Call Centre Employment, UCMS vs. Salesforce

Call Centre employment is not exactly rocket science, nor is it a prestigious position.

When one asks the question what the general public perceive when the word call centre is mentioned, quite often annoying phone calls, India, telemarketing, surveys are the words that easily come into mind.

Call Centres are quite often outsourced where cheap labour is abundant, e.g. overseas, or in more cases than not, specific to a few ethnic groups. Places like Foxtel, Virgin, Telstra all rely on this service. These companies are usually serviced by external agencies, UCMS and Salesforce.com.au, are just two used in this comparison.

An interview process at say UCMS, may include a group introduction of an approximate 50 candidates. They are prepped and hyped up like little school children, with modern upbeat music, together with a front person who’s fake enthusiasm is a see through as glass. Once the candidates fill in their details, the heard is then broken up into groups of four and interviewed by a staff member of the agency. This process is relatively quick, as you only have to hear three other candidates reasons for becoming an ‘aspirational’ at a Call Centre.

An interview process at Salesforce follows the initial blueprint for induction. In this instance there were approximately 12 candidates. A group interview was also carried out, but in this case it was done with the one recruiter. All of the individuals were present, and had to listen to each others employment histories, and the reason why they should be chose for a Call Centre employee. All in all a waste of two hours listening to verbal drivel why each candidate should be enlisted for a fulfilling career with boundless opportunities at a Call Centre.

A poorly managed employment procedure was in place at Salesforce, where cost cutting was clearly evident, and the time of the candidate treated as a last priority.