Just a quarter of UK call centre staff satisfied with their pay

Considering their responsibilities and duties, only a quarter (25%) of call centre staff are satisfied with their pay, according to the findings from employee research specialist ORC Internationalís latest benchmarking study. This compares with an overall UK average satisfaction score of 41% and is the least favourable score across all sectors.

The data is drawn from ORC Internationalís benchmarking database ìPerspectivesî which contains the employee survey responses of 200 UK organisations, thus representing the opinions of some 1.4 million employees.

The recent data set provides an interesting perspective of employee opinion among call centre staff working across a range of sectors. Examples of further interesting findings are:

Less than two thirds (64%) of call centre staff like the kind of work they do. This compares with a UK average of 84% and is the lowest score across all sectors.

When asked whether their jobs make good use of their skills and abilities, again call centre staff are the least positive, with only 58% agreeing which compares with a UK average of 71%.

Call centre staff are extremely positive when it comes to perception of customers, with 80% agreeing that the quality of service to customers is improving, which is the highest score across all sectors and compares with a UK average of 65%. Similarly 88% believe their company is committed to customer satisfaction which compares with a UK average of 78%.

Compared with UK norms, call centre staff are also the most positive when asked about their workload with an impressive 88% agreeing they can meet the requirements of the job without working excessive hours, which compares with a UK average of 66%. Equally encouraging is the fact that 74% feel they are able to strike the right balance between their work and home lives which compares with a UK average of 64%.

Giles McClelland of industry lead initiative, CallNorthWest commented: ìORC Internationalís findings demonstrate areas in which more work is required to reduce the gap between other sectors and keep high value employees within the call centre industry. Pay is improving and will continue to improve. What is particularly evident from the data is that the sector is leading the way in commitment to quality of service. The organisations we work with are committed to adopting best practice and ensuring staff have the support and empowerment to deliver the best quality service to the customer.î