EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The expanding call centre industry is in a unique position to provide quality
employment opportunities for Australians in the technology and customer service
sectors.
To sustain such growth, Australian call centres must be able to provide a
well-trained and professional workforce, backed up by appropriate technology and
commitment to world customer service standards.
Call centres and state governments must commit to providing quality
employment opportunities for Australians and a high standard of customer
service.
Call centres have injected optimism and opportunity into communities with
high levels of unemployment. It is imperative that the skills of staff in call
centres are developed in order for these opportunities to remain in the long
term.
Setting the Standard
Australian governments spend substantial amounts of money attracting
companies to establish call centres in their areas, particularly in regional
centres with high unemployment. But there are currently little or no
requirements imposed on companies that receive such investment incentives.
The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group believes the investment made by Australian
taxpayers should be returned to the community by way of:
Quality customer service
Long-term skilled employment opportunities
Appropriate employment standards
Ongoing training and skills development for employees.
The call centre industry is largely unregulated and wages for call centre
employees are lower than those in most countries that offer similar standards of
infrastructure, political stability and a multi-lingual workforce. The ACTU Call
Centre Unions Group believes the lack of regulation has lead to the development
of significant discrepancies in wages and conditions in Australia,
Developing Our Advantage
The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group believes that the competitive advantage of
Australian call centres should be the skill of their staff and professionalism
of their operations.
Benefits to call centre employees:
Job satisfaction from providing good service
Training and career development
A meaningful career path
Long-term, well-paid, skilled employment opportunities.
Benefits to the call centre industry:
Gaining a reputation as a provider of reliable and quality service
Access to a pool of well-trained and professional employees
Retention of experienced employees due to reduced staff turnover
Quality customer service.
A Plan for Action
The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group believes the key to achieving these goals
are:
Increased training and development
Commitment to support staff to provide quality customer service
A reduction in the current rate of staff turnover
The development of appropriate minimum wages and conditions regulation in the
industry
Increased participation of staff in key decisions regarding improvements to
the provision of customer service.
A Charter for the Future
The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group is seeking commitments to a call centre
charter which will contain statements of commitment by call centres to:
Training and development of staff, in particular in e-commerce applications
when appropriate
Genuine pursuit of excellence in customer service
Appropriate minimum employment standards
Adequate support of staff in the provision of quality customer service.
The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group is seeking Government support for the Call
Centre Charter. Governments will be asked to:
Encourage new call centres to commit to the Call Centre Charter
Give priority to call centres that have signed the charter when awarding
Government business
Commit government call centres to the Call Centre Charter.
ON THE LINE
The future of Australia's call centre industry
INTRODUCTION
The call centre industry is burgeoning in Australia. The growth of call
centres has injected optimism and opportunity into communities suffering from
high unemployment. But with growth comes the need for an industry plan that
allows call centre staff, and the communities they serve, to share the benefits
of fast growth.
The skills of call centre staff must be developed continually in order for
these industry opportunities to remain viable in Australia for the long term.
The issues and solutions raised in this paper are designed to ensure that all
stakeholders contribute to the long-term wellbeing of Australia's newest
industry.
The growing call centre industry is in a unique position to provide quality
employment opportunities for Australians. Equally, well-trained professional
call centre employees are able to deliver high quality customer service to
Australian and overseas consumers.
This paper appeals to call centres and state governments to commit to the
principles of quality employment opportunities for Australians and a high
standard of customer service for consumers.
To ensure sustainable employment growth, overseas and local customer service
contracts must be secured and then maintained. Australia already provides
competitive wage levels with other Asia pacific countries along with a stable
economy and infrastructure. A recent survey found the 'skill sets of available
staff as one of the most critical and widely considered factors' for companies
selecting or establishing a call centre.
To sustain such growth, Australian call centres need to continue to provide a
well-trained and professional workforce, backed up by appropriate technology and
commitment to world customer service standards. Call centres are well placed to
represent an e-commerce gateway for many companies. This development will
represent a significant opportunity for quality employment opportunities in the
technology sector for Australians.
