Teleperformance

A prison-like work environment with little to no opportunity for success formerly known as calltech.

Job Description:

Assist customers with technical issues related to internet service in a callcenter environment. Goals include: Average Handle Time - 15 minutes, Wrap Time (after call notes) - 1 minute or less.

Translation - Take calls from internet service customers, read screen to resolve issue, notate account, repeat. I.E. - monotony and high stress

Job Environment:

Large room filled with rows of work stations, many of which do not work or are missing parts. Assigned seating limited to your Supervisor's row, usually a different cubicle everyday. No personalization of work area. 3.75 minutes of break time for every hour worked and one 30 minute lunch if employee works an 8 or more hour shift. Breaks can be no longer than 15 minutes at any one time and break or lunch time must be used to go to the bathroom. If there are few calls coming in employee will be logged out for 30 minutes at a time until calls start coming in and will not be paid during the logout(s).

Promotions:

Internal postings are done on an internal company website and job posting applications must be submitted with a resume. However, selections are primarily done by favortism.

Supervisors and Upper Management:

Supervisors can rarely be found and are rude or merely unhelpful, when they are located. The rules are applied more leniently to them and therefore present a "do as I say, not as I do" attitude. The management method is primarily negative reinforcement being point the agent until they either get it right or are terminated for high points. No assistance in becoming the best possible employee.

Upper management, meaning salaried managers, are never around and show no desire to resolve complaints regarding floor supervisors. They take lunches for hours at a time and no one ever knows when they will be there, only when they are supposed to be.

Human Resources:

In most organizations the human resources department handles employee grievances and complaints. In CallTech, they have no idea what happens on the call floor and perform little to no objective investigation on issues. Most serious issues are sent to the corporate office out of state, where the decision is most likely to be to terminate the person who is being complained about, regardless of the validity of the complaint. In essence, an "oil the squeaky wheel" attitude.

Penalties and Rewards:

CallTech operates on a point system for rule infractions with point values ranging from 0.25 to 6.00 depending on the type and severity of the infraction. Attendance is completely automated, so when an employee needs to call in late or off for the day they dial a toll-free number and push buttons to record their tardiness or need to miss the shift. They never actually speak to a live person and the system automatically issues the corresponding point value. According to the employee handbook, which is only available on the company intranet and can not be printed, any employee who reaches 6 points is terminated. Points can only be reduced by applying kudos (discussed below) or working overtime if it is available and the reduction rate is 0.25 reduction for every 4 hours worked and only applies to attendance related points which are issued as 1.00 for missing a shift. For example, if an employee calls off for his 8 hour shift he will receive 1.00 point. He will have to work 16 hours of overtime, at a minimum of 4 consecutive hour time blocks, to remove the point. Otherwise the employee must wait for the Employee Action Form to roll off based on the calendar schedule; 0.25 after 2 months, 0.50 after 3 months, 0.75 after 4 months, etc. For example, employee is 5 minutes late for their shift and receives a 0.25 EAF on January 2. It would not roll off until March 2. It should also be noted that there are numerous reasons why an overtime point reduction can be rejected. For example, if the employee is over on their allotted break and lunch time for the day the OT was worked, the overtime will not qualify for a point reduction.

Teleperformance has a positive point system for rewarding good performance referred to as Kudos. Kudos can be used for point reductions at the rate of 10 kudos for 1.00 point, to purchase company clothing and items, applied for a higher pay increase at annual review, or used for paid time off. However, kudos are only issued for perfect attendance. Other employee rewards consist of prizes for receiving good customer service surveys, which the employee has no control over whether a customer will receive one and/or fill it out. The employee is also not permitted to mention to the customer that they may receive a survey based solely on that call.

Benefits:

Full time employees are given 4 hours of sick time each month. However, sick time can only be used for a whole day in which the agent has called off for the shift and not logged in. Until the employee reaches 1 year of employment the sick time is unpaid and only good for alleviating the point.

As of January 31, 2006 there is no longer a Tuition Reimbursement program for obtaining higher education.

Health, Dental, and Vision are offered but are not really worth the $80+ per month unless you go to the doctor a lot.

A good benefit is that you have steady work schedule, so you don't have to see what you work from week to week. The downside is that you can only change it once every 3 months unless you have school or military obligations and documentation to prove it.

Scheduling is done from the corporate office so you have to request a day off at least 16 days in advance. Most of the time you get a form letter response, saying "Due to project demands your request has been denied." Then you have to find someone to work the shift for you or call off and take the point. Also, if your normal work schedule falls on a holiday, such as Christmas Day, then you are expected to work. The good side is that you get the OT rate for the hours you work. Most holidays you'll spend most of the day at work, but on logouts due to high availability.

Summary:

A good in-between-jobs job. Expect to make it no more than 6 months.

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