Australia-wide study to examine call centre workforce

Kelly Services, is embarking on a nationwide study of workforce satisfaction in the call centre industry.

In conjunction with research firm, callcentres.net, Kelly Servicesí 2007 Employee Satisfaction Benchmark Study will examine the factors that contribute to best practice in managing a call centre workforce.

The study comes at a time of growing concern over staff turnover rates in Australian call centres, and a new focus on how employee satisfaction and retention can contribute to call centre effectiveness.

Stephen Shepherd, Regional Director of Kelly Services, said the study has been conducted annually since 2003 and would continue to provide valuable data and insights into the industry.

ìThe results of this research will be critical in assisting management in call centres to identify, forecast and pro-actively develop strategies to increase performance and improve retentionî.

The study uses a diagnostic tool that measures overall employee satisfaction as well as 10 specific factors that contribute to individual job satisfaction and effectiveness.

ìThese variables will enable call centres to benchmark themselves against others in the industry and help managers delegate their time and money into achieving heightened resultsî, he said.

In 2006, a total of 1,237 call centre agents participated in the study from a variety of industry sectors including finance, media, tourism and government.

ìParticipating call centres have ranged from those as small as 20 seats to as large as 400 seats, giving us the opportunity to study a broad cross-section of the industryî, said Mr. Shepherd.

Kelly Services is currently recruiting businesses to participate in the 2007 study.

Participating call centres receive a customized report from callcentres.net which compares the centreís satisfaction levels against the industry benchmark. The findings will also be presented at events in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

www.kellyservices.com

Organisations interested in participating in the 2007 Employee Satisfaction Benchmark Study can obtain more information at: