Monday, September 28, 2009

"Challenges of Managing & Motivating a Culturally Diverse Customer Service Team a Continent Away"

Voice123 would like to offer special thank you to a great customer service software company, Parature, for allowing me to write about my challenges of managing a customer service team in two different cultures. If you look at their client list, you will see why this was a great honor for me to be able to write about Voice123.com's customer service team for such a well-known, distinguished company. You can read the original post here, or see below:

"I am a customer service manager at Voice123.com, and a challenge I face is managing the staff we employ in Bogota, Colombia from the offices we have in New York City, NY. When I took this job as Customer Service/Quality Assurance/Blogger/Public Relations manager at Voice123, I understood ahead of time what challenges were ahead of me. I was not told what the challenges were, but my past experience in traveling to other countries filled me with the knowledge of how businesses in the United States were viewed internationally. I also understood that there are countries that view the United States as ‘1st World’, as if to say that their own country must be ‘3rd World’ by comparison. Luckily, traveling has also taught me that many times people who believe their country is inferior to the United States, may simply need to be reminded as to how the world is pretty much the same no matter where you go.

Back in 1992, I read a book called ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill. In this book, he describes very basic needs shared by all human beings, or at least, that is my interpretation of his writing behind his Philosophy of Success:
  • The need to achieve prosperity
  • The need to feel appreciated
  • The need to love and be loved
  • The need to be successful
Considering these four ‘needs’, then forgetting where someone was born or their views of the United States (because sometimes that opinion is not favorable), is how I approached my position at Voice123 when I was hired. I approached everyone with a clean slate. I never talked down about people in the United States to explain a cultural difference, nor did I ever say one country was better than the other. In return, I expected the same from the staff in Colombia. Our team has always had a ’silent pact of trust’ that we would never insult the culture of another person. This was not stated by me, nor was it ever discussed because I wanted our customer service team to be ‘people of actions’, not just words and mission statements. To build trust, unity, and understanding, we did the following:

  • When visiting other countries, Colombia or United States, our staff stays at other staff member’s houses and apartments, no matter what the conditions, and we commute to work together to get the experience.
  • Understanding the love of music that exists in Colombia, and knowing that people who love the same music share an instant bond, I hooked up Xbox Live in Bogota, Colombia and played a popular music-video game called Rockband from my apartment in New York. This was a team event that we still do to this day, and it has become a great way for our team to release stress.
  • I also found out that there is a heavy influence of US music and art culture in Colombia.
  • I agreed to learn the Latin American way of speaking Spanish, if they agreed to learn North American English.
  • As a former actor, I spoke at student seminars when invited by other members of my staff studying acting and film in Colombia.
  • In return, when they visit New York City, I have taken them to classes that I attended to give them a better understanding of what takes place in the United States.
Generally, we keep a ‘family attitude’ within our staff, and never say things like, ‘Do it this way because it works in the United States.’ or ‘That is how Colombia works, so deal with it.’ I understand that would be a mistake because many of the business schools in Colombia teach students, and I have been told this is something teachers always say in Bogota, ‘You have to learn English because it is the business language of the United States!’ I have found that this type of teaching creates more resentment towards United States culture than anything our Presidents may decide on. (haha) This type of teaching makes Colombian residents feel as if their language is somehow ‘not good enough’.

Meanwhile, when my staff visits New York City, they have an easier time of it than I do in Bogota because they are bilingual, and New York City is 50% Spanish-speaking. I am still learning Spanish, so I still need a chaperone when I visit Bogota.

One important thing to all of this…is the difference in business cultures. In Colombia, it is very easy to just fire someone you simply do not like, where in the United States, we have the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which protects employees against wrongful termination, among many other things. As a manager (and former EEOC insurance claims assistant with AIG), I promised myself when starting that I would do my best to be as fair as possible in all situations, based on what I learned as a claims assistant at AIG. I also did something unique for someone working in Colombia, which has yet to adopt laws that protect people from being fired or not hired due to their age. I promised myself that I would hold onto staff for as long as possible for one reason…I have seen high turnover rates in customer service affect the quality of customer service. I also remember that the person who founded Wal-Mart named his original cashiers ‘associates’ and as stockholders, these employees helped Wal-Mart get off the ground because they trusted in their leader, and felt appreciated as part of a team.

