual rate on average. According to the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), the IT-BPO and Global In-house Center (GIC) industries are the most important job creators in the Philippines. In 2016, it contributed about 17% of the Philippines' GDP, and it is currently the country's second-largest net foreign exchange earner behind remittances from an estimated 10 million abroad workers. Demand for the offshore call or contact centers is driving the BPO boom in the Philippines right now. As previously stated, the Philippines produced US$25 billion in income from these BPO centers in 2016, placing it third behind India and China. This compared to the country's 2015 revenue of US$ 21.5 billion. As previously stated, the Philippines' outsourcing industry's recent expansion has been powered by high-end outsourcing, or Knowledge Process Outsourcing, rather than traditional low-value-added contact centers (KPO). Though call centers still make up the majority of the IT-BPO industry, the Philippines is now tapping into the creative design skill pool, as well as a big number of lawyers and CPAs/Accountants. Because of the high demand for IT-BPO and Global In-house Centers (GIC) services, the Philippines now employs 1.4 million people in this business. Given the estimated yearly growth of 20% in BPO centers, employment levels by 2020 may likely be in the range of 2.5 million. BPO Centers Outside Manila In addition, BPO Call Centers have exploded in popularity across the Philippines. When foreign investors outsource to the Philippines, they typically want to work only in Manila. However, when these investors look at the talent in the provinces, they are interested, and this has resulted in the rapid development of BPO Centers in Cebu, Davao, Dumaguete, and Clark (Angeles City), Baguio, and other places. Companies get to do business for much less money, while communities benefit from the influx of jobs and investment. For example, in Tanjay City, Negros Oriental, a BPO Call Center was established three years ago. It was one of the city's major employers today. Like the Philippines, there are several "next-wave cities," including not just big capitals like Davao or Cebu, but also smaller ones in Palawan, Ilocos, and Negros. These new places are equally capable of absorbing the skilled jobs that the BPO business is pursuing. Approximately 30 percent of BPO employment and jobs are outside of Manila, and it is estimated that this figure will grow to 50 percent over the next 5 years. Cebu City's jump from 8th to 7th place in this year's list of BPO Centers was deemed to be one of the most significant swings in the Asia Pacific Region. The city's infrastructure is constantly developing, and PEZA (Philippine Economic Zone Authority) reports that Cebu presently has a total of 27 IT Centers and IT Parks in operation. The city's IT-BPO industry has been able to maintain recent developmental advances because of an expanding talent pool that pulls diversified expertise from this portion of Central Philippines (the Visayas). Cebu is the educational capital of the Central and Southern Philippines, with the Central Visayas Region having 138 higher education institutions (public and private) that produced over 260,000 undergraduate students in the 2013-2014 academic year. JPMorgan Chase, Aegis, Accenture, Teletech, IBM, and Convergys, among others, have constructed BPO Centers around Cebu City's multiple IT Parks and Centers. Health-Related Constraints in the Philippines’ BPO Industry The main sub-sector of the Philippine BPO business is call centers, which have been the focus of a case study on health and working conditions. Employees have reported back and shoulder difficulties as a result of workstation settings and monitor visual levels, throat irritations as a result of several calls per day combined with a high-stress work environment, and worries about hearing impairment as a result of exposure to increased audio volumes. With reference to Call Centers, there have also been some detrimental consequences on the psychological component of health. The inconsistent work schedule caused by foreign time variations is one of the most stressful aspects of the office. These things have the potential to upset social and family life in the Philippines, which is a relatively conservative society where family values are very important. An inconsistent work schedule often generates transportation issues, as well as safety and availability issues, particularly for female employees. These psychosocial stresses have been studied in case studies and found to be a key cause or amplifier of the health conditions mentioned above.

WHY CALL CENTER AGENTS ARE NOT ROBOTS BUT HUMANS? Call center agents, at their full potential, might have been regarded as robots because of their proficiency in speaking, evident in their tone, diction, and fluency of the call. But for a disclaimer, they are not robots! They are humans designed to be very good at communicating with their customers. They only use AI as their convenient right hand. Here’s why: They are only using scripts for reference Can they mock their potential client to the core of their being? Probably not. Customers feel mocked when they blather on incessantly without allowing them to express their issues. Scripts should only be used as a guide and a source of reference in the event that a customer asks a question about which they are unaware. They may easily do fast referencing with call center scripting tools. This fantastic solution also integrates with CRM call center software to provide them with crucial data and reports about the potential customer. They can be aware of any inbound calls directed to them in a matter of seconds in this manner. They have empathy towards their customers while using Call Center Scripting Software Even if their call center serves a million or more customers, the millionth consumer wants to feel like she or he is a part of the firm, just like the rest. Call center scripting software was designed to help them handle all clients with ease, regardless of their status or origin. That was then; today's customers are far more complex, and a single customer service agent's error can quickly tarnish their company's reputation. While scripts are important, use call center reporting software in conjunction with them to provide a constant flow of information to the customer and prevent repeating the script exactly. Examine how prior clients with similar problems were helped in the reports to build a relationship with the customer. Moreover, use this call center reporting software tool to create personalized info about the client so that when he calls another time, other agents can readily know the kind of person he/she is. They focus on the quality of calls rather than the number of calls Many agent supervisors make the mistake of evaluating agents based on how many calls they can handle each hour. Agents should be evaluated based on the number of quality responses and assistance they provide to clients. The majority of call center phone systems come with open source call center recording software that records customer-agent talks. Disclaimer: Be aware of the rules and regulations in your area of operation that govern client privacy. Business culture is being cultivated into the heart of every agent The term "business culture" has a wide range of interpretations, but it often refers to a company's underlying principles and goals. Their products and brands are carbon copies of their culture. As a result, clients who find their brands appealing will undoubtedly enjoy the company's culture. When customers are enthusiastic about their culture, don't let them down by reading the scripts in a way that makes them reconsider their loyalty to your company. Agents are trained and cultivated with the core philosophy behind the business. CALL CENTER AGENTS’ COLLABORATION WITH ALTERNATIVE INTELLIGENCE How would you know if you're chatting with a human agent or a bot? Agents don’t ploy empathy Emotions between people are extremely difficult to understand and describe, and we feel that today's level of AI lacks cognitive empathy. As a result, purposefully