Call centre

For the contact centres in family law, see children's centre.
A 1970 police call centre in Brierley Hill, England

A call centre or call center is a centralised office used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone. An inbound call centre is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. Outbound call centers are operated for telemarketing, solicitation of charitable or political donations, debt collection and market research. A contact centre is a location for centralised handling of individual communications, including letters, faxes, live support software, social media, instant message, and e-mail.[1]

A call centre has an open workspace for call centre agents, with work stations that include a computer for each agent, a telephone set/headset connected to a telecom switch, and one or more supervisor stations. It can be independently operated or networked with additional centres, often linked to a corporate computer network, including mainframes, microcomputers and LANs. Increasingly, the voice and data pathways into the centre are linked through a set of new technologies called computer telephony integration.

The contact centre is a central point from which all customer contacts are managed. Through contact centres, valuable information about company are routed to appropriate people, contacts to be tracked and data to be gathered. It is generally a part of company’s customer relationship management.

A contact centre can be defined as a coordinated system of people, processes, technologies and strategies that provides access to information, resources, and expertise, through appropriate channels of communication, enabling interactions that create value for the customer and organization.[2] Contact centres, along with call centres and communication centres all fall under a larger umbrella labelled as the contact centre management industry. This is becoming a rapidly growing recruitment sector in itself, as the capabilities of contact centres expand and thus require ever more complex systems and highly skilled operational and management staff.[3]

The majority of large companies use contact centres as a means of managing their customer interaction. These centres can be operated by either an in house department responsible or outsourcing customer interaction to a third party agency (known as Outsourcing Call Centres).

History

The earliest call centers were created during the 1960s, and were known as "Private Automated Business Exchanges" (PABX). The earliest example of a call centre was in the UK is at the Birmingham Press and Mail.[4] They had a GEC PABX 4 ACD, installed in 1965.

The coining of the term "call center" is more recent, with the first published use of the term in 1983.[5]

Technology

Call centre desk environment in Lakeland, Florida, United States (2005)

Call centre technologies include speech recognition software to allow computers to handle first level of customer support, text mining and natural language processing to allow better customer handling, agent training by automatic mining of best practices from past interactions, support automation and many other technologies to improve agent productivity and customer satisfaction. Automatic lead selection or lead steering is also intended to improve efficiencies,[6] both for inbound and outbound campaigns. This allows inbound calls to be directly routed to the appropriate agent for the task, whilst minimizing wait times and long lists of irrelevant options for people calling in. For outbound calls, lead selection allows management to designate what type of leads go to which agent based on factors including skill, socioeconomic factors and past performance and percentage likelihood of closing a sale per lead.

The universal queue standardizes the processing of communications across multiple technologies such as fax, phone, and email. The virtual queue provides callers with an alternative to waiting on hold when no agents are available to handle inbound call demand.

A typical call centre telephone. Note: no handset, phone is for headset use only (2005)

Premises-based technology

Historically, call centres have been built on Private branch exchange (PBX) equipment that is owned, hosted, and maintained by the call centre operator themselves. The PBX can provide functions such as automatic call distribution, interactive voice response, and skills-based routing.

Virtual call centre

In virtual call centre model, the call centre's[7] operator pays a monthly or annual fee to a vendor that hosts the call centre telephony equipment in their own data centre. In this model, the operator does not own, operate or host the equipment that the call centre runs on. Agents connect to the vendor's equipment through traditional PSTN telephone lines, or over voice over IP. Calls to and from prospects or contacts originate from or terminate at the vendor's data centre, rather than at the call centre operator's premises. The vendor's telephony equipment then connects the calls to the call centre operator's agents.[8]

Virtual call centre technology allows people to work from home, instead of in a traditional, centralised, call centre location, which increasingly allows people with physical or other disabilities that prevent them from leaving the house, to work. The only required equipment is Internet access and a workstation.[9] The companies are preferring Virtual Call Centre services due to cost advantage. Companies can start their call centre business immediately without installing the basic infrastructure like Dialer, ACD and IVRS.[10]

Cloud computing

Main article: Cloud computing

Cloud computing for call centres extends cloud computing to software as a service, or hosted, on-demand call centres by providing application programming interfaces (APIs) on the call centre cloud computing platform that allow call centre functionality to be integrated with cloud-based customer relationship management, leads management, and other applications. Computer telephony integration APIs provide developers with access to basic telephony controls and sophisticated call handling on the call centre platform from a separate application. Configuration APIs provide programmatic control of administrative functions of the call centre platform which are typically accessed by a human administrator through a graphical user interface.

