A BPO is an ecosystem. While the agents on the phones are the most visible part of the company, they are supported by a complex network of departments (also called verticals) that handle everything from hiring to scheduling and quality control.
Each vertical has its own hierarchy structure and chain of command, but they interact at several levels across their structures to ensure the BPO works as expected.
In this section, we will review some of the common departments that you can see when starting your journey in the Call Center world. However, these are not the only ones. Several other verticals support the entire operation of a BPO.
Talent Acquisition (TA)
The ones who "bring the people in". BPOs are constantly hiring for their different clients, based on different factors such as location, skills, previous experience, and languages. In some cases, TA can be part of Human Resources (HR).
Human Resources (HR):
"Contracts and benefits for employees" reside here. They ensure everything is kept according to local regulations and laws, and work together with all different departments to make sure all employees are following company-wide policies. In most cases, Payroll resides inside of HR, but it can also be treated as a separate vertical.
Training
The "Educators". The training department runs classes (usually 2-6 weeks or more, depending on the client's need or process complexity) to teach new hires the product knowledge and soft skills needed to handle customer interactions.
Operations (Ops)
The "Production Floor." This includes Agents, Team Leaders, and Operations Managers. They are the ones actually doing the work the client pays for. For the most part, they handle the relationship with each client directly, with the support of other areas.
Quality Assurance (QA)
The "Auditors." They listen to recorded calls to ensure agents are compliant with laws, follow client-specific procedures, and are polite to customers. They protect the brand's reputation.
Workforce Management (WFM)
The "Logistics Team." They use historical data to predict how many calls will arrive next week and create the schedules to ensure there are enough agents to answer them.
IT / Helpdesk
The "Tech Support for Tech Support." They ensure the servers, internet, and specialized software are always running so operations don't stop.
Sales and Client Services:
The ones bringing in new Clients and maintaining the relationship with existing ones. They keep the business going and ensure all parties are working towards achieving client goals. Normally, they handle client escalations when things don't go as planned or when there are large impacts on performance.
All of these departments interact cohesively with each other to make sure a BPO operation runs smoothly, and all involved parties (clients, employees, customers) are kept happy.
Here's an example overview of how verticals work and their hierarchy levels. Remember, this is only an introductory example:
As you keep growing in your BPO, you will start discovering there are even more departments, such as Legal, Communications and Public Relations, Finance, and many more.
In the upcoming sections, we will learn what the journey inside a call center is and how a new hire becomes an agent and climbs to other positions.
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