The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group will provide high-level support and
representation for people who work in call centres. The ACTU Call Centre Unions
Group consists of the Australian Services Union (ASU), the Community and Public
Sector Union (CPSU), the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU),
the Finance Sector Union (FSU) and the National Union of Workers (NUW).
DEFINING THE INDUSTRY
A call centre uses telephone and computer technology to deliver services to
customers. Some call centres now call themselves 'total customer service points'
or 'contact centres' to reflect the more integrated use of electronic
communication such as e-mail and the internet.
It is estimated that the call centre industry in Australia currently employs
approximately between 80,000 - 160,000 staff in around 2000 - 4000 call centres.
In 1999, call centre jobs accounted for almost one half of new private sector
employment and it is estimated that the Australian call centre industry is worth
more than $1.8 billion.
Driving Growth
The call centre industry is growing massively because servicing customers and
providing pre and post sale support, as well as generating business using the
telephone, is far cheaper than direct contact or having a branch network. More
and more business is done by phone, fax, e-mail and the internet.
Call centre growth is driven by lower transaction costs and is supported by
ever increasing developments in technology, such as interactive voice
recognition (IVR) and internet based transactions (such as e-commerce).
The call centre industry is one of the fastest growing in the world,
increasing globally every year by 40%. In England more people work in the call
centre industry than in coal, steel and vehicle production put together. A 1998
study found that further growth was imminent with nearly 80% of top US and
European corporations declaring their intention to establish or increase their
Asia Pacific call centre presence.
Australian growth forecasts estimate a growth rate of around of 20-25%
annually. In 1999, Australian businesses conducted two-thirds of commercial
transactions over the telephone; this figure is expected to rise to 75% within
two years.
A 1998 survey found that 30% of Australian call centres intended to expand
their existing facilities and 10% planned to open an additional call centre in
the near future. It is estimated that $1.34 billion will be invested over the
next two years. The total market by 2001 is estimated to be worth a massive $3.4
billion.
JOBS FOR THE FUTURE
Industry experts predict that 8700 new jobs will be created within the next
two years and some predictions set the rate of growth to top at 300,000 jobs in
the next ten years.
The rapid rate of growth of call centres has generated significant growth in
support services to the industry including:
- technology
- system support
- training
- recruitment
- professional associations
There is debate over how the nature of call centre jobs will change. With
developments in technology such as Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) and
e-commerce, some predict a decline in the number of Customer Service
Representative (CSR) positions. This is likely to occur in tandem with the
growth of more sophisticated CSR positions which integrate several technological
and service skills. Further research is needed to define the impact of
technology on the sector, particularly the use of the IVR and e-commerce.
Best Practice call centres are moving toward Enterprise Relationship
Management (ERM) which enables all employees across the business to access and
manipulate the central customer database. A company can then offer a total
customer service point at the same time as maximising the 'efficiency' of its
operations.
There will be an increase in the use of electronic processing such as
internet-based e-commerce at the expense of telephone-based work. However, this
needs to be balanced against overseas experiences of a continued demand for
telephone-based service as a total service package to consumers, at least in the
medium to short term.
Keeping pace with change
The clear need here is for a greater focus on skills development, training
and career path options. The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group is seeking
commitments from call centres, industry representatives and governments to
develop the skills of existing call centre employees so they keep pace with
technological advancements. Such commitments will guarantee Australian call
centres a quality reputation for investment in the industry.
INVESTING IN OUR COMMUNITIES
Regional Growth
A 1999 study found that 42% of call centres were in Sydney and 28% in
Melbourne. Over 80% operated call centres in major metropolitan locations, 11.5%
in regional centres and 8% in both.
There is a growing number of call centres being set up in regional locations
such as Launceston, Wollongong, Newcastle, Gosford, Broken Hill, and Bendigo. In
the 1999 study, 9% of metropolitan call centre operators were considering
expanding into the country, creating an estimated 9,000 jobs.
