Frontline employees' views on organizational factors that affect the delivery of service quality in call centers

Alison M Dean,Al Rainnie

doi:10.1108/08876040910973431

Alison M Dean, Al Rainnie

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1108/08876040910973431

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Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to report on a study that investigated employees' views on the organizational factors that affect their ability to deliver service quality to customers. The study is important because call centers represent unique work environments and they have not been used in the development of service quality theory.Design/methodology/approachTen focus groups of frontline employees who work in a telecommunications call center in Australia were conducted. Data were subjected to content analysis.FindingsNine major themes were identified. Some of these themes are evident in theory arising from service quality gaps, service climate, and service profit chain studies. Other themes include whether managers emphasize sales or efficiency, rather than service quality; approaches to performance monitoring and feedback, role and productivity demands, quality assurance regimes, and employees' experiences of service encounter stress.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings suggest that various factors from prior work need to be integrated and extended to enhance service quality in call centers. However, data were collected from only one call center.Practical implicationsThe present study suggests that to deliver high levels of service quality, call center managers need to rethink their approaches to productivity and performance management, and hiring and supporting the “right” service staff.Originality/valueThis paper re‐examines service quality in the specific context of call centers. It provides an organizational focus and complements recent work that has tested the role of employee attitudes in service quality studies. The paper concludes with a model for testing.

Highlights

Call centers are strategically important to many organizations because they are often the major customer interface, and they can provide a service-based competitive edge using high volume, low cost delivery via telephones (Callaghan and Thompson, 2001)
Research limitations/implications The findings suggest that various factors from prior work need to be integrated and extended to enhance service quality in call centers
The present study suggests that, to deliver high levels of service quality, call center managers need to rethink their approaches to productivity and performance management, and hiring and supporting the „right‟ service staff

Summary

Introduction

Call centers are strategically important to many organizations because they are often the major customer interface, and they can provide a service-based competitive edge using high volume, low cost delivery via telephones (Callaghan and Thompson, 2001). Standardization enables employee training, consistent responses to customer enquiries, and the ability to cater to a mass market (Frenkel et al, 1998) In meeting both cost and service goals, frontline employees are usually expected to adhere to strict efficiency targets, and to accept high levels of monitoring and control while managing customer service interactions (Brown and Maxwell, 2002; Houlihan, 2002).

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