engaging in a sympathetic conversation with your human or AI/chatbot might be eye-opening. The Empathy Ploy demands you to take an emotional stance and communicate with the human or AI/chatbot on an emotional level. Either interaction can be beneficial, but it's easier to tell if you're interacting with a human or an AI/chatbot right away. We are not ready for AI therapists as a culture. Agents can’t be dissociated Any data can be accessed by a linked AI at any time and from any location. Simply ask Alexa. As a result, a relevant challenge question over chat cannot be one for which the answer is stored in a database. There are two factors required for the Two-Step Disassociation (thus the name): a. Make an assumption that the AI/chatbot is unlikely to be able to relate to; and b. Pose a question that is connected to that premise. Agents don’t have a circular logic This is all too familiar to programmers, but it can help us in our game of identifying human vs. AI/chatbot. So in order to determine if it is a bot, we must know if there are recurring patterns of responses to build a circular logic test. For instance, the predicted delivery date would not have been repeated by a human person or a wiser AI/chatbot. Instead, s/he or it would have said something like, "Let me check with the carrier about the delivery status." Please wait a moment." Humans are way more logical about ethical Dilemma This is a significant difficulty for AI developers and, by extension, AI/bots. What does the AI do if the outcome is A or B? Consider the rise of semi- and fully-autonomous self-driving vehicles. Which is the better course of action when faced with the choice of hitting the dog crossing in front of the automobile or swerving into the car next to us? humans are way more logical with that and have the tendency to significantly pose an aggressive appeal. Kobayashi Maru The Kobayashi Maru is similar to the Ethical Dilemma in that it has no positive viable result. It's not a bad/better decision scenario: it's a fail/fail scenario. Only use this in the most desperate of UI/bot challenges after all other options have failed. How is AI being used for customer services? While AI is still in its early stages, its capacity to cut operational costs, personalize the customer experience, deliver actionable information, and improve customer agent efficiency are just a few of the ways it can revolutionize the way customer service organizations operate today. In fact, executives claim that the most significant motivation for implementing AI is to improve customer experience (53 %). The following are the 6 ways in how Artificial intelligence (AI) is being used in call centers: Through Call Routing Prediction This technology relies on customer behavior profiles to give AI technology a comprehensive understanding of the customer journey and customer personas. Meaning customer service (and the customer experience overall) can be hyper-personalized to each customer. The software will analyze natural tendencies and communication habits to match each query with the best-equipped agents to handle specific types of customers and queries (based on personality, communication style, and call history), ensuring that tickets are closed quickly and effectively to free up time across the board. To get started with AI, firms must first develop criteria for determining the personality traits of specific agents, average ticket time, and competence on specific subjects. Through IVR or the Interactive Voice Response Most of us have interacted with interactive voice response (IVR) during our customer support interactions. This is when you respond to recorded questions such as your native language, name, account number, and so on. It's true that many of us dislike this type of AI because we've had calls where we had to repeat the information. This technology, on the other hand, continues to advance. Humana and IBM's Data and AI Expert Labs collaborated on a solution that allowed the life insurance business to route 60% of its over 1 million monthly calls to AI with predefined responses. This type of IVR is for firms that receive a lot of inquiries concerning routine, particular pre-service questions that don't require a human call center operator, such as hours, eligibility, copay, or bank statement information. Through Conversational AI Nowadays, conversational AI is commonly referred to as chatbots. This is when an AI-powered online chat option is available at a call center. And it's a vital type of customer service, given that 85 percent of consumers want to message businesses, up from 65 percent last year. As you can see, chatbots have become one of the most popular ways for customers to contact customer support. Customers can interact with website material and self-service support choices in a live environment without having to meet with a service representative, giving them the ability to address problems on their own time and reducing the pressure on service teams. Chatbots' strongest feature is their capacity to minimize call volume, allowing call center operators to focus on more difficult issues rather than basic, repetitive questions. Through Emotional Intelligence AI Emotional intelligence AI, which can track client sentiment during a phone contact, is another type of artificial intelligence used in call centers. When a consumer gets angry, for example, their voice may rise or there may be a long pause in the conversation. This sort of AI is trained in a variety of languages and cultural situations, making it adaptable to a variety of linguistic and cultural approaches. It can detect the caller's mood by analyzing the tone of voice and linguistic cadence. This AI will also track how many times an agent interrupts a customer and the tone of both the consumer and the support representative's voice, and it will provide immediate feedback (through popup messages) to the agent so that they can understand how the customer is feeling during the call. Through AI-Powered Recommendations Other AI tools, like the emotional intelligence AI mentioned above, can make recommendations to a customer service representative during a call. Sentiment analysis is also used by this technology to figure out what a customer is trying to accomplish. It can then make recommendations to the support representative for the best options. This shortens call times and gives customers a more tailored and pleasant experience. The technology can determine how many times a consumer has called or mentioned canceling their account, and then assign that customer a risk score so that agents are informed of the situation throughout the conversation. Through Call Analytics In Call centers, one of the most common uses of AI is to give in-depth data on-call times, first resolution, and other metrics. These technologies can detect patterns and have access to client data, allowing them to determine if customers are having a good or bad experience. AI can deliver more comprehensive statistics than a human customer service manager since it measures client sentiment, tone, and personality. Now that we've talked about how AI is utilized in contact centers, you might be thinking, "How will AI affect my customer service team? Will it replace call center agents?" Let's take a look at that. The Future of AI-Call Center Collaboration Call centers have changed dramatically in a short period of time. Omnichannel customer care has evolved from agents merely answering client phone calls to a variety of other customer interaction channels such as web calls, live chat, and video chat. Call centers are expected to experience even more changes in the coming years as the technology becomes a more dominating aspect in customer service. We examine the future of contact centers, from the Internet of things to the changing role of agents. Prediction of the Changes to Come The Hybrid Model Call centers have become a hybrid of customer contact channels, and the future of call centers will see an increased hybrid setting - a mix of human agents and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Artificial Intelligence (AI) will become cheaper to deploy, more efficient, and more