Description

Services

A very large call centre in Lakeland, Florida (2006)

Contact centers run support or help desks, which regularly answers technical questions from customers and assists them using their equipment or software. Support desks are used by companies in the computing, telecommunications and consumer electronics industries.

Customer service contact centres answer specific queries relating to customer issues, in the banking and utility sectors these are frequently used to answer customer questions relating to their account or payments, this type of service may even be used to respond to customer complaints and undertake retention strategies for unsatisfied customers.

Contact centres also carry out sales and marketing activities; these can be performed through cold calling strategies and increasingly through live chat applications on company websites.

Dynamics

Call centre worker confined to a small workstation/booth, using CallWeb Internet-based survey software

A contact centre supports interaction with customers over a variety of media, including telephony, e-mail, and internet chat. A telephone answering service is a more personalised version of the call centre, where agents get to know more about their customers and their callers; and therefore look after calls just as if based in their customers' office.[11]

Calls may be inbound or outbound. Inbound calls are made by consumers, for example to obtain information, report a malfunction, or ask for help. In contrast, outbound calls are made by agents to consumers, usually for sales purposes (telemarketing). A "blended" center combines both inbound and outbound campaigns where each type of agent (inbound or outbound) can handle the overflow of the other.[12]

Call centre staff are often organised into a multi-tier support system for more efficient handling of calls. The first tier consists of operators, who initially answer calls and provide general information. If a caller requires more assistance, the call is forwarded to the second tier (in the appropriate department depending on the nature of the call). In some cases, there are three or more tiers of support staff. Typically the third tier of support is formed of product engineers/developers or highly skilled technical support staff for the product.

Outsourcing

See also: Outsourcing

In contrast to in house management, outsourced bureau contact centres are a model of contact centre that provide services on a "pay per use" model. The overheads of the contact centre are shared by many clients, thereby supporting a very cost effective model, especially for low volumes of calls. Outsourced centers have grown in popularity. There is criticism of the outsourcing model.

Companies that regularly utilise outsourced contact centre services include British Sky Broadcasting and Orange[13] in the telecommunications industry, Adidas in the sports and leisure sector,[14] Audi in car manufacturing[15] and charities such as the RSPCA.

Outsourced call centers are often located in the developing countries, where wages are significantly lower. The call center industry in the Philippines and call center industry in the Bangladesh serve as good examples.

Call Centers in Healthcare

The healthcare industry has used outbound call center programs for years to help manage billing, collections, and patient communication.[16] The inbound call center is a new and increasingly popular service for many types of healthcare facilities, including large hospitals. Inbound call centers can be outsourced or managed in-house. MountainStar Healthcare is one of the first companies to build an inbound call center in-house.[17] American Health Connection is an American healthcare call center corporation with a focus on inbound call centers that utilize outsourcing.[18]

These healthcare call centers are designed to help streamline communications, enhance patient retention and satisfaction, reduce expenses and improve operational efficiencies.

Evaluation

Mathematical theory

Queueing theory is a branch of mathematics in which models of service systems have been developed. A call centre can be seen as a queueing network and results from queueing theory such as the probability an arriving customer needs to wait before starting service useful for provisioning capacity.[19] (Erlang's C formula is such a result for an M/M/c queue and approximations exist for an M/G/k queue.) Statistical analysis of call centre data has suggested arrivals are governed by an inhomogeneous Poisson process and jobs have a log-normal service time distribution.[20]

Call centre operations have been supported by mathematical models beyond queueing, with operations research, which considers a wide range of optimisation problems seeking to reduce waiting times while keeping server utilisation and therefore efficiency high.[21]

Metrics

Some vital call centre performance metrics[22] are listed below:

Criticism and performance

Some critics of call centres argue that the work atmosphere in such an environment is dehumanising.[23] Others point to the low rates of pay and restrictive working practices of some employers.[24][25] There has been much controversy over such things as restricting the amount of time that an employee can spend in the toilet.[26] Call centres have also been the subject of complaints by callers who find the staff often do not have enough skill or authority to resolve problems,[27] while the staff sometimes appear apathetic.[28] Other research illustrates how call center workers develop ways to counter or resist this environment by integrating local cultural sensibilities or embracing a vision of a new life.[29]

Telephone calls are easily monitored, and the close monitoring of call centre staff is widespread.[30] This has the benefit[31] of helping the company to plan the workload and time of its employees. However, it has also been argued that such close monitoring breaches the human right to privacy.[32] Most call centres provide electronic reports that outline performance metrics, quarterly highlights and other information about the calls made and received.

