By Diana Köhler
The Beep Solutions office building is located in the center of Pristina, behind the pedestrian zone and between tall residential buildings. One of many call centers in Kosovo. It's already September, but it's still very hot during the day. Some employees are taking a break, standing in the shade, smoking a cigarette. Arlind Xheladini is with them, he's the boss here. Correct side cut, reddish beard, dimples. The outfit: business casual. Blue linen shirt paired with beige khaki pants. He is 27 years old and runs Beep Solutions together with his business partner. But he's not here today. Although he is originally from Kosovo, he has lived in Switzerland for a long time. He manages several restaurants and, together with Arlind, has also managed the call center for a few years.
Diana Köhler
Hi, who's speaking?
Before we can enter the call area, I first need to get my visitor pass. The former Miss Albania 2016 is sitting at the reception (no joke). She works here at the secretariat.
The offices are modern, bright, lots of glass and there is a large meeting room with a projector. The “agents,” as Arlind calls them, sit in the largest room; there are around 20 people. In long lines, headphones over the ears, dividers between workstations. Everyone is on the phone, of course. On one wall it says “Success” and on the other “Motivation”. Daily turnover is recorded on a flipchart and there is a bit of office humor here too. A small sign says: “Hang up first, then say Axxxxxxxx.”
The agents are selling a product at the moment, I can't reveal anything else. But Beep Solutions also offers services like customer service hotlines and advertising sales. Customers mainly include German companies: a large software company offering antivirus, an energy company, a company selling coffee machines or a telesales channel, for example. This means that if I have problems with my antivirus software and call customer service, I can be on the phone with someone in Kosovo.
Diana Köhler
Outsourcing to Kosovo
Arlind has been in the industry for around 10 years and started in one of the big call centers, he says: “In 2008 there was the first German call center in Kosovo. They had about 150 employees and hired them immediately. And now there are hundreds.”
The call center sector is one of the fastest growing economic sectors in Kosovo. In 2014, according to a report by the Kosovo Business Agency, there were still 220 call centers. Now, 10 years later, there are almost 2,000, in a population of 1.9 million people. Along with India and the Philippines, the Western Balkans, which include Kosovo, are the hub of call center services around the world. This is mainly due to the location and good knowledge of the German language of the exiled population of Kosovo. During the Kosovo war in 1998/1999, hundreds of thousands of people fled here, to Western Europe and thus also to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Around 500,000 Kosovo Albanians moved to Western Europe during the 1990s.
For Arlind, it's clear why the call center industry was able to establish itself here in particular: “They recognized that back then and took advantage of it. Because, as everyone knows, costs are low here and quality is still high.”
Therefore, companies win twice: when they outsource, they not only pay much less. The salary level is low. German is also often the first language of many people here, especially young people. You can earn an average of 750 euros in the call center, plus commission. This seems very little by Austrian standards, but it is well above Kosovo's average salary of 512 euros.
Call centers in the Western Balkans are particularly present in the media when it comes to fraud and poor working conditions. Perhaps this is why Arlind particularly emphasizes during our visit how high the safety standards are at Beep Solutions and how well things are going for the employees.
Kosovo is the youngest country in Europe, with an average age of 31 years. Every second person is under 25 years old. You can also notice this when you look at call center offices: most of them are between 18 and 30 years old.
Diana Köhler
The call center, the family business
I go to the meeting room with Arlind, it's a little quieter here. We don't want to interfere too much with the agents' work. His wife, Sofia, comes with him, she also works here. Perfect makeup, long brown hair, she looks like a model. Arlind and Sofia even met at the call center.
Sofia is 29 years old and was born in Germany, like her husband. After 6 years, her family returned to Kosovo. She studied law but was unable to find a job in her field. Plan B was the call center.
Many people are like Sofia: high educational qualifications for call center employees are not at all uncommon. For many people, the call center is a relatively well-paid alternative if their job search doesn't work out otherwise.
Arlind says: “10 of my family’s cousins work in the call center. And now even my wife and her brothers work in the call center sector. I also met some of my German-speaking schoolmates at the call center after university.”
The 1998–1999 Kosovo War was the result of a decades-long conflict over Kosovo's autonomy within the Yugoslav Federation. During the war, Kosovo and especially Kosovo's civilian Albanian population were victims of systematic attacks, expulsions and mass murders. The Kosovo Albanian Liberation Army (KLA) is also guilty of serious human rights crimes. But even before the war there was already a large Kosovar diaspora in Austria. Many moved here as guest workers with their families in the 1970s. Arlind's family went to Germany in the mid-90s and he was born there.
