By Steve Coyle, ServiceWinners International

Recently our training team went to Kabul to train Roshan Mobile's employees, some of whom included call center managers. Outwardly , the Afghan call center looks and functions like any well-run call center worldwide, but with different challenges. I'd like to share some challenges that call centers in Afghanistan face compared to the rest of the world.

One challenge confronting the Afghani call center industry is that in Afghan culture, males and females, who are not blood relatives, are generally not allowed to speak to one another. In many towns women are forbidden to venture outside without a male family member escort. But in some cases, a male customer may call just to speak with a female agent. Being able to call a woman you're not related to is a delight, especially when it's free and virtually unsupervised. It's not phone sex, but it's about the closest you can get to it in Afghanistan. Queue times can be exceeded when call center lines become chat lines, especially at normally late non-peak periods. One remedy being considered is charging a small fee for each customer service call.

Contrary to managerial difficulties traditionally faced in other regions, employee retention is not a big problem in Afghan call centers. Most Afghans are proud to have a job with a modern company such as Roshan. In fact, engineers in other parts of the company ask to be transferred to the call center in order to meet the women who work there. For other technical employees, the call center is a plum job since they don't have to venture out into the field where there are other hazards of life and limb.

But a call center cannot always be considered a professional safe haven. During the Afghan equivalent of American Idol, every time an Afghan voted via SMS, his or her cell phone would receive a confirmation SMS acknowledging the receipt of their vote. In one district, the phone switch tallied the vote but was unable to return an SMS confirmation. Many Afghans vote along ethnic and tribal lines, and when that district's candidate failed to win, the local fans thought their SMS wasn't tallied. As a result, the enraged fans attacked the local sales office.

While the agents sit in gender-segregated rows, the buzz is like any other call center. The KPIs are the same and everything else looks like another call center, though the location is unique. The Roshan call center is headquartered in an ex-embassy decorated in ornate Indian sub-continent fashion, similar to European baroque style. It's palatial, beautiful, and at times a bit gaudy.

Outside the call center embassy, armed guards greet those who enter the complex. Remember, this is Afghanistan after all. Still, all in all, once you get inside you will see it's like any other call center the world over. It buzzes. Agents are chasing against hold times, KPIs are strictly monitored, and young agents are dedicated to serving their customers in the best and fastest way that they possibly can. They will make any call center professional around the world proud.