Call Center Company Research Articles

The Effect of Work Stress and Work Values on Turnover Intention of Generation Z Employees in Call Center Company (Case Study of PT ABC in Java, Indonesia)

A various of previous research have found that different generation has a positive and negative traits. Generation Z is a generation that born between 1995 and 2012. Generation Z have distinct qualities including the need for convenience, are watchful and worried about their emotional, physical, and financial safety, and also have a realistic view of the importance of their profession. There has been found a high turnover rate of the Generation Z. Employees in a call center interact with customers over the phone or through other technological devices. Because of the constant interaction with angry customers seeking information, support, and help, working at a call center can be difficult. This exposes the customer service representative to a range of stressful circumstances and negative feelings. The employees experience work related stress and are emotionally exhausted, and tend to express themselves by increasing their intention to leave the company. The main issues in many call centers include a high employee turnover rate, which is believed to be as high as 40% annually also it is believed that many contact centers face is a high employee turnover rate that is higher than any other industries. PT ABC is a focused company specializes in outsourcing business process management with a call center business which is part of BPO or Business Process Outsourcing. The business emphasis is one of the PT ABC has held for a very long time. Based on the interview with HR Support of the PT ABC in Bandung, the TAM division is the division that consider with the most and the highest employee turnover rate compared to other divisions and the majority are the young employees, every month turnover is found in the division, one of the reason stated by the HR Officer is that the factor of the turnover probably due to the workload. This research was made using a quantitative method and random sampling that have been conducted in April 2023 in PT ABC in Java, Indonesia. Based on the previous research this research assumes that work stress and work values affecting turnover intention of the Generation Z, this research conducted to prove that the assumption above is right. Data collected in this research was using interview and the measurement scales used are work stress and turnover intention scale adapted by Agustina (2022) and work values scale by Sulistiobudi & Hutabarat (2022), which have been tested using validity and reliability. This research is analyzed using multiple linear regression using SPSS 25 to determine the effect of the variables. Based on the results of the data processing, there is social dimension of work value, leadership attitude and organizational structure of work stress dimensions that impacted to Generation Z employees in PT ABC. This research contributes to understand the Generation Z characteristic in the work environment. It also contributes and helps how company handle the employees especially the Generation Z. Author recommends that next researcher that using other variables in the company to broaden and deepen the researchs of Generation z in the call center.

Prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among Portuguese call center operators: associations with gender, Body Mass Index, hours of work and sitting time

According to previous studies, the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among call center operators is high. However, although this is a developing occupation in Portugal, there is a lack of studies assessing this issue as well as its associations with different risk factors. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the 7-day and 12-month prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among Portuguese call center operators and their associations with gender, body mass index, hours of work and sitting time. The study was conducted in a call center company in Portugal. One-hundred and forty-eight workers agreed to participate, and filled out questionnaires to evaluate sociodemographic, anthropometric, and occupational variables, as well as the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) to assess musculoskeletal symptoms in the last 7 days and 12 months of 9 body regions. NMQ revealed the 12-month prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms, the 3 most affected body regions were the neck (56.1%), the low back (54.7%) and the shoulders (43.9%). And the 7-day prevalence, the three most affected body region were the same, but in different percentages: low back (31.8%), neck (23.6%) and shoulders (21.6%). Significant associations were found between gender and reporting symptoms in the wrist/hands (p=0.033) and the knees (p=0.031), with females reporting significantly more symptoms than males; and between body mass index and reporting symptoms in the thighs/hips, with overweight operators reporting more symptoms (p=0.010). No significant associations were found for the hours of work, neither in sitting time. Conclusion: Workplace interventions are needed to decrease the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints among call center workers.

Tracking Occupational Voice State with a Visual Analog Scale: Voice Quality, Vocal Fatigue, and Effort.

Due to elevated vocal health risk in industries such as call centers, there is a need to have accessible and quick self-report tools for voice symptoms. This study aimed to determine if the concurrent and construct validity of three visual analog scales (VASs) of voice quality and symptoms could be used as a screening tool in call center agents. A cross-sectional study was carried out in three call center companies. The Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) and a vocal hygiene and symptoms survey were administered to 66 call center workers. Further, acoustic parameters including harmonics-to-noise ratio (HNR), smoothed cepstral peak prominence (CPPs), L1-L0 slope, and Alpha ratio were collected. Finally, workers completed three VASs capturing self-perception of vocal effort (VAS-1), voice quality (VAS-2), and vocal fatigue (VAS-3). Linear regression models with bootstrapping evaluated the possible relationship between the three VASs measurements, self-perceived vocal symptoms, and acoustic parameters. VAS-1 scores were associated with HNR and voice breaks, VAS-2 with voice breaks, and VAS-3 with Alpha ratio. Using the area under a receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), the highest AUC for detecting an altered VHI-10 questionnaire score was observed for the three VASs. Also, the highest AUC for detecting altered CPPs was reached for the VAS-1. VAS as a self-report instrument of vocal symptoms is related to psychosocial voice impairment and alterations of acoustic voice parameters in call center workers. Such instruments could be easily implemented to identify voice complaints in these populations. 2 (Diagnosis research question) Laryngoscope, 133:1676-1682, 2023.