Albanian ban at home
In Germany, Arlind was not allowed to speak Albanian at home: “At first I couldn't speak Albanian because we were forbidden to speak Albanian at home with my brothers. My parents wanted us to have an easier time at school. When we returned to Kosovo, I first had to learn the language. But I had a really cool teacher who practiced with me every day after school.”
Finding a job in Kosovo is difficult, despite good training. The unemployment rate is around 45% and youth unemployment is around 76%. Many people, especially young people, therefore decide to go abroad; Most people leaving Kosovo are between 20 and 35 years old. A third of Kosovars live abroad. Arlind's siblings also live in Germany and Austria. Migration is still the most important strategy for making money.
Those who remain in Kosovo use the German language, says Arlind: “Exactly those who were born between 1990 and 2002, most of whom were born in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. So German was your first language! And they are using it now, in several call centers.”
Diana Köhler
Chief Arlind and Agent Loran
Loran, the post-2000s
One such vintage is Loran, who has curly blond hair and smiles widely when she speaks. He now works on Beep Solutions' English project. Loran studied at the American school in Pristina, so his English sounds great. He gets on very well with his boss Arlind: “Yes, I'm a post-2000 kid, people make jokes about me. My boss always tells me: “I'm younger than his car!”, he says and laughs openly.
On the phone, his name is not Loran, but Liam. Americans can say it best, he says. But who knows, maybe the customers won't even notice where he's calling from, I think to myself. Loran shows me his workplace. A blue teddy bear crouches above the screen. He looks a little worn out, Loran and the others found him on the street and adopted him. Loran's coffee cup says, “Good luck finding coworkers who are better than us.” He also gives me some tips on how to sell correctly: Self-confidence is definitely key: “You have to have confidence, whoever is on the phone can feel that!”
Loran feels comfortable at Arlind's call center, and you can tell. He and his boss often joke. Many of Loran's friends didn't stay here in Kosovo, he says: “This country is beautiful and all, great people, but the government is really disappointing. If it were possible for us to stay here, we would. Because our grandfathers and mothers fought for this place. And then we have our generation, which unfortunately sees no other way out than to emigrate.”
Loran was born in Bavaria. When I was 12, in 2014, we moved back to Kosovo. It was still part of Serbia until 2008. In 2008, Kosovo's parliament proclaimed its independence, but Serbia still does not recognize the state. There were border clashes again last fall. To date, more than 111 countries out of the 193 member states of the United Nations have recognized Kosovo. Including most EU countries. But many countries around the world still officially consider Kosovo to be a Serbian province. For example, Russia and China and the four EU states of Spain, Greece, Slovakia and Romania.
This still impacts Loran and his family today. Although he lived for 12 years in Germany and grew up there, he did not receive German citizenship. If he wanted to visit his friends in Kosovo, he would have to obtain a visa.
Diana Köhler
“Visa liberalization arrives in 2024!”
The visa process has so far been a lengthy and expensive process for people from Kosovo. A visa application for the EU Schengen area costs around 165 euros. With an average monthly salary of €521, that's a huge amount of money. And a big burden: studying, visiting friends and family or simply going to a concert in an EU country: it was a huge effort. Many felt isolated from the rest of the EU, writes the Kosovo online magazine “Kosovo 2.0”.
From January 1, 2024, Kosovars will finally be able to travel to the EU for up to 90 days without a visa. Around 14 years later than its immediate neighbors such as Montenegro, Serbia or Albania. According to the European Commission, the reasons for the long process included the border dispute with Montenegro and conflicts in the dialogue process with Serbia.
He already knows what Loran will do in 2024: a road trip to Germany, visa-free and stress-free, and visit friends. The lack of prospects and the frustrating political situation are disappointing. But Loran doesn't want to let himself get discouraged:
“A lot of people left because with the same skills you can do more elsewhere than here. But this is changing! I see this changing! And I have a lot of hope for my generation and the people who will come after me. You see it everywhere in history, every time a country is destroyed like we were, you come back. We come back. And that’s something I’m really proud of and that’s why I want to be a part of it.”
This research trip was funded as part of the Eurotours research grant.
Arlind and Sofia are also planning their future in Kosovo. You are optimistic about the future. The minimum wage has increased and people are better off. “But you never know what will happen in 10 years,” says Arlind. He will definitely still be here.