The attractions are strong. Real estate is cheaper, staff have a strong work
ethic and high local unemployment reduces the turnover of staff. There is also a
perceived shortage of staff in Sydney and Melbourne.
One of the key factors in determining the potential of a location is the
client/customer base and the skills set of potential staff. If the call centre
is servicing a complex customer base and requires relatively highly skilled IT
functions, it will require a workforce with specialised skills.
State Governments and regional centres have invested substantial amounts into
attracting call centres. It is imperative that the skills of staff in regional
call centres are developed in order for these opportunities to remain in the
long-term.
Incentives
Australian governments spend substantial amounts of tax revenue to attract
companies to set up call centres, particularly in regional centres with high
unemployment. Attraction incentives include:
- Reduced tax requirements
- Reduced or free rent of government-owned buildings
- Reduced costs for set up of technology infrastructure
- It is estimated that local and state governments will spend an average of at
least $300,000 to attract a standard sized call centre to their state.
There are little or no requirements expected of the companies that receive
such investment incentives. The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group believes that the
investment made by taxpayers should be returned to the community by way of
quality customer service, long-term skilled employment opportunities,
appropriate employment standards and ongoing training and skills development for
employees.
AN INDUSTRY STANDARD
The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group is seeking commitments to a Call Centre
Charter, which will contain statements of commitment by call centres to:
- Train and develop staff, particularly in e-commerce
- Genuinely pursue excellence in customer service
- Apply appropriate minimum employment standards
- Adequately support staff in the provision of quality customer service.
- Similarly, we are seeking local, state and federal government commitments
to:
- Where possible, encourage new centres to commit to the Call Centre Charter
- Give priority to call centres that have signed the Charter when awarding
Government business to call centres
- Commit government call centres to the Call Centre Charter.
CHOOSING OUR PATH
Competition
Australian call centre operations are seen as merely one choice of many in
the Asia-Pacific region for global companies. This has significant implications
for maintaining wages and conditions for Australian employees, although our
wages are lower than most countries that offer similar standards of
infrastructure, political stability and a multi-lingual workforce.
Country Average Salary PA 1998 (US$)
Tokyo $ 32
Taiwan $ 28
US $ 26
Hong Kong $ 24
Singapore $ 22
Ireland $ 20
UK $ 19
Australia $ 17
NZ $ 15
The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group believes that the competitive advantage of
Australian call centres should be the skill of their staff and professionalism
of their operations. This is both advantageous to call centre employees who:
Gain job satisfaction from providing good service
Receive adequate training and career development
Work in an industry with a meaningful career path.
The advantages to the call centre industry are:
Reputation as providers of reliable and quality service
Access to a pool of well-trained and professional employees
Retention of experienced employees due to reduced staff turnover
Quality customer service
Long-term, well-paid, skilled employment opportunities.
The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group believes the key to achieving these goals
are:
Increased training and development
Commitment to support staff to provide quality customer service
A reduction in staff turnover
The development of appropriate minimum wages and conditions regulation in the
industry
Increased participation of staff in key decisions regarding improvements to
the provision of customer service.
FEATURES OF A CALL CENTRE
The table below outlines the variety of functions for which call centres are
utilised:
General customer service 59.8%
Inbound sales 13.9%
Reservations / ticketing / bookings 10%Technical queries 7%Outbound sales
3%Credit card / financial authorisations 3%Debt collection 0.7%Personnel /
vehicle dispatch 0.2%
Most industries now have call centres
Industry As a portion of call centre operations
Finance & Insurance 33.5%
Transport, Airlines & Storage 15.7%
Communication Services 11.5%
Manufacturing 10.4%
Electricity, Gas & Water 9.2%
Wholesale, Retail Trades 7.9%
Property & Business Services 4.2%
Government Administration 3.9%
Cultural, Recreation & 3.7%
Accommodation Services
Inbound and outbound
In-house call centres usually directly employ staff in a specific section to
service customers. The majority of call centres are in-house operations.
