Insecure leaders are never comfortable in an environment where their followers can fire their own bosses but true leaders are. Insecure leaders employ a system or mechanism of coercion, intimidation and control.  True leaders are confident even under such an environment where they can be fired anytime by their followers because they know that they will always have the support, respect and approval of their followers. This is not about popularity. People follow because they believe and trust the person leading them. It is that plain and simple.

In leadership selection, the choice to hire internally or externally will always result in controversy. Both venues have reasonable pros and cons, and depending on the need, purpose and circumstances, one nevertheless will come out more appealing than the other. As experts would put it, every great organization is characterized by dual action – to preserve the core and to stimulate progress. Put another way, an organization needs to preserve its core values and fundamental purpose and on the other hand, the organization needs to stimulate progress or positive change. Internal selection would clearly preserve the core, but may not necessarily stimulate much progress or positive change. The opposite is true for sourcing externally. Since they are not from within, then they are likely to introduce different approaches, experiences, mindset, etc. Therefore, may likely promote and stimulate change or progress.

I personally favor sourcing from within but first, allow me to redefine the lines and boundaries of what I consider internal and external. What do I mean?

I do not think of internal as being inside the organization and external coming from the outside of the organization. Instead, I would like to see it in the context of my company’s core values and fundamental purpose, not by referencing organizational boundaries. Instead of looking at a candidate based on whether he or she is an employee or not, I would closely examine his or her core values instead. The more the candidate is aligned with our organization, the more “from with in” the candidate appears for me.

Same goes true for employees who are already in the organization. They may be from with in but if their core values are not aligned with the organization nor they do not subscribe to the company’s fundamental purpose. Thus, for all intents and purposes, the employee is clearly an outsider for me.

It is amazing how my options opened up and how my horizons broadened up by just simply adjusting my perspective. I am able to select from more candidates, ensure the preservation of my core values and purpose, and give my organization a likely chance to foster and promote progress.

It has only been 10 months since I took over the leadership of the Philippine operations and we have cleaned the organization, turnaround our direction, and placed us where we should have been a few years ago. To put things in perspective, we have grown to about 300% in workforce! Since the first time I shook the tree, so many bad apples have fallen. It took a very drastic effort to force the wrong people off our bus and replaced them with the right ones. Since then, a few gray hair started popping up all around my head. Then again, I love change, I love to manage change, and a change for the better is always a welcome treat. I am wired and honed to make lemonades out of lemons in the first place so my skill set is perfect, was exactly what we needed when we needed it.

Just like making lemonades, it requires one to have a lemon on hand. Sweetening agents are everywhere, all that it requires to have is a little imagination and a great determination. In a not so figurative application, these are things that someone like me in the position that I am in, must do:

• Examine closely your people – Determine and decide who stays and who goes. Hire the right people and have them work where they are most effective at and have them do what they are great at. Then move forward!
• Find good leaders – I love leaders who possess both “personal humility” and “professional will”, or also known as the Level 5 Leaders. These are diligent and hard-working people, they are as equally dedicated and motivated as I am.
• Confront the brutal facts – Do not ignore reality! Embrace it, come to terms with it, and determine what you need to do to get around it.
• Keep goals clear and simple – How to make money, what are you passionate about as a company, and how can you be the best in the world at it. Right now, we are very good at what we are doing, and we will continue to strive to be the best in what we do. That is just around the corner, mind you.
• Establish a culture of self-discipline – create an environment where people work within a defined system yet emphasizing that they have more freedom to act within that system. Knowing the rules of the game makes the players better at winning!
• Technology is an accelerator, an enabler, not an agent of change – This is coming from a guy who spent most of his career as an IT professional.
• Keep the momentum going in one direction – Momentum is built a little at a time but every time you consistently spin it, it speeds up exponentially to the point where no amount of obstacle gets in its way. This is rather difficult to do and it certainly does not happen dramatically, but they do pay off eventually. All it requires is a direction, consistent motion, and diligence.

Those may sound easy to do, but doing all of them consistently and all at the same time is the most challenging part. Things do get worst before they get any better. The good part is, we are over the worst part, and things really are getting better now. I am relieved. All it requires is sustaining the hard work that we all have to put in.

“Courtesy is a rare breed” is a saying I have heard time and again.  Because the sad truth is that bad manners breed more bad manners faster than good manners do.  With a lack of common courtesy, it turns simple matters into huge misunderstandings. In this stressful time, we are more likely to make mountains out of molehills because of all the pressure that we are facing at work, the anxiety of these turbulent economic times, and tensions at home.

Keep this in mind as you go about your day, both at home and at work. If you work in
any sort of service environment, be especially mindful of how you talk to your customers. “Please,” “Thank you,” and the ever important “Have a nice day” can go a long way towards building a loyal relationship with your clients. Remember, being courteous and showing consideration and care to others does not cost anything, but the rewards can be priceless.

• Building Trust
• Communicating Positively and Openly
• Creating Team Spirit
• Giving Recognition/Credit and Taking Responsibility
• Being Approachable

However for me, there’s only one thing that keeps all these things in place, and that is respect.

Just like in relationships, respect is a two way thing and it has to be earned.  First and
foremost it has to start within ourselves; then we give it to others, and it comes back to us.  I’m not talking about respect just in its basic sense but in all its perspectives.

