About Two Years!
Life moves quickly in a call center. After three months, new hires are often no longer considered new, especially if other batches are added after to take the newbie spots and get the extra attention. However, it may take a year to fully master the environment, which includes learning the ins and outs of the assigned program and the broader center. After a year, you can start becoming competitive in your specific area and, hopefully, in other areas as well. Therefore, with about one year of tenure, you can position yourself to stand out among your peers and start building a track record showcasing your acquired skills and competency level. It is not uncommon for this track record-building process to continue up to two years, which is a ballpark for the amount of time new entrants can plan on remaining at entry-level.
Two years of consistent performance is usually sufficient to secure a promotion if there are opportunities in your program, other programs in the center, or another call center altogether. It is also enough time to understand if this is an industry you want to grow in. Importantly, if you were confident from the outset that a call center career was not for you, two years can offer enough stability to position yourself for the move into your other areas of interest or field of study.
Benefits of Staying Two Years
Two years in a call center can provide access to world-class training and development in customer service and support practices, manipulating business applications, and performing complex business functions. It may also foster discipline in time management and reliability in a work environment. It can instill the values of meeting goals and having a results-oriented mindset. It also allows access to possibly the highest income for your current skill and experience level. These all make for a solid foundation to continue growing in the industry or offer an advantage when transitioning in your field of study or area of interest over someone fresh out of school.
However, these benefits are primarily contingent on spending the two years consistently in the same environment to continue journeying through the growth curve. Hopping from center to center and restarting the journey may accumulate the years without progressing to mastery states, which is needed to maximize earnings, skills development, and growth potential. The decision to leave under two years for another entry-level role in a call center should be considered carefully.
Surviving Two Years
Lasting two years is easier said than done because the jobs are repetitive and can get dull by the six-month mark. Some strategies to pass the time and have fun in the process are to set personal goals and gamify aspects of the job. These may include working on mastering all the niche and nuanced aspects of the job to be able to share them with your team or new hires. Entering friendly competitions with your peers or yourself to be in your program’s top performance ranks monthly. Seek out legitimate ways to more efficiently meet your targets and goals. Practice not taking customer frustrations personally and learn strategies to win over challenging ones. Unsurprisingly, applying these practices not only breaks up the monotony and increases your visibility, which helps with promotion opportunities; they also maximize earnings and provide extra monies that can be invested.
A rolling stone gathers no moss, as the adage goes. Where possible, make an effort to weather the two years in one setting without breaking the tenure. This usually affords the best return on the two-year investment in the call center industry.
Life at Two Years
If you are interested in growing in the BPO industry and are beyond the two-year mark and you do not see a possibility of being promoted, there are a few things to check and do. For example, are promotions happening on the program, and you are being overlooked. This may indicate a need to check your performance rankings within the program. Being in the 90-95% percentile is usually required to demonstrate the highest competency levels. Also, being in good standings, conduct, and attitude-wise is essential. This requires consistent demonstration of the company’s values and culture. This indicates that you can be counted on to help uphold them should you be placed in a position of authority.
It should be noted that growth in the industry is primarily a meritocracy which means promotions are not awarded based on tenure alone; great performance results are required. On the other hand, if you meet the conditions mentioned above and promotions are not happening, this may indicate a need to start looking outside the program or company. Be willing to take chances on yourself to ensure you can access the best offers for your skills and competencies. The most effective way to transition is from a position of strength where you can confidently explain to your prospective employer that you are seeking new challenges because you have mastered where you are. It should not be that you are leaving because the environment has defeated you.
Final Thoughts
Time is your most valuable resource, so if you have to spend it, make the most of the opportunity, even if it is in a call center. There is always something to learn and new challenges to seek. If you find yourself stressed, consider that this may be because you have encountered something you have not mastered, and the opportunity is one of personal growth and development.
More importantly, being an agent in a call center is not a career destination; it is a stepping stone, so do not allow yourself to stay longer than two years or longer than you need to without it falling into a grander design you have for your life. Such as saving to start a business or going back to school. Realistically, no agent salary will allow you to accomplish all your financial goals on its own, which is why personal planning and sacrifices are needed.
Hopefully, you found these helpful if you are in an entry-level job and you want to know what is a reasonable time to stay. Or if you are looking to transition to another level in your career or life and wanted to some additional points to consider.
