Centres of Dissatisfaction
March 8 2005
They may sound cheerful (sometimes) but the UK's call centre employees are the least satisfied of any occupation according to ORC International. The agency's latest benchmarking study found only 25% satisfied with their pay, compared with an overall UK average of 41%.
The company's benchmarking database Perspectives contains the employee survey responses of 200 UK organisations and represents the opinions of some 1.4 million employees. The most recent data set makes worrying reading for call centre advocates:
- Less than two thirds (64%) like the kind of work they do (the lowest of any sector. UK average for all sectors 84%).
- Only 58% agree that their job makes good use of their skills and abilities, versus a UK average of 71%.
There are however some pluses in terms of call centre staff's perception of their companies and customers. 80% agree that the quality of service to customers is improving, the highest score across all sectors (UK average 65%), and 88% believe their company is committed to customer satisfaction which compares with a UK average of 78%.
Call centre staff are also top of the pile in terms of coping with workload, perhaps not surprisingly given the time-constricted nature of the work: 88% agree they can meet the requirements of the job without working excessive hours (all sectors average 66%). 74% feel they are able to strike the right balance between their work and home lives, versus a UK average of 64%.
Giles McClelland of industry lead initiative CallNorthWest admitted that the findings show there is work to do 'to reduce the gap between other sectors and keep high value employees within the call centre industry' and pointed to ongoing pay improvements, but said the data also showed that the sector is 'leading the way in commitment to quality of service'.
ORC International's web site is at
www.orc.co.uk
All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.
