Agents form 80 percent of the employees at a call center. But a smaller breed of workers keep the lines buzzing in the right accent. They are the trainers.

To call customers, answer questions or take orders on the phone, agents in India need to speak impeccable English and in the right accents -- American or British.

Sheldon Lee D’Souza, Manager, Training, for Intelenet is the man who ensures this. With a book called American Accent Training by Ann Cook, a few CDs and other training tools, he and his team teach new employees the tricks of the trade.

Like how to ensure that customers focus on the right words in a sentence: For instance, ‘only’ as in the case of ‘only $30’ or not emphasize the word ‘free’ too much. Customers get suspicious if they are told something is free too often.

Training is the most important aspect for all call centers who spend as much as Rs 30,000 on every new employee during the process. The course includes soft skills training, telephone etiquette, stress management and domain knowledge. Training has components like accent neutralization and cultural training.

"During the California Gold Rush do you know who made more money? Not the guys digging for gold but the people who sold them the accessories. In the call center business, I am the guy selling the accessories," says Sheldon (left, above), 27, who moved to Intelenet after a diploma in hotel management and a stint with WNS, one of the biggest call centers in India.

Words: Priya Ganapati. Photograph: Jewella C Miranda

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