A real work at home job part 2

Sanity

duchy wrote: »

Hey stay or leave-makes no odds to me-just DO stop whining !!!!!
I'm really sorry that Teletech just don't appreciate how important you are and how unppreciated you feel-Well that's how it is sometimes-you can sit and seethe because someone else got promoted-or whatever this week's grudge is -or you can just get on with those mere 20 hours a week a mere 20 out of the 168 in each week.
Hang on desperately for a payrise if you must-but in common with most other companies you could be in for a loooooong wait !! Recessions and payrises don't usually go hand in hand.
Maybe the reason I don't have issues the way you do is that I've worked long enough to see that no job is perfect and EVERY job has pros and cons. If you are looking for the perfect job with the grateful bosses and a high salary you might be in for a long wait..........wherever you work !!!

Some of us work more than 20 hours a week. No one is looking for the perfect job with the great salary and the appreciative bosses. Just a little fair treatment for the workforce and the job they do.

Check out the Belfast onesite. They get all kinds of bonuses and perks the @home side don't, and it case you hadn't realised, half the time, our aht and qa, plus resolution rate often exceed theirs AND Lipa's.

Try having a word with a few of your colleagues...the ones who are actually honest, and I think you'll get a much clearer view than you have now.

And to suggest you don't have any issues because you seem to have somehow gained more work experience than anyone else is silly, since you have no idea who any of us are, or what our employment record is

I'm the first to say if I feel the treatment is fair in a job, but I'll also happily be the first to express my views if I feel the employees are being taken for fools. And in this case, I think we should be able to air our grievances, both on a public forum, and to the company, if we have any issues.

duchy

Quite honestly IF you are current employees and feel you are SO unappreciated and oppressed WHY are you still there ?
Honest question ........ No-one is holding a gun to your head and there are plenty of tech jobs out there.
I've NEVER claimed Teletech are perfect -but you are moaning about things that are SOP in most call centre enviroments and certainly not exclusive to TT (and in fact in many ways they handle them better than some other companies do). An awful lot of what you are moaning about is typical of call centres-full stop.

duchy

Sanity wrote: »

Look out StormSurge, we'll be accused of having multiple personality disorder in a minute.

You said it !!!

Sanity

duchy wrote: »

Quite honestly IF you are current employees and feel you are SO unappreciated and oppressed WHY are you still there ?
Honest question ........ No-one is holding a gun to your head and there are plenty of tech jobs out there.
I've NEVER claimed Teletech are perfect -but you are moaning about things that are SOP in most call centre enviroments and certainly not exclusive to TT (and in fact in many ways they handle them better than some other companies do). An awful lot of what you are moaning about is typical of call centres-full stop.

Funny, I have a relative who works in a call centre for a different company, and ALL promotions are advertised to ALL the workforce.

Holiday days are approved if asked for a couple of weeks in advance, (which incidentally is the same length of time we were told we had to submit requests at TT when we first started) Bank Holidays, whether public or not, are generally paid at least time and a half, people can join unions who can speak for them if they have a grievance, they are not quality assessed by people who have English as a second language, and they recieve awards for good performance. Not an awful lot of people now getting AVP on a regular basis as they keep moving the scoring targets, and by the way, we had a backlog of that as well that we weren't getting until an employee had to complain to Belfast about it.

Most people at the moment are just hanging on until something else comes along in my opinion, and if the system doesn't improve quickly, the project may end up falling apart, which personally I hope doesn't happen.

TT should be paying attention to ALL their employees , not just those who are singing their praises and saying what they want to hear.

