Call Centers

How Call Centers Work

CCs derive their existence from the integration of telephony and IT. Typically, the customer phones his or her insurance company, ticket booking agency, or IT helpline, and the call is routed by an automatic call distribution (ACD) system to the location where there is the shortest waiting time for an available customer service agent. This happens in two ways: if the organization has several CC locations, the call is routed first to the one with the shortest queue; once directed to that center, the call is routed to the next available agent. The agent receives a beep in her headphones that there is a call waiting; she accepts the call, and the customer's reference number (or even phone number) will trigger the customer's file to appear on the agent's PC screen. The agent may also have to consult a second screen for details of the company's products while talking to the customer, switching between screens, and trying to resolve the customer's problem or query within her target time. A glance at the illuminated figures on a screen prominently displayed on the wall of the call center will indicate how many other customers are currently in the queue for that center. [Page 62]Most CCs are characterized by a young female workforce, the use of varying shift patterns, and a flat organizational structure. Employees are typically divided into teams of between six and 12 agents, each with a team leader or team manager. Above the team leaders there are usually only one or two grades of operations manager and center manager, and thus for most agents, the centers offer little in the way of a potential career ladder—the most they can hope for is promotion to team leader. The teams are essentially administrative units, rather than units requiring cooperative effort, although team members will help each other out if a problem arises. They are essentially paid and evaluated as individual employees, although a good performance by team members can result in a bonus for that team.

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