accurate as it becomes more advanced, providing several benefits to call centers in terms of productivity and cost. AI can assist in providing a completely smooth customer experience, and more and more companies are beginning to use AI-powered customer service. As a result, the future of call centers will necessitate a combination of AI and human engagement. With technologies like AI chatbots dealing with FAQs and easy client concerns, the hybrid model will see automation and self-service rise to boost productivity. Meanwhile, human agents are freed up to deal with more complicated queries and problem-solving, still providing personalized and human-centered customer service when needed. There will be more live Chat Live chat has become the most common consumer communication medium in the previous ten years. Over 40% of customers prefer to contact a firm via live chat over email or social media, and 41% of customers expect a website to have live chat as a contact option. With a satisfaction percentage of 73 percent, live chat is also the most popular customer contact channel, with only 44 percent choosing phone calls! Furthermore, it is an excellent technique for considerably increasing lead generation. Chatbots, on the other hand, will not be able to replace live chat due to specific constraints. Future call centers will adopt a hybrid model of live chat, as previously mentioned: chatbots will answer FAQs and easy queries, with the flexibility to transfer off to an agent when faced with difficult issues. Video Chats with customers will be feasible Support via video chat takes live chat to the next level. While it has all of the advantages of live chat, such as greater customer satisfaction and leads and sales, it also provides a more personalized experience. Agents can not only have face-to-face conversations with customers, but they can also demonstrate their products and services. This aids in bringing the in-store experience online, which has grown in popularity since Covid-19 forced the closure of numerous brick-and-mortar establishments. Right now, video chat software is undergoing a lot of development. For example, the talkative video chat feature has just been updated to include support for iPhones as well as the option to screen share and go full screen. We expect future call centers to make considerably more use of video chat as the technology improves. Call centers can be mobile Customers interact with businesses mostly through their mobile phones. In 2018, mobile and tablet devices accounted for 58 percent of online traffic in the United States, compared to 42 percent for desktops. This doesn't mean that mobile is taking over from desktop (total time spent on websites is still higher on desktops), but it does indicate that firms must pay equal attention to their mobile profiles. Allowing consumers to multitask on their mobile while using a contact channel, much like they can on a PC, will be a crucial feature of call center mobile capability. For instance, when using live chat, you could be able to view multiple online pages. Mobile compatibility is growing, as is the use of mobile apps for customer care. Mobile apps are expected to become a highly important consumer interaction channel in the future of call centers due to high levels of client involvement. The Application of the Internet of Things The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to internet-connected objects that can communicate with one another. "The Internet of Things is made up of devices - from simple sensors to smartphones and wearables - networked together," says techUK's CEO. This interconnectedness of devices opens the door to proactive customer assistance in the future of contact centers. If your television detects a problem, for example, it can call customer care without your knowledge. Customer service can then call you to inform you that your TV requires a new part and set up an appointment for it to be installed. Your television is repaired before you ever notice it's broken! Customer service will be elevated as the Internet of Things expands and more gadgets become connected. As more data is collected from connected devices, future call centers will become more proactive, addressing issues before the client even realizes they exist. The emergence of Cloud-based Call Centers and Remote Agents Cloud-based call centers aren't new, but we may expect to see practically all call centers migrate to the cloud in the next few years. Cloud-based software has numerous installation and maintenance advantages, including quick upgrades, as well as management advantages, as managers do not need to be present in the same location as agents to oversee their work. ‍Increased adoption of this software could drastically alter the face of future call centers, as it allows agents to access the system without having to be present in the call center, allowing for more flexible and even remote working. This could spell the end of the classic call center, with its rows of agents working in busy, noisy environments, and the beginning of smaller, remote-based call centers with remote agents. Exceedingly Proficient Agents All of these developments to the future of call centers will inevitably impact the function of call center agents. Agents will focus on dealing with difficult issues as AI takes over customer support for the more humdrum and easy inquiries. As a result, they'll need more sophisticated problem-solving abilities as well as a deeper understanding of the product/service, which will necessitate more advanced and extensive training. Agents will need solid analytical abilities to make the most of all of the data they may access in the CRM as data becomes an increasingly important aspect of customer care. These highly trained and talented agents, dubbed ‘super agents,' will be able to use a variety of contact channels, such as phone, live chat, video chat, and social media, and will be required to stay current with any changes to these channels.

WHAT ARE THE STRATEGIES TO BECOME AN EFFICIENT AND SUCCESSFUL CALL CENTER AGENT? Call Center Agenting for Rookies If you aspire or are a beginner in a call center, news flash, you have a long way to go! In all honesty, working as a Customer Service Representative might be difficult, especially if this is your first employment in this field. But what can you do to make things easier for yourself? With that, here are 10 beginner tips just for you. 1. Take down notes- Taking notes while on the phone is one of the most critical calls entry techniques. This is an excellent exercise for learning to be an active listener since it helps you focus on the conversation while ensuring that you don't miss anything the other person says. It also aids in the collection of all pertinent information and ensures that nothing is overlooked. Just remember not to scribble sensitive information or cardholder data on a piece of paper, which, according to the industry payment standard PCI-DSS, is a risky practice. 2. Be confident- Many customer service agents are embarrassed to admit when tuition is beyond their control, therefore they will try to give ineffective replies just to get a response. It's fine to run into an issue or a query to which you don't have an answer, whether you're a beginner or not. Try to be firm, but don't worry if something is beyond your control; instead, tell the customer that you will do your best to find a solution to his problem and that you will contact him back as soon as possible. 3. Be Analytical- Customer service, like anything else, requires practice, and you'll improve as you deal with hundreds of different people and situations. These experiences can help you develop your skills and give better service. Especially if you've recorded and archived all of these chats for future use. Singing these recordings to examine your skills and uncover deficiencies is one of the most effective call center tips — you never know how good or horrible you're performing until you see yourself from a different perspective. 4. It is just alright to be unknowledgeable of something- Many customer service agents are embarrassed to admit when a situation is beyond their control, therefore they will try to give ineffective replies just to get a response. It's fine to run into an issue or a query to which you don't have an answer, whether you're a beginner or not. Try to be firm, but don't worry if something is beyond your control; instead, tell the customer that you will do your best to find a solution to his problem and that you will contact him back as soon as possible. 5. Call your customer by their names- Using your clients' names to address them is a terrific method to improve their experience and make them feel heard. Listen carefully to your consumer, as he will tell you how he likes to be addressed. f a customer introduces herself as "This is Mary Johnson," you can either ask her respectfully, "May call you Mary?", or address her as Ms. Johnson. 6. Keep your Patience- Patience is one of the most critical call center recommendations for beginners. Try to be an active listener instead of rushing to respond as soon as the customer finishes his first sentence. If you begin explaining ourselves before the consumer has finished presenting his problem, it will appear unprofessional, and he will get much more frustrated. before replying, be patient, listen intently, and ask questions until the matter has been thoroughly presented. You may not be able to provide the most appropriate answer for your customer's problem if you do not hear all of the relevant details. 7. The Call Transferring- Customers may find getting transferred to be a frustrating experience, as it may appear that staff is transferring them from one department to another because they prefer to delegate responsibility to someone else. one of our top all center recommendations is to follow these procedures to properly transfer the all: first, explain the reason for the transfer and to whom you are passing the customer on. Second, inquire if they are okay with being transferred. Third, ensure that the person who should pick up the phone is available, and explain to them the nature of the call along with the name of the person on the other side. y following these steps, you will not only show that you are a real professional, but the user will s well. 8. Share your experiences with your coworkers- Sharing your customer service experience with your coworkers is a wonderful approach to debate other points of iew and see whether you might have addressed an issue more quickly – especially if you are a novice. ven if you aren't a novice, learning your product takes time, and colleagues who are more experienced than you can provide invaluable guidance. furthermore, customer service employees have varied perspectives on client dialogues, and everyone can benefit from one another's experiences. 9. Vibrate Positive Demeanor- Maintaining a positive attitude is critical for a successful resolution of a problem and a delighted consumer. It can be quite difficult t times, but maintaining your cool demonstrates confidence and informs the user that you are capable of solving the problem. 10. Be Organized- Customer service necessitates a great deal of planning, and agents must be well-prepared in order to provide high-quality service in the shortest amount f time. Take your time to learn about all of your company's tools, platforms, and systems, and practice switching between databases in a variety of settings. In a CRM database, you must be able to swiftly browse between different windows, so make sure to structure your resources as efficiently as possible.

Call centers are more than just cost centers, despite the negative name they've had for decades. By focusing on quality assurance and caring about their staff, truly successful contact centers strive to improve the customer experience. Do you think you know your way around a call center? Reconsider your position! Let's shoot down 11 of the call center myths! 1. No one uses a phone these days The telephone is still the most popular method of customer assistance. Older generations want to converse with live people. As younger generations emerge, their choices for live chat and social media will shift. For the time being, though, the phone is here to stay. 2. Call center agents don't really care about their customers They do, in fact. The average call center spends over $9,000 (Php 469,161.00) to employ and train a customer care representative, and avoiding high turnover costs the contact center millions of dollars is a top concern. Recruiters are constantly on the lookout for candidates who they believe have the abilities and attitudes necessary to provide efficient and successful customer service. 3. The majority of call centers are located in other countries Wrong. This was especially true in the 1980s and 1990s when call centers became more like cost centers. However, as technology advances, empowered customers are smarter and want higher quality. Most companies have brought their service centers back to the U.S. for more complex problems. If there is an offshore call center, it’s typically used for tier 1 calls. 4. Agents in remote call centers aren't as productive as those in traditional call centers This one is for those bosses who still believe that in order to be useful, staff must sit in the same room as them. Studies overwhelmingly show that remote agents actually feel more valued, and respected, and therefore are more productive. With new cloud-based software, having a remote (and engaged) workforce is 100% doable. And it will save the company a fortune. 5. Working at a call center is a no-brainer Perhaps difficult and mundane. But not in a mindless way. Many customer care representatives juggle two jobs, families, and educational commitments. They are people who are enthusiastic, positive, and patient, and they know how to solve problems. And agents deserve credit for being the reason customers are loyal to the company they represent. 6. Managers are more concerned with the number of calls than with the quality of those calls The age-old call center metric battle: resolve the call the first time (FCR) OR settle the call as rapidly as feasible (RCR) (AHT). There is no simple solution. Both are important and really depend on the product and customer profile. 7. Call center is for young folks The average age of most call centers is in their 30s, with a wide range of ages. In certain states, pay is comparable to those of teachers. Bonuses, incentives, and promotions are designed to keep staff interested in staying for the long haul. 8. Email is no longer in use Nope. The use of email forms for ticketing-based support is on the rise. Self-help channels and the internet of things may play a significant role in this. As well as younger generations not wanting to talk on the phone. 9. Call center executives are unconcerned about their workers Obviously, executives must be concerned with the call center's profitability and return on investment. However, leaders must invest in people and care about their satisfaction in order to keep customers loyal and genuinely create money. 10. Robots will replace people in customer service Technology serves to assist and enhance customer service, but the human experience will be needed for many more decades to come. Sure people will have to adapt to integrating technology, but it will not replace us completely any time soon. 11. Call Center is a Contact Center Customer support and outreach are provided by both call centers and contact centers, but the communication channels they use differ. While call centers use only one channel, the phone, contact centers use a variety of channels. Call centers arose before the advent of digital platforms. WHAT WE RATHER NEED TO KNOW AND LEARN ABOUT CALL CENTERS Call centers, as defined, are locations where agents answer customers' questions and resolve their issues over the phone or through other forms of contact. Customers may ask agents for inquiries, place orders, or arrange for services such as insurance. In actuality, however, the entire experience and function of contact centers have evolved dramatically in recent years. This is mostly due to advancements in numerous technologies. TYPES OF CALL CENTERS Call center agents do not simply accept calls from whatever and whenever. Call centers are also categorized according to the type: 1. Inbound call centers- Work by employing people to take calls from clients. 