Nextcall Monthly Newsletter Issue 4 Feb/Mar 2017

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VOL 1

ISSUE 4 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017 YOUR COMPLIMENTARY COPY

Top tips on how to adhere to your New Year resolutions - Page 2

‘My career at Nextcall has been very rewarding’ - Betty Satekge

Nextcall rises to the challenge of youth unemployment in South Africa

- Page 3

- Page 4

Nextcall celebrates one year anniversary WORDS BY BRUCE GERMAINE

IN an elaborate celebration held last week at the company’s headquarters in Rivonia, Sandton, Johannesburg, Nextcall Contact Centre marked its one year anniversary of existence. In attendance at the event are the pioneers of the company from inception, call centre agents and well wishers.

The Chief Operating Officer of

the contact centre, Mr Jignesh Dave, thanked the team for their support and collaborative efforts towards growing the company in a closing remark. He encouraged them to keep up their strong commitment and enthusiasm.

Nextcall Contact Centre attained an FSP license early this year, which has resulted in the com-

pany gracing new avenues in the health and insurance sector and now allows it to offer related financial services to its clients.

Nextcall is one of Africa’s leading call centre service provider offering high quality multilingual inand outbound call handling, telemarketing and total CRM solutions to clients across Africa, Dubai and the United Kingdom.

CELEBRATIONS: A portion of Nextcall Contact Centre agents poses with the cake at the one year celebration of the company last week. The company has grown from 20 to more than 200 call centre agents within a year.

NEXT TOON HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT

We are looking at diversifying our offerings - Jignesh Dave

WORDS BY GEZZY SIBISI

THE new addition of exciting product services that will now be on offer at Nextcall has elevated Jignesh and his team’s approach as they promise to come up with advanced and innovative ways to offer richer service at more affordable rates. “We are looking at diversifying our offerings, we do not want to be a typical contact

centre where we just make outbound and inbound calls, we are trying to find more cost-effective ways in servicing our clients,” he said.

Jignesh mentioned a few suggested methods in their life insurance offerings, which include bundling a sim card with unlimContinued on Page 2

WHAT CAN YOU ACHIEVE THIS YEAR?

WORDS BY KRISTIE OMAR

IN case you just woke up from a very long nap and missed it, 2017 is officially here! Everyone you know is making resolutions to work out more often, eat less fried foods and find a job.

You probably roll your eyes every time you read a status along these lines and when you do, I have a feeling it makes you think that making these resolutions is an exercise in futility. Below are a few things you can plan to achieve by the end of this year.

First, you can stop thinking about networking and just do it.

How many times have Continued on Page 3

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NEXTCALL MONTHLY | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017 FROM THE PUBLISHER

OUR Corporate family consists of the human resources, the knowledge that we have gained since last year, the processes that have been put into place after going through many failures, and the clients whom we have painstakingly cultivated into a regular source of oxygen for this mammoth body.

The most important human resource that we have is the company itself. It is human in that it has a soul and body. It wants to grow, be free and independent of anyone else. It is delicate that it can get hurt by the actions of its environment, but strong enough to carry with it the hopes, aspirations and livelihood of employees and the success of its clients.

For its employees, Nextcall clearly provides one of the best environments to grow their abilities, skills and above all their social skills.

The projects being done here are some of the best that any company can hope for. I assure you that your association with Nextcall will be one that you will never forget all through your life and will always be grateful for what you have learnt here.

If there is one thing that I know for sure is that you will cherish about Nextcall is the concept of relationship that will be ingrained into you at every step and every department. Here relationships are based on mutual respect for work, loyalty, dedication, transparency and above all humanity.

For our clients, Nextcall offers an unbelievable access to highly talented teams that listen, innovate, change and deliver in a well-planned and organised manner. Clients will be pleasantly surprised by the openness, abundant talent, meticulousness and above all the dedication and eagerness to make them successful.

Come and enjoy the Nextlevel experience at Nextcall.

