Organizations: for customer services abroad and help desks

What is working at a call center or in customer service abroad like?

• Responsibilities: You are the lifeline for customers and/or the salesperson for a company.
• At a helpdesk, you help people with their questions and problems and make sure they are solved.
• It is important that you can listen well and think in a problem-solving way.
• You give clear advice and explanations to the customers of the organization you are working for at that moment.
• As a helpdesk employee, you assist customers by email or phone.
• You can work at a technical helpdesk or an informational helpdesk.
• At a technical helpdesk, they mainly look for staff with experience in ICT.
• You can do this work in different countries, with the advantage that you work with international colleagues on the floor.

Working for an outbound call center?

• At a call center, it can be about incoming phone calls (inbound) and outgoing phone calls (outbound), it is about being called and calling yourself.
• Through outbound calls, you offer products and/or services to new or existing customers.
• When you make outbound calls, sales techniques are important, which you can learn while working, but also on-site.
• Many companies abroad are looking for employees who speak English well.
• Knowledge of other languages is usually an advantage.
• Working conditions: This varies greatly depending on your location. Don't expect a villa with a pool, but sometimes your employer provides you a shared apartment.
• The salary is often just enough to get by, but not enough to make a fortune.
• You can, however, receive bonuses when you, for example, push people onto a more expensive package (your inner salesperson can finally unleash).
• You also often receive paid training, so you can work on your development for free or for a fee!
• Contracts vary from flexible to temporary to full-time.

What are the reasons for working at a call center or in customer service abroad?

• To practice your communication skills.
• To increase your self-awareness: you truly discover who you are, when you can stay calm, even when someone calls you "useless" for the fifth time.
• To gain new experiences: a new job, a new environment, you will experience much more than when you would have stayed home!

What skills and motivations do you need to work at a call center or in customer service abroad?

• Communication skills: not just the English language, but also listening to complaints, calming anger, and persuading people. Stress-resistant: You certainly won't have only easy-going clients, so stress levels can rise.
• Flexibility: Schedules can change frequently, and so can conversations.
• Empathy: Not only will scripts help you, but empathy can also help you with customers.
• Service-oriented: The term says it all, but service-oriented ness is especially important in customer service. People desperately need help, and the friendlier the employee, the smoother the interaction.
• Collaboration: Call centers run on teamwork, often even with people in different time zones. Joint complaining sessions during breaks strengthen your bond!

What are the best countries and locations to work at a call center or in customer service abroad?

• In combination with sun: Portugal (Lisbon and Porto), Spain (Barcelona and Valencia), Greece.
• In combination with low costs (living): Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Poland.
• Major hubs: The Philippines, India, Colombia and Mexico.

What are the risks of working in a call center or in customer service abroad, and are you insured against those risks?

• What are the risks of working in a call center or customer service abroad?
  • It is common for there to be a lot of stress: due to responsibility, result-oriented ness, miscommunication or cultural and linguistic problems.
  • It is common for the workload to be high: due to long days, staff shortages or tight deadlines.
  • It is common for the working environment to be unsafe: infrastructure, health risks, political instability, manners.
  • Accidents with more or less serious consequences are common.
  • It is common for someone to contract a contagious or local disease, which means you cannot work for a while or even have to be flown home.
• Are you insured while working at a call center or in customer service abroad?
  • There may be several reasons why you need separate insurance when working abroad.
  •  Local employers usually offer no or limited supplementary insurance.
  • There is a risk of accidents because, for example, you are doing work with which you have little experience.
  • During work, an internship or voluntary work abroad for which you receive remuneration or a salary, the cover provided by your own health insurance in your home country may lapse.
  • There may be several reasons why you need separate insurance when working abroad. Check the pages on: insuring international Insurances for working abroad, for internships abroad, for volunteering abroad, or for expats and emigrants.