2. Outbound call centers- make calls and reach out to potential and existing customers. 3. Cloud-based call centers- another term for virtual call centers. This form of call center is growing increasingly popular in recent years. 4. Blended call centers- Inbound and outbound calls are handled by this type of call center. This form of call center handles both inbound and outgoing calls. In addition to inbound, outbound, and blended call centers, there are several other types of call centers: 1. In-house call center- The company owns and operates its call center, as well as employs its agents. 2. Out-sourced call centers- The company engages a third party to answer calls on its behalf in order to save the costs of employing and training call center personnel, as w ell as investing in and updating call center technology. 3. Offshore call center- The corporation outsources its activities to a company in a different nation, usually to save money on wages and provide services around the clock. Reduced client satisfaction owing to language barriers and a lack of understanding about the organization, product, or service due to distance are also disadvantages of using an offshore call center. 4. Virtual call center- Using cloud call center technology, the company employs geographically distributed agents that answer calls. Agents in call centers work in small groups in different offices or from their homes. PROPONENTS OF A CALL CENTER 1. The Call Center Manager- Call center managers would be the queen bees if call centers were hives. They hire, train, inspire and prepare their employees to offer excellent service to their consumers. 2. Call center directors- While team leaders are in charge of smaller groups, call center directors are in charge of the overall operation and ensuring that everything goes well. Agent performance metrics and goals are set by directors or managers to ensure that agents satisfy client expectations and the call center runs efficiently. 3. The Team Leader- After managers, team leaders are the next position down the hierarchy. They are both essential elements of a dependable and effective call center team. While some of their responsibilities are comparable to those of call center managers, the roles are distinct in other ways. Before you can work as a team leader, you'll require previous management and call center expertise. 4. The Call Center Agents- Call center agents are employees that spend the majority of their time calling and interacting with potential customers. Those who answer a variety of calls from various customers, both incoming and outgoing. They also handle account queries, customer complaints, and other customer service difficulties. 5. Quality assurance team- Quality assurance (QA) is a method in which QA teams check that products or services meet particular requirements. These groups can track and analyze agent phone conversations in call centers to verify that call quality and customer service meet the center's expectations. In some circumstances, QA checks are performed by call center directors. 6. IT personnel- Call centers, especially those with remote operations, require IT expertise. While IT professionals aren't limited to contact centers, they do guarantee that agents' equipment and tools are up to date in order to keep the call center working efficiently. CALL CENTER AS A TECHNOLOGY Computers and headsets are two essential pieces of equipment for call centers. To make and receive calls, call center operators to require computers and reliable headsets so that their voices seem clear and understandable to customers. Organizations may want to invest in home networking equipment for remote call center agents since they may want increased internet access to access their organizations' call center software reliably. The following are examples of other important call center technology and software: 1. Call management software like the ACD technology- Automatic call Distribution is abbreviated as ACD. It's a phone system that automatically collects incoming calls and routes them to the next available agent. Its goal is to assist inbound contact centers in sorting and managing enormous numbers of calls in order to keep the staff from being overwhelmed. It also enhances client experiences by ensuring that they are linked to a knowledgeable representative as soon as feasible. The caller must first travel through the IVR before being queued and routed. IVR and ACD are often confused with each other, so let’s take the time to differentiate the two terms. 2. Call monitoring software- Call monitoring software is used to track ongoing support calls so that new agents can be trained, quality assurance can be ensured, and customer feedback can be obtained. (Don't worry, it's not big brother.) Managers and supervisors can listen to calls in real-time without alerting agents or customers using the call monitoring feature in Zendesk phone support software. This reduces agent ramp time and ensures that quality requirements are met, resulting in a c consistent client experience. 3. Speech analytics tools- is used in the process of analyzing voice recordings or live customer calls to contact or call centers with speech. 4. Workforce management software- Workforce management (WFM) software is a catch-all word for desktop and mobile tools that assist a company with employee scheduling. The word came from call centers and other service organizations that employ a high number of hourly workers. 5. Customer Management Relationship Software- CRM software (customer relationship management software) is a tool that helps your company provide a unique and seamless experience for its customers while also building stronger relationships by providing a complete picture of all customer interactions, tracking sales, organizing, and prioritizing the customers. 6. IVR Software- Incoming callers can obtain information through a voice response system of pre-recorded instructions without speaking to an agent, as well as use menu options via touch-tone keypad selection or speech recognition to have their call routed o specified departments or specialists. 7. Outbound Dialer Softwares- are software or cloud-based solutions that enable your contact center to make outbound calls. Outbound dialing solutions assist your agents in speeding up and automating outbound calling, resulting in increased efficiency and production. 8. Chatbot or Virtual Assistant Technology- A chatbot, at its most basic level, is a computer program that simulates and processes human dialogue (written or spoken), allowing humans to communicate with digital devices as if they were speaking with a real person. Chatbots can be as simple as one-line programs that respond to a simple query, or as sophisticated as digital assistants that learn and adapt as they gather and process data to give increasing levels of personalization. Meanwhile, call center agencies to operate across industries, including: 1. Retail- Customers want assistance from retailers before, during, and after purchases. A customer may inquire about delivery specifics or the retailer's return policy before or during the purchase process. Customers can contact after making a purchase to report a missing item or request a return. 2. Healthcare- Customers contact healthcare professionals to schedule, change, or confirm appointments, as well as to ask doctors questions. Healthcare providers can se outsourced call centers to receive calls and route them to an on-call physician when a medical emergency occurs outside of business hours. 3. Airlines- Customers dial toll-free airline numbers to interact with IVR menus or peak with customer support representatives. Customers may check flight statuses, et flight details, and see how much mileage they have left on their frequent flier ards. In addition, flyers can speak to customer service agents to re-book a flight. When weather conditions, such as a large winter storm, cause flight delays or cancellations, airlines can quickly respond to customer needs.

