Training courses to become call centre employee

I wish to join a call centre and want to know what all trainings I have to go through in a call centre.

If you wish to join a call centre then you have to be well prepared for the job and for that training is a must. Freshers have to undergo intense training to make them suited for the job. The training generally includes accent training (V A training also known as voice & accent training), listening skills, ‘slang’ training, accent neutralisation, telephone etiquette, telesales etiquette and cyber grammar, interaction skills, customer relationship, management skills and call centre terminology. You should be well trained in all these things to be ready for this job. You would be given a thorough insight about the product of the company, even how it could malfunction, breakdown and fail its objective. You would be taught as to how to deal with the complaints from customers and how to take action accordingly.

The training goes on for a few months. Continuous training at regular intervals including updation on the latest references and slang the callers are likely to use, updation on the new products, developing faster ways of accessing information is a must for growth in this field.

What is the training period and are there institutes that I can join to get myself trained?

There is no such period that is set for training. It can vary between two weeks to twelve weeks depending on the nature and the complexity of the project. There will be an orientation or initiation programme, which includes familiarising the companies work culture and the international environment in which they deal with their clients to have an awareness of the culture abroad. This is the basic orientation that takes place just after you enter a company. Soon after that the actual training begins which includes both theoretical and on the job training.

In India, the training usually is done by the company or organisation that you are joining. There is no such need of joining an institute just to get trained in this particular field. There are various institutes in abroad that give you training in this field, and the same trend has been found to be on a rise in India too. International certifications from STI knowledge, a leading provider of all call centre training in US have recently been introduced in India, which you can apply into and get trained. STI offers international certification following a Web-based exam after completion of the course. The certifications are Help Desk 2000, Call Centre 2000 and Knowledge 2000 for all the three tiers, that is operators, managers and directors.