0206E: A Unique Set of Skills

Photo Credit: Death to the Stock Photo

The past month has had me exercising a wide variety of skills that I've gained over the years during my time in the call center world. And all the more I'm thankful for my time at VXI and the unique training ground it was given all the different departments I was in and the roles I fulfilled.

Naturally the biggest impact can be tied to my time as a department head, more likely in Training. People don't immediately appreciate just how much goes on in the call center training world since your average trainer will terminate far more people than any member of Operations. And that's because the Training process can be quite the severe filter and thus people always fall out. And thus the trainers will always process paperwork and will need to make sure everything is properly documented. At the same time, Training is the first point of exposure for the new employee, so trainers also handle orientation, coordinating with HR for requirements and all that good stuff.

Training is a microcosm of the whole call center world. And for a good 5 years, I ran that department for VXI and survived to tell the tale.

Since the company is just starting out, I'm wearing quite a number of hats right now. I was like Facilities during the big search for office. I've been sort of Legal as I worked out the contracts and figured out the paperwork. I've been HR as I worked with the Singapore team for job descriptions and expectations. I've been Recruitment given the need to screen resumes, cold-call candidates and setup interviews. And once things finally get of the ground this month, I'll finally get to wear my Operations hat and really get this show on the road.

But this is all just the tip of the iceberg. There's so much more fun stuff ahead. Plus I need to wear my Training hat before I get back to the Operations piece of course. So much to do, so little time.

At the same time, I feel pretty great about all this. It's challenging and draining but it's still ultimately fulfilling. And I know this is the start of something truly great.