The other differentiation is between inbound call centres and outbound or
telemarketing call centres. Although there is specialisation, there is an
increase in the number of call centres doing both inbound and outbound calls.
Follow-the-sun
Call centres most often service a national audience and sometimes do
international work. It is estimated that two-thirds of call centres cover
multi-state or national geographic areas. Seventeen percent of call centres also
service international traffic, with other centres established globally in a
'follow the sun' framework.
Contract
Contract call centres perform outsourced work for companies in a variety of
ways: on a permanent basis, a specific campaign or function basis, an overflow
basis or to provide support to in-house work. Some in-house centres also
contract in certain functions.
A NEED FOR REGULATION
Wages and Conditions
The average wages and conditions of contract call centres are generally lower
than those of in-house call centres. Contract centres are largely unregulated
and are a major force in driving down wages and conditions established in the
in-house sector.
The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group believes this deregulation results in
significant discrepancies in wages and conditions in the industry.
Customer Service
One of the determining factors in assessing the cost benefit attraction of
outsourcing is the fact that many industries use the call centre as the entry
point into their organisation. They therefore require staff with substantial
company knowledge and identification.
In addition, the development of enterprise relationship management, which
will provide consumers with a higher quality service, is more likely to occur in
in-house call centres.
INSIDE THE CALL CENTRE
Size
Typically, call centres employ between 20 and 200 Customer Service
Representatives (commonly called CSRs or agents). The CSR's computer is
connected to a local area network integrated with the telephone system.
Hallis estimates that call centres employ an average of 87 staff, with over
50% having more than 26 staff. Smaller call centres average around 14 staff. The
ACA survey notes that 20% of call centre employees work in centres equipped for
less than 10 people, while 10% of employees work in call centres equipped for
more than 100 employees.
Most call centres operate on a team basis. The 1997 TARP study identified an
average ratio of 14 staff to a supervisor and five supervisors to a manager.
Calls are automatically channelled to the employee from a queue. The calls
may come in to the centre from a local, national or even international queue
where they are banked and passed on to the CSR by automatic call distribution
software. In some of the more modern centres this software recognises customers
and matches them with an employee who is skilled to deal with their call. Most
call centres have human resource management systems that manage and monitor the
workflows of staff, and measure the type, length and duration of calls.
According to the TARP study in 1997, 30% of Australian call centres operated
seven days a week. Nine per cent operated 24 hours per day.
Faces Behind the Voice
The majority of call centre workers are women. The average age is 23 and more
than half the workforce is under 34.
Around sixty per cent of employees in call centres have high school
qualifications, 30% have tertiary qualifications.
The average length of service for a call centre in the current job is two and
a half years.
ACA estimates that 68% of call centre employees work full-time, 7.8%
permanent part-time, and 12% are casual or temporary. Almost half work a
five-day week between seven to nine hours a day.
Spans of hours appear to be increasing with weekend work and around-the-clock
shifts becoming 'part of the job'. Related issues include:
- safe transport home
- compensation for out of normal hours work
- family friendly work policies
- non-discriminatory work policies arising from these developments.
TECHNOLOGY
E-commerce
The majority of call centres are at least partially automated. The trend is
toward increased automation, particularly the use of IVR, e-mail and internet.
It is estimated that it will take at least five years for this trend to impact
on the structure and functions of the call centre, at which point the use of
telephones will plateau and be overtaken by e-mail and internet services.
While it appears that the impact of e-commerce will mean a reduction of
telephone-based jobs, it will also open up opportunities for higher skilled jobs
elsewhere. In Germany, a study revealed that customers who use e-commerce also
demanded access to the traditional phone service. This study predicted a
'transition period' which will last at least a few years.
Integrated Customer Service
Two distinct trends seem to be developing:
Companies converting their customer service centres, traditionally seen as
cost centres, into profit centres. This is achieved by shifting the focus from
customer service to integrating service and marketing.
Call centre operations utilising their capital investments by merging and
integrating e-commerce and traditional mail house/facsimile functions to convert
first and second generation call centres into total centres.
