Posting again soon!

I deeply apologize to all my followers for my very long hiatus and almost forgetting this blog altogether! I will write more content soon and review BPOs and Call Centers that have sprouted EVERYWHERE so stay tuned!

Say Goodbye to Faster Internet: TELSTRA backs out! San Miguel is no longer interested!

This is such a sad ending to what would have been a shining shindig to all netizens around the country. After all the business talks, meetings, and hype about this huge partnership between San Miguel Corporation and Australia's biggest telecommunications company, Telstra, is gone! ProSYNC, SMC's call center arm lost this account.

Some online reports have suggested that SMC received a legal threat from both PLDT and Globe Telecom concerning the fair usage of SMC's 7000MHz ownership which puts SMC at an advantage initially.  In tech-speak, this is called the spectrum. It is the electronic airspace where all broadcast technology company interfaces on. And at the moment, the 700MHz frequency band is the best at penetrating building walls and travelling long distances.

The pressure against SMC is definitely immense. Manny V. Pangilinan is keen on being at the top of the telecom industry. It is safe to say that this ball game is currently at MVP's hands and when the stakes are high, he will definitely take the shot!

To all of us, this is quite unfortunate. I personally hate my DSL service at home and my mobile internet, SMART & Globe, respectively.  I prayed for the time when our internet speed would be at par with our neighboring asian countries and this confirms the end of my prayer - unanswered!  

I hate that our internet speed currently has THE lowest level of 4G penetration. I hate that SMART & Globe has the sole monopoly of the telecom and internet industry which accords them VERY high mobile profit margins at our expense.  Though a foreign company, and another capitalist at that, I was happy to find out that Australia's Telstra came into the picture to give these two local big wigs a run for their money which would benefit the common netizens here in the country.  

FYI, we have an average download speed of 3.64 Mbps, ranking 176th out of 202 nations around the world. It is eight times slower than the global average broadband download speed of a whopping 23.3 Mbps, which to me is internet utopia.  A separate survey even reported that while the Philippines might have improved its connection by a percentage point, its overall ranking in Asia still remains at number 13 out of 15, or the third-worst connection in the region. Simply WOW in a negative sense!

On the brighter side, I heard MVP had struck a deal with Telstra.  I'm not sure if this is true but if it is, it may still be good though an underlying and bigger monopoly is brewing.  I'm just hoping that, we, the end-users and consumers who fill their pockets, will be in their mind when this pulls through! What this means is, SMART's call center workforce, which is SPi Inc., will be taking over their call center duties if everything irons out as planned.

Let's all join hands in prayer now! 

P.S. 
Now you know where to apply, right? SPi has 4 main offices. In Espana, Manila, Ortigas, Makati and Mandaluyong :)

Kindly post a comment if you need to know anything else. Thanks!

Telstra to partner with San Miguel Corp's call center arm ProSync

I know I have neglected this blog for such a long time and for that, I deeply apologize. This is a very exciting time for me and the whole bpo industry! I got confirmation that Australian telecom giant, Telstra had finally signed a deal with San Miguel's ProSync to handle their customer service operations when they launch their 40-100 Mbps DSL services here in the Philippines.

I am quite elated that a legit competitor will definitely give Smart, Globe, SkyCable & BayanTel a real run for their money. As of the moment, the first batch of trainees are a mix of old & new employees who will definitely be the future Team Leaders and support system when Telstra goes full steam.

They're not hiring at the moment but send me a message so I can inform you the best time to get in.

I'd like to personally extend my utmost gratitude first to Telstra, for providing my beloved  Philippines, an internet service which would be at par with the rest of the world and second, to San Miguel Corporation for taking on the challenge of locking horns with the useless ISPs providing service right now.

I'm just really excited!

NLRC Cases VS Tele(UNDER)performance Piling Up

Tele(UNDER)performance is at it again!!!

My sources from Tele(under)performance still working there have joined the recent bandwagon that had taken this call center by the heel.  There are a total of six (6) separate cases piling up at NLRC as of this writing.  One of those is a class suit.  

