Study Objectives
Given the dynamic nature of contact centres, we are undertaking a benchmarking study of contact centres in Canada to examine how the state of the contact centre industry has evolved since 2006. This project is a follow up on our 2006 study entitled: The Canadian Contact Centre Industry: Strategy, Work Organization and Human Resource Management (PDF)
These survey results will be added to an existing database of working conditions in call centres we developed previously. These results will allow us to use longitudinal research practices to yield stronger causal interpretations about how organizations are adapting to the fluid nature of service work and how the economic downturn is affecting service work.
Benefits for Participants
Participants will receive a formal report that identifies best practices in workforce management across industries.
Insights from the interviews, focus groups, and survey research can help to uncover sources of emotional burnout, absenteeism and turnover intentions, and will provide suggestions about improving hiring and selection procedures, training initiatives, informal coaching, and in turn, increasing employee engagement and retention.
In this study we examine such questions as:
- How do call centre management practices differ across industries and sectors?
- What employment practices contribute to lower turnover and absenteeism?
- What types of new technologies and innovative work practices are being adopted?
- What are the pay levels and compensation strategies for employees and managers?
- To what extent do economic development agencies, employer networks, and training institutions provide support for call centres?
Topics of interest will include best practice approaches in:
- Skills and training
- Use of technology and work design
- Staffing practices (such as the use of full time, contingent, and part-time employees)
- Wage levels and compensation strategies (such as performance-based pay)
- The role of the union in contact centres, where unionization exists
Study Design:
We plan to administer a survey during summer 2010 to managers asking about which management practices predict better performance outcomes (such as quit rates, customer satisfaction, sales growth, call handling time) in contact centres.
Funding:
Any expenses incurred by the researchers including travel to and from the research site, and the cost of incentives will be subsidized by a grant we received for the purposes of this project from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, a federal funding agency in Canada: http://www.sshrc.ca.
Confidentiality:
All participants (both organizations and individuals) will be assured confidentiality, and any transcripts of interviews/focus groups will be kept secure. No firm names or individual names will be disclosed in the reporting of our findings. In addition, the study confidentiality procedures are in compliance with the University of British Columbia, which has reviewed the project.
Contact:
If you have any questions about this project feel free to send an email to Danielle van Jaarsveld, or by telephone, 604-822-8441.
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Interview with Ann C. Frost