Before delving further into the ways of being an efficient call center agent, let us first make sense of our prior understanding of call center agents. WHAT ARE CALL CENTER AGENTS? We have known call center agents as people that always wear corporate attires with headsets on their ears in front of the screen. However, in the back of our minds, call center agents are beyond that. Call center agents are actually workers who spend most of their time calling and answering potential customers. Those who answer a variety of calls for both incoming and outcoming calls from different customers. They also handle account inquiries, complaints from customers, and other support issues. Specifically, call center agents are committed to: 1. Inbound and outbound call management 2. Go after deferring communication scripts while speaking to the customer. 3. Customer Engagement 4. Pinpoint customer needs, answer their queries, and problem solving 5. Sell and boost products and services 6. Inform customers to inform and build interest in the product 7. Enhance performance to achieve more goals The forested commitments of call center agents can only and only be attainable through possessing the following skills or character traits: 1. Knowledge Retentiveness The aim of an agent is to deliver the best possible client service. They must be able to acquire and memorize a significant amount of knowledge about your firm in order to accomplish this. They should know the ins and outs of your product or service and be on board with your brand's ideology by the time they get up and running. When a call center agent is unable to fix an issue, they should know to who to send the call. They should be able to recall answers to frequently asked problems and troubleshoot with ease as time goes on. If your candidates don't look to be the kind to acquire and retain information fast, hiring them could be a mistake. 2. Detail-Conscious Working as a call center agent might be tedious at times. Day after day, agents are asked the same questions and receive the same complaints. The risk is that agents will develop complacent as a result of this. Agents that fall into this category are more likely to assume they understand client difficulties without requesting clarification and to respond with a scripted response. Unfortunately, this catastrophic recipe is all too common. In reality, customers claim that agents only respond to their questions 50% of the time. Make sure your representatives stand out from the crowd by asking consumers if their concerns have been fixed to their satisfaction before hanging up. Also, if a candidate's resume contains inaccuracies, it will be flagged during the recruiting process. 3. Organized Agents that operate in a crowded call center need to be extremely organized. They must be able to multitask (for example, checking the knowledge base, updating the CRM, and taking notes in your helpdesk) while still attending to the demands of the customer. Staying organized will help them reduce errors during this process, allowing them to complete after-call work more efficiently and effectively handle customer demands. Hire employees who have a track record of being organized and have met all application process requirements (i.e., arriving on time for meetings, submitting necessary paperwork, etc.) to ensure your call center agents are organized. Make sure they have the tools they need once they've joined the team (for example, call center software that connects with other systems). 4. Friendly Your company's frontline is made up of agents. If they create a warm and welcoming picture, your consumers will rave about their encounters. Agents should be able to retain a pleasant attitude and a grin on their faces on a day-to-day basis. When hiring, make sure your agents are capable of going the extra mile while maintaining a pleasant demeanor. Once you've hired your staff, make sure you foster a culture that promotes camaraderie and prevents burnout. Your customers will thank you for it. 5. Focused under Pressure A good call center representative isn't easily fazed. Due to a large amount of frustrated callers agents contact on a daily basis, some would claim that this is one of the most difficult jobs to sustain. When someone is yelling at them on the phone or when they have a chatty Cathy on the other end of the line who won't let them get a word in edgewise, a smart agent will remain calm. Keeping their calm in all of these scenarios and not allowing the frustrated callers to affect them personally can get any call center worker a long way in the business. Ask them how they deal with pressure throughout the hiring process, and check-in with their prior employers to determine if what they say is true. 6. Flexible In a busy call center, call center agents not only manage dozens of calls every day, but also interface with consumers who have difficult personalities. Hire agents that can go with the flow to ensure your agents are flexible enough to fulfill the needs of your diversified customer base. They must be able to deal with chatty customers one minute and furious customers the next. They should be able to roll with the punches and easily brush aside the bad stuff (after providing a solution, of course). Additionally, some of your agents may be required to work unusual hours, such as holidays, nights, and weekends. When you're looking for new agents, keep this in mind. 7. Skilled in Communication Although this is self-evident, it is nevertheless worth emphasizing. Because a call center agent's duty is to communicate with customers, they must be excellent communicators. However, communicating may not always include speaking. Effective communication also involves listening to the caller, digesting the information, and conveying a solution quickly and effectively. The agent should speak clearly, using basic vocabulary. If they can communicate effectively, this will bode well for the quality of your service. In fact, seventy-eight percent of consumers say that a competent service agent is the most important part of a happy customer experience. You simply can’t have competence without clear communication skills. 8. Fast Agents of fine standards should be quick and efficient. They should be able to work swiftly without losing quality. This affects your bottom line since the more callers each agent can manage, the fewer agents you'll need to keep your contact center running efficiently. It's also crucial to the people who call. They don't want to wait for a live representative (after all, 75 percent think it takes too long to reach a live agent). They want to speak with someone as soon as possible. A quick-thinking call center representative can improve your entire team's average speed to answer and service level, resulting in happier customers. 9. Creative Finally, an effective agent must be inventive. He or she should be able to come up with practical solutions to any issues that arise. It's critical that they're creative since it will enable them to answer callers' needs in the most cost-effective manner feasible for both the firm and the client. Customer satisfaction may also improve as a result of this. 70% of the time, when agents successfully handle an issue, the consumer will return and do business with the company again. It can be difficult to locate truly successful call center agents. When you're looking for someone to hire, it helps to know what makes a good one. Also, just because some of your present call center agents don't have all of the necessary abilities, doesn't imply they can't succeed. There are also possible shortcomings in the call center, given the very fact that call center jobs are one of those that are immensely demanding. In order to immediately address arising tendencies, call center agents must take note of the dos and don'ts of call center agents. Do's for Call Center Agents 1. Be adept at the company's products and services When agents are well-versed with the product's features and specs, they can solve a query or sell a product with minimal effort. This establishes credibility, builds trust, and creates a lasting impression on the prospect. Furthermore, it enhances the agent's confidence and allows them to sell more by crossing their ability line. 2. Give High Regard to the identity of the Customer It irritates them to have to ask for a customer's information every time they contact. To avoid this, teach your representatives how to use customer service software. This tool aids staff in promptly and effectively responding to consumer inquiries, hence boosting the company's customer service procedures. This helps customers save time while also increasing agent productivity and efficiency. It also assists clients with quick bookkeeping and precise financial reporting. According to Crimson Consulting Group, 50% of call center agents have been using CRM for more than a year and have a good degree of CRM knowledge. Two-thirds of survey participants said they are "self-sufficient" or "help others with CRM." 3. Interact with customers as it is a two-way communication process The agent's primary responsibility is to communicate; first and foremost, they should allow clients to speak freely. The agent should carefully listen and speak only after the other person has finished speaking. Second, they must be able to communicate effectively. 