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Rants and Raves!
Randomly Timed Musings

by Kathleen M. Peterson, Chief Vision Officer, PowerHouse Consulting, Inc. - November 18, 2015

RANTS & RAVES!

Randomly Timed Musings


A Good Job?

By Kathleen M. Peterson

Chief Vision Officer, PowerHouse Consulting, Inc.


There have been many stories in the news lately about the Employee Experience. There is The New York Times story of the horrors of actually working at Amazon.com and the story of Air France employees who stormed an executive meeting where job cuts were being discussed. The Air France employees literally chased the executives, tore their clothes off, and assaulted them in an effort to let them know how they felt about the job cuts … storming the Bastille so to speak!

The Amazon story is a tale of white collar developers, engineers, managers, etc., who were told at orientation, “When you hit the wall, climb the wall." In the article, Amazon is portrayed as having a harsh environment that demands 80 hour work weeks, tolerates unpleasant criticism, accepts willingness to secretly report on your own co-workers, and has low tolerance for any life issues that dare to keep these employees from their toil. For those that cannot take the demands and associated stress this is a bad place to work. Others strongly criticize the portrayal … calling it anecdotal, exaggerated, and inaccurate.

Needless to say Mr. Jeff Bezos, Amazon Chairman and CEO, took exception to the New York Times representation of his company's workplace. He said, "The article doesn't describe the Amazon I know or the caring Amazonians I work with every day." Bezos encouraged employees to escalate to Human Resources or directly to him any activities where employees felt a lack of empathy and support for health and family related issues.

Many comments have been made about this story; not all support the conclusions of Amazon being a draconian operation that abuses staff and demands an unreasonable commitment to work. There are those that believe this is just another example of millennials whining about the workplace using anecdotal and emotionally charged examples to further their cause. Who knows which it is … but it does make us pause and reflect on our own operations and whether or not we are providing a good place to work.

When it comes to Contact Centers there may not be a New York Times article. But there are plenty of sources of complaints about working within them. I thought I would take a different tack and look at why a Contact Center job can actually be a GOOD JOB. Then as a leader you can assess how your operation measures up to what others have found makes the Contact Center job a good one!

There are a couple of drivers in our current marketplace that I believe contribute to improving the Contact Center Employee Experience, making it a "good job." They include the fact that the offshore outsourcing trend of the late 90's has reversed with many Contact Center jobs returning to the U.S. The other is the advancement in self-service automation and multi-media contact options. Many customers are buying goods and solving problems online or via channels like chat, text, and email. With all the alternative channels and automation, the humans in the Contact Center are charged with focusing on the more complex contacts. These require skill sets of a higher caliber.

I did some research on this topic and found a couple of articles I thought identified some of the reasons why the Contact Center is or has the potential to be a good job. What struck me most was the way some of the frontline agents interviewed were able to articulate the skills they are able to hone while working the phones.

Matthew Brown (a writer from the UK) wrote in his article The Untold Truth of Call Centre Life that “many Call Centre employees love their job." Whoa … hold on a minute! Can this really be? Yes it can and I for one concur. (My work takes me to many Contact Centers and I have observed many an organization striving to build a good place to work, resulting in Contact Center staff who feel like they have a "good job.")

In the article, Call Center agents gave several reasons for "loving" the job, including the fact that their company actually values the skills and knowledge of their front line agents, treats them well, and looks at the Center as a strategic asset. Agents also highlighted the fact that they enjoy helping customers, whether it's to choose the right product or fix a problem - and many do both! A sense of pride and satisfaction often accompanies these tasks.

Contact Center agents also have ample opportunity to hone their interaction skills. They often work in an environment made up of a very diverse workforce and a diverse customer base. This enhances their communication skills and social know-how. Few other corporate entities engage in as many interactions as these folks.

Other benefits cited by Mr. Brown's interviews include: "Call Centres provide a good way of getting a great overview of a company and its operations", "You quickly build friendships in the hustle and bustle of a busy Contact Centre and rapidly learn to rely on each other's experience and knowledge as well as your own", "There is a sense of camaraderie in this line of work", "You can really develop yourself both professionally and personally in this environment", and a truly insightful comment, "If you treat the experience correctly, you can learn and progress." (http://www.callcentrehelper.com/work-in-a-call-centre-12921.htm)

Another article written by Craig Borowski of www.softwareadvice.com, titled 3 Reasons to Consider a Call Center for Your Next Job points out several very interesting findings. The first reason notes that future earnings in the Contact Center are better than other similar roles. His research shows that Contact Centers are better in starting pay and better in opportunities for advancement than other similar positions (e.g., retail) because Call Centers largely promote from within.

Secondly, Borowski notes (as Brown also indicated) the skills development and experience of Call Center agents. The front line in many centers has more human interactions than most other departments, both as an employee and in serving customers. Today's Call Center agents are problem solvers; to be effective they must master the fine art of communication, negotiation, and critical thinking. These skills are applicable to a multitude of opportunities inside and outside the Call Center.

And finally Borowski highlights Andrea Ayers, the now CEO of Convergys (most likely the largest outsourcer in the world) who began her career as a Call Center rep/trainer to illustrate just how far starting out in the Call Center can take you. (http://csi.softwareadvice.com/reasons-to-consider-call-center-job-0214/)

When you look out at your Contact Center staff what do you see? Are people being given opportunities to hone their interaction skills? What investments have you made in really advancing your staff's ability to handle multiple interaction types coming from an often diverse population? The big winners in business today are going to be those who understand "strategic business communication" as an art form, one that is enriched with each coaching and learning opportunity. Far too often those responsible for coaching on effective communication are themselves of limited skill with no program or learning opportunities for improvement.

Your staff will be well served when provided opportunities to hone strategic business communication skills sufficient to handle a variety of contact types from a diverse population and across multiple channels. We must be cognizant of the fact that few people arrive in the Contact Center with any particular expertise in this area … and this includes your coaches. Make an effort to understand the need and invest in a wide variety of methods to improve this skill. Think everything from instructor-led to online, collect articles and books to circulate, host brown bag lunches, and have round tables to keep this skill forefront in the mind of your folks. Everyone benefits.

When you look at your Contact Center, do you see people being groomed for advancement? I never cease to be amazed at the number of Contact Centers I come across that have no succession planning. So when supervisor, manager, trainer, or workforce analyst positions become available there is no talent pipeline. This is a mistake, especially in a market where unemployment numbers are at an all time low in many markets. Being groomed and provided with professional development opportunities appears high on the list of elements in the "good job" category.

All things considered, it may be time to begin promoting the fact that working in a Call Center is NOT a dead end. In fact, it provides more opportunities than most frontline positions. The key for leaders is to evaluate whether or not your organization is meeting the needs of your existing staff and what it would take to move in the right direction.

My best,

Kathleen

PowerHouse Consulting, Inc.

360 Route 101, Suite 6, Bedford, NH 03110

www.powerhouse1.com 1-800-449-9904

(#90 A Good Job?, November 2015)

 
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