Solo On and Off Duty: Challenges of Selected Solo Parent Employees in Call Center Companies and the Implication of Republic Act 8972

The study aims to unravel the challenges that solo parent workers face in their workplace while simultaneously exploring their struggles beyond their career or profession. The implementation of Republic Act No. 8972, also known as the “Solo Parents’ Welfare Act of 2000” Section 6 (Flexible Work Schedule) and Section 8 (Parental leave) were also assessed by the proponents on randomly selected BPO companies in the Philippines. The purpose of this study is to create a narrative based on the stories of solo parents and how the implementation of the stated legislation affects them. This study revealed different narratives on how solo parents face challenges, how the people around them affect them, and the instances they consider as the most challenging as a solo parent. In addressing the challenges faced by solo parent employees, it was emphasized that both companies and the government has its role to play. In the perspective of the offices concerned with the mentioned sector, implementing the legislation for solo parents will be favorable for the company because it can improve their solo parent employees’ productivity since they can exert more focus on their job. Moreover, it is conspicuous that most solo parent participants are not that knowledgeable regarding the other provisions of the law. Motions in the Congress about the amendments of the said law are mentioned as well. The study was completed with the intention to benefit solo parent workers, company’s productivity together with its human resource department that exercises the legislation’s virtue efficiently.

The Mediating Role of Organizational Commitment Between Transformational Leadership, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Intention among Call Center Agents in Metro Manila

This study looked at the relationship of transformational leadership and job satisfaction to turnover intention, including the mediating factor of organizational commitment among 87 call center agents in Metro Manila, Philippines. This study used a quantitative-cross-sectional and explanatory design and involved online survey of call center employees as a research method. Respondents were selected through a non-probability sampling technique specifically through snowball sampling or referral method. The results of this research showed a high level of transformational leadership exhibited in call center companies, high level of job satisfaction among call center agents, high organizational commitment but only average turnover intention. Most importantly, this research highlights the important role that organizational commitment as a mediator as the results of this study showed that organizational commitment fully mediates the relationship of transformational leadership and job satisfaction to turnover intention.

A Study on the Subculture of Working Students in Call Centers

Employing the descriptive qualitative research method, this study drew on the Functional Theory of Talcott Parsons which espouse that subculture develop out of its adaptation from the dominant culture. It aimed to describe and analyze the subculture of working students in call centers in Metro Manila and its influence on their family relations, health, recreational activities, consumption behavior and academic performance. Results showed that the norms and values in the call center as reflected on the social environment influenced the values of the working students. The subculture in the call center produced positive and negative effects to the participants. The night shift work schedule led to health problems, less contact time with their family and peers, and less time on studying. Thus, there is a need for call center companies and schools to provide the necessary remediation to improve working students’ productivity in work and performance in school.

Reciprocity or negotiation in the psychological contract: a power perspective

PurposeThe psychological contract literature is generally based on the assumption of reciprocity between employee and employer. The emphasis on reciprocity, however, largely downplays the implications of power dynamics in the employment relationship. In order to bridge this gap, the current research investigates psychological contract from the lens of power particularly focusing on reciprocity.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 43 semi-structured interviews are carried out with 37 employees and six managers of three call center companies in Pakistan. The technique of template analysis is used for data analysis.FindingsIn contrast to the assumption of reciprocity, the research findings highlight employees' perceived inability to reciprocate the employer's inducements on parity basis, because of their view of power asymmetry in the employment relationship. The results further suggest the high tendency among employees to attribute employer reciprocity largely to their managers. The findings also point toward divergence in the reciprocity perceptions of employees and managers in relation with the employers.Research limitations/implicationsThe emphasis on call centers bounds the generality of results. Future research is needed to further explore the impact of power asymmetry on reciprocity in organizations of other industries. With significant implications for the employment relations, negotiated contracts consider the exchange between employee and employer as an obligation rather than a voluntary act of kindness, as emphasized in reciprocity.Originality/valueThis research contributes to knowledge by emphasizing the significance of negotiation rather than reciprocation in the psychological contract. The negotiation approach efficiently recognizes the implications of power asymmetry that remain generally under-researched in the psychological contract literature.

