To save yourself from debt and have a decent savings fund, you need a reality check and keep in mind that you might not have your job, or your health tomorrow! But before anything else, rid yourself of debt first. Stop loaning for unnecessary expenses and if you already have, make sure you pay them on time; that way, you can have the money all to yourself already and not earn for someone else. It is also wise to set a goal with regards to the amount you’re saving. You don’t need to save so much on your first attempt, but at least have something to look forward to as a start. If you are looking into buying a house, you might want to save for the downpayment first before the monthly payments – make sure you have a time frame too! You cannot just buy something then later on realize you can’t pay for it anymore.

It also helps if you keep a record of all your expenses and review it regularly so you get to see where your money is going the most. You can either cut down your expenses or reassess your way of spending by setting a budget for commodities and leisurely things. Another way is to stop using credit cards; as much as it is handy to swipe them in times of need, you can never be too cautious as you might end up swiping more than you can pay. Remember, if you think you can hide from collectors now, you cannot run away from having these records in your overall financial account permanently in the long run. So if you intend to loan a house, car or even apply for a visa someday, you might want to think about settling your credit card debts first.

More importantly, ask yourself, “Do I really need these things?” if you don’t, you might just want to close that half empty wallet instead.

On a typical weekday, over a hundred job applicants that include students, new graduates, career shifters and the unemployed line up early to try their luck at applying in a call center facility and start their new career through the initial step which is the recruitment process. But sadly, not everyone passes even the first stage. There are many factors to remember when applying for a Philippine call center job and the most important thing to keep in mind is that a call center facility is not a place to look for temporary employment and wait out time.

For most job applicants, seeking employment at a BPO facility is only transitory as they wait for nursing board exam results, an opportunity abroad that may or might not arrive and all the wrong reasons that will never include career growth and development. If you think about it, there is so much more than just momentarily working as a call center agent; when taken seriously, a career in the call center can bring you more than just employment but as well as financial growth, opportunities and even managerial positions that you can never seek elsewhere given your occupancy and age. So before you plan on going through the long recruitment process and plotting out your tenure at only six months, you might seriously want to consider these reasons on why you should take your call center job seriously.

• The Philippine call center is only a very small percentage of  industries that can start you off with more than the minimum wage even if you only completed two years of college regardless of your academic course. Your salary doesn’t also depend on your connections (unlike many Philippine offices) with the management since legitimate call centers are based in the United States and have standardized pay.

• Your promotion, evaluation and overall career growth will depend on your work performance. So it doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, trendy or timid and what your gender orientation is; everything will be calculated accordingly by how you work. If you do not strive hard, you will never earn your bonuses and what not regardless of how good looking you are or how long you’ve been working there. In fact, there are many new call center agents that earn higher than those that have long been tenured because they perform better.

These are only few of the many reasons why working at a call center in the Philippines is better and should be taken seriously. Because if you don’t, you will end up applying and working at every facility which eventually makes you lose all your credibility. So step up and work hard at where you are.

E-mail and instant messaging make interoffice communications quicker and easier than distributing paper memos. E-mail newsletter distribution means your customers or clients receive information about your business sooner. Instead of printing out e-mail messages, file them in Outlook or another e-mail system. File the attachments on your hard drive or on a shared drive. Convert an e-mailed invoice to a PDF. Print any documents only if absolutely necessary. Change all of your light bulbs to CFLs, LEDs, or other energy-saving alternative light bulb solutions. Turn off and unplug all computers and electronic devices after office hours; because even when these devices are turned off, they will continue to use electricity unless you unplug the power cord to keep them from charging all night.

Likewise, you should also unplug coffee machines and other appliances at the office when they are not in use so they don’t pull electricity all day. Reduce office trash as much as possible, and compost or recycle the rest. You may not consider commuting to be a part of your office’s environmental impact, but your transportation policies can make a large difference. Make walking or riding a bicycle an easier option by offering showers and private changing areas at your office. If inbound call center agents and outbound call center agents agree to walk, bike, or take public transportation to work, offer them a small bonus for encouragement. Use recycled products everywhere you can around the office. Reuse folders, boxes and all other office supplies for as long as possible before purchasing any new ones.

Going green at Philippine contact center can be very effective in demonstrating practical benefits of being environmentally friendly as well as saving business money.

A Philippine call center must know that they not only need to meet their customer’s expectations, but they must strive to exceed them. For inbound call center agents, there is more opportunity in exceeding customers’ expectations even when they’re complaining. The important thing is that you listen and don’t tell them that they’re wrong; then acknowledge the issue, try to reach an agreement, and do your best to keep them happy. They may not be right, but at least you listened to their point of view. Usually people just want to be heard. You must use this complaint as a positive thing to help you grow and improve.

In an outbound call center setting, you need to be flexible in your approach. Don’t just make a sale but rather, offer solutions in the best interest of your customer. You also need to let customers drive how you interact with them. Though you may not always be able to offer the type of communication channel your customers want, you can still be responsive to their behavior. Lastly, honor your word. If you tell someone you’ll follow-up with them by end of day, you have to do it. There’s nothing worse than having someone tell you they’ll contact you later, then having to track them down again. Keep in touch with customers and check if the products or services are good.

Good customer service results to repeat guests while bad customer service drives customers away taking their friends, family and workmates. It is very important to have a good customer service not just to make the customers happy but to attract potential customers.

