An interesting article dropped in to my inbox today from the team at Boost concerning contact centre attrition. As a result I did a bit of Googling to see what else I could find out as it appears that attrition in contact centres is still running above UK average at a worrying 26%.
I appreciate this is a headline figure and there is going to be some discrepancies between sectors and even roles within organisations, but it appears we still have a challenge on our hands…or do we?
The reasons for call centre attrition have been widely shared over the years and are likely not to have changed much, so here are a few that should not surprise you:
1) It’s a job, not a career
2) It’s a demanding job and the salary is not high enough
3) I can earn more elsewhere and not work shifts
4) I’ve tried it, and the job is not for me or not as described
I’m going to look at each and see if I can break down what’s behind them:
It’s a job, not a career
This is often the case, the age demographic for many call centre workers is in their early 20s. This age is a time for both experimentation as you meet the reality of life post education. Is it realistic to expect people at that age to have decided what career they want and if so does that include remining in a call centre, even if they remain within the same organisation? I highly doubt it and whilst I support the fact that a career can come from such a situation it is likely the call centre is an entry point, not a permanent role (I myself am an example of this).
So we need to be careful of comparison, 26% may be higher than other roles, but is that good or bad, well it’s hard to decide on the number alone, the reasons why people leave, expected and planned attrition are probably more important.
It’s a demanding job and the salary is not high enough
There are two parts to this statement, and both are vital contributors:
Call centres are demanding in that they can be overwhelming in terms of being too busy leaving agents only able to perform the minimum to respond to a customer plus the nature of the contacts has become more complex as automation and AI continue to remove the less testing tasks. These are trends that are likely to continue and the end point could be the removal of the call centre all together as customer demands are met without (before you say that won’t happen, it can if the organisation chooses to go that way and many are).
The second part is matching the salary to the actual job being performed. As the job becomes more difficult you’d expect the level of required expertise to increase and the salary to reflect this. However the organisational strategy could see the call centre budget drop as fewer numbers of demand are sent to it, which could result in salaries remining low as such demand is seen as failure, or innovations such as AI are seen substitutes for agent experience and ability. I feel the actual outcome will hinge on the success and cost of AI rather than realising the experience and true value of the agents.
To top it off you can not ignore the recent increased cost of living, can a call centre agent plan their future on a salary that is barely above the minimum wage, I don’t think so?
I can earn more elsewhere and not work shifts
This has always been the case and of course the old saying “The grass isn’t always as green” comes into play, but that’s post attrition and not enough to prevent the impact.
My previous point demonstrates the differing value of agents and call centres and it worries me that augmenting technologies like AI will dominate the finances of many organisations opening the door wider for pay to remain a big reason for leaving a call centre.
Also be aware of the true cost of flexible working to your organisation, whilst flexibility is often muted as a means to reduce attrition it appears not to have the power it once did, are staff now accepting more as the minimum when it comes to how and where they work? I suspect they are. I have seen a worrying trend where staff who have been granted flexible working arrangements based on a previous presidents set have resulted in the dissatisfaction within remaining staff rising, think of the power of one here because would you want to work 3 in 4 weekends so others could only work 1 in 4?.
Finally it’s inevitable that call centre roles will not be the best paid roles, you need to think creatively to find other benefits and that is getting harder because working from home or limited shift work are now no longer seen as benefits by many.
I’ve tried it, and the job is not for me or not as described
I tear my hair out with this one, “start as you mean to continue” is my advice. Before anyone is recruited lay down both the good and bad bits about the role, it’s better someone decides not to apply than does so and leaves within 12 months or less. Too many people’s expectations are not set correctly from day one or are changed by someone else during or post initial recruitment.
Would you expect to get a role in a restaurant if you couldn’t or choose not to work evenings and/or weekends? So why do you think you can in a call centre and then ask not to work the shifts they need you to work? I know applying for flexible working is gong to be available to staff from day 1 and includes where you work, but applying is not the same expectation as receiving.
There should be no nasty surprises to either employee or employer if the truth is shared and understood early on, recruitment and staffing is not simply a numbers game anymore.
My conclusion
Have we made progress with attrition, yes of course we have, but that progress is making us stand still at best.
What do we need to do to keep it in check?
1) Set realistic expectations of what attrition will be and make sure it is fully baked into your long term planning, including its costs. There is no point in under cutting the financial or working impacts of attrition that we know will occur
2) Align your recruitment plans to your long term plans and work with the recruiters to ensure key messages are given and understood
3) Do not recruit numbers instead recruit the right people and treat them right, do not recruit people if they are not a good fit, it’s pushing problems back, not solving them
4) Do not give the impression you can offer more flexibility than you actually can, if an agent is customer facing it’s likely they will need to cover all opening hours at some point
5) Be open to the right to request flexible working, create shifts that offer solutions rather than have to create individual shifts
6) Offer alternate benefits if you can not offer more money, but if money is a serious issue then you will have to use your long term planning to identify cost and impact, often spending on the right things brings benefit to all
7) Don’t assume working from home is a cure all, it’s proving not to be the case
8) A Call Centre role is not likely to be the start of a person’s career, that is not an insult because it’s the reality
We have to keep the same plates spinning, if we don’t the argument for non-human customer solutions will continue to grow, but I suppose the four points raised here will not need addressing in that future and to some that’s an attractive benefit.
If attrition continues to concern you please contact either myself or Adrian at Select Planning for helpful advice and action.
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