4. Prioritize the customer over the selling Rather than pressuring customers to buy the company's product, an agent's full focus should be on the customer's needs and interests. They should concentrate more on comprehending the needs of the prospects and empathizing with their predicament. Customers will have more trust in you as a result of this, and they will be more likely to form a relationship with you. This way, if they have a problem, they will immediately look for you. 5. End-to-end Transparency Even if the call center agent's position does not require them to continue beyond the initial call resolution, they should be eager to remedy the problem as soon as possible. They need to figure out what's causing the problem so that customers don't have to deal with it again. Even if they avoid being transferred from person to person, it has a significant impact on the customer's experience. 6. Learn from successful Call Center Agents Getting advice from someone who is successful is one of the most effective strategies to improve your own performance. Listen in on calls with a successful call center representative to see how they manage their calls and communicate with customers. Then, infuse their methods into your own consumer interactions. By following other footsteps you can add extra efficiency in your work. Don'ts for Call Center Agents 1. Don't lose your patience The more composed the agents remain, the more successful they become. Their daily lives bring them into contact with people of various temperaments. When making outbound calls, a few prospects can be bothersome; they can be disrespectful and slam the phone. Customers vent their frustrations about their grievances even during inbound calls. This demoralizes the rep’s spirit because they cannot respond in the same manner, but if the client abuses – then the caller has a duty to report it to the seniors. Whatever the reason, do not upset a client because they might not need anything today but might require it later in the future. If they have a bad experience with you, they will never make a purchase. 2. Do not depend on the script Every contact center agent needs a script. Unless altered, value proportions, product information, and FAQs should be jotted down and highlighted on their papers. Reps should provide accurate information to prospects because they will not forgive misleading information later. But at the same time, avoid narrating every bit of the script, it sounds robotic on the agent’s end. Keeping the sheet for reference is advisable. 3. Don't keep the customer's call for a long time Customers become irritated when they are kept on hold. They despise hearing the voice on the other end of the line say, "Your call is on wait." Please be patient while we get help." Instead, it is recommended that you continue to speak with the customer while looking for information. The agent's top priority is to obtain positive feedback from the attendee, which can only be accomplished by offering them undivided attention. 4. Don't be spoon-fed by your supervisors It is sometimes unavoidable for agents to request that consumers seek the aid of a supervisor. It's tempting to save everyone's time by passing them directly up the chain of command, but this should be avoided for three reasons: a. Supervisors lose faith and miss out on opportunities to advance their careers. b. Customers will believe that agents are unaware and uninformed and that they are offering false excuses, therefore they will not call again. c. You will never be able to give definitive answers. If the client requests for manager’s help, then of course you should entertain them. But in a well-run call center, your answer and your supervisor’s answer should be exactly the same. 5. Don't ever admit that you have no idea Another comment that can entirely destroy a customer's trust in you is this one. Nobody expects you to have all the answers, but you should be confident in your ability to find the ones you don't. Otherwise, the client's call experience will be unpleasant. According to a YouGov survey, 76 percent of customers claimed that "just one bad contact center experience is likely to cause them to move their business elsewhere." According to a recent Zendesk poll, 35% of customers ceased doing business with a firm after a bad encounter. Agents in call centers must develop the necessary substance in them to propel them forward. They need to become the complete package. They work hard, exceed expectations, and do more than asked to achieve high-quality consistent results. A little direction can lead them to work extremely well with both customers and employees. Ameyo has recently launched a Remote Agent Solution for the contact center agents who are working from home. The solution provides the complete call functionalities click-to-dial, hold, mute.

MEBS CALL CENTER PH FOSTERS YOUNG COMMUNICATORS Who are these young communicators? MEBS call center managers are continuously looking for new ways to encourage their employees, and they understand that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Managers may need to rethink how to nurture a pleasant experience and establish a productive team when it comes to millennials (born 1981-1996), also known as Generation Y, and the youngest members of the workforce, Generation Z (born 1997-2012). So, how do they keep call center employees motivated? What distinguishes the workforce of the future? What qualities do people seek in a work experience? What do call center managers do to help millennial employees be more productive and satisfied at work? What sets Gen Z apart from Generation Y? Here’s how: Learn how to keep call center personnel motivated and effective. Learn how to engage Millennials and Gen-Z workers in the most effective way possible. Create a work environment and corporate culture that caters to the requirements and expectations of millennial employees. Adding younger people to your call center staff has the potential to boost your ROI significantly. However, many businesses are confused about how to best inspire and engage with these agents. Many of these employees don't stick around for long since they don't know how to support their productivity. While high turnover rates have plagued the call center industry for years, millennial call center agents have had a particularly low retention rate, with a 33 percent turnover rate on average. Millennials have surpassed Baby Boomers as the largest generation of working Americans. That is to say, if you want to know how to encourage call center workers, you must first understand how these generations work. Young Call Center Agents as Efficient Communicators Dealing and coping with a variety of duties, customers, and scenarios is part of mastering communication skills. This is particularly true for call center employees. Customers expect timely, courteous, and effective phone service. Even if you operate as a call center agent alone in a home office, remember that you are part of a team. Your employment needs you to deal with a wide range of concerns and use problem-solving approaches to help customers find positive and acceptable solutions. These are the commendable skills of young call center agents. Furthermore, learning communication skills include comprehending various communication styles, using active listening skills, and mastering excellent phone delivery services. Communication Styles You could believe that there is only one type of communication – after all, one person speaks while the other listens. It isn't quite that straightforward, though. It's crucial to grasp the different sorts of communication when it comes to customer service and call center training. These personalities are usually categorized into three types: assertive, passive, and aggressive. These communication styles are common not only among customer service personnel but also among call customers: Aggressive Communicator- It's a pain to deal with. When dealing with such a person, communication is likely to be argumentative and "black and white," as they will have a specific complaint or take an either/or approach to resolving the issue. Aggressive communicators frequently dominate communication efforts, neglect the other speaker's ideas or recommendations, and continually interrupt. Passive Communicator- A passive communicator is the polar opposite of an active communicator. This type of communicator likes to agree or concur with everything spoken by others. An excessively passive communicator is frequently unable to create an independent opinion. Passive communicators try to avoid arguing with others when they bring up important or severe problems. A passive communicator usually lets the other person have