Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

Call center turnover is a topic that garners a lot of attention on this site as it tends to run higher in this industry than most others. As a result, call centers face increasingly high costs associated with replacing lost employees as well as a decline in customer service levels when staff numbers are low.

 

Much research has been done to identify the key indicators for higher attrition in the call center setting. Findings have pointed to elements such as the job itself, particular work environments, lack of proper hiring practices and poor training as the primary drivers for high turnover rates in the call center industry.

 

Not as much research has been done on how factors within the control of management, such as computer technology leadership, contribute to the level of staff turnover in the call center. However, a team from the Australian Graduate School of Management at the University of New South Wales presented the argument that a possible contributor to turnover in call centers could be the invasive use of computer technology.

 

This research team studied 357 subordinates in 45 call centers in Australia and New Zealand and results indicate that the ways in which technology is used to provide leadership influences subordinate intention to turnover. This particular study, Computer Technology, Leadership and Subordinate Intention to Turnover in Call Centres, focused heavily on areas of the call center employee’s job where technology was the main driver in assignments and measurements.

 

The analysis team conducting this study was able to determine that when technology was used to assign the call center employee work and the standards with which that work was to adhere to, there was a significant negative main effect on the subordinate intention to turnover. In other words, when technology is used to assign work and provide guidance on standards, the subordinate is much less likely to consider leaving his or her job.

 

The opposite is true in the situation where technology provided negative feedback to the call center employee. When the employee did something wrong or not considered to be within the expected standard, he or she would receive feedback associated with such in technological form. The tendency to reject such feedback is apparent as it tended to increase the likelihood that the employee would separate from the company.

 

When employee monitoring through technology was studied, the research team did not find a significant association with employee turnover, although it was expected. And, while the technology did not act as a substitute for the leader behavior effect, it did support findings by other researchers that monitoring functions have largely favorable effects on employees.

 

Technology is now a reality in the call center – for better or for worse. But, it is important for call center leaders to understand its impact – both positive and negative – to ensure that it is not only positioned correctly, but that the maximum benefit can be gained from its use without sacrificing good employees.

 

 

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMC and has also written for eastbiz.com. To see more of her articles, please visit Susan J. Campbell’s columnist page.