Validation of the "EP" psychological empowerment instrument in workers at the Atento call center company, Lima, 2020

El objetivo de este trabajo de investigación es evaluar la consistencia interna y confiabilidad del instrumento Scale Psychological Empowerment mediante un análisis exploratorio. El instrumento creado por Spreitzer (1995), adaptado al español por Albar, García-Ramírez, López, & Garrido (2012), mide las dimensiones significado, competencia, autodeterminación e impacto mediante 12 reactivos. Los análisis previos de consistencia interna, se encontró un Alpha de Cronbach para el total de instrumento a=0.855 y 0.875, 0.858, 0.782, 0.786 para cada una de las dimensiones. Para verificar la homogeneidad de las variables (reactivos), previamente se realizaron las estimaciones mediante KMO, obteniendo un índice de Káiser Meyer Olkin aceptable de 0.794 y un Chi cuadrado de 1012,366 con 66 grados de libertad y nivel de significancia =0.000 (p<.001) mediante la prueba de esfericidad de Bartlett, como requisito para la extracción de factores mediante componente rotados, obteniéndose para el primer factor cargas entre 0.832 y 0.849; para el segundo factor, entre 0.868 y 0.883, para el tercer factor, entre 0.773 y 0.851 y para el cuarto factor, entre 0.404 y 0.926, demostrando evidencia de una alta correlación, porque son mayores a 0.4, cumpliendo el objetivo de ver si se agrupan empíricamente, tal como, teóricamente se había predicho. Sin embargo, el reactivo COMP 4 (0.574, 0.328) no obtuvo carga en su dimensionalidad y los reactivos AUT 9 (0.405), IMP 10 (0.404) e IMP 12 (0.346) obtuvieron cargas adicionales en otros factores, pudiendo ser eliminados, se decidió mantenerlos en su factor teórico, esperando un análisis confirmatorio, siendo que en la primera fase que obtuvieron estimaciones que demuestran su confiabilidad.

Design and Validation of the Quality of Work Life Scale for Call Center Workers of a Private Company in Downtown of Lima, 2019

Objective The purpose of the research was to build a scale of quality of working life, in telemarketers of a call center company in Downtown of Lima, with a sample of 700 telemarketers. Methods The methodology was obtained through a non-probabilistic convenience sampling, the validity was carried out through the judgment of 10 experts and the indices were obtained using the V. of Aiken p>0.80 and the Binomial test p<0.05 in 29 questions. The construct validity was obtained through confirmatory factor analysis, to explain the quality of working life composed of five dimensions according to Maslow’s theory. Results In the results, the Kaiser Meyer Olkin (KMO) measurement test yielded a value of 0.930, which means that it is greater than >0.80 over the number of observations for the base of respondents (700), for the test of Bartlett’s sphericity. is not significant (p<0.05), which means a correlation between the variables, in the total variance explained indicates that the instrument has five factors that explain 54.982% of the total variance, it tells us that the test is acceptable, whose factorial the loads ranged between 0.4 and 0.8 respectively. The reliability by internal consistency with a value of 0.919. Conclusion The relevance of the theoretical model to explain the quality of working life composed of five dimensions according to Maslow’s theory was verified, showing adequate adjustment indices: X2 /gl=4.920 and 4.711, CFI=0.835 and 0.90, RMSEA=0.075 and 0.073, except TLI=0.805 and 0.815 that did not show an adequate value.

Mindfulness and emotional exhaustion in call center agents in the Philippines: moderating roles of work and personal characteristics

This research explored the association between the mindfulness of call center agents in the Philippines and the level of emotional exhaustion they experienced. The study also contributes to the literature by investigating the role of call center agents’ work (job demands and supervisory position) and personal characteristics (age and marital status) as moderating factors that might influence the effect of mindfulness on emotional exhaustion. Survey data were collected from 412 call center agents from 5 call center companies in the Philippines. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used for data analysis. The results supported a negative association between mindfulness and emotional exhaustion. Moreover, the analysis of the moderating effect found that the negative effect of mindfulness on emotional exhaustion was particularly strong for call center agents who: (1) experienced high job demands; (2) held a supervisory position; (3) were single, and (4) were younger.

