Call centres: a global or embedded production model? The 'Global Call Centre Industry' project

PD Dr. Ursula Holtgrewe, FORBA, Vienna (holtgrewe@forba.at)

Contribution to the AMICA expert panel, Copenhagen September 3/4, 2007

To what extent are CCs ▫a globally convergent production model for services

OR / AND ▫embedded in societal institutional configurations or

varieties of capitalism that explain variation?

The research question

comparative study in 21 countries

management survey of CCs in 17 countries (n=2,477)

case studies and site visits

co-ordination: Rose Batt, ILR School, Cornell Univ., David Holman, Sheffield University, Ursula Holtgrewe, FORBA

immaterial franchise structure with de-central funding (so far, € 1,000,000 + x)

The Global Call Center Industry Project (www.globalcallcenter.org)

The theory perspective: What shapes company strategies?

embeddedness varieties of capitalism National business,

employment, innovation systems

service cultures

gender regimes and flexible labour markets

convergence Globalising competition

information and

communication technology Deregulation (finance, telco) strategies mediated by

global consultancies and service providers

service logics and dilemmas customer segmentation

women's employment

Global Similarities

• Young companies, median age 8 years

• 86% serve national markets.

• 2/3 are Inhouse-CC.

• CC have an mean 49 employees, but ¾ of CC agents work in CC > 230 employees.

• Flat hierarchies: 12% of employees are team leaders or managers.

• 71% of CC employees are women (exception India with 50%).

Differences I

“co-ordinated market economies”(AT, DK, DE, FR, IL, NL, ES, SE) have better jobs

▫ Lower turnover

▫ Higher wages

▫ Higher discretion

▫ More outsourcing

▫ more part-time work

▫ And more presence of unions!

BUT: CC use nearly all the forms of flexibility that a CME employment system has to offer: e.g. Freelancers in Austria.

Differences II

B2B CCs have better jobs▫ Higher wages

▫ Lower turnover

▫ More discretion at work (large business centres)

▫ Less frequent monitoring

▫ More permanent full-time employment

▫ More teamwork

▫ Less union presence!

Differences III

Outsourced CC have worse jobs▫ Higher turnover

▫ Lower wages

▫ Less discretion at work

▫ More monitoring

▫ More precarious employment (part-time, fixed-term, agency workers)

▫ Less union presence and less union influence!

GCC: general findings

• CCs are NOT a picture of convergence.• Size and internationalisation are limited.• Outsourcing abroad follows language lines, India

is a special case• Unionisation exists and positively influences

working conditions.• Outsourcing “works” and limits union influence • “embedded escapes” of CCs from collective

agreements and regulation.• The global electronic sweatshops do not

represent the entire picture!

Conclusion from GCC

• Good jobs in call centres are possible.

• Institutions and union presence make positive differences

• BUT in co-ordinated market economies there is no reason to feel too smug!

• Outsourcing (not necessarily abroad) and cost-cutting strategies may massively challenge previous gains

Outsourcing: some examples from Germany

• The company agreement of an independent provider:

▫ performance-based pay not regulated, criteria agreed with customers

• This year‘s strike at Deutsche Telekom

▫ Outsourcing sale of CC to independent providers establishment of own CC subsidiary with lower wages etc.

Outsourcing: some examples from Germany

• A service provider working for T-mobile

▫ Competes and is networked with all the large ones (Walter, arvato, vivento)

▫ Performance and quality measures agreed with customer

▫ One monthly suggestion for improvements is part of contract with T-mobile

▫ Process defined by T-mobile (50-60 e-mails/day)

▫ Customer requires 2/3 full-time employees

„and the process changes by the hour, I could say” (CEO)

What to do?

• Embed CCs in relational value chains, rather than being captive to large customers

• Build, value and retain customer service expertise (across customer segments) in the dimensions of

▫ Skills

▫ Discretion

▫ high-trust working environment (use of monitoring)

▫ use of agents‘ problem-solving capabilities