Consumer Feedback
The use of IVR or Voice Response Units (VRU) is increasingly common.
Customers are provided with a menu when they call in - the technology often
causes more difficulties for staff as customers dislike it, or the system is not
compatible with old-fashioned phones. Customers are often frustrated with the
time they spend in queues. The key seems to be that consumers want to choose
between personal customer service and automated service. There are also privacy
issues for both staff and customers when calls are recorded.
There is evidence that some key call centres are trialing further use of IVR
in their customer service programmes where customers speak to a fully
'interactive voice' which responds to their queries/requests in a human-like
manner. This will have a significant impact on customer satisfaction.
A PLAN FOR THE FUTURE
The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group believes the key factors for a long-term
sustainable call centre industry are:
Increased training and development
A genuine commitment to support staff to provide quality customer service
rather than sheer quantity of calls answered in the shortest time possible
A reduction in the rate of staff turnover
The development of appropriate minimum wages and conditions regulation
Increased staff participation in key decisions about customer service
A commitment to excellent customer service standards.
The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group believes the following major issues need to
be addressed in order to achieve the goals outlined above.
Staff Turnover
The average turnover estimated by the latest Hallis Survey is 23.7% - 29.5%
per annum.
The TARP study estimates that Australia and New Zealand have higher turnover
rates than most other countries. Australian turnover rates compare poorly with
best practice attrition rates for US call centres.
Staff turnover costs call centres over $11,500 per staff member, and over 60%
of operating costs are labour.
The ACA study found that 40% of employees had been in their current role for
less than one year, but that one-third of employees surveyed had been working in
a similar call centre role for more than four years. This indicates that there
is a high degree of intra-industry movement.
ACTU research found that the primary reasons for turnover were:
Stress and pressure of targets contradictory to providing quality customer
service
Lack of flexibility in work organisation to enable meaningful customer
relationships
Lack of diversity in work content
Inadequate technological and informational resources to provide holistic
customer service
Inadequate training
Lack of career path
Inadequate support from management to place customer service as a priority.
The 1999 Hallis Staff Turnover Report found that the top three reasons staff
left a call centre were: (1) limited promotion opportunities, (2) inadequate pay
and (3) bad management practices and excessive monitoring.
Most reports now note that people are the key to call centre success or
failure. CCR notes "access to [people], retention and loyalty are the most
important issue facing managers today". High turnover rates result in larger
numbers of inexperienced and untrained staff, which affects customer service
standards.
Experienced employees who are burdened with inefficient new team members face
intense pressure and reduced job satisfaction. Call centre operators stay in
their jobs if the call centre:
Is committed to quality customer service
Supports staff to provide high-quality service
Trains staff
Rewards employees with appropriate salaries and conditions
Provides an acceptable work environment.
The Cost of Stress
The ACA Call Centre Agent Report found that high stress call centres had an
average staff turnover rate of 36% - almost double the industry average. The
study attributes $100 million to staff turnover. Stress-related absenteeism
costs $150 per employee per year, adding up to an annual cost of $7.5 million.
Sources of stress include:
A focus on quantity rather than quality of customer service
Abusive customers
Call monitoring/ recording particularly where used punitively
Inadequate equipment and equipment failure
Unsupportive management
Solutions to Stress
In a recent study of 658 call centre employees, the Australian Services Union
reported that the key solutions to the high incidence of stress put forward by
employees included:
Listening to employees' suggestions
Decreasing the emphasis on statistics which focus on quantity not quality
Improving management's attitude
More training and support.
The most significant source of stress is the inherent contradiction between
the pressure to meet strict quantity based statistical requirements and wanting
to provide quality customer service. This is of integral importance since most
employees report that the major source of their job satisfaction is from
providing quality customer service. In some call centres, the time allowed per
call makes this impossible. Some call centre staff have reported that in a
deliberate 'finding the bottom line' exercise, time limits are reduced until
customers complain and only then will the centre raise them. This enables the
call centre to provide customer service levels that are just above customer
complaint levels. Customer waiting queues are often displayed, creating
additional stress for staff.
