PERCEPTIONS OF THE CALL CENTRE INDUSTRY IN SOUTH EAST WALES Presentation to Call Centre Forum

1. PERCEPTIONS OF THE CALL CENTRE INDUSTRY IN SOUTH EAST WALES Presentation to Call Centre Forum Fiona McAllister, Market Research Wales Nick Miller, Miller Research February 2001

2. STRUCTURE OF PRESENTATION • INTRODUCTION • RESEARCH FINDINGS - Street Interview Results - Focus Group Outputs - Qualitative Interview Results • CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

3. INTRODUCTION

4. OBJECTIVES Overall aim = to investigate root causes of recruitment difficulties Specific objectives were: • To investigate why there are difficulties in recruiting prospective staff onto call centre training/recruitment initiatives in SE Wales • To explore perceptions of call centre employment generally

5. OBJECTIVES continued • To highlight any negative attitudes which may exist & may deter potential applicants from taking up employment in sector • To assess whether there is a need for TEC/CETW to develop potential recruits so they are ‘job ready’ for instant recruitment

6. METHODOLOGY Approach taken linked together 3 research elements: • Quantitative survey of 200 potential call centre recruits across SE Wales • Two focus groups conducted with students on a call centre training course & potential recruits from outside the workforce • Series of qualitative interviews with training providers, recruitment agencies and employers across SE Wales Fieldwork took place Oct-Nov 2000

7. RESEARCH FINDINGS

8. STREET INTERVIEW RESULTS

9. Q1/Q2: INTEREST IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF JOBS% BASE: all respondents (200)

10. Q3: SPECIFIC INTEREST IN CALL CENTRE JOB% BASE: all respondents (200)

11. Q3: SPECIFIC INTEREST IN CALL CENTRE JOB% BASE: respondents expressing interest/non interest in call centre work (161)

12. Q5: PERCEPTIONS OF CALL CENTRES% BASE: all respondents (200)

13. Q5: BALANCE OF OPINION ON PERCEPTIONS OF CALL CENTRE WORK % BASE: all respondents (200)

14. Q6: AWARENESS OF CALL CENTRE TRAINING COURSES% BASE: all respondents (200)

15. Q7: INTEREST IN ATTENDING CALL CENTRE COURSE% BASE: all respondents (200)

16. Q9: ATTITUDES TOWARDS CALL CENTRE TRAINING COURSES% BASE: all respondents (200)

17. Q10: ESTIMATES OF TYPICAL CUSTOMER SERVICE CALL CENTRE SALARY P.A. % BASE: all respondents (200)

18. Q11: ACTUAL SALARY cf EXPECTATIONS % BASE: all respondents (200)

19. Q12: EFFECT OF LEARNING SALARY ON INTEREST IN CALL CENTRE WORK % BASE: all respondents (200)

20. FOCUS GROUP OUTPUTS

21. Positive Gaining of essential skills & building self-confidence and self-discipline “If you haven’t worked for a long time, having to go in every day really shakes you up….I surprised myself over that four weeks” Awarding of certificate Trainees not losing any benefits by attending course Negative Some found attending college a shock “Too much paperwork…. I hadn’t worked for 20 odd years and all the questions were about being at work or at college” “Too much crammed in - should be longer” IT element intense for those not computer literate CALL CENTRE COURSE PARTICIPANTSPerceptions of Training Course

22. CALL CENTRE COURSE PARTICIPANTSHow Training Could Be Improved • Content of course thought to be good, but could be longer • College environment difficult for some, especially the more mature • Felt to be low general awareness of training & poor publicity for call centres • Perceptions based on stereotypes such as “adverts for insurance on the TV” • Trainees not aware of guaranteed employer interview at end of course • Employer visits widely welcomed, but experiences mixed, depending on workplaces visited

23. Barriers Pay, especially lack of overtime payments at weekends “I’d have to work four days at **** to get what I get for two days at (retailers), because I do Sundays” Rates of starting pay with employers who recruit through agencies “Start at £8,500 – I couldn’t afford that” Incentives Fairly positive perceptions of nature of work carried out “We asked them if there was time pressure when you take calls and they said no, it’s more important that you satisfy the customer, even if you take 20 minutes” Call centre employers perceived as good at training staff CALL CENTRE COURSE PARTICIPANTS Barriers & Incentives to Working in Call Centres

24. CALL CENTRE COURSE PARTICIPANTSHow Call Centres Could Attract More Staff 2 issues: • Pay, especially overtime for “anti-social” hours • Employers should be more proactive about going into colleges and other centres

25. POTENTIAL CALL CENTRE RECRUITSPerceptions of Call Centres Overall downbeat perspective on call centre employment: • Perception of having to deal with irate customers • Fears of cold-calling/high pressure sales “There’s only two types of call centres…. You’re either hassling people to sell them something or you’re being shouted at (by customers) because they’ve got some problem” • Anecdotal evidence widespread “She said it was the worst job she’d ever had” • However, when prompted for knowledge of pay & conditions, few had direct experience or insight