This type of behavior is a business culture that the staff from Colombia enjoys…feeling appreciated for hard work, and knowing that if they work hard, they will be appreciated. I acknowledge that at first, not every staff member was on-board with me, and some did quit, but that is the understanding at Voice123…”I will look out for you, if you look out for me and Voice123. If you want no part of it, it is ok to leave. We bare no ill-will and will help you in the future.”

Of course, I should mention what tools we use to keep in touch during the work day. That is quite simple:
  • SkypeWebcams
  • Live Streaming of my office and theirs
  • Gotomeeting
Some have viewed this type of communicating, where we are simply watching each other work, as maybe ’spying’, but it is nothing like that at all. We are a very happy staff that actually misses working with each other in the same office. The beauty of the Voice123 staff members in Colombia are their warm hearts, and hospitality, which I personally find to be lacking in today’s United States customer service.

This in turn has made me a perfect fit, as I am working with people who validate my understanding of the need for hospitality in customer service. It is true, that I play a role in Voice123 as one who translate what is really being said to our customer service staff. The main reason for this is that the Colombian staff does not understand the United States culture of sarcasm, and double-meanings, and with that, I know my work is always cut out for me.

Communicating via Skype and typing commands to people can sometimes be misinterpreted, but when this happens, we call each other and talk about it. I also sometimes jump on Skype on weekends just to talk to staff and see how things are going. I do this because I know I am working with truly beautiful, caring people. To date, we have had no issues of political conversations, prejudices, or cultural differences, and I do not think we will because our company is gaining a reputation in Bogota, Colombia as being a wonderful place to work that is open-minded, caring, and expects one to achieve for the benefit of the employee and Voice123. On top of that…their managers ask staff to play Rockband!

Final note…You may read back through this and notice something I did not do. I never referred to people from the United States as ‘Americans’. To the people of Colombia, they consider themselves ‘Latin Americans’, so it is viewed as arrogant to say one country can hold the title ‘American’. I pay attention to these details out of respect for their beliefs, and they respect mine in return. I always view this staff at Voice123 as people I learn a great deal from, even if I am one of the oldest staff members at 36 years old.

I hope my experience has served you as well,

Steven Lowell"

Perhaps the sign that you are truly in a job you love is when someone asks you, 'What challenges do you face?', and you find yourself smiling as you answer. The team at Voice123 is very special to me, and we work very hard to make sure all of our Voice123 customers find voice talent and find voice over work.


Best regards,


Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
Steven Lowell
Public Relations Manager
My Blog
Twitter: @voice123dotcom

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Voice123 Important News: September 2009

We would like to share important news with you from Voice123!

Refer a Friend Contest Winner!
Back in June 2009, we started the 'Refer a Friend' program. You can find this in your More Tools section of your profile. At that time, we held a contest for a 1-year Free Subscription to Voice123 for the person who referred the most friends. We are pleased to announce the winner, voice talent Mike Cooper, and we thank everyone for their participation!

Voice123 Premium Forums!
Voice123 watched the forum posting slow down over the summer, but since the first week of September, we have seen that more and more Premium Subscribers are pasting their demos in DEMO ADVICE, and also asking some great questions about Voice123. The Voice123 Premium Forums has always been a great place to ask questions about usage of Voice123 as a Premium Subscriber, and the voice over industry.

Success Stories Flood My Email!
Not too long ago, I wrote a blog asking for voice talent to send me their success stories. I love sharing such news as a way to promote all voice talent on Voice123. I received so many responses from countries around the world. I want to reassure all who submitted that I will be sharing your news very soon!