Rest breaks
Some call centres have adopted the practice of providing staff with
five-minute breaks each hour. This does not necessarily mean they are not
working - but they have their headsets switched off and are preferably not
working on their VDU. The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group supports the adoption of
this practice as part of the Corporate Call Centre Charter. Some call centres do
not allow staff even a one-second break before the next call is fed through to
them.
Most call centres provide some rest breaks for staff in addition to a lunch
break. However, many do not provide for toilet breaks outside these designated
times. The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group seeks to eradicate this practice, as it
is degrading and discriminatory against women.
Monitoring
For most staff, electronic performance monitoring is unpleasant, but it
appears to be of greater concern when it is attached to narrow performance-based
criteria required for pay increases, or when monitoring is used excessively or
abused by management. When this occurs, monitoring is a significant source of
stress and is often seen as undermining employees' self-respect.
It is a widely held perception that call centre performance measurement is
heavily weighted towards productivity measures rather than an emphasis on
quality. Many Australian call centres do not monitor customer satisfaction. This
suggests that there is a large deficit in the ability of call centres to meet
standards which will be expected from an industry ever increasing in its ability
to conduct sophisticated total customer service functions.
CAREER AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Where to From Here?
A lack of career path is a major issue for call centre employees as there is
an obvious bottleneck at the team leader level. At the same time, little lateral
movement opportunities exist in many centres. As call centres shift toward
internet and e-mail facilities, further opportunities for career paths may open
up.
Some in-house call centres enable promotion outside the call centre
structure. ACA notes: "Those agents who expressed the most optimism for
promotion potential tend to be those who are still fairly new in their current
position, and, based on our experience, possibly relieved to be employed from a
pool of young job seekers". The research suggests that at around the two-year
mark, the confidence in career prospects begins to wane (this is coincidentally
the average length of time before an employee leaves the call centre). The
survey suggests many employees feel call centres may assist them to catch the
"technology wave" in the employment market. This again highlights the need for
ongoing training and development.
Training
ACA notes that most call centre staff receive around ten days of in-house
training each year. Lack of quality training is one of the key issues reported
by call centre staff. In particular, given the short tenure of staff in any one
centre, a commitment to training in portable skills is warranted.
In light of the technological advancements predicted, the ACTU Call Centre
Unions Group will be calling on employers to provide adequate training in
e-commerce applications to ensure the ongoing development opportunities of call
centre employees.
Job design
Some call centres utilise the notion of multi-skilling and promotion within
the call centres. Multi-skilling through job rotation is a popular suggestion of
call centre employees. A more flexible approach to the work of customer service
representatives provides variety and job satisfaction, and better customer
service if issues can be followed up in one call.
Providing Quality Customer Service
Inadequate staffing levels are largely responsible for long queues and result
from:
Insufficient rostering procedures
Inappropriate forecasting
Lack of staff due to high turnover or absences
Inappropriate cost saving measures.
ACA research has found that for the typical employee, 5-10% of calls they
take are from angry or irrational customers - so, customers are one of the major
sources of stress. The most common sources of customer anger are:
Waiting in queues
Not being able to resolve their issue in the one call.
The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group believes adequate staffing levels and job
design would alleviate customer anger.
Management Support
Managers seem to be appointed on the basis of technical experience rather
than leadership capability. A lack of training in management skills compounds
this problem, which most call centre management are reluctant to address. The
study commissioned by the Australian Services Union (ASU) found that significant
stress resulted from non-supportive management. Factors ranged from:
Excessive monitoring (including time spent going to the toilet)
Management distrust and demands for justification of actions and decisions
Harassment about call times from management
Lack of adequate communication.
In the Workplace
The ASU study found that 41% of respondents rated their workplace as
uncomfortable - 38.6% had suffered an injury as a result of working in the call
centre. The main reasons for discomfort included:
Work stations too close
Noise levels too high
Inadequate air conditioning
Inadequate lighting
Inadequate amenities such as kitchen / bathroom
Need for proper chairs and headsets
Lack of management support.
