English in the Southeast Asian Business-Process Outsourcing Industry and Call Centres

At a time when varieties of English are being increasingly accepted as mainstream and tolerance of deviations from standard English are on the rise, the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, specifically contact centres, is far less tolerant of variation from standard English. This chapter pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Cruz, Priscilla Angela T
Format: text
Published: Archīum Ateneo 2024
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Online Access:https://archium.ateneo.edu/english-faculty-pubs/212
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192855282.013.31
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Institution: Ateneo De Manila University
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Summary:At a time when varieties of English are being increasingly accepted as mainstream and tolerance of deviations from standard English are on the rise, the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, specifically contact centres, is far less tolerant of variation from standard English. This chapter problematizes the position of varieties of English in Southeast Asian contact centres. Englishes are examined in light of business practices at recruitment, communications training agendas, communication performance benchmarking, and coaching support. Furthermore, this chapter examines the relationship between Englishes and the seemingly deficient English that needs to be addressed where contact centre customer service representative (CSR) support is concerned. We argue for the need of BPOs to anchor their practices on developing the meaning-making skills that ensure customer service call success.