Prevention of exposure to and spread of COVID-19 using air purifiers: challenges and concerns.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is now a pandemic. The Korean government has declared a red alert, which is the highest level of the national infectious disease alert system, and the World Health Organization has similarly declared its highest-level pandemic alert (phase 6). The spread of COVID-19 is an unprecedented worldwide public health problem that governments and individuals must work to overcome. Recently, an infection cluster arose in a call center in Seoul. To support call center companies, the Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor has proposed covering the costs of installing partitions and air purifiers, providing hand sanitizers, and supplying masks to prevent droplet and aerosol infections. Air purifiers are expected to be installed on the floor with the exhaust outlets at a higher level, such as the level of the desks or breathing zones of workers. When a worker coughs or releases droplets near a colleague’s respiratory system, the droplets may spread throughout the call center via air flow from air purifier. In this fashion, a single infected person can give rise to an infection cluster. Attempts to prevent infection must not lead to new infections, and the installation of air purifiers may cause new problems. Therefore, using air purifiers to control the spread of COVID-19 should be approached with caution.

Good Interviewers Matter

Interviews present a puzzle: Research suggests they are of little value in screening hires, and yet they remain pervasive. Using a longitudinal dataset from a large call center company, we find that interviewers vary in quality along three dimensions of performance: making offers, convincing candidates to join the company, and screening for durable and productive hires. The variation in interviewer performance is larger for the first two dimensions than for screening. Furthermore, interviewers improve over tenure on the first two dimensions, while their ability to screen remains stagnant. Interviewers who are good at making offers are also good at convincing the candidate to accept them, and they do so without sacrificing quality of hire. We find that the company could realize cost savings of over 40 percent of its hiring and recruiting budget by reassigning interviews to their best interviewers. Thus, interviewer performance, especially in often-ignored dimensions, can have a major impact on search and matching of employers and employees.

Rotatividade de pessoas e os impactos na qualidade de serviço do call center: setor de telecomunicações

The Brazilian telecommunications market has undergone major changes in recent years, with investments to modernize and expand the network, and review processes with a strategy of outsourcing some areas. Among these areas is the telephone answering service, the new Call Center companies for the telemarketing service and customer service. Call Center companies have grown to become one of the main entrants to all the demands and complaints in the industry. Some of the complaints are the responsibility of Call Center companies and a turnover of their business can influence customer satisfaction. The present research had as objective to evaluate the reasons for the rotation of Call Center employees in the telecommunications sector. In this sense, interviews were conducted through questionnaires applied to two different groups. In the first group were interviewed managers to understand which more stressful operations, which can impact on the turnover of the Agents. The second group was composed by Call Center Agents that have the last ones directed. The main results of this study were: Agent satisfaction, salary motivation and flexibility in working hours, low turnover and high stress, failure to reach the goals. Motivational testing opportunities to reduce stress and turnover have not been proven as a once again in the quality of service provided.

Enabling customer satisfaction in call center teams: the role of transformational leadership in the service-profit chain

ABSTRACTThe importance of the effect of work climate and employee attitude on customer satisfaction has attracted the attention of practitioners and researchers, and, hence, lead to the development of the service-profit chain framework. However, companies whose services involve tasks that are not intrinsically motivating and whose performance rewards are scarce face significant challenges motivating customer service teams and, thus, promoting customer satisfaction and organizational performance. We argue that, in such contexts, transformational leadership is an important factor for service management and that it is essential to foster engagement, satisfaction, and performance among service teams. To assess this proposition, we develop and statistically test a causal model with data from 224 teams (3938 employees) from a large call center company in Brazil. Employee performance and customer satisfaction were assessed with objective metrics supplied by the company. The results from structural equation analyses support all hypotheses in the study. Implications for service companies are addressed.

Does knowledge retrieval improves work efficiency? An investigation under multiple systems use

Organizations encourage active knowledge retrieval from knowledge management systems; however, this does not always lead to higher work efficiency. Anchoring on uses and gratifications theory and psychology of sunk cost, this study investigates knowledge workers’ knowledge retrieval behavior and its subsequent impact on their work efficiency under three knowledge management systems, which differ in the creators of the systems and their related contents. Survey and interview data were collected from an IT call-center company. The results show knowledge workers who actively retrieved knowledge from the organization-created system that contains self-created content exhibited higher work efficiency. The results also show they obtained gratifications from actively retrieving knowledge from a self-made system; however, due to the workers’ biased perceptions toward that system, knowledge retrieval from a self-made system did not induce higher work efficiency. The findings provide organizations suggestions for designing knowledge management systems and their related contents.

Motivation and job satisfaction: the case of call centres in Greece

The purpose of this research is to describe the current level of job satisfaction and the factors that lead to it from the perspective of call centre employees in Greece, using Herzberg's two-factor theory as the primary theoretical framework. Specifically, it determines the overall degree of job satisfaction among call centre employees presents the level of motivators - hygiene factors provided by call centre companies and finally describes the relationship between motivators - hygiene factors and job satisfaction. Given the virtual absence of research on job satisfaction and motivation in call centres in Greece, this paper aims to fill this gap. In addition to the theoretical importance, this research has practical relevance. In a stressful working environment like call centres, identifying the factors that contribute to job satisfaction can help companies achieve higher productivity, lower staff turnover and simultaneously satisfy their employees.

