ICT is located inside the RCBC Plaza on the corner of Ayala avenue and Gil Puyat. The pay is really nice and they give out big commissions on some sales accounts but the account I got into was for a mortgage company based in the US. It was really tough computing escrow among other things on top of your DOS-based application to process everything. They have a very nice office though and the sleeping room is quite comfortable. They have verbatim accounts here (accounts or programs that only require the agents say the required scripts word for word). The pantry is spotless and their employee services (agency personnel who do janitorial work) are very courteous.
Here are my assessment for each category:
Base salary for a call center virgin: Good
Work Environment: Very Good
HR & Management: Very Good
People Culture: Very Good
There are a lot of different centers and BPOs calling RCBC Plaza their office. Probably around 16 and there could be more. The best thing about the place is, you will find a lot of places to eat in and specialty shops that you will truly enjoy. If you are coming from North or South area, take a MRT ride to Buendia
station; take another jeepney ride going to Pasay and alight near
Zuellig loop or Makati Post Office; and take a 5-10 minute walk towards
RCBC Tower to reach ICT Group Makati. Alternate route is via MRT ride to
Ayala station; take a jeepney ride going to Ayala and alight in front
of RCBC.
Their training rooms are reminiscent of classrooms in the US where each row is assembled like inside a cinema and you literally are looking down at your professor. It gives you a different feeling when you are seated there. It's kinda' cool, y'know and I don't know of any other center whose training rooms are arranged the same way.
Their website is currently down but try to visit it from time to time to find out more about them:
www.ictphilippines.com
Just a little bit more information, last I heard, Sykes Inc already bought the ICT Group.
Oh by the way, you can go downstairs to smoke at the center ground floor of RCBC Plaza that we
call "Lung Center" and trust me, you would know why when you get there :)
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Monday, July 28, 2014
Sykes Inc.
As far as I know, Sykes Inc holds the distinction of being the first ever call center that was established in the Philippines and if my memory serves me right, it was in mid 1996.
I started my career here (but I won't tell you when). I was a customer service representative handling a landline communications giant in the US. This is where I got to learn how to say english words properly. American accent training where ceremony and inventory sounded nicer if pronounced right, if you get my drift. My base salary back then was Php 11,500 and I was like WOW! Coming from a conventional office earning minimum back then made me feel special with my new wage but enough of that. I will provide a very objective review of Sykes below so pay close attention.
Sykes Inc. overall is a fairly nice company to work for. They have 3 sites. Two in Makati (Robinson's Summit on Ayala and Burgundy Corporate Tower on Gil Puyat) and one in Mandaluyong (One San Miguel Ave). I worked at Burgundy and unlike your fly-by-night call centers that have proliferated around the metro, at Sykes, all the government mandated benefits are in place and some more are provided by the company. Back when I was there, we had 1.5k food allowance, 30% night differential, and a transportation allowance that would depend on how far your place of residence is from the office. Back then, we had a 3-day, all expense paid activity in Subic complete with hotel accommodation, catered food, booze that would last two full nights with a music fest as entertainment. All happening on the beach of boardwalk. (Your Woodstock imaginings here please) And Sykes just called it a picnic! All sorts of incentives were being thrown like confetti on the fourth of July. You'll get 4K if you hit all your metrics and double that amount if you pass your QA. You got sales incentive too that would rival the Great Wall. I was earning money more than I can spend it! That was how grand Sykes was back in the day. Now however, I heard that the base salary being offered at Sykes is just 10K, night differential is at 10% with 1K as an all-in allowance. Why I know the current status? My wife worked there a few years back and some of her team mates still feed us with some info.
I would recommend Sykes to anyone who would like to start a career in the call center industry. They have great trainers and exceptional material to boot. Sykes will provide you with the necessary tools to become a better representative. My advice is, if you want to learn, learn from the pioneer who started it all. View their career website here http://www.sykes.com/careers.aspx
I will write about ICT (Intercon at RCBC Plaza) some time soon so keep it here.
By the way, post your comments here if you feel like I haven't covered enough or if you want to add and discuss more information.