The ASU study revealed that a common source of stress for call centre staff
was the inadequacy of the technological support. The key factors were:
Slow computers
Frequent down times
Inadequate data bases
Having to juggle non-integrated systems to gain basic information
Inadequate planning and communication resulting in the call centre being
unprepared for campaigns launched by the company.
This, coupled with angry customers impatient from already waiting in a queue
led 47.6% of respondents to say that inadequate technology was a major source of
stress.
ON THE MOVE
As ACA notes, "it would appear that movement between call centres is
reasonably common for agents". The high turnover rates raise important questions
about industrial regulation of employment arrangements. Employee turnover and
length of time impacts on benefits such as long service leave and superannuation
arrangements.
The short-tenure period highlights the importance of portability of skills
and competency accreditation. Employers must commit to quality training and
employee development as part of their employment contract.
Australia has one of the highest rates of casualisation in the OECD. The call
centre industry is a highly casualised workforce with most casuals employed
through employment agencies. Some contract call centres employ over 75% of their
staff as casuals. While a significant number of people choose to work as
casuals, many hope for a more permanent and secure position.
The impacts of casualisation on employees, the industry and consumers
include:
Lack of employment security
Casual staff employed through employment agencies are often on different
rates of pay and conditions to permanent staff, causing divisions among staff
Casuals have little protection from unscrupulous employers
Permanent staff provide knowledgable and experienced service to customers
Permanent staff are able to maintain meaningful long-term customer relations.
RATES OF PAY
The Hallis report suggests that most managers who responded to the survey
relied on market rates to set remuneration.
A significant component of salaries is "at-risk" performance-based pay. The
Hallis study found that 72% of call centres paid non-cash bonuses, including
shares and gymnasium membership. Incentives are linked to key performance
indicators.
Salary variations depend on a call centre's provision of compensation for
work outside normal hours. There is a trend for call centres to create an
overall wage package, which includes projected annual penalty rates. It is
important that these calculations are transparent and flexible so employees are
paid appropriately for out-of-normal hours work.
Where there have been wage increases in some call centres, there have also
been dramatic decreases as a result of the effects of contracting out on the
wages and conditions of call centre workers.
In many areas, wages are significantly better than those listed in these
surveys. Most importantly, the actual base wage is of little significance
without looking at the overall wage package, in particular the application of
penalty rates. Call centre employees are usually paid below the standard wages
and conditions attached to the industry in which they work. This is especially
noticeable where the call centre is connected to industries which traditionally
provide generous non-salary benefits such as travel or banking discounts.
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Award Coverage
There are minimum rate awards that apply in most states, which allow a very
poor base for unscrupulous employers to apply no disadvantage tests required for
individual contracts. The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group sees a need for a modern
award that provides decent minimum wages and conditions for employees who are
not covered by an appropriate award or enterprise agreement.
A significant number of call centres committed to appropriate remuneration
and staff development will welcome the regulation that an award would provide.
The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group is committed to taking wages and staff
development out of the competition for business in order to support such call
centres.
Transmission of Business
Recent transmission of business cases have created doubt now as to the
validity of many contracting out arrangements. The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group
believes that where a company outsources a business of a substantially similar
type to that being carried out under an existing contract, then the pre-existing
employment conditions should prevail.
Union Presence
Forty per cent of the employer respondents to the Price Waterhouse survey
employed staff who were members of unions. The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group
will focus on building their membership in this industry. In particular,
unionising contract call centres will help to establish an adequate minimum
standard for the whole industry.
Statistical data indicates that unionised workplaces receive higher average
wages than their non-unionised counterparts. While the ACTU Call Centre Unions
Group recognises the importance of protecting wages, particularly in contract
call centres, it believes that securing commitment to training and development
will be a top priority in the coming years. Only with a strong and vital
membership will call centre unions assist in building the industry to its
potential.
