Hindustan Times, June 2, 2007, Saturday
Copyright 2007 HT Media Ltd.
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Hindustan Times
HEADLINE: Not all call centers heading for India, some still in the U.S.
BYLINE: Report from the Asian News International brought to you by the Hindustan Times
DATELINE: Washington
BODY:
Washington, June 2 -- Not all call centers are headed or based in India. According to a study carried out by Cornell University, some call centers still operate in the United States, handling telephone and Web-based inquiries.
According to the study titled: "The Global Call Center Report: International Perspectives on Management and Employment," The large majority of centers around the world - except India - serve their own domestic markets and consumers.
The study's other findings included the following:
There is no common global face to call centers, since they tend to take on the character of their respective countries and regions based on that country's or region's laws, customs and norms.
Most call centers are relatively new and have emerged across the globe at about the same time, within the last five to 10 years.
Two-thirds of all call centers are in-house operations, serving a firm's own customers.
Sub-contractors operate the remaining one-third of centers. In-house centers across all countries have lower turnover rates and higher quality jobs than subcontracted ones.
Staff turnover rates and costs are high. Turnover rates in the United States range from 25 percent to over 50 percent per year, depending on the sector.
More than 50 percent of centers have some form of collective representation.
The study was a collaborative effort involving over 40 scholars from 20 countries.
Rosemary Batt, the Alice H. Cook Professor of Women and Work and Professor of Human Resource Studies at Cornell's Industrial and Labor Relations School, the study covered nearly 2,500 centers in 17 countries.
Batt said that call centers have become a major source of employment and job creation both in the United States and in other parts of the world.
"Consumers want good service, and they typically express the lowest levels of satisfaction with call centers," said Batt.
"There is growing evidence that centers that invest in the skills of the workforce and provide discretion to solve customer problems have lower turnover, better service quality and higher revenues," she added.
The study was funded, in part, by the Russell Sage Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Hans Boeckler Foundation and the Economic and Social Research Council of the United Kingdom.
Published by HT Media Ltd. with permission from Asian News International.
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