Inspiration for job mobility and career motivation can come from the most unusual of places . . . but Mars?
Well, it is set to be the ultimate Call and Contact Centre.
The communications base established by the first astronauts to reach the Red Planet will pave the way for future colonisation – and so anyone wishing to talk shop will have to go through this centre first.
Science fiction, you say? Not at all!
If everything goes to plan, just ten years from now a spacecraft will blast off from Earth on a journey to this final frontier.
Mars One is a commercially funded mission with a goal of creating a human community on another planet.
When they eventually make it to their destination, the team will be reliant on the technology they take with them, their own ingenuity and the communications system that will keep them in touch with Earth.
That system will be dependant on two satellites sending signals over a distance of 225 million kilometres. These invisible threads are all that will connect the settlers with their old home.
Such vaulting ambition itself can serve an inspiration but Mars One also has a very clear idea of the qualities it takes to be an astronaut.
And, if you have aspirations to work and rise through the ranks in a Call or Contact Centre here on terra firma, there are valuable lessons to be learned from their own strict guidelines:
Resilient – Are you persistent and productive with a ‘CAN DO!’ attitude?
Adaptable – Can you take account of context and adapt quickly to different situations?
Curious – Do you ask questions not simply to tick off answers but to truly understand?
Trusting – Do you trust not only in others but also in yourself?
Creative – Have you a flexible approach to problem solving and a tried and tested sense of fun?
Have you answered yes to all of the above? Excellent! You’re clearly made of the Right Stuff for the job.
Let’s face it, it’s not only astronauts who can find themselves trying to fix serious, even life-threatening, problems over the phone.
Working for the emergency services and NHS 24’s centres demands a compassionate yet cool-headed response.
If your contact centre caters for internet or mobile phone customers, NASA-level skills will come in handy for unravelling technology problems remotely.
And among the list of requirements set out for recent Sales Advisor vacancies on s1jobs.com were ‘resilience and strong problem-solving skills’– exactly the same qualities you’d need for jetting off to the stars.
Earth’s Inbound Contact Centre Adviser, meanwhile, is expected to have a passion for delivering service excellence – this could be for one of the global organisations currently looking for communicators who understand the benefits of key questioning techniques and who bring customer service experience and complaint handling skills.
The Part Time Sales Agent, too, who can earn around £15,000 pro rata based on their hours, is responsible for taking and making calls, liaising with clients and promoting your company services, products, deals and discounts.
To do this you may not have experience of life on another planet but you will have star qualities in closing sales, all within a fast-paced, targeted environment.
The best news, of course, is that none of us has to go to Mars to pursue a stellar career in a Call or Contact Centre.
Scotland has its own well established industry and recent signs are that it is growing stronger.
Just this month Ascensos announced a recruitment drive to double its call centre workforce by creating 200 jobs at its Motherwell base.
Established in 2013, it has already won contracts with major brands and, in the year to June, the business reported sales growth of more than 30% to £33 million.
Last month, meanwhile, BT confirmed it is to stop using overseas call centres for its frontline customer services.
Customers said they prefer to talk to UK-based workers and so BT has vowed that more than 80% of calls will be answered in the UK by the end of 2016.
Having already created more than 1000 UK jobs to meet this commitment, it now plans to create “hundreds of other customer call centre positions in the UK over the next year”.
It all goes to show that it’s fun to look to the skies for inspiration . . . but it’s right here on s1jobs.com that you’ll find the best Call and Contact Centre jobs on the planet.