control over the conversation, issues, and decisions. Such a person isn't suitable to work as a customer service representative or a call center agent because they can't be forceful enough when it comes to offering solutions, concessions, or even negotiating with customers. Assertive Communicator- is in the middle of the passive-aggressive spectrum. An assertive communicator has the ability to listen to another person's problem or issue and then provide alternatives or negotiate a compromise or resolution. Despite their politeness and courtesy, they will not allow themselves to be walked all over. They value people and themselves, as well as their qualities and capacities. The assertive communicator is the best style of communicator for a call center or telephone service profession. CALL CENTER AGENTS ARE GOOD LISTENERS Listening to what a customer has to say is one of the most important tasks of a customer service representative, especially a call center employee. Listening to a customer's words, meaning, and tone of voice is more important than simply hearing what they're saying. Customer-focused listening skills are critical for both customer service personnel and the companies they work for to succeed. It's critical to teach customer service professionals and call center employees who operate the phones to recognize that customers have a wide range of service requirements. They may require not just physical but also mental or emotional assistance. Customers want to feel significant to the firm they're dealing with. Anyone working in hospitality or customer service professionals should be aware that there are three distinct "levels" of listening, which many of us are unaware of. So, what type of listener do you consider yourself to be? When you've had a rough day at home, you're afraid about taking your dog to the vet after work, or your boss is being a jerk, do you listen to people differently? LEVELS OF ACTIVE LISTENING SKILLS Level 3- Listening is the least efficient mode of communication. This level represents someone who has literally spaced out or is daydreaming while listening to someone else speak. They act as though they're paying attention by making customary noncommittal responses or body movements, but they're not really paying attention to what's being said. They care more about what they have to say. This lack of listening ability can have a negative impact on customer service, decision-making, and customer resolutions. Level 2- Listening entails paying attention to what another person is saying but not necessarily comprehending what they're attempting to communicate. The actual uttered words will be understood by such a listener, but the relevance of voice tone will be overlooked. When speaking face-to-face, this type of listener ignores body language, facial expressions, and other cues. Such a listener frequently misinterprets or misunderstands what a caller requires or desires, resulting in inappropriate actions or solutions that do not address the issue. Level 1- This level is used to describe someone who actively listens and concentrates solely on a speaker. Tone, vocabulary, listening, and body language are all combined in this type of listener. This type of listener uses data to make a decision or find a solution without being swayed by their own emotions or distractions. HOW DO YOUNG COMMUNICATORS (CALL CENTER AGENTS) MASTER THEIR DELIVERY? As a call center representative, you must be able to communicate in a variety of ways. Understanding communication styles, as well as listening styles, is one of these talents. Furthermore, mastering optimal quality and delivery of services across a telephone connection is critical. This can be accomplished by: Asking appropriate and proper questions- You'll get the information you need to give a solution by asking questions. Arriving at an answer- Make sure you understand the question before responding. Check to see if you understand the question. If you don't know the answer, tell the caller that you don't know and that you'll find out. Choose the right word/vocabulary- Negative language is discouraged among call center workers and customer support personnel. Words like impossible, can't, not, and no are examples of negative language and words. Can, able, and yes are all positive adjectives. Always endeavor to provide the greatest quality delivery services over the phone, whether the customer can see you or not. Courtesy is important. Even when dealing with difficult or irritated consumers, you'll discover that the calmer and more soothing your voice is, the faster the person will relax. Maintaining your patience will literally take the wind out of their sails. Don't let them ruffle your feathers; instead, do your best to show them that you've heard, listened to, and comprehended their problem. Active listening, the correct communication style, and treating customers with respect go a long way toward demonstrating to them that you and the firm care about them. Effective listening abilities and excellent communication skills can literally spell the difference between a company's success and failure. YOUNG COMMUNICATORS AS PROVIDERS OF EXCELLENCE How do call center agents ensure that your phone service is of the highest quality? You may deliver exceptional, high-quality services to consumers by following communication basics, using an assertive communication style, and actively listening. Their attitude makes a big difference in how you respond to a customer. In this article, we'll explore differences in attitude, and how such concepts can help them answer questions quickly, effectively, and correctly. ATTITUDE AND ABILITY OF YOUNG CALL CENTER AGENTS We've already discussed how to answer the phone briefly. It is recommended to say hello and handle each call as if it's the most important call received all day. It goes a long way toward giving good phone support to customers if they can keep a pleasant, engaging, passionate — yet competent — tone. The foundation of their job is their attitude and ability to listen and offer answers. It's important to remember that being adaptable while adhering to the company's norms and laws pay well. It's crucial to remember that a consumer is looking for solutions, not to be told what they can't or shouldn't do. While maintaining within their company's restrictions, it's critical to seek out any solution that will benefit the customer. Bottom line: It's their responsibility to try to address all concerns on the first call. The person on the other end of the line will notice a difference in their tone and attitude. they will more than likely prevent a negative reaction from the caller if they avoid negative and controlling statements like "You should have," "I'm sorry, but," or even "You have to." Callers are likely to become even more unsatisfied with a product or service if they hear patronizing remarks, outright denial ("I'm not allowed to offer...) to do something about an issue, and inflexibility. As contact center representatives, they must always be courteous, regardless of the person on the other end of the line's mood or behavior. It's also crucial to let the listener know that they understand their concerns or difficulty while adhering to business policy. Every caller is entitled to decency and respect. Their demeanor can - and does- influence each and every consumer with whom you interact. HOW GENERATION Z CALL CENTER AGENTS ARE BEING DRIVEN INTO CUSTOMER SERVICE AND IN COMMUNICATION EXPERTISE? Embracing the beneficialness of the new technology Exercise Flexibility and Independence Accepting Remote Work Options Prioritize Focus under Pressure Using clean and modern User Interfaces (UI) Keep socializing and develop belongingness EXCELLENT COMMUNICATORS ARE AMONG YOUTHS AND ALL AGES! The call center staff is most likely made up of people from different generations. When it comes to establishing training and incentive programs, knowing the overall features of certain populations, how they are driven, and what they value may make a tremendous impact. a 58-year-old agent may be more effective with a strategy that your 21-year-old agent does not, and vice versa. Consider moderating a team discussion that recognizes these differences to encourage an appreciation for everyone’s needs and the values they bring to the team. How can they help each other while working toward the team’s and company’s goals? END THOUGHT A great call center worker has the capacity to reply to customers regardless of their concerns. Call center agents’ attention to detail, feeling of dependability, and capacity to respond are all essential qualities that enable them to do their tasks successfully. They have to make sure they understand their company's standards and policies so that they know exactly what you're expected to do with a variety of customer issues. Learn the boundaries of what they can, and absolutely cannot, offer them in an attempt to appease ruffled feathers, dissatisfaction regarding a product or service, or other types of complaints.