Just to give you an example, Selcuk Birdal, a Voice123 voice over talent from Turkey, won a job doing voice work for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class automobile, through Voice123. You can read about it here!

  • "Selçuk Birdal studied drama as well as training as a speaker, therefore he is not only employed as a radio presenter in his home country, Turkey, but also for synchronized cinema films and TV series."
Twitter Contest to Give Away 3-Months Free Subscription!
Twitter followers of @Voice123dotcom are given the opportunity to win a free 3-months on their premium subscriptions to Voice123. The contests take place twice a month, and is a way for voice talent to try our system out and possibly win 3-months free in the process! The scripts are simple, short, and used for contest purposes only. Using Voice123's shared inbox links, you can listen to the great talent who have been submitting! It is all in good fun, and hope you will follow @Voice123dotcom, and try it out next month!

Finally... Voice123 Will Now Be Sharing Info Via a Linkedin Group!
Voice123 created a group on Voice123 to share information for voice talent and voice seekers, who wish to post voice over jobs. The group is less than two weeks old, so we hope you can come join and be a part of it. Voice123 will always share information with you to make the online casting process as transparent as possible for you! If you already have an account in LinkedIn, join the new Voice123 group here!

We are happy to see so many of you back at work, and hope your summer went well!

Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
Steven Lowell
Public Relations Manager
My Blog
Twitter: @voice123dotcom

Friday, September 18, 2009

Paul Liberti's Character and Animation Technique Class at Actors Connection!

Interested in performing character and animation voice overs?

Go to this link for more info and read about a great character and animation voice over technique class, being taught by Professional Voice Actor Paul Liberti beginning Friday, October 2, 2009 at 6:00pm, to run every Friday for five weeks!

"Every voice over script you will ever read… is playing someone. You are never just a voice in a void. Developing your very own unique characters is essential for every voice over actor out there!

Characters range from natural real people characters to the extreme over the top! Audio book actors, commercial actors, animation actors and even narrative voice actors all need to develop characters! Your ‘rep company’ of characters need to be ready to go at a moment’s notice, under pressure at auditions! Now learn the inside secrets and tips from a working voice over professional!

There truly is no other class like this in NYC, taught by veteran voice actor from Nickelodeon, PBS, Noggin, Pokemon, Disney and former Muppet performer, Paul Liberti. You'll learn about voice placement, the facial mask and how you can create different sounds and vibrations that allow you to revisit the same characters again and again. Insider tips and tricks, marketing for the character voice actor, and unique in-class and extended at home character exercises will help the actor to sustain a career's worth of techniques designed to help you sustain characters and get work!"

Workshop dates are Friday October 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th, at the following New York City location:

Film Center Building
630 9th Avenue, Suite 1410 (between 44th & 45th St.)

New York, NY 10036


Thank you!

Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
Steven Lowell
Public Relations Manager
My Blog
Twitter: @voice123dotcom

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Voice123 Update: Seeing Stars on Project Details? No worries!

Voice123 recently made a small adjustment to the way voice over project details are viewed on Voice123. We did this to allow for voice seekers to protect the privacy of their companies, as done in the past in the script section. This was a small fix to our system that was requested by very popular voice seekers on Voice123. We always look to bring endless voice over work to Voice123 voice over talent, and we hope this will promote further posting of voice over work.

Voice over talent will be able to see the info behind the '********' when logged in as a Premium Subscriber on Voice123.com. Here is an example of this feature, which is already in use for this voice over project. Look at the project description, and also the Voice123 Note at the bottom of the script:
You will also see a note in project details, next to the script, explaining what you are viewing:
  • "Voice123 Note: Names, links, and contact information have been replaced by "*" symbols. If you have been invited to submit an audition or proposal for this project, you can sign in to see this information in full."
If you have any questions about the update to project details being mentioned here, please contact us, or post about it on our Voice123 Premium Forums! Voice seekers...post a project and hire the most professional voice talent in the world on Voice123!

