Call Centre Survival Guide

Over the years I have worked as a Switchboard Operator, Switchboard Supervisor, Internal Directory Administrator,Corporate Finance Message Desk Administrator,Customer Service Agent for TV Licensing, NHS Business Services and as a Telesales Agent and now Team Leader.

I have seen and experienced the good the bad and the ugly of business systems and management techniques.This journal is a review of the ten worst management mistakes made in a call centre environment and how to fix them.

Beginning with

Mistake No1.

High Staff Turnover

The majority of people regard working in a call centre as something they will do until a better job comes along. I have met ex orange staff who have vowed never again to work in a call centre who have worked out as soon as the training period was over.

The level of staff turnover is high in most call centres because the staff are treated like unruly teenagers who are give a huge number of rules to follw on the assumption that they are not capable of acting on their own initiative. This applies as a standard to both call centres staffed by 18 year olds and by 60 year olds. One size does not fit all and should never be assumed to fit all situations.

Mistake No2

Call Centre Management Who Think They Are Gods.

The management at one call centre I worked in put me into the company discipliary system after I was late (by 1 minute) for the third time in a month logging on to their call centre system.

This was despite the fact that I had explained at the interview that the public transport system might make it possible that I would be late on occasions. I was even called in to explain one incident of lateness (admittedly 15 minutes this time) and my explanation was as follows

There was a horse on the railway line between Bishop Auckland and Shildon

I'm not sure if this was a regular occourance or not because I left the job after three months when the pressure of regular "Coaching " sessions became ridiculous.I do know of three other people who worked in the same call centre and were called in on the day only to give the same explanation.

Whichever way you look at it the management systems at that particular call centre were oppressive and unhealthy for all concerned. On several occasions people just got up from their desks in the middle of the day, announced to anyone who was prepared to listen that they had had enough, and then left, usually with a round of applause sounding in the background the approval of their collegues.

Mistake No3

Changing Things For The Sake of Change

This is a common issue in the private sector where senior management cannot help being creative. Redesigning offices, moving office locations, changing call centre scripts. If it isn't broken, don't fix it leave it alone. Find something else to do to justify your salary or take up gardening.

When a call centre is functioning effectively, staff motivation is high (or at least higher than average for a call centre,staff should be staying put because they are being rewarded effectively for their work with performance related pay and treated as human beings with a life outside of the call centre.

If management changes one small thing then the equilibrium of the team can be disrupted as individuals adapt to the change. This adaptation process can take up to a week with some people and during that time they will be less productive so sometimes changge for its own sake will impact the bottom line metrics that are being measured.

Mistake No4

High Absentee Rates and Levels of Staff Sickness

Looking at the raw figures for a call centre team absentee rate can tell you very little without looking at the work environment.I can quote example after example over the past few years where I have worked in environments which were cramped and staff were sharing headsets. The result is that when one person gets a bug it quickly transfers into the other staff who have been in close proximity or shared headsets or used a mouse after somebody with an infection.

The end result of trying to save somer cash by squeezing a couple of extra telesales agents into a room is lossed productivity and low staff motivation for a day or two before and after they are off sick. In some cases the staff might not quite have a reason they just subconsciously notice that the environment is not right and leave or take time off to search for a better job. The reason they give is the consciious one - the money - but other factors can also play their part.

Mistake No5

If it aint broke don't fix it

When management make small changes ( or large changes) without giving an explanation to staff,or selling the change,they become surprised when the reaction of staff is to argue for the status quo.

Structural changes such as changes in wage scales or the points systems used to calculate commission can have strucxtural effects such as staff leaving enmasse for the call centre down the road which pays 50p an hour more and causes less hassle.

http://www.callcentrehelper.com

Sent me some traffic by picking up the hub in my twitter feed and putting it on their front page so I am happy to return the favour.The hub just hit its first traffic milestone 101 visitors in 30 days.

15th June 2009 Update

The hub is now up to 200 visitors per month