UPI, June 4, 2007, Monday

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UPI

June 4, 2007 Monday 9:57 AM EST

HEADLINE: Study: Most call centers locally based

DATELINE: ITHACA, N.Y., June 4

BODY:

Most call centers handling phone and Internet queries for U.S. customers are based in the United States, not overseas, a university study found.

In fact, most countries' call centers, except for India, serve their own domestic markets and consumers, the study by Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations said.

Two-thirds of all call centers are in-house operations, serving a company's own customers, the study found. Subcontractors operate the remaining third.

In-house centers in all countries have lower turnover rates and higher-quality jobs than subcontracted centers, the study found.

U.S. turnover rates range from 25 percent to more than 50 percent, depending on the sector. Taking lost productivity into account, replacing one worker equals three to four months of an average worker's pay, the study said.

Most U.S. call-center workers are not unionized, but more than half the centers in the rest of the world have some form of collective representation, the study found.

The research project -- the largest ever examining call-center management and employment practices -- was a collaboration of more than 40 scholars from 20 countries, Cornell said.

Researchers studied almost 2,500 call centers in 17 countries in Asia, Africa, South America, North America and Europe.