As everyone knows, laughter is the best medicine. It is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert. According to a study, people who have fun on the job are more creative,  productive, better decision-makers and more likely to get along better with co-workers. They also have fewer absents, tardiness, and sick days than people who are not having fun. Nowadays, companies realize that if they want to survive in the global market place, they have no choice but to be able to adapt quickly. They need to fine-tune employee recognition and engagement through effective programs that can spread positive energy within the organization and may lead to increased profit margins, customer retention, productivity and more.

Making work fun helps employees maintain performance and consistently provide quality, because it serves an outlet for tension and stress and makes work more enjoyable. Employees learn that they can lighten up on the job, and continue to be competent and professional. The key is taking your work seriously, while taking yourself lightly in doing that work. Enjoy what you do and do it well to make room for improvement and none for failure; that way, everyone wins.

One of the most inspiring stories that has been told is by Manuel V. Pangilinan, also known as Manny Pangilinan and MVP. The CEO of Philippine Long Distance and Telephone Company or PLDT, the Philippine’s pioneer in telecommunications. His story is from rags to riches; from being a student to eventually becoming a corporate tycoon. He was born poor but being poor didn’t stop him from reaching his dreams. Perhaps it became the source of his passion and drive. According to him, “whatever we may wish to do with our future, we can make it because it gets dark sometimes, but morning comes always”. These are the words from a man who believes that lifelong learning and exploring are key factors in moving towards success.

So whether you’re a student, hotelier, an inbound call center agent in a Philippine call center, a small business owner or whatever it is that you do, never stop learning. If you have a goal in mind that will bring you the happiness you’ve been wanting, don’t hesitate to start the journey to achieve it. Start your path today and act out your dreams.  And if you’ve already begun, consistently re-connect with your dream and make sure you strive hard toward your goals until you reach your destination and believe in yourself and do not let anybody stop you from reaching them.

You may have once thought of a clear and bright future but all you ever did was plan for your career. Most job seekers all want the same things; a job that pays well that allows you to earn loads of money so you can settle down in the big city, with a lifestyle that makes a statement to family and friends. But as you all know, it’s not that easy to attain unless you work hard.

Attaining success and making your job the right career requires hard work and sacrifice. You should spend some time to make sure that you are crystal clear about what you want in your working life. In addition to that, your career goal should be one that you truly want and not what others want for you. This is important because you will not be truly happy and fulfilled if you are doing it just to please somebody else. Most importantly, you should have a convincing reason why you must achieve this career goal. However, there may be times that you find yourself striving to move forward but getting nowhere instead. Remember, whatever your personal barriers to career growth and development, you can overcome these obstacles. Anyone who sets goals, creates a timeline for success, has adequate support, and strives for excellence can prevail over these barriers to achieve the success that all people deserve. Like your goals, only you can decide which ones to believe in and pursue.

But as we all know, it is a very competitive world out there, countries around the world are now seeking to challenge the Philippines’ dominance in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, especially in more high-value, non-voice services.  Non voice jobs involve table jobs such as transcription, insurance, finance and across industries like airlines and transportation, securities, human resources, litigation and financial services, insurance, data processing, e-publishing and healthcare. The new challenge is how to develop our own qualified workforce with the specialized skills required by the non-voice sectors such as scalability of entry-level talent; availability of specialized skills; availability and quality of managers; and migration of skilled talent. It is very essential for us to make sure our schools graduate young professionals who can fill in this human resource gap. Government, industry and institution of higher education are enhancing the regulations in training potential call center and other BPO workers and those engaged in non-voice BPO to make them more competitive and attractive to the industry. TESDA has even ramped up support for training and development of non-voice based skills in the BPO sector particularly in the Visayas to boost the region as a choice destination for investors.

It is very evident that our country is achieving another goal,  not just as the number one spot in the outsourcing industry but also as the haven for non-voice BPO services.

Engage in communication.  Effective communication is always important. Many times, an argument will develop because of communication breakdowns. When someone is talking, listen carefully and make sure you understand that person’s point before you respond. Likewise, make sure the other person understands your own point.

Recognize and respect qualities. Keep in mind that all employees are valuable assets in the business community whatever they are like. Each one has an important role to play.

Use a learning mindset approach.  Approach each interaction with an open mind—avoid making decisions or predictions before you start. Really listen to what the other person has to say and remain open to their viewpoint. When people feel your support, they will be more willing to work with you.

Don’t be a difficult person yourself.  It is easy to identify someone else being difficult. But, how many times do you look in the mirror and acknowledge that you are the one being difficult. Know thyself and recognize what triggers your own responses.

To succeed in telemarketing, you should also be fully aware of the main purpose of the call as well as what you want the recipient to do after the call. It is also best to set a secondary objective that seems realistic. When it comes to generating sales leads, you have to remember that time is money for both you and your potential client. Be concise, clear, and spell out your intentions before the client gets the chance to hang up on you. However, you should also be ready to listen to what the he is trying to say. If he does not seem interested in the products or services you are offering, you have to respect their decision and thank them anyway. It is also important to ask meaningful questions that will illustrate problems that your clients may be experiencing. Do your best in sounding natural because there is nothing worse than listening to someone who sounds like he is reading straight from a book. A good telemarketer is a good listener but also someone who can make others disclose in him or her to a degree from the onset. That’s because the telemarketer must get his/her prospect talking. And that’s not possible unless the telemarketer’s manner evokes some trust in the other person. This is a vitally important make-or-break point of telemarketing.