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.