Thank you always!
Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
Steven Lowell
Public Relations Manager
My Blog
Twitter: @voice123dotcom

Friday, September 04, 2009

Voice Over Coach Johnna Gottlieb Teaching at NYU This Autumn

This news was passed to Voice123 by voice over coach, Johnna Gottlieb. We thank her for reaching out to us with this news!

"In addition to teaching my online course for UCLA, I also teach a similar course for NYU called “Voiceover: Beyond the Booth”. My fall semester starts Wednesday, October 14th. Please go to this link to the NYU site for all those who may be interested in this great voice over course!

I have been posting stuff on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the class is starting to fill up, so I hope all interested can get involved quickly."

Voice123 looks forward to sharing more news from voice over coaches in the future. If you would like to be considered for Voice123's Coach Partner Program, click this link to read more about it!

Thank you!

Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
Steven Lowell
Public Relations Manager
My Blog
Twitter: @voice123dotcom

Thursday, September 03, 2009

The Summer is Done...Let the Fun Begin!


Voice123 certainly hopes you have had a great summer. Yes, the summer is over, and it is time to get back to the daily grind. So, let the fun begin!

Now that it is over, and it is time to get back to work, we look forward to working with you for the next few busy months of voice over work, leading up to the holiday season. We also hope that Voice123 will be your primary choice for posting voice over projects.

We have two kinds of projects to post, SmartCast & private projects, or you can simply directly invite people yourself using our search feature.

We will always be here to answer your needs for connecting to the best voice over talent in the world! If you are looking for voice talent today, or in the future, post a voice over project with Voice123!

Thank you!

Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
Steven Lowell
Public Relations Manager
My Blog
Twitter: @voice123dotcom

A Ladie Making The 'Mo$t' of Voice123


Last week, while reading Twitter posts regarding @Voice123dotcom, I came across a tweet by @Ladiemost, a voice over talent on Voice123. She had announced that she had won a national gig via Voice123. I had reached out to her to see, if she would share the story with us, as to how it took place, and she generously wrote me this reply:

"Last week, after many auditions, I finally was contacted directly by a voice seeker to re-audition for their project (LTK152025401668X "Find Your Voice"). After quickly turning around my second audition with short notice, they said it was good, but they felt I would really nail it with a little direction. Within 30 minutes, I was on a phone patch session with the creative director, he said there was one other person that their client was listening to, but they thought I was the voice for the job. So, he wanted to push me to the front of the line. Everything moved pretty quickly. He was pleased with my reads. The next afternoon I received an email congratulating me for booking the gig! I was just thrilled! Within one hour from that email we had another phone patch session to finalize the voice over for the National TV Spot!

Voice123 has been a great investment for my voice over career. It has helped me to do more than book jobs. It has helped me to improve as a voice actor and discover my range. For me, being a Premium Subscriber on Voice123 is worth every dollar and every bit of effort I've used to audition, audition, audition!!! I have spoken to many people who aspire to be voice actors, and those who've been in the voice over industry for some time, about my experiences with Voice123 and I've highly recommended you guys. (I have) gone from 0 to 80 mph, within a matter of a couple of years worth of subscriptions. The voice over Industry has attracted so many more people who just need a good place to start getting "real" opportunities to compete for work on a daily/regular basis. This site is a great resource that really works. In life its all about what you put into something, that determines what you'll get out of it.

Thank you so much for inquiring about my success with Voice123.

PS - LadieMo$t is the name I go by in the voice over industry!"

Voice123 thanks LadieMo$t for responding to us. In the coming weeks, we look to bring you success stories from Voice123 that will explain more about the 'before and after' of getting work. We certainly hope you keep an eye out, or let us know if you have any stories of success you wish to share!

Thank you!

Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
Steven Lowell
Public Relations Manager
My Blog
Twitter: @voice123dotcom