How to Survive Night Shifts

Any worker would still be drowsy during a night shift even if they were call center agents. I mean, in most Philippine call centers, night shifts are our specialty but a lot of agents always have problems with it.

As an agent myself, I get asked a lot about my work schedule. They wonder how I manage to stay alert and awake during my night shift, and not confuse customers with random syllables out of grogginess. Well, I make sure of several things.

First, I make sure I get plenty of rest. This is a challenge in and of itself, especially for night shifters. In Philippine call centers, it’s quite noisy and stressful at night. So when I go home, I suddenly find myself having a hard time sleeping primarily because of the eerie silence at home. Secondly, because of the daylight that peeps through small holes on my closed windows. I close my curtains but then something else bothers my un-sleepy brain. My perception of day.

Many call center agents are bothered by this. They can’t seem to shift their biological clock. It frustrates them to no end that they can’t get rid of the natural inclination to sleep during the night.

Personally, I think this could be avoided by eating decent meals. If sleep couldn’t be counted on, then let food take its place. Although, be prepared if you can’t control your food cravings. It’s better to eat fruits and high protein stuff to keep the mind awake but not crash like in a sugar high.

Sometimes, I listen to my iPod to keep me awake, or sane for that matter. Having to talk to random people in the middle of the night would really be a headache so listening to quiet, soothing music during breaks and before work, makes it a lot easier to work under pressure when crunchtime is on. Sometimes talking is a good diversion from falling asleep. I talk to my co-workers during free time just to loosen up my pace.

With all that said, I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of people are still having problems with falling asleep on the job. I believe there is no trick like really focusing on the job without thinking too much of the pressure on one’s shoulder. Really, trying to stay awake is easier said than done.

Working in a Philippine Call Center

Sometimes I marvel how people like me in a Philippine call center keep their sanity straight. I mean really, you sleep during a noise and sunlight brimming daytime, wake up late in the afternoon to say good morning for a nightshift, and then talk a lot to random people more than I talk to people I actually know. Not to mention that sometimes I have to make (poison) coffee for the boss.

“Good morning, how may I help you?” while I myself need help when the only thing good in the morning is waking up, and that’s even relative for some. So instead of crying over spilt milk, I thought maybe I should just make a list on how to keep my (in)sanity in check:

1. I guess first things first: Be positive. Nothing beats morning shine on a spotless mind. A friend of mine working in another Philippine call center once told me, “make work play, and you’ll be playing forever.”


Philippine call center

2. Another thing would be is to plan ahead as much as possible. I know what I should do, I think I should just keep track of my time table. This also entails knowing when my boss is thirsty and aching for (poison) coffee and its high and mighty time to suddenly get a stomach ache. This also applies to the other rodents who will play while the cat is away.

3. Don’t talk to stressors. I’m already stressed and I don’t need to talk to people who’ll just add 10 pounds on my stress-transferred-to-food scale. Speaking of food, I should really tell myself to avoid too much chocolate. I know that they’re like steroids for call center agents but then again, after all the blabbing action, they just leave me worn-out and irritable.

4. And most of all, which I think all Philippine call center employees should have, everyone should take a Me Time. After all, you can’t spell time without m-e, right? I should spend more time in the bath, brushing away the stress or maybe read something I enjoy. Then, I should just sneak to bed early (meaning 9 am), close the lights, lie softly then clear my mind before going to a land without headsets. I will avoid watching TV so as to not subconsciously put unwanted stress from information to my mind.

With that, I should go to sleep. Good mornight. #

How Social Media Changed Channel Marketing and Partner Portals

Social media or otherwise known as Web 2.0 applications is now undeniably dominating the World Wide Web. Various industries that are dependent on channel marketing have to adapt their strategies to the dynamic environment created by the internet’s presence. The rate of change of technology is so fast that the rest of the world has to keep up with it. Traditional sales techniques, local sales territories and named accounts have to give way to virtual customer communities, small but frequent deals and other modernized changes in order to appeal to modern society’s culture and needs.


channel management solutions

In view of these changes, it seems that when it comes to channel marketing, a lot of new strategies are on their way up, while the old, more familiar ones are on their way down. For example, social media, partner virtual communities, wikis, RSS feeds, and social networking sites are replacing partner portals, lead generation and even classroom training. It wasn’t too long ago when end consumers search for products on the internet to look up information on certain items but still visit the actual store to purchase them. This is no longer the case as users look to blogs, forums, recommendations via social networks and buying products directly from web sites.

Social media has changed or affected all three levels of the channel marketing chain, that is, the vendors, channel and customers. Thus, the ever-popular partner portals have to undergo changes as well. First, Vendors can now use social media sites for brand distribution. It is no longer uncommon to see companies utilize Facebook and Twitter accounts to push products into the market. Second, the channel can use their blogs and social networking accounts to share additional services to end consumers. If these customers have questions regarding certain goods or services, they can immediately respond at no additional costs. And third, customers can get more sources of credible information through their expanded networks. They can also enjoy increased and efficiency of communication.

This is an inevitable development considering that technology will not stop evolving, bringing about changes in almost every familiar thing in society. It is up to us to keep up and ensure that we are well-prepared for them.