By: Sanya Kaushik
Customer Relations lies at the very core of almost every
single business and industry in the world. Whether it is a service that you
provide or a product, you will have to hire people who cater specifically to
clients, whose primary and principal job is to ensure that your clients are
happy and satisfied.
Any company worth its salt knows that it cannot work without
the support and trust of customers. This principle sits at the nucleus of
global business, and it is essentially what has given rise to the call center
culture that can be overtly observed in almost every single firm in India.
Call centers are some of the biggest employment providers in
the country. Since more and more countries are outsourcing their customer
services to India, the demand for call centers has started spiking, with
companies starting to invest in call centers.
As a commercial property, call centers are trending in great
capacity in the real estate industry. Call center commercial real estate
property works in an almost entirely different way than its office space
counterparts. This is where the concept of Call Center Seats comes in.
Call
Centers as Commercial Spaces
Other commercial spaces, such as offices, shops etc are
leased out on a per sq ft basis. What this essentially means is that the total
cost of rent will be the product of the floor space (unit size) and the per sq
ft lease rate. This type of commercial property is available in different
varieties, like furnished, semi- furnished and unfurnished.
Call centers on the other hand make use of an entirely
different model of renting. A call center unit that is available for rent will
be fully furnished. But unlike an office space or shop, the interiors of which
depend on the purpose for which it is being hired, a call center will comprise
of (in addition to work stations and chairs) computers, dialers, head sets and
all other equipment required for customer relationship managers.
Also, the pricing of call center properties is very
singular. Instead of paying for the space that you are occupying, you will be
incurring costs of lease on a per head basis. The total rent accumulated at the
end of the month will be equal to the product of the number of people in the
organization and the per person cost. This implies that the lease price of a
call center unit will depend on the number of ‘seats’ available.
In India, this cost is calculated at approximately Rs.
10,000 per person on an average. This could vary from Rs. 9,000 to Rs. 11,000,
depending on the location and amenities provided at the call center. This cost
will include the use of all the facilities and equipment provided.
If you are planning on setting up a call center, you should be aware of the norms that surround the same. You should also be sure of the magnitude of your operation in order to find the right space.