If nesters are dropping out in quantity after a week, and long term agents, su's and t/l's are leaving in droves, do you seriously believe that its just a couple of agents posting on a forum that have issues?

duchy

You see to me it's perspective.
I've always had leave confirmed as soon as I've applied for it-usually three months ahead so I don't understand it. I;ve never had to wait more than a few days at the most for holiday approval-I honestly don't see why your experience is so different.
As you know I've had three different team leaders effectively due to one leaving to work in another department and there been a gap before the new one started-so it's not like I'm talking about one team leader treating their team better but all this talk about getting shouted at honestly is beyond me as it is something I've never experienced from a team leader (although I do acknowledge different teamleaders may have different styles.... actually ONE teamleader (not my own) shouted at me ONCE-and later apologised -guess we all have bad days-TBH someone shouting on a chatscreen-especially when unjustified isn't quite the same impact anyway though).
Turnover-is about what I'd expect. Call centres are notorious for high turnover of staff-especially in part-time roles for a variety of reasons -add in the @home enviroment which I really like but I know some people find quite isolating and in some ways I'm surprised it isn't higher.
I have a long time good friend (known her 13 years) start with the company-and she likes the job-it suits her(I knew it would)-however I have another friend who was interested and knowing her personality I honestly didn't think the job would suit her and told her so -she'd have found it too isolating for her particular personality-the job isn't for everyone and some people do struggle with not having face to face interaction-nothing wrong with that -we're all different.
This is still an incredibly new program-a year isn't long and TT do still need to hone some of the differences between a US and UK workforce. A lot of the holiday problems boil down to the fact that holiday culture here is different-not only do we get more holiday days than the US employees but also our pattern and customs for booking them are different too but the requests are handled by people who are used to the other culture. I've come across these cultural differences before having worked for a large US multi-national -it isn't uncommon. I don't think TT listen more to some people than others.... I don't feel particually listened to-or not listened to-but it doesn't bother me-it's only a part time job. I have the hours I want (and overtime when and if I want it) and I like the work. If I wasn't happy-I wouldn't stay-ultimately it's only a part-time job-although looking at the big picture @home programs are likely the way of the future for contact centres so it's an interesting position to be in.
Maybe I expect less from the company than you do-maybe just because I've worked for a wide range of employers I'm more cynical and my expectation bar isn't set as high but in my PERSONAL experience TT don't treat their employees badly -certainly not when compared with some others (some of which are household names)-but then I'm not looking for perfection -all I want is a job that fits in with everything else I do -pays on time and is fairly interesting-and that IS what I get. I enjoy the variety of people I work with (both other employees and customers) -yes maybe I'm seeing a half full glass where you are seeing a half empty one but that doesn't make either of us wrong !

PaulK_3

I would post to argue a few points but to be honest both parties here have valid (and correct) points. Many of us are acutely aware of issues and are banging our heads against the wall on a regular basis but we are trying to get things sorted. TLs are under increased pressure which is not helping the situation and yes sometimes it seems like the P is being taken.
I can fully understand the issue with RTO from both sides of the equation but in my eyes its not being handled correctly Duchy may not have had problems with RTO requests put in with plenty of notice but I have been refused twice when giving the full notice period on requests and very nearly lost out on over £100 worth of tickets to a concert on one occasion. Its annoying and is costing agents so really its something TT need to address quickly.
All in all its the case that (unfortunately) as long as you are happy to handle the issues and just keep taking the money then you may well survive it, get to the point where the money isn't the most important aspect any more and that is the point where a number of agents leave

duchy

I think Paul FWIW one of the reasons I do put in early is to ensure I don't have issues-not because I expect to have a problem specifically from TT but because I've had the same problem in the past with other companies...... I'm not unsympathetic and do try and "fill in" on the covering for holidays emails that come out when I can.

PaulK_3

Aye but even then its not guaranteed Duchy, a lot of people are putting in early and still not getting their time off unfortunately. At the present its one of the biggest causes of complaints amongst agents and unless it's addresssed it won't improve. If TT resolve that area for people then it will have gone a long way to calming a lot of agents, that and improved communications wouldn't go amiss lol

duchy

I wish I did have a "secret method" to share Paul !!
Can't be cos I'm super nice to my TL....cos I'm not LOL

Oliver27

My overall view still remains the same, its still a great job
for people who want a work @home job, its still the only genuine
work from home job I am aware of.

But yes the holiday booking situation does need improvement, I am
also getting frustrated with my holiday requests being constantly denied
and its been sad to see people leave the job because they couldn't get
time off and there holiday came-first.

But things are starting to improve with the introduction of a
holiday availability calender.