In a previous post I suggested that the key to understanding what went on in call centres was understanding the relationships between all of the various parties involved in the call centre. I explained that I was using the term relationship in the widest possible context, such that we attempted to understand the interests and motives of all of the parties, as well as understanding how they characteristically interacted. I noted that traditionally we tend to focus on the interaction between the caller and the call centre operator and the systems that facilitate and record the details of that call. I suggested an interest in this aspect of the relationship was important, but we'd be doing ourselves a disservice if we didn't include the 'bigger picture'.
To save boring you with a long discussion about the evolution of call centres and how they are shaped as much by the 'players' as they are by their designers and managers, let me start with an example. This situation is typical of a call centres servicing external clients that has reached what I'd call 'mid life'. It is reasonably successful, but usually seems to to be 'stuck', with no ability to further improve services. An analysis of the workflows shows that 80% of calls received from clients are resolved 'on-the-spot' by the call centre. The clients have quite a high regard for the call centre, but this high regard isn't particularly visible to the managers of the client organisation, or to the managers of the organisation that hosts the call centre. Another workflow, the 20% of calls that can not be resolved 'on-the-spot', proceeds from the call centre to 'other' areas within the call centre host organisation. These are generally the more complex and difficult (even awkward) jobs. The recipients of this work generally do not hold the call centre in high regard. This diagram illustrates some of these flows (click on the diagram for a 'readable' version):
What does an understanding of this relationship; Client-Call Centre-Call Centre Host Organisation suggest? That on a day to day basis, and at the level of the call centre operator, the call centre is more highly regarded by the client organisation than they are by the organisation hosting the call centre. The implication of that is that staff who's job satisfaction depends upon the good regard of their host organisation's management, and who have an expectation of career advancement in the host organisation, may be uncomfortable in the call centre role. Conversely, a call centre operator who has no career ambitions within the host organisation, but who derives satisfaction from the high regard of the client organisation will be relatively happy (and productive) working in the call centre.
Does this mean that you should look for staff with no career ambition when filling positions within call centres. Well, yes - and no. What it says is that you might maintain (or build) a core of staff within the call centre that match this description, and use that core to give you stability while you develop strategies to address the other issues that you are now aware of, and those are:
- the lack of visibility of the high regard that workers in the Client Organisation have for the call centre
- the lack of regard that staff in the call centre host organisation have for the call centre
Of course the first one looks easy and the second one looks much harder, but the second one is the key to opening up opportunities to 'unstick' the call centre and improve the service that the whole of the call centre host organisation provides to the client organisation. The good news is that while the solution to the first promlem involves getting lots of different parties together and changing their attiudes (and frankly you have nothing to offer them in return), the solution to the second problem can actually involve you offering a great deal to both the call centre host organisation and the client organisation at very little cost to the call centre. Furthermore, the solution to the second problem can be initiated and largely developed within the call centre without the need for additional resources. More later..
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