I was informed that those who have resigned 6 months ago, still have not received their back pay. The under performing HR specialists even told some resigned agents that utilizations from their dependents had to be deducted from their back pay.  This was told by a Tele(UNDER)performance lawyer back at NLRC after a mediation.  The same lawyer even told these resigned agents that, and I quote one agent, "even though you had been provided renewal HMO cards, it DOESN'T necessarily mean you are covered by its benefits, which would include declared or undeclared dependents," end quote.  Effin' really?  Are you serious?  All the resigned agents swear that they have declared their dependents as proven by their HMO cards under their dependent's name which by the way had just been renewed this 2014.  Now, correct me if I'm wrong here, but isn't an HMO card with a dependent's name on it, enough proof that the dependent was declared? To tell you honestly, when you use the HMO card, the hospital you went to will first confirm with the company's representative from the HMO if the card user is valid and if the coverage is correct.  All availing clinics and HMO partner hospitals are required to do this.  As a matter of fact, it is the first thing that they (hospital) do if a utilization happens. It is their standard operating procedure.  The company even religiously deducts a specific amount every 15th of the month to represent the HMO deduction for the dependent/s.  Now, this may vary depending on your category because a TL, Supervisor, or Manager have different coverages as opposed to agents but what I'm driving at here is that it is an item given special or specific attention to on your payslip.

Well, as it is clearly explained in this company's handbook:

"All utilizations by declared dependents will be paid thru salary deduction on the 15th of every month"

Even the lawyer you hired to represent you probably didn't even bother to read your handbook. 

Now, every call center I've worked for in the past, including the one I'm working for now have the same premise, (well, except for the date they deduct it on because some deduct it on the 30th).  I am just soooo freaking glad that I have not worked or even applied to work in Tele(under)performance.  

Let me just reinforce to anyone reading this that I'm just retelling a story as told by friends at Tele(under)performance.  Yeah, they're my friends but this blog is open to the other side of this story.  Tele(under)performance HR or Legal, my blog is here to see your side of the coin.  

Anyway, I hope somebody who have read this blog could forward or repost this on their wall. Especially if you also work for a BPO.  Let's spread the injustice befalling our brothers and sisters in this field of industry.  Let's help each other out.

I think what we need now is to have a union that will unilaterally represent us in situations like this.

Teleperformance Inc

I was told by very reliable sources (still working and former employees) that Teleperformance is really bad in terms of handling employee exits.  OMs and TLs don't have any clue what documents need to be completed and how the whole process of an exiting employee go.  All exiting employees, per company policy, have a 90-day turnaround time.  This means that in 90 calendar days or less, the employee who left the company, is supposed to have already received his/her final pay which of course includes tax refunds, bonuses, pro-rated 13th month pay, pay for last days worked, etc.

The people who I got to talk to told me there was a whole wave or batch of employees who resigned from the company 5 months ago but still have not received their final pay.  Now, if my math serves me right, if we consider each month to have 30 days, multiply it by 5 and you will get 150 days, right?  Well, Teleperformance have this weird habit of still asking questions about the resigned employee about things that they should already know the answers to.  I mean, the HR/Recruitment should have it in their 201 file, right? Duh?

Here's an excerpt from one of their "Clearance Notification" served to a resigned employee :

Dear (enter employee name here),

Your clearance is currently being processed. Please allow 90 calendar days for us to review, finalize, and clear you from all your accountabilities and process your final pay. We hereby request you to follow up with us via email on or after (date of 60th day) by sendingan email to Philippines@teleperformance.com so you will be given further instructions on how you can claim your finals pay.

Please ensure that you type CLEARANCE on the subject line of your email and the following details must be provided:

1. Complete Name
2. Employee Number (CCMS ID Number)
3.Site where you were assigned
4. Date when you processed your clearance
5. Last account/program handled
6. Date of birth
7. Name of last supervisor
8. Hire date
9. Separation date

As a reminder, our turn-around time for clearance and final pay processing is 90 days.  Failure to settle your accountabilities might delay the processing and release of your final pay.

Thank you and we wish you luck in your future endeavors.

Teleperformance

Notes: If you are holding the position of a manager or up, final pay processing might take more than 90 days due to the financial accountabilities that need to be verified.  You may still opt to follow up on the date indicated above to check how soon your final pay can be released.

Upon your record being queued in the Exit Management System for clearance processing, our Payroll team will be putting your salary on hold.

Generated and Issued by:

(Enter name of HR A**h*** here)
Human Resources Representative

I noticed that they have an "Exit Management System" which ironically doesn't work at all.  So if you plan to work here - DON;T.  If you are a hopper - SKIP Teleperformance. And if you are already working here - Goodluck leaving!