Percepção de justiça organizacional de trabalhadores de Call center

Justiça organizacional é um importante preditor de afetos, atitudes e comportamentos no trabalho como comprometimento, satisfação, performance e rotatividade. Apesar disso, não foram encontrados estudos brasileiros sobre justiça organizacional considerando profissionais de telemarketing, uma atividade caracterizada por altos índices de rotatividade, competitividade e pressão por resultados. O presente estudo buscou investigar a percepção de justiça organizacional de colaboradores de call center e sua relação com variáveis sociolaborais. Participaram 118 profissionais vinculados a uma empresa de call center que atua em cidades do Estado de São Paulo. Para coleta de dados foi utilizada a Escala de Percepção de Justiça Organizacional (Epjo), composta por 20 itens, contendo três fatores: justiça distributiva, processual e interacional. Para esta amostra, os índices de confiabilidade variaram entre 0,86 e 0,93, indicando que a Epjo é válida para a amostra analisada. Os dados coletados foram analisados por meio de estatística descritiva e análise de variância multivariada. Os resultados indicaram que os participantes perceberam justiça organizacional, havendo compartilhamento de percepções entre os respondentes. Foram identificadas diferenças significativas nos escores de justiça distributiva e processual em função do tempo de organização e, apenas para justiça distributiva, nas interações entre tempo de organização e as variáveis cidade e estado civil.

Who Learns What When an Employee Refers a Job Candidate? Referrals and Search Efficiency

This paper investigates the effect of information transmitted by referrals on search efficiency. We test several implications of our model using data from a call center company that contain rich information on applicants, employees, and referrers. The joint estimation of job offers, acceptances, turnover, and performance allows us to identify the contribution of referrals to search efficiency from the differences in expected performance between referred and non-referred applicants. The results show that referrals induce selection on unobservables at the job offer stage, which in turn drives referred employees to perform better, receive early promotions and stay longer on the job.

Industry-academe linkages in the Philippines: Embedding foreign investors, capturing institutions?

The global sourcing of services from developing countries has made human capital a key local asset for attracting foreign direct investment. This paper analyses to what extent individual companies engage in linkages and collaborations with universities and how the education sector responds to the new demands of the knowledge economy. Offshore services are generally recognised as ‘footloose’ investments with limited local linkages. A case study of industry-academe linkages in the growing business process outsourcing sector in the Philippines finds that foreign investors engage in active embedding and develop linkages with human resource providers, leading to increased territorial embeddedness. This paper investigates the kind of linkages created, which actors engage in them and their motivations, to understand the resulting implications for local economic development. Interviews with foreign investors and higher education institutions reveal that most collaboration is initiated by large call centre companies and focuses on entry-level skills development for their operations. I argue that multinational corporations have been able to capture local institutions and introduce changes in the education system to supply mainly lower-end skills. While increasing the available talent pool and raising the competitiveness for further investments, this presents challenges for upgrading into higher value-added services and potentially transforms the country into a dependent market economy.

Problematic customers and customer service employee retaliation

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of problematic customer behaviors on customer service employee (CSE) attitudes and subsequent retaliation toward customers.Design/methodology/approach– Data from five semi-structured in-depth interviews and a structured survey with 434 responses are used to develop and test the theoretical model. CSEs working in different call center companies serving American and European customers were approached using an established survey panel.Findings– Results using partial least squares methodology showed that problematic customer behaviors have significant effects on emotional dissonance and drain CSEs emotionally. Negative emotional reactions are positively impacted by higher emotional dissonance and exhaustion levels and, subsequently, lead to higher employees’ retaliation.Research limitations/implications– For implications, this study provides an understanding of the relationship between problematic customer behaviors and CSEs’ retaliation. Future researchers can utilize the findings to investigate employee retaliation in other marketing employees. Limitation was use of cross-sectional data.Practical implications– This paper provides call center managers with an understanding of the effects of problematic customer behaviors on employee attitudes. It discusses the need for understanding problematic customers and ways to manage the effects of such experiences. This research helps call center and customer service managers recognize the existence of problematic customer behaviors and retaliation of employees, and different levels of antecedents to such employee responses.Originality/value– The study investigates an under-researched phenomenon, problematic customer behaviors. It provides evidence of relationship between problematic customer behaviors and CSE retaliation. This study is one of the few to investigate employee retaliation in services.