Jignesh Dave (CA & CFP) Publisher/Chief Operating Officer jigs@nextcall.co.za

PUBLISHING CREDITS

C.E.O Dlogan Group: Deepak Logan Publisher/Chief Operating Officer: Jignesh Dave Editor: Kristie Omar Proof Reader: Barbara Wood Photographer: John Mensah Oluwatosin Akinribido Layout & Design: CreativeMagic Group (Pty) Ltd Contributors: Gezzy Sibisi, Linique Visagie, Bruce G. Head, Nextcall Contact Centre: Vijandren Kisten Nextagent Centre Manager: Carol-Anne Achary Legal Compliance Officer: Fiona Fiebig Accounts: Jeffrey Chirombe Nextcall Contact Centre Head Office: 3rd Floor, Blk B, 348, Edenburg Terraces, Rivonia, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa. Tel: +27 (0)11 803 0161 Email: info@nextcall.co.za Website: www.nextcall.co.za Twitter: www.twiiter.com/nextcall Facebook: www.facebook.com/nextcall Nextcall newsletter is published monthly for Nextcall (Pty) Limited a subsidiary of D & D Logan Group by CreativeMagic Group (Pty) Limited. Nextcall is a registered trademark of Nextcall (Pty) Limited. Nextcall newsletter monthly considers its sources reliable and verifies as much data as possible.

However, reporting inaccuracies can occur, consequently readers using this information do so at their own risk. © 2017 by Nextcall (Pty) Limited. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form without prior written permission of the Publisher. Permission is only deemed valid if approval is in writing. Nextcall newsletter monthly buy all rights to contributors, text and images (where applicable), unless previously agreed to in writing.

The paper used for this publication is a recyclable and renewable product.

It has been produced using wood sourced from sustainably managed forests and elemental or total chlorine free bleach pulp. The producing mills have third-party management systems in place, applying standards such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. This newsletter can be recycled either through your kerbside collection or at a local re-cycling point. Log onto www.presa.co.za to find your nearest sites.

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www.nextcall.co.za | VOL 1 ISSUE 4

CAREER TALK

with Kristie Omar

Changing the way you think can change your life SWIMMER Michael Phelps is a living legend.

He’s the most decorated Olympic athlete of all times with a total of 28 medals. He also holds the record for Olympic gold medals. But you probably already knew that.

In his book, No Limits: The Will to Succeed, Phelps tells a story about when he was training as a little kid. His coach, Bob Bowman, would push Phelps until he was completely exhausted and then give him a new series of exercises to do. When little Michael looked at his coach with wide eyes exclaiming “I can’t!”

Bowman gave him some of the most important advice of his life: “There’s a big difference between I can’t and I won’t. ”Bowman explained: “Can’t—that’s a tough word. Let’s preserve our power and quit throwing around can’t when we really mean won’t.”

There’s a lot of wisdom in this advice. If Phelps had continued to think in terms of “I can’t” instead of “I won’t,” he would’ve had a completely different mindset.

Still, most of us live our lives like it’s this book we’ve been reading.

In research, a “mindset” is defined as: “a mental frame or lens that selectively organises and encodes information, thereby orienting an individual toward a unique way of understanding an experience and guiding one toward corresponding actions and responses.”

In other words, your mindsets are the lenses through which you perceive the world. These are coloured by your beliefs and attitudes and help determine your response in any given

situation. As we go through life, we pick up beliefs that help us navigate the world. As the research above suggests, these beliefs have very real consequences for our psychology, physiology, behaviour and performance.

One mindset can flood your system with stress hormones and make you anxious. Another can boost your testosterone levels and make you feel confident.

How do you change your lenses and realise your full potential?

First, put your thoughts in perspective.

Realise that you are not your thoughts. You are the one who’s observing your thoughts.

Whenever a limiting belief shows up, listen to it, but don’t necessarily believe it. A thought is not an accurate representation of reality, it’s just a thought. So treat it accordingly.

Use empowering language. Instead of saying “I can’t” say “I won’t.” Instead of “I have to” say “I’m going to.” Instead of “I don’t know” say “I’ll figure it out.” Pay attention to the language you use and get rid of any phrases that imply helplessness.

Change your feelings. Copy the body language of the person you want to become.

Strike a powerful posture and smile. Doing this for just a couple of minutes will make you feel less stressed and more in charge.

Surround yourself with the right people. The people around us have a huge influence on how we feel, what goals we pursue. You become the average of the five people you spend the most time with, so choose your social circles wisely.

We are looking at diversifying our offerings - Jignesh Dave From Page 1

ited top time nationwide with life insurance on their handset and how a typical phone call from a call centre will now be offering clients’ ways to save on their life insurance package. “If you are paying more than R600

for your mobile bill, we will advise you to please get in touch with our service providers so we can assist you in finding a more affordable package that will save you some money,” said Jignesh.

