The colourful street life, with vendors and rickety taxis are invariably the colonial. When the elevator stops a few floors up in the real estate environment is still as african, but everyone who works there speaks grammatically perfect English.
Carl Johan von Seth: Soon can taxibilens drivers also sit in the Senegal
– Is the wheelchair foldable, ask the Marimba Dia when she is booking a transport service for a client in the west of Sweden. In the cubicles next to in the air-conditioned kontorshavet brought the conversation about taxameterbelopp and winter roads and slip.
telefonkommunikatörerna have had to learn is to talk about the weather and seasons.
In Senegal, it is the same weather all the time except during the rainy seasons. Sunny and nearly 30 degrees. It to be dark at the same time in the evening all year round. There is nothing to talk about here, but I understand that it is different in Sweden, ” says Marimba Dia.
Mohammed Faye and Pia Thurfjell Photo: Mia Holmgren
the Swedish company hires call center abroad is not uncommon, but Samres bet in Senegal stand out. According to the ceo, Björn Falk was the low wage levels in combination with the political stability that led to the establishment of the Atlantic coast seven years ago. The company had then beställningscentraler in Estonia and Moldova
” We looked at several countries outside Europe. That it turned out to Senegal was because we found two good teachers who already lived in the country, ” says Björn Falk.
in Dakar are filled with multilingual young men and women who had a university education, in the bottom of the sea when they were hired by Samres. Marimba Dia spoke already wolof, French, English, a little Portuguese and Italian when she took on the seven-month-long course in Swedish.
– It may not sound like a dream career to work in a call center after five years at the university. First I worked as a teacher, but it was not that I thought about myself. I then worked a short period at the hotel.
To Marimba Dia ended up in the Swedish bubble for a couple of years ago was a coincidence.
” I thought, why not. To learn new languages I was familiar with.
four thousand dollars is relatively good in Senegal. Marimba Dia have friends who earn much less, but they also get out more. She believes that she will move on eventually, but right now feels this employment is good.
– the Job is for the most part fun. Most of the callers are nice. Many are surprised when they understand that they ended up in Africa when they called a local Swedish number and ask questions about Senegal, ” says Marimba Dia
– In among, it happens that someone does not want to talk with me because I am not Swedish. It hurts to hear and I will be sorry. I can also get in trouble for that the car does not come at the appointed time. When I try to sort out what it depends on, ” she says.
– both ways. For the senegalese communicators are certain dialects are difficult to perceive. And in the first hand of older English customers have trouble with to understand an accent with which they are not accustomed to.
– We get complaints if we sound angry when we answer the phone. It is absolutely not. The Wolof, as most people here talked to everyday wear, is a hard, monotonous language. We practice to speak with the same intonation as the swedes, ” says Maty Ndiaye.
She has been the communicator and received calls in several years. When Maty Ndiaye last year was promoted to squad leader, she could go on a study trip to Stockholm and Skövde. Not least vardagssituationerna was very instructive
– In line to make a purchase in a grocery store in Skövde, sweden I understood how the swedes want to be treated and how they see the service, ” she says.
between Sweden and Senegal which was a French colony until the end of the 1950s, is not many. The clash of cultures has therefore been felt for Samres employees.
” For me, football is the only common denominator between Senegal and Sweden. I felt to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but it was everything, ” says Mohammed Faye.
He is listening on the pods and the Swedish Radio news in easy Swedish to get a better grip on the country. He has seen the film as it is in heaven, and now by Sune in Greece – all inclusive.
” I think a lot about the job. I also agree with something that my family and all other people think is exotic, ” says Mohammed Faye, who lives with his parents
becoming stressed out tangle he’s the Swedish word order. Then he must go away for a while. Often he sits and talks with svenskläraren Pia Thurfjell.
It is the Pia Thurfjell, which ensures that the senegalese communicators learn Swedish in seven months. Sometimes she sits and listens to the calls in the call center to provide comments and correct errors.
– It is not only the language, but a lot about how the Swedish society works. If someone orders the transportation service to a church can be the spontaneous idea of kommunikatören be lamenting the sadness, but it could be a wedding or a baptism also. It is important to feel, ” says Pia Thurfjell, which encourages small talk with the customers.
In the spring, Pia Thurfjell train a new batch, but it was uncertain to the last about the course would be because the staff turnover is very low, Almost no stops, many employees have been with since can streamline your call centre in Dakar was opened in 2012.
the labour market, informal and unemployment is high in all social groups. Samres ceo Björn Falk think that the main reason for the staff stops is that Samres has a anställningskultur reminiscent of the Swedish. The staff have medical insurance, your salary is paid in time and the working time is regulated to eight hours a day.
– Experience means that you can do the job better so it is a great advantage for us that the staff choosing to work long remain. In Sweden, the turnover is big in the call center, ” says Björn Falk.
is the region of Stockholm, Västra Götaland and Gotland. It has been around the company, which from certain quarters have been accused of exploiting employees in low-wage countries. Samres has also been criticised by the travellers, the municipalities and the county councils for perceived language problems and incorrect orders. As a consequence, among other things, region Skåne and Dalarna chosen not to extend the cooperation with Samres.
” Our biggest problem is that those responsible for public procurement in municipalities and county councils are trying to find mysterious ways to block us. We spend lots of time and effort on litigation in order to participate in the procurement process, ” says Björn Falk.
Björn Falk. Photo: Mia Holmgren
” It’s all about resistance to the Swedish jobs in the area ended up abroad. A booking service in Senegal, challenges the traditional way of thinking. At the same time warns the SKL (Sweden’s municipalities and county councils) for that serious lack of staff waiting in the public sector. One solution is to buy services on the basis of in cases where it is possible.
According to Björn Falk occurs the most common felbokningen when the date and day of the week do not match. If the caller enters an order for a car to on Friday, but state the date to another day will not make the booking correctly. It can also be a mismatch between the departure time and arrival time.
– the Errors ultimately depends rarely on the language. What we can do to minimize misunderstandings is to repeat the data that the client leaves, ” says Björn Falk.