Welcome to IT city. In Bangalore, dentists are going 24×7 not treating patients in their clinics but working in Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) units as call centre employees

With fewer job opportunities available for dentists, unemployed dentists are often left with no choice but to turn to Bangalore’s numerous BPOs to earn their bread and butter.

“Where are the jobs for dentists?” ask academicians and experts. Dr Usha Mohandas, academician and professor, head of pedodontics and preventive dentistry department at VS Dental College and Hospital, Bangalore says, “This is the latest trend among many young dentists. Since they have no jobs in hand, many are taking refuge at call centres.” Thankfully, “Bangalore has a large number of call centres!” she adds.

Urban Bangalore has too many dentists already and there is little space for new entrants to set up shop, feel experts. This problem isn’t limited to Bangalore alone; it is increasingly prevalent across India. Almost three-fourth of the total number of dentists are clustered in urban areas, which house only one-fourth of the country’s population.

Despite having a professional degree in Bachelor of Surgery (BDS), Arvind Ravindra is clueless about his future as a dentist. Ravindra is in his early 30s, but isn’t a practicing dentist; worse still, he currently doesn’t have a job in hand.

“After completing my BDS, I couldn’t find a job,” says Ravindra who then considered opening his own clinic. “But that was an expensive affair. So, I abandoned the idea and joined a BPO. I worked there for a few years and then quit,” he says.

Another call centre employee, Lata Subramaniam (name changed on request) completed her Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) and became a lecturer in a dental college; however, the job didn’t pay much. “Teachers in dental colleges are paid a paltry sum. I was forced to quit that job and join a BPO instead,” says Subramaniam. “Years of hard work studying dentistry has gone in vain,” she adds ruefully.

K Deepak always wanted to be a dentist and put in tremendous effort to reach his goal, but his case isn’t different from many others. “I always wanted to be a dentist. So, I enrolled for a BDS course. But I couldn’t find a job even after five years of agonising search,” says Deepak who has now joined a local call centre. “I have no other option. I am clueless,” he says.

Lack of opportunities for dentists has impacted the course, and experts say there are hardly any takers for BDS today. As a result, the popularity of dentistry as a branch of medical science is fast waning. Between 2007 and 2009, more than half the BDS seats offered by colleges through Common Entrance Test (CET) and Consortium of Medical Engineering and Dental Colleges of Karnataka (COMED-K) counselling have remained vacant. Further, academicians allege that all vacant seats are later sold by colleges as management seats. Each management seat comes at a staggering price of nearly Rs20 lakh.

Rampant corruption and mismanagement has crept into the dental education system and Dental Council of India has failed to rein the system, say educationists .

Currently, Karnataka has 42 dental colleges, two of which are run by the government, while the rest are private institutions. According to Dental Council of India’s senior members, dental education has become a lucrative business that is diluting the quality of dental education.

Source:http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_looking-for-a-dentist-try-the-nearest-call-centre_1415717

Call center outsourcing has become the “key phrase” for 21st century. This new work system has changed the way companies work, forever. It has allowed companies to share responsibility of some of its operations with an institution that specializes in those operations. For example, a company can outsource its customer care operations to a call center that already has trained professionals and the infrastructure for it.

Choosing a good call center is very important, but it has become quite easy, these days. There is so much choice in the field of call center outsourcing that the customer is spoiled for choice. One can choose from a specialized call center, limited hours or 24×7 call center and big-scale or small call center.

One thing that many companies ignore after choosing a call center is ensuring a good calling script for the representative. A calling script is the manner in which, a call center representative talk to the people who he speaks to during inbound or out-bound calling. Calling script is extremely important for the success of the company as it is the first impression that a company leaves on its customer’s mind. If your representatives don’t talk clearly, or talk rudely with the customers, or use difficult words, then it will show your company in a bad light.

In order to ensure a smooth and helpful experience for your customers, make sure that the calling script that your call center representatives use has the following qualities:

Simplicity: The script should start with a simple “Welcome” or -if you want to be a little casual-“Hello.” The representatives should use simple words and language, so that anyone can understand them. But don’t go overboard with it, as the customers might think that you think of them as illiterates. Create a balance between sounding smart, and yet easy to follow.

Salutation: If your company has customers in more than one country, then instead of using time specific greetings like “Good Morning” or “Good Evening,” use a “Hello” or “Welcome”. This will help the call center representative in avoiding awkward situations while talking to the customers.

Understanding: If a person is calling with a problem or complaint, then the call center representative should sound understanding and eager to help them. Avoid a script that sounds like a recorded message as it will annoy the customers. Train the representatives to provide a customized reply after hearing what the customer has to say. They should also avoid sounding over compassionate as the caller can recognize insincerity.

Summarize: The call center employees should be trained in keeping their calls to the shortest. The customers usually don’t have the time to be on call for too long. Therefore, only provide the information they require and in the shortest amount of time possible. This will also reduce the waiting time of calls to the call centers.

The call center outsourcing is something that everybody is familiar with. Customers are now experienced in handling call center employees and thus, the script should treat them as an educated and respected individual, instead of some amateur trying to get hold of things.

Source:http://www.24×7-livesupport.com/news/importance-of-a-good-script-in-call-center-outsourcing.html

The International Customer Management Institute has launched its 2010 Call Center Workforce Management Practices survey to provide an analysis of call center best practices, explore the greatest challenges in forecasting and scheduling, evaluate how workforce management technology is being embraced and examine various staffing strategies such as home agents, outsourcing and staff-sharing.

A recent ICMI look at outsourcing found that selecting the proper vendor is of key importance: “Many times, outsourcing relationships bring disappointment and frustration. When I’m called in to resolve outsourcing problems, I find that most of the time, it comes down to a poor match between the company and the outsourcing vendor,” wrote ICMI’s Francoise Tourniaire.

This is “something that could have been prevented through a better selection process,” she noted.
ICMI conducted a similar survey in 2007. The organization’s most recent Contact Center Operations Report, which polled over 430 contact center professionals worldwide representing a range of industries and professions, indicated that 25 percent of centers planned to invest in workforce management system technologies/ enhancements.
More than half of all respondents said they did not use an automated tool.

“Our survey will reveal the types of investments contact centers have made and how they’re paying off,” said Layne Holley, ICMI’s Director of Community Services. “We’ll also learn how organizations are approaching workforce management from a strategic as well as a tactical perspective.”

Source:http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/call-center-outsourcing/articles/79624-outsourcing-staffing-other-findings.htm