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INTERVIEW

NEXTCALL MONTHLY | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

‘My career at Nextcall has been very rewarding’ - Betty Satekge INTERVIEW BY GEZZY SIBISI

“IT is your time to shine,” are the words that echo in Betty Satekge minds as she reflects back on her journey with Nextcall; a journey that started with a call from Vice President - Operations, Vijandren Kisten on December 2015 to inform her that her job application was successful.

“I was browsing job searches on my phone when I came across a job advert from Nextcall seeking for call centre agents. I applied for the position and within minutes I received a call from Kisten,” tells Betty.

Betty remembers making her way to the Business Centre offices down the road from the present office to meet Mr. Kisten for her job interview. Betty further recalls the words of Mr. Kisten when he told her to take this opportunity to shine and Betty vowed that she would do just that, which has resulted in her attaining an accolade as well as two promotions in just one year.

Betty’s smile is like sunshine just pierced the room, “I am this bubbly person, I am energetic, I am always positive and I get on very well with people,” she says.

Betty comes from a long history of call centre experience, having worked at MBD for six years, and Liberty for seven years respectively pursuing the role of Team Leader Assistance in outbound. However, her entry job at Nextcall was being an inbound call centre agent for the

SHINING: It is Betty Satekge’s time to shine and she is shining and proving it.

Lesotho Special Permits (LSP) project. “During the interview, Kisten informed me that his company is starting a call centre for VFS, which I knew was a government initiative that I had heard about on television and I was immediately impressed."

With her reputable background and charming personality, the only thing that was left to question was whether Betty knew Sesotho and when she confidently assured Kisten that she does, Betty had successfully sealed her fate with the company and signed her contract on 28 December 2015.

“I have grown within the Nextcall company. I was an agent from February 2016 and within months I was promoted to the role of Team Leader Assistance once again. Betty was

What can you achieve this year?

From Page 1

DETERMINED: Stop thinking about it, just do it.

you bumped into someone you knew and said, “Hey, this was great. Let’s set up some more time to talk about what I want to do with the rest of my life,” only to see three months go by before you even think about following up?

This year is an ideal time to be more intentional about staying in touch with your net-

work.

Secondly, you can look for new career development opportunities.

Sometimes it feels like there are so many options out there to “boost your career” that it’s impossible to narrow them down and make any progress. But, as daunting as it might seem, the truth is that simply looking at your options is a great way to kick-start some serious career growth.

Whether that requires you to create calendar events for yourself (with annoying reminders) to keep at it, leave Post-it notes around your place, or have a friend text you every week checking in-get started by surrounding yourself with as much encouragement as you need to make this one thing happen.

Sure, you might find hundreds of classes and thousands of books that aren’t relevant to what you want to accomplish this year. But when you find the one thing that inspires you to dig a little deeper, you’ll be amazed by how motivated you’ll be to keep going.

awarded Agent of the Year at the company’s closing ceremony late last year, which she attributes to her great attendance, quality of work, telephone etiquette and Quality Assurance scores. This recognition came with a promotion to a position she was more familiar with, to which was the role of Team Leader Assistant. ”I enjoyed this role very much because I got to work with Martha Namame who is an exceptional leader and I got to learn a lot from her.”

Betty’s ambitions this time, however, did not end there because Mr. Kisten approached her once again regarding a position as a company’s Resource Planner. “This was my time to shine and I am shining and proving it,” said Betty confidently.

Her day at the office starts off with a short prayer and a cup of tea to gather her thoughts.

“People will ask me why I am so happy and smiling everyday, I believe this ritual is the secret to how I can cope with everything that is happening around me and in my life. I just need that short moment to gain my strength,” she said.

Duties as a Resource Planner involve giving a daily and monthly statistical report regarding staff attendance, leave forms and checking that systems are working accordingly in all the contact centres. This is a very demanding job as communication to Betty is done mostly via email; therefore she needs to be constantly on her laptop, alert and ready to service the various number of requests that come her way. “I am also the last one to leave the office because I need to check that everything is well and in order before the end of the day.”

After a long day at the office, Betty prefers spending time unwinding at home in simple comfort. “I love my me time and use it to catch up on television and just spending time with my daughter,” she said.

When asked about her plans for the future, Betty is certain that she will be at Nextcall for the long run. “I have a Diploma in Human Resource Management and plan to use it someday hopefully working alongside HR Manager, Carol-Ann Achary,” she concluded.

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FEATURE

NEXTCALL MONTHLY | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

TOGETHER WE CAN: Call centre agents from the new Debt Co team in very high spirit. Nextcall contact centre have employed more than 300 young South Africans since inception.

