[UgaBYTES] Looking for Call Centre Agent Training Manual

Fri Jan 18 06:16:48 GMT 2008

Dear Sophia and others in Ugabytes team,

Thanks for raising this issue in the Ugabytes team. The i4d magazine (all issues are available online www.i4donline.net ) has been looking at the issue of outsourcing and has several articles looking at also Rural BPOs.  In India, we commonly use the term BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) for several of the call centre businesses. The Indian boom in IT industry has been attributed largely to the software service sector development, and further expansion of global servicing.

When we think of ICTs for Development, the question we ask is, have these developments and boom in the IT industry created only a boom in the foreign exchange earnings, and making the IT sector the most paying employer? Has it moved away jobs from other industries to make young aspirants towards the BPO industry?
There are some gender concerns, and concerns regardings the psychological impacts of a changed (24/7) work style. There are also some sample surveys/studies. However, we were unable to get access to them.

In the mainstream area, the latest developments are getting more sophisticated, and KPOs (Knowledge Processing Organisations) are emerging, maturing and doing good business. 

In the Rural scenario, the challenges continue to confront rural communities, who aspire to be part of the knowledge societies. ICT interventions, telephony, and other infrastructure are still abysmally low/ not-available. In this condition, we look out for innovations to help the rural communities leapfrog the divide.

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras's TENET programme (www.ites.tenet.res.in) has incubated a Rural BPO and Ms. Saloni Malhotra has operationalised rural BPOs in India under the name DesiCrew. She is contactable via email: saloni at tenet.res.in 

September 2006 issue of i4d magazine has an article by Saloni (as also in October 2007 issue)
http://www.i4donline.net/articles/current-article.asp?articleid=799&typ=Features

Another in October 2007 which focussed on Emerging Markets (a part of the three volumes on GK3 lead up thematic special) http://www.i4donline.net/oct07/content.asp addressed several issues, besides the article by Saloni.

Another case study from Sri Lanka is that of a Rural BPO set up by a 19 year old Isuru from the organisation Horizon Lanka, which has an interesting beginning of introducing ICTs to rural villages, and leading to the setting up of a BPO 

http://www.i4donline.net/articles/current-article.asp?articleid=1326&typ=Features

I will send in another set of links with other resources in i4d. 

All readers are welcome to put a link to the i4d, get registered for daily, weekly or monthly updates from the i4d team. The link to the subscription page for registering is: http://www.i4donline.net/registration/index.asp. You need to just send your subscription profile, and will receive these newsletters via email free of cost. The Monthly digest primarily alerts you to the content pages of the latest print edition of the i4d magazine.

Hope these links are valuable. I would be happy to discuss this issue further, and of course hear from Africa about other experiments/ examples.

Jaya

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Sophia Huyer 
  To: ugabytes at lists.ugabytes.org 
  Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 8:34 PM
  Subject: Re: [UgaBYTES] Looking for Call Centre Agent Training Manual

  Dear all,

  I have been a lurker so far, but I would like to say that I have found the information and discussions on this list to be very rich and very informative.

  I am contributing to the ICT4D section of an upcoming book on Technology, Policy and Poverty Reduction, to be published by UNESCO and Practical Action.  We would like to include an assessment of the contributions of call centres to poverty reduction and employment for both women and men.  I would appreciate any references or articles on experiences and results of call centres.  It would be very interesting to have examples from Africa, but I would appreciate leads on experience in Asia as well.

  Thank you, 

  Sophia Huyer

  Sophia Huyer
  Executive Director
  WIGSAT- Women, Knowledge, Technology
  Brighton, Ontario, Canada
  shuyer at wigsat.org
  www.wigsat.org

  siyatele at workmail.co.za wrote: 
Dear Esther,

Thank you for your prompt response, the information was indeed very
useful.  But the team heading this programme has realised that based on
the required costs of setting up a call centre we are not currently ready,
instead we opted to run a call centre agent training centre which than
sends the team back to look for a TRAINING Manual.

Patricia
TASA
  A friend from the Asian region where apparently call centres are very
popular sent me the following links as per your request about starting
call
centres. Let me know if they are helpful
How to set up a call centre
http://www.techworld.com/applications/features/index.cfm?featureid=594

Call Center Software: All the software required to setup a call center.
http://www.nch.com.au/software/callcenter.html

Setting up a call centre
http://www.thecheers.org/article_663_Setting-Up-Call-Centers.html

What it takes to set up a call centre
http://www.rediff.com/money/2004/jan/02bpo1.htm

Dorothy K. Gordon the Director-General of the Ghana-India Kofi Annan
Centre
of Excellence in ICT advices that since MTN and Telkom South Africa have
already been setting up call centers, you would consider meeting with them
as well.

I hope this is helpful

Cheers
Esther

--
Esther Nasikye
Community Content Facilitator
UgaBYTES Initiative
Plot 2218 Ggaba Road
Kampala, Uganda
Tel: 25641370163
skype:esther.nasikye
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