Amica workshopCopenhagen, September 4,

2007

Ursula Huws, Director, Analytica, andProfessor of International Labour Studies,

London Metropolitan University

Call centres are NOT a unitary phenomenon

►National differences

►Sectoral differences

►Differences according to the stage of development

►Differences relating to different corporate cultures

►High skill versus low skill

►In-house versus outsourced

►Public sector versus private sector values

Call centre workers also vary

►‘professional’ identities - related to particular skill-sets, bodies of knowledge or sectoral background (career path lies in the profession)

►‘technical’ identities (career path as a ‘techie’)►Identities as call centre professionals (career

path via progression to call centre management)►‘corporate’ identity (career path lies in progress

within a specific company)►Identity as an ‘ordinary’ call centre worker

(typically – no great career ambition: a job that can fit in with family etc.)

►‘just passing through’ identity (students, artists, stopgap emploment in life course transitions)

This lack of coherent identity is reflected in statistical invisibility

‘team leader in sales call centre’ (STILE coding exercise)

►UK – 911 ‘street vendors and related workers’ (‘elementary occupations’)

►Ireland – 419 ‘other office clerks’ (‘clerks’)

►Hungary – 343 ‘administrative associate professionals’ (‘technicians and associate professionals’)

►Netherlands – 122 ‘production and operations department managers’ (‘legislators, senior officials and managers’)

Nevertheless there are

some common issues

►High staff turnover

►Flat hierarchies

►Tendency towards standardisation of work processes

►Time pressures (stress)

►Changed character of interaction with client

vicious circles can develop

More stress

More contingent

staffing

Higher absenteesim

Lesstraining

Less job satisfaction

Higher turnover

Closersupervision

Less commitment

Worse Service to customers

What you save in minutes you may lose in days

Breaking the vicious circle

► Trust

►Respect tacit knowledge

►Collaboration not competition

►Delegate responsibility

►Judge by quality as well as quantity

►Allow time for development, process and reaction

►Understand that there are many options in the (re)organisation of work

The underlying dynamics of structural change

►The transformation of tacit knowledge into codified knowledge

►Standardisation of existing processes; which in turn makes possible:

►Management by results (or performance indicators); which in turn makes possible:

►Remote management – displacement in terms of time and space

►Organisational disaggregation - either internally or externally; which in turn leads to:

►Elaboration of value chains – contractually (proliferation of separate legal entitities) or spatially or both

►An incremental process: (standardisation > market testing > outsourcing > offshoring > global sourcing)

►Modularisation can be the basis for aggregation or disaggregation; centralisation or decentralisation

Different forms of restructuring

►Reskilling►New working

practices►separate cost

centre►market testing►benchmarking

►Individual freelancers/ consultants

►outsourced to dependent company

►Outsourced to SME

►Outsourced to global supplier

►outsourced to strategic partner

►Outsourced via intermediary

in-house outsourced

on the original premises

on a remote

site

►Use of temp agency staff

►body shopping

►spin-off company

►external supplier on premises

►Transfer of personnel to outsourcer

►Remote back office

►home teleworkers

►nomadic workers

►Own workers on clients’ premises

►Own workers in other branch

for further information

►www.worksproject.be

►www.emergence.nu

►www.stile.be

►www.analyticaresearch.co.uk

►www.cybertariat.com

►www.workinglives.org