I'm Rose, Can I Help Ya?

It takes a lot to train call centre operators because a caller based in New York is never told that his query is being answered from Gurgaon. At India's newly opened call centres, a lot of blood is being burnt to train people to deal with Americans, Germans, French and the like. Says Raman Roy, CEO, Spectramind: "We take great pains in training operators. It is not just on how to handle calls but to talk to people in their native accent, temperament and cultural orientation. It's like development of an alternate self in them."

Says Solutions' Sastri: "There are polite callers and there are irate ones. The operators have to be trained in dealing both with equal ease. And in case of complaint calls, most callers are difficult to handle. Sometimes they are even abusive. It's essential for an operator to keep a cool head and look for answers. This is what training gives them." Typically, Indian operators are trained to speak in American or British accents and to identify themselves as Americans or French depending on where the call is coming from. Instances of Sunils identifying themselves as Sunny and Radha as Rose are common.

Says Ravi Sikund, MD, Call Centre College: "While the training modules remain the same and basic skills of computer, communication and technology are given to students, neutralisation of accent is one of the biggest challenges in training Indians. Despite having fluency in English, the difference in accent creates a problem. So we work on foreign accents."

Although small institutes got the hang of the phenomenon early and started training courses, noida-based Call Centre College is probably India's first exclusive institution for training rookies. An affiliate of the Call Centre College, London, the Indian outfit uses the same training modules used in London.

A typical training module includes communication, spoken English, courtesy and PR and geographical knowledge about the country being served. Handling of emergency situations and organisational skills also form part of the curriculum.

And it comes for a price. The cost of training ranges between Rs 75 and Rs 100 an hour and the course duration is 75 to 250 hours. Call Centre College charges Rs 100 an hour. Its courses range between 96 and 240 hours depending upon the skill level of the trainee.

Roy, though, doesn't believe in training institutions. Says he: "Different companies expect different things from operators. So there can be no generalised training. We prefer fresh people so that we can mould them according to a client's needs rather than taking people from such institutions and retraining them for the job."