BUPLAS (Business Processing Language Assessment Scales) is set to be the global standard in call center language testing as Cambridge University Press and FuturePerfect foreground the product as the solution to accurate and reliable language testing in call centers.
This assessment framework is the only one available that can be used end-to-end (at all stages of the call center and in all departments)
BUPLAS is also the only assessment system based on research conducted at the Call Centre Research Centre in Hong Kong to define the REAL ISSUES that arise in calls. Surprisingly (or perhaps not), these are not Mother Tongue Interference (MTI) driven issues, but rather the intercultural, interactive and logical explanation skills that are so often NOT tested and not adequately trained in call centers.
Let's face it, any of us who have ever called a call center can attest to the fact that incomprehensible explanations cause much more frustration than a v/w mix-up or a grammar slip.
BUPLAS has been developed in response to some of the key industry problems with language assessment. The first, that the causes of customer experience problems are not reflected in the language assessments used at recruitment, training, coaching and quality has already been discussed above. Others include:
1. Most language testing processes in call centers are lengthy (BUPLAS takes 10 minutes)
2. Most language tests use error-counting as an approach, an invalid and unreliable method that has been rejected by all leading assessments and international assessment standards (BUPLAS uses a holistic competency assessment approach based on descriptors)
3. Most language test are charged on a per test basis, making them very expensive given the low hire rates currently being experienced in the BPO indsutry (BUPLAS can be used unlimited amounts for a moderate annual license fee)
BUPLAS was developed by leading world experts in workplace assessment and has been correlated against standard language testing frameworks (CEF, IELTS).