Nextcall rises to the challenge of youth unemployment in South Africa WORDS BY KRISTIE OMAR

THERE is simply no disguising about South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis and the misery that it brings for so many young people and their families. South Africa has the third highest unemployment rate in the world for people between the ages of 15 to 24, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Risk 2014 report, which also states that more than 50% of young South Africans between 15 and 24 are unemployed. Only Greece and Spain have higher unemployment in this age range than South Africa.

In the midst of seemingly insurmountable challenges, South Africa’s burgeoning call centre industry brings with it the means of providing young job seekers with access to decent work, skills training, work experience, further specialised education for those who put in the hours and effort, as well as economic and social relief for many South African families. But it’s not an industry for the faint of heart or for anyone looking for an easy ride.

Call centres are at best pressured work environments and in particular outbound call centres focused on sales demand candidates who have a great attitude, a solid work ethic

THE LEGAL POINT OF VIEW

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focused on service and an insatiable desire to outperform their own targets and that of their peers. Demand for both entry and management level call centre employees is growing as businesses – both local and global – refocus on their core business, outsourcing those business processes that are not core to the likes of call centres – for example sales, customer enquiries, policy administration, claims fulfilment and so on. South Africa is ideally positioned for call centre activity because of its infrastructure, stable investment environment, large talent pool and time zone.

For a self-starter, this is an industry where value is placed on aptitude and attitude, rather than formal tertiary qualifications, which for many young South Africans remain painfully out of reach. In its 2016 financial year alone, Nextcall contact centre employed more than 300 previously disadvantaged young South Africans who found gainful career opportunities with the company, selling various products covering almost a million South African lives.

“We are especially proud of the role we play in job creation and further training opportunities for young, previously disadvantaged South Africans every year. Our main focus is the un-

Words by: Fiona Fiebig

employed citizens of South Africa and we are continuously marketing our call centre services to corporates as well as small and medium enterprises that cannot afford to have training facilities on their premises. For the young people who join our call centre, it is an incredible experience working on some of South Africa’s largest corporates, as well as in the insurance industry, which is growing in response to South Africa’s emerging middle class,” says CarolAnne Achary, the call centre’s Human Resource manager.

“Typically for most of our agents, it is their first exposure to the working world. Once they have made it through the initial assessments, they will undergo a month of intensive training covering sales techniques, product training, compliance training and finally testing of their newly acquired skills before they make their first sales call,” explains Carol-Anne.

“In an outbound call centre, the focus is on telemarketing of products and requires agents who are driven and motivated to make sales and ultimately determine their own earning potential at the end of the month. Agents who are able to stay focused get promoted from within, and there is serious opportunity to grow your career in a call centre,” Carol-Anne concludes.

In a chat with one of Nextcall’s call centre agents, Phumzile Kibi, who was recently promoted to the Quality Assurance department, says, “Young people should not be blinded by the traditional career and study choices. There is this misperception that you have to become a doctor or lawyer or accountant or else you won’t make money or build a great a career.

That is simply not true – being a call centre agent taught me that you can build a career out of just about anything, as long as you are passionate and focused on your end goals. My advice to young people is to realise that you can build a career out of virtually anything.

Everything about this job teaches you to be entrepreneurial – and at the end of the day you, and only you, are responsible for your performance. Hard work and commitment, no matter how menial the job may seem to you, will take you places. My call centre career with Nextcall contact centre has been exceptionally rewarding, both professionally and financially.”

The importance of having a social media policy in your company

WHAT ever you write on social media goes into the public domain and is not confined to the group of people on the social media platform.

Comments posted on social media can impact on the reputation of the company the person works for. The Internet does not have a policy or an institution to give people who complained about an opportunity to clarify or give their side of the story.

Although a person might be able to tell their side of the story at a later stage, by Page 4 |

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then the damage would have already been done.

The difficulty that employers face is that employees become brand ambassadors of the company and what an employee might post on social networks may reflect on the company as well.

In order to curb this, it is important to have internal company policies because the usual clauses in contracts merely refer to the use of electronic equipment, which is used for communication of the company during office hours.

Most employees own a cell phone and that they can post comments on Facebook after hours, the problem will be if the company does not have sufficient policies in place, the employee can justify their actions and rely on the issue of privacy.

FEBRUARY/MARCH BIRTHDAYS

SIBUSISO RADEBE PHUMZILE KIBI GIDEON DU PLOOY DIBAKISO SIHLAKU

17-FEB 05 MAR 11 MAR 12 MAR