I started my career here (but I won't tell you when). I was a customer service representative handling a landline communications giant in the US. This is where I got to learn how to say english words properly. American accent training where ceremony and inventory sounded nicer if pronounced right, if you get my drift. My base salary back then was Php 11,500 and I was like WOW! Coming from a conventional office earning minimum back then made me feel special with my new wage but enough of that. I will provide a very objective review of Sykes below so pay close attention.
Sykes Inc. overall is a fairly nice company to work for. They have 3 sites. Two in Makati (Robinson's Summit on Ayala and Burgundy Corporate Tower on Gil Puyat) and one in Mandaluyong (One San Miguel Ave). I worked at Burgundy and unlike your fly-by-night call centers that have proliferated around the metro, at Sykes, all the government mandated benefits are in place and some more are provided by the company. Back when I was there, we had 1.5k food allowance, 30% night differential, and a transportation allowance that would depend on how far your place of residence is from the office. Back then, we had a 3-day, all expense paid activity in Subic complete with hotel accommodation, catered food, booze that would last two full nights with a music fest as entertainment. All happening on the beach of boardwalk. (Your Woodstock imaginings here please) And Sykes just called it a picnic! All sorts of incentives were being thrown like confetti on the fourth of July. You'll get 4K if you hit all your metrics and double that amount if you pass your QA. You got sales incentive too that would rival the Great Wall. I was earning money more than I can spend it! That was how grand Sykes was back in the day. Now however, I heard that the base salary being offered at Sykes is just 10K, night differential is at 10% with 1K as an all-in allowance. Why I know the current status? My wife worked there a few years back and some of her team mates still feed us with some info.
I would recommend Sykes to anyone who would like to start a career in the call center industry. They have great trainers and exceptional material to boot. Sykes will provide you with the necessary tools to become a better representative. My advice is, if you want to learn, learn from the pioneer who started it all. View their career website here http://www.sykes.com/careers.aspx
I will write about ICT (Intercon at RCBC Plaza) some time soon so keep it here.
By the way, post your comments here if you feel like I haven't covered enough or if you want to add and discuss more information.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Why this blog?
This blog had been in my head for the last 6 years or so. It's just now that it came to fruition due to the spare time and DSL connection I have recently enjoyed. I am a huge fan of open source whether it may have something to do with apps or what not, hence, I will share with you more than a decade of being in the BPO industry.
The information you will read herein are my reviews for the BPOs or call centers I had the privilege (or curse) of getting hired by. Just to clear things out, these are my personal views although I will try to be as objective as possible for my readers' (YOU!) benefit. I will retell past experiences and as we move forward together, I will also post reviews of real-life agents and higher-ups who became part and/or; are still part of the BPO/Call Center they have worked for and/or are still working with.
Honestly, it's 11:57pm and I'm still waiting for my wife (who by the way is also working for a bully company's in-house BPO). I will take advantage of my free time tomorrow and tell you all about my first call center experience at a company called SYKES Inc.
I am looking forward to a great shared experience with all of you and if you have good or bad experiences with past BPOs you've been with, don't hesitate to share it here.
DISCLAIMER: To the centers and BPOs who will be mentioned here, consider this as history. Be good to us and write a good story. It's nothing personal :)
The information you will read herein are my reviews for the BPOs or call centers I had the privilege (or curse) of getting hired by. Just to clear things out, these are my personal views although I will try to be as objective as possible for my readers' (YOU!) benefit. I will retell past experiences and as we move forward together, I will also post reviews of real-life agents and higher-ups who became part and/or; are still part of the BPO/Call Center they have worked for and/or are still working with.
Honestly, it's 11:57pm and I'm still waiting for my wife (who by the way is also working for a bully company's in-house BPO). I will take advantage of my free time tomorrow and tell you all about my first call center experience at a company called SYKES Inc.
I am looking forward to a great shared experience with all of you and if you have good or bad experiences with past BPOs you've been with, don't hesitate to share it here.
DISCLAIMER: To the centers and BPOs who will be mentioned here, consider this as history. Be good to us and write a good story. It's nothing personal :)
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