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Though BPOs conduct many rounds of tests before hiring a new employee, they still provide them some training to get that accent right! And it must be said that youngsters joining a BPO significantly benefit from this training as it serves as a personality development exercise for them. Here is a look at the training sessions that transform many a "desi", oh-so-American!
Personality Development Sessions:
The training sessions are divided into two parts - personality development and technical details. But, it's the Personality Development (PD) part that is enjoyed more, as apart from the information about the countries that they are dealing with, it's also about culture, history and behaviour. Games like truth and dare, word building and activities like debates form an important part of the session.
Breaking the Ice:
According to Neha Singhal of Convergys, "I must say that all the activities in PD are aimed at breaking the ice amongst the newcomers and they really help us come out of our shells." Public speaking, talking in a well-mannered way, all comes naturally to the candidates after these sessions. So when you hear 'How may I help you?' the next time you call, remember the PD classes.
Developing the communication skills:
Throwing a word in a group and building a story on it is another common exercise in such sessions. "Story building helps us to develop our communication skills. Sometimes the words are very simple like magic, love, career etc and at times they are very difficult like communalism. The exercise helps us to become active listeners and teach us to reply promptly. Both are customer care techniques, very much needed in the profession," adds Neha
Projects to improve GK:
In the opinion of Ankur Bajaj of Vertex, "The interesting part is the projects that we get to make. A project made by an employee is like a mini-guide to the country that he is going to handle, and includes basic information like national symbols, dances, traditions, culture, places to see and eat. So, it helps professionally and personally."
Talk like the Americans:
Nikhil Sharma of HCL says, "Accent training equips us to handle the customers better. We have to speak with a native touch in our language to keep the familiarity quotient high in the conversation."
Keep your cool, babe!
The sessions take a serious turn when the question of handling rude customers comes into focus. "We are repeatedly told not to react as the rudeness is not for us but the company. The only training we get is to tell such customers thrice not to behave like that and after that we hang up," says Ankur.
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