I'm sorry but a large number of employees I spoke with who have worked here all said the same thing and are still angry.  The people I know who are still working here are also angry that they have to deal with this s*@T

If you have similar experiences with your past or present employers, please send them over to me or leave a comment.  Your predicaments need to be heard.  Let them hear our voice!

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Thanks!

Accenture Inc.

Accenture Incorporated started out as an accounting consultancy firm.  They were known then as Andersen Consulting until they progressed to a more diversified outsourcing company.  They service different companies across 3 different towers of business within the organization namely, services, technology, & corporate.  They collaborate with their clients and help them become high performance organizations.  Accenture is located around the world.  They are across Europe, across Asia, across Africa and Australia. They probably have an office in every continent except Antarctica.

I worked for Accenture for over 4 years and I must say that they are the best company I have worked for so far.  Benefits are great but will vary depending on what tower you are employed under.  They have their own cooperative called ASLA or Accenture Savings & Loan Association which, by the way, is accredited by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.  That's saying a lot for this company if you ask me.  They will give you the option to own their stocks by allotting a certain portion of your salary every payday.

The company has great executive leadership, a very sound and credible corporate governance and has garnered awards time and time again from prestigious business organizations.

You can enroll in their "Death and Fire Assistance Program" if you choose to and this will benefit you in case of those two unfortunate events in your life.  When our house burnt down back in 2007, I was able to avail 8,000 pesos as financial assistance because I was a member and when my mom died a few years later, I also got around that much as bereavement assistance.  They will send you flowers for the wake as well as part of their program and I appreciate that very much.

Accenture also boasts of different events and activities where different clubs are organized to create camaraderie among peers across all towers and sites.  There's the movie club where they reserve at least 2 cinemas where employees can watch a movie for free.  Then there's the Accenture Dragon Boat Club, Dance Club for hip hop and urban dancing instructions.  There's the archery, mountaineering, photography and a whole lot more.  One time, there was a Mixed Martial Arts Club but I guess the powers that be in Accenture do not want to promote violence so the club got axed very early in its existence.  There are about a dozen more of these clubs that you can join for free.  And by the way, their gym is equipped with a rowing machine and a personal trainer to boot.

The pay is above the industry standard.  They pay not just the 13th month but up to 14th.  Leave incentives are progressive and you still get a paid time off on top of that.  Their facilities are well taken cared of and most of your co-workers and colleagues from across towers are all professionals.  I think they only hire college graduates here but from what I heard, they have recently opened their doors to non-graduates.

I can never say anything bad about Accenture and if anybody who worked for this company before have any bad experience leaving, feel free to post your comments.  My experience wasn't all pretty and nice, I have had brushes with the management but all's well that ends well.  Being part of the management team here was the best experience I had.

Check out their career website below but if you're in a hurry, I think they have re-opened their recruitment hub on the 3rd floor of Robinson's Forum on Pioneer street.

Click here: http://careers.accenture.com/ph-en/Pages/index.aspx

Convergys Inc.

Convergys is one of the biggest names in the call center and BPO industry and they probably have the most diverse list of clientele ranging from communications to automotive, from cable & satellite to retail, from financial services to travel & hospitality, as well as from technology to healthcare, they service everyone.  They started in the US and had been operating for over 30 years overall and 10 years now in the Philippines and with offices located across the globe.

I don't know if you've heard that Stream Global Services, after buying out eTelecare, also bought APAC, who in turn, bought out NCO.  Now, Convergys bought Stream Global which in effect consolidated all 5 companies making Convergys very huge in terms of infrastructure and head count.

Anyway, Convergys doesn't pay as much.  They are included in the Top 10 lowest wage providers in the top name BPOs category.  Benefits are ok and their HMO starts on day 1 upon getting hired.  You can enroll up to 2 dependents after getting regularized.  Their night differential is at a measly 10% which is also among the lowest.  Their facilities are top notch though and the work culture and environment is worth a nod of approval even to the most discerning call center vets.

They probably have the most sites in the country with Convergys San Lazaro, Baguio, Starmall, Sta. Lucia, Imus, Makati, Ortigas, and their latest - Megamall.

I encourage all call center virgins to try it out first at Convergys.  The pay isn't a lot but when you think of a long term goal like building a career and moving up in this industry, this is a good place to start it. You will learn a lot.

Visit their career website here: http://www.convergys.com/index.html#joinourteam