Each of us is unique, we have different interests, we were brought up differently, we went to different schools, we have different beliefs, and we have different perspectives on different things. Taking each of these into consideration when managing each individual within a team will go a long way.

As a team manager, before you can proceed there’s one thing that you first must do.  Know your employees!

By getting to know them, you will have a better idea of how they will respond to certain things. You will also learn what motivates them and discover the most effective approach to train them to be the best on what they do at work.

It is quite easy to build trust among peers once we know how to respect each individual’s perspective.  And it will be quite easy for you to fully convey what you want to the team once you have earned each person’s respect.

Giving back what is due in terms of rewards and knowing how to recognize one’s effort even in their simplest form can make all the difference.  Respecting each individual
as a member of the team and showing it can further strengthen the bond.

At the end of the day, it is not about me or you, but the team.  Most of all, we have to remember that we would not be where we are right now if it was not for them.

Today’s lesson: API.

API stands for “Application Programming Interface,” a daunting techy sounding name, but the concept is  relatively simple once you drill down to the basics. Essentially, this is a set of rules built in to certain software programs that allow them to communicate with each other. Since different software programs are developed by different people, these rules allow each programmer a set of guidelines so their application plays well with others. Applications that work together are far more valuable than those that don’t.

In the contact center world, this term is most commonly found when talking about virtual call centers and cloud computing, where various activities are being performed by different people in different locations.

What does that have to do with call centers and outsourcing? The technology world is changing all the time. In the last few years, as internet connections and infrastructure have improved around the world, some big changes have taken place. Sample cds really aren’t necessary any longer, because software is so easily transferred over the internet. In fact, in many cases it’s not even necessary to install the software itself on your computer.

Software as a service, or SaaS, is just that. Rather than purchasing a disc or downloading the entire program and associated data, it is all hosted on an external server and accessed remotely by users/subscribers. This can be an internet based service, or just a local network, but the result is lowered software and IT costs, less clutter on individual hard drives, and dramatically increased flexibility.

With SaaS came the emergence of the virtual call center. No longer was a prospective call center required to purchase and maintain all the equipment and software necessary to get up and running. Rather, they could subscribe to the service hosted by a central service provider. The calls could be easily routed from the vendor to the agent, either through traditional phone lines or VoIP.

In addition to lowering the cost of entry into the contact center field, virtual call centers make it possible to work from home or other remote locations. A call can also be easily transferred from one agent to another, even if they are in different locations, in some cases even different countries.

The only real drawback to this technological development is that gathering materials for your CD Throne is a whole lot harder than it used to be. ]]> http://www.vectorbpo.com/blog/virtual-call-centers/feed/ 0 http://www.vectorbpo.com/blog/it-bpo-roadmap/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=it-bpo-roadmap http://www.vectorbpo.com/blog/it-bpo-roadmap/#comments Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:43:23 +0000 Katie Benns http://blog.vectorbpo.com/?p=39 The Philippine IT-BPO Road Map 2011-2016 was developed as a joint venture between Everest Group and Outsource2Philippines working closely with the Business Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and its partner associations and members. It is funded by the Commission on Information & Communications Technology (CICT). [...]]]> The Philippine IT-BPO Road Map 2011-2016 was developed as a joint venture between Everest Group and Outsource2Philippines working closely with the Business Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and its partner associations and members. It is funded by the Commission on Information & Communications Technology (CICT). It has support from industry stakeholders, outsourcing companies, and is based on surveys of the same and extensive research.

The Roadmap predicts that the annual revenues from the IT-BPO industry could more than double in the next five years, from $9 billion in 2010 to $25 billion in 2016. This would make up a 10% share of the global market.

In order for the plan to be successful, however, there must be acceleration in industry development of talent and resources, and stronger government support. Ultimately the IT-BPO industry could represent 9% of the Philippines GDP and employ as many as 1.3 million Filipinos. Even if little more than the current conditions are maintained, predictions indicate that the industry could grow to $20 billion in revenues and nearly a million employees.

According to senior executive director for information and research, Gillian Joyce G. Virata, to support the expansion and development of the industry, the road map identified five priority activities for BPAP, the Business Process Association of the Philippines. “Priorities include driving standards and accreditation to ensure a better match between the skills of graduates with the requirements of industry; more aggressive internal marketing of the industry to the local talent pool; strengthening awareness of the Philippine value proposition in IT, voice and non-voice BPO services in existing and new markets; advocating high impact public policies; and strengthening our Public-Private Partnership with government to fund key programs such as study-to-work training programs.”

The first thing to consider is the cost. It should go without saying that your provider has to charge less than the cost of doing the job in house, but as with anything else, the cheapest isn’t necessarily the best. Sometimes a provider lowers your cost by cutting your quality. If that’s the case, you will probably end up losing money in the long run.

A good outsourcing company is one that maintains the good name of your company. Customers will enjoy their interactions with them, which will result in returning customers and customer referrals. In the end, your outsourcing company should be growing your business. This sort of company may charge more than the cheapest guy on the market, but it will be worth every penny in the end.

Over time, the cost saved in personnel, equipment, space, and other areas, not to mention the lowered risk factor associated with an outsourced team, should save you a considerable amount of money. This is good for the provider because you may expand your team, or refer other business owners to them. In turn, their revenues increase. Everyone is happy, and your relationship can be self sustaining.