Simon Kriss of the CCMA says unions need to be pro-active as "there are a
number of call centres operations that are well below standard". Kriss estimates
5-7% of call centres fall below an acceptable minimum standard.
There is evidence that some call centre employers actively discourage union
membership, particularly those who wish to minimise wages. The ACTU Call Centre
Unions Group believes that freedom of association is a key issue, particularly
in light of the relative youth of many call centre employees and the additional
vulnerability of the substantial number of casual or temporary employees.
REWARDING CALL CENTRES
Lighthouse Call Centres
The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group has endorsed a program of positively
supporting call centres that are committed to the welfare and development of
their staff. The Unions Group will lobby government to provide substantial
investment attraction incentives to those call centres that will return this
investment to the community by way of decent job opportunities.
The group will also lobby governments, when outsourcing work, to do so to
call centres that are genuinely committed to providing quality jobs and customer
service. Strategic alliances will be created with organisations associated to
the industry such as training institutions, labour hire firms, consultants and
employment agencies which promote a regulated and well-respected industry. In
addition, information about call centre salaries and conditions provided through
the ACTU Unions Group will enable potential employees to make informed choices
about their employment options in the industry.
Call Centre Charter
The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group have developed a Call Centre Charter. This
Charter encompasses minimum standards for the industry, developed in
consultation with employers and other key players. It will be based on realistic
salaries and conditions which most call centres currently provide.
The Charter will aim to distinguish between the majority of call centres
which are committed to the well-being of their staff and customer service from
the minority that are not. Signatories to the Charter will be held up and
supported by the ACTU Call Centre Unions - with the ultimate aim of establishing
a decent minimum standard and regulating the industry in a way that will allow
professional, long-term growth.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The ACTU Call Centre Unions Group believes that the Australian call centre
industry is well placed to achieve the commitments to quality that are required
to position Australian centres as a natural choice for:
1. Long-term customer relationship contracts in the Asia region
2. The development of the industry in e-commerce relationships.
Whilst a significant number of call centres are committed to the principles
outlined in the Call Centre Charter, it is important that the whole industry
meets these minimum standards. In order to achieve these goals, the Call Centre
Unions Group recommends that.
Call Centres sign the Call Centre Charter
Call Centres meet the Minimum Standards Code
Governments support call centres who meet the code
Governments and Call Centre Associations support the directions for the
industry outlined in this paper.
These recommendations are based on extensive consultation with key industry
players. Primary consultation was made with employees who provided advice and
feedback as to how they could provide better customer service and add value to
the industry.
SOURCES OF DATA
ACA Research, Call Centre Agent Study: Call Centre Hang-ups, July 1998
ACA and Price Waterhouse Report, The Australian Call Centre Management Study,
October 1997
Australian Financial Review, Special Call Centre Report June 27-28 1998
Australian Financial Review, Call Centre Report September 2000
Australian Services Union (ASU), Stress Survey Report: Can Call Centres be
Better Places to Work? 2000
Baragwanath,C. and Howe,J., Corporate Welfare: Public Accountability of
Industry Assistance, Centre for Employment and Labour Relations Law, University
of Melbourne, October 2000
Call Centre Research ("CCR"), The Australian Call Centre Location Report,
March 1999
e-Access Magazine April / May 1999
Fernie, S.,'The New Industrial Tyranny: Hanging on the Telephone' in Magazine
of Economic Performance 3 (1) 1998
Hallis Call Centre Staff Salary Survey, 1998
Hallis Call Centre Staff Salary Survey, 1999
Hallis Contact Centre Salary Survey, 2000-2001
Hallis Call Centre Staff Turnover and Benchmarking Survey, 1999-2000
Hampe, F., Paper delivered for RMIT February 2000
TARP, Customer Care Call Centres, May 1997
Trade New Zealand, 'Invest in New Zealand' January 1999
URCOT, RMIT & the Victorian Trades Hall Council, Call Centres- What Kind
of Future Workplaces? July 2000
Special Thanks to John Lund of Michigan University.
ACTU Call Centre Unions Group