26. POTENTIAL CALL CENTRE RECRUITSPerceptions of Call Centres continued • No real knowledge of hours worked & perceptions of pay rates mixed • When prompted with pay rates, men still not impressed “That might be OK for a single person but it’s no good if you’ve got kids” • Perceptions of working environment vague: - lack of variety (although same as working in a factory) - friendliness and team working – no real opportunities for conversation as “you’re talking on the phone all the time” - perceived to be high pressure by some • No awareness of call centre training

27. QUALITATIVE INTERVIEW RESULTS

28. RECRUITMENT AGENCIES Barriers To Recruitment • Lack of appropriate careers advice in schools • Need for positive PR • Need to attract older people Skills Issues • No specific skills gaps identified Staff Retention • Labour turnover 20-25% (repetitive nature of job) • To counter this, companies have to offer speedy and visible career progression with constant training • Influence of new technology may help increase retention by reducing routine enquiries

29. TRAINING PROVIDERS Barriers To Training • Travel costs seen as disincentive to taking up training opportunities • Fear of losing benefits also has impact • Negative perceptions of sector felt to put potential recruits off – seen as mundane & compounded by bad publicity around Firstline • Training providers consider not enough interaction between themselves & client companies “There’s no dialogue at all - we just don’t know what employers want” • One trainer felt length of courses is too short due to funding constraints

30. TRAINING PROVIDERS Who Trains • Typical trainee – late teens/early twenties, just left college/given up first job • Difficulties in getting women returners & mature applicants to train Skills Being Delivered • Perceived skills: basic verbal communications, literacy, numeracy, administrative skills • Basic skills a significant problem amongst trainees • Ethnic minority recruits – English language skills sometimes lacking Training & Progression in the Workplace • Some employers do not provide enough progression opportunities • Better training & development would benefit recruitment/retention

31. Positive Recruits on personal qualities, rather than on formal qualifications Provides relatively well-paid entry into labour market Quickly builds confidence Comparatively good wages on offer Perception of less internal pressure to conform to stereotype of office workers Availability of flexible hours & casual work Negative Trainees have negative perceptions of call centres: images of regimentation & conformity with prospect of humiliation if targets not met Ethnic minorities: English grammar & accents Perceived to be competitive/high pressure TRAINING PROVIDERSCall Centres As An Entry Point To Labour Market

32. EMPLOYERS Recruitment Issues • Employers report tightening of labour market/increasing difficulty in finding recruits - perceived to be due to local competition • For inbound call centres – competitive difficulty of outbound centres offering sales jobs with bonuses/incentive schemes • Employers ideally want call centre experience when recruiting • Many new recruits are young – but older workers & women perceived to be more suitable • Employers have difficulties in recruiting men • Movement towards developing home teleworking for women returners

33. EMPLOYERS Salaries • Salary levels in SE Wales may impact on its status as call centre cluster • Widespread disquiet about short-term effect of new entrants Women Returners • Perception that supply of women returners is drying up • Also difficult to tap into this source - as with ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, people over 50 Role of Employment Agencies • Some employers report a declining relationship with agencies, now failing to keep pace with clients’ demands for new recruits

34. EMPLOYERS Disabled Recruits • Unsuccessful attempts to recruit people with disabilities through New Deal Negative Perceptions • Majority of employers acknowledge widespread negative perceptions of industry, especially poor media coverage • Lack of marketing or promotion of call centre work in positive way Skills Issues • Employers looking for attitudinal skills, rather than formal qualifications • Technical skills not considered important in recruitment • Basic skills can be a concern – lack of literacy/numeracy

35. EMPLOYERS Labour Turnover • Labour turnover ranged from 15-20% up to 50% per year – varies according to company culture, nature of work & type of staff recruited • Some employers acknowledge embedding staff into a social culture improves retention rates • Agency staff tend not to stay long Call Centre Training • General awareness of Coleg Hafren course, but employers did not feel linked into it & scale of course felt insufficient • Perceived problem – calibre of people attending courses • Content of course considered to be good general grounding • Suggested that stronger links needed between providers & employers

36. CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

37. CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS Increasing Take-Up of Training Courses • Advertising campaign to recruit trainees for courses & industry to raise awareness • Investigate establishment of a centre of excellence • Marketing of courses within colleges & Job Centres • Facilitate a “recommend a friend” scheme • Increase levels of co-operation between employers & training providers • Revisit location of training courses/suites • Examine funding mechanisms for private sector training • Tie in with basic skills provision

38. CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS cont Improving Industry Recruitment • Facilitate showcasing of call centre environment to redress negative perceptions & encourage new applicants • Target women returners emphasising flexible hours, training programmes, relatively good salaries, progression opportunities • Market that employers are looking for “common sense” and a work ethic, rather than computer/telephony skills • Employers should examine pay structures – overtime rates during unsocial hours

39. CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS cont Other Issues • Growth in call centre market is leading to pressure on supply of staff and consequent wage inflation • Although problem in short-term, in longer term will be beneficial in driving up value of activities carried out in call centres in SE Wales • Employers need to take responsibility for redressing negative perceptions of sector – perhaps by common advertising or promotion • Lack of co-operation between employers is having damaging effect on sector development – concerted action by employers is vital