Criticisms of call centres generally follow a number of common themes, from both callers and call centre staff. From callers, common criticisms include:[33]

Common criticisms from staff include:

The net-net of these concerns is that call centres as a business process exhibit levels of variability. The experience a customer gets and the results a company achieves on a given call are almost totally dependent on the quality of the agent answering that call.[35] Call centres are beginning to address this by using agent-assisted automation to standardise the process all agents use.[36] Anton and Phelps have provided a detailed manual on how to conduct the performance evaluation of the business,[37] whereas others are using various scientific technologies to do the jobs.[38][39][40] However, more popular alternatives are using personality and skill based approaches.[41][42] The various challenges encountered by call operators are discussed by several authors.[43][44][45][46][47]

Unionization

Unions in North America have made some effort to gain members from this sector,[48] including the Communications Workers of America[49] and the United Steelworkers. In Australia, the National Union of Workers represents unionised workers; their activities form part of the Australian labour movement.[50] In Europe, Uni Global Union of Switzerland is involved in assisting unionisation in this realm[51] and in Germany Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft represents call centre workers.

Media portrayals

Indian call centres have been the focus of several documentary films, the 2004 film Thomas L. Friedman Reporting: The Other Side of Outsourcing, the 2005 films John and Jane, Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night, and 1-800-India: Importing a White-Collar Economy, and the 2006 film Bombay Calling, among others.[52] An Indian call centre is also the subject of the 2006 film Outsourced (film) and a key location in the 2008 film, Slumdog Millionaire. The 2014 BBC fly on the wall documentary series The Call Centre gave an often distorted although humorous view of life in a Welsh call centre.[53]

See also

References

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  2. Cleveland, Brad, "Call Center Management on Fast Forward (Third Edition)", ICMI Press, 2012
  3. "Cactus Search - List of Call Centre Management Roles We Recruit". Cactus Search.
  4. Science and invention in Birmingham#cite note-45
  5. "The history of the call centre". Call Centre Helper Magazine. 19 Jan 2011. Retrieved 29 Nov 2014.
  6. "US Patent 7035699 - Qualified and targeted lead selection and delivery system". Patent Storm. 2006-04-25. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
  7. "The Future of Cloud-based Call Center Market – $10.9 Billion by 2019". By Fonebell. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  8. M. Popovic and V. Kovacevic. "An Approach to Internet-Based Virtual Call Center Implementation". University of Novi Sad, Yugoslavia.
  9. David S. Joachim. "Computer Technology Opens a World of Work to Disabled People". New York Times.
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  18. American Health Connection
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  20. Brown, L.; Gans, N.; Mandelbaum, A.; Sakov, A.; Shen, H.; Zeltyn, S.; Zhao, L. (2005). "Statistical Analysis of a Telephone Call Center" (PDF). Journal of the American Statistical Association 100 (469): 36. doi:10.1198/016214504000001808.
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  41. Skyrme, Pamela; et al. "Using personality to predict outbound call center job performance" (PDF). Retrieved 1 July 2008.
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  43. Witt, L. A.; et al. (2004). "When Conscientiousness Isn’t Enough: Emotional Exhaustion and Performance Among Call Center Customer Service Representatives". Journal of Management 30 (1): 149–160. doi:10.1016/j.jm.2003.01.007.
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  45. Murthy, Nagesh N.; Challagalla, G. N.; Vincent, L. H.; Shervani, T. A.; et al. (2008). "The Impact of Simulation Training on Call Center Agent Performance: A Field-Based Investigation". Management Science 54 (2): 384–399. doi:10.1287/mnsc.1070.0818.
  46. Armony, Mor; Itay Gurvich. "When promotions meet operations: cross-selling and its effect on call-center performance" (PDF). Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  47. Goldberg, L.S.; A.A. Grandey. "Display rules versus display autonomy: emotion regulation, emotional exhaustion, and task performance in a call center simulation". Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  48. Kumar, Pradeep; Schenk, Christopher Robert (2006). Paths to Union Renewal. Broadview Press. ISBN 1-55193-058-7.
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  50. "Call Centre Union Busters Get Wake-Up Call". Workers Online. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  51. "Uni Global Union's call centre organising campaigns". Uni Global Union. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  52. Hudson, Dale (2009), Undesirable Bodies and Desirable Labor: Documenting the Globalization and Digitization of Transnational American Dreams in Indian Call Centers, Cinema Journal 49 (1), pp. 82-102.
  53. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p018vlpy

Further reading

External links

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