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Published 24 July 2006
Job security and sufficient staff are prerequisites to effective training
There can be few people in this country who have not experienced the familiar trajectory of the phonecall to a customer service adviser. It goes pretty much as follows: select options one to four; listen to some music and wait; input reference number; more music, wait again. Just before hanging up in frustration, you hear: "My name's Scott, how can I help?"
Scott sounds keen but, after you explain your problem, his tone of voice changes and he announces that you've joined the wrong queue. Cue more piped music.
Exactly why did he put you back in the queue? What excuse does he have for sounding bored? Does he enjoy leaving your query unanswered? From my experience of working in a call centre, no call handler relishes disappointing customers. The working day of a call-centre adviser is frequently tough, demoralising and unrewarding.
I worked in the customer complaints department of a telecommunications company for three years. I received formal training on only three occasions. My initial training was a brief introduction to a flawed and unreliable computer system. No instruction was given on how to handle customer phonecalls.
I soon became intuitive to the needs of callers. Customers want queries resolved first time, with minimum effort. I realised the importance of speaking clearly and avoiding jargon. I learned when to listen.
However, my enthusiasm faltered in the face of labyrinthine internal call transfers, insufficient training on account databases and a lack of managerial supervision. I often floundered.
It soon became apparent that my experience was not exceptional. "You just have to learn through experience," my colleagues would say, unconvincingly. "You'll always upset some of the callers; that's just the way it is."
When one adviser was unable to solve a query, another would have to take over the reins, so teamwork was paramount. Training and supervision would have improved individual and team performance, yet requests for further training were usually met with short shrift. Few staff had sufficient proficiency with the systems to establish an efficient and equitable scheme of learning for the new staff. We all became demoralised and surly.
Staff turnover was high; sickness and lateness was commonplace. Such absences increased the time customers waited in call queues, piling even more pressure on those team members that were available.
Friends working in call centres for other organisations have made similar observations. A lack of training, guidance and knowledge contributes to a culture of despondency. By reducing costs, companies hold on to a reservoir of staff that consistently fails to deliver good service.
Few call centre workers, particularly those aged between 18 and 25, see call-centre work as a long-term career move and many call-centre workers are merely 'passing through'. However, in the three years I worked in the complaints department, in spite of my investment of time, effort and skills in the company, I never had a contract.
I was not alone. One former colleague (a father of two with a mortgage) worked for the company for over six years, solving increasingly difficult customer queries, yet he did not receive the permanent company package. Such contracts were largely unobtainable, a tempting carrot that couldn't be pulled from the ground.
Agency workers and permanent staff were handling the same work but with wild differences in remuneration. Agency staff received an annual salary of around £12,000 with no pension scheme but most permanent staff received in excess of £21,000 a year, with additional pension benefits. Consequently, a gulf opened up between permanent and temporary workers that often soured working relationships in a fraught environment.
So what can be done? I would argue that companies should aim to give their staff regular feedback on their progress. If a call is handled badly, a postmortem should be held. This will improve performance and self-sufficiency. Managerial staffing levels should be of a level sufficient to provide tailored support to individual staff.
Training is academic if staff do not have job security or view the job as worth staying in. Companies should reward agency workers for loyalty and provide tangible contract incentives. If customer satisfaction is the alleged watchword, investment in the unrealised potential of staff is crucial. Quality comes at a price.
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