Niyamath Parveez

Call centers fall among that section of those providers that predominantly handle outsourcing and consequently have quite a large impact on the outsourcing industry of any country. Call centers are known for the excellent packages that they provide to the employees, the huge volumes of work they get done every day, and the excellent profits that they make every year. As such, call centers provide very lucrative job options to students who have just left high school and those who have the need for some quick cash. Besides, call centers often provide small but useful perks to employees, such as, free food, pick up and drop facilities, etc.

However, life in call centers is not all rosy for employees. The hectic shifts that employees have to adjust with often take a heavy toll on their health. Many call centers have 8-9 hour shifts officially, but in practice, employees are often made to stay way more than that by their managers. Many employees have to work in shifts of 10-12 hours as a result. The increased work pressure, coupled with the erratic work schedules make many employees fall ill repeatedly, resulting in a drop in their performance levels. On top of that, they are often threatened about losing their jobs or are even dismissed from their job if they cannot fulfill their near-impossible monthly targets. The managerial exploitation, combined with the constant fear of losing the job does not just keep employees on their toes; it also breaks their morale. The rate of attrition rises, and soon the disgruntled employees start looking for another call center with higher salary figures and the promise of better perks.

This scenario has prevailed for quite a few years. But lately, major call centers have taken notice of the fact that the constant leaving of employees and entry of newer employees is actually taking a toll on their reputation among their clients and also the quality of service that they provide to their clients. When a new employee comes in, he/ she has to spend quite some time to get a hang of the job. So, for those days, the new employee will be wasting a lot of time of his/ her seniors, and will be quite unproductive for a lot of time, but still takes the full pay home. Thus, the constant hiring of new employees and the time and resources spent on training them is taking a heavy toll on the profits made by the call center. Everywhere, people employed in managerial positions in call centers are devising new ways of retaining trained employees.

The solution does not just revolve around increasing pay packages or trying to get the workplace more “lively” by purchasing a new music system. The work schedules need to be revised strictly. “9-hour shifts” should stand for 9-hour shifts only, not 12-15 hour extended schedules at no extra salary. This greed of getting more service out of an employee for no extra cost might seem very lucrative to the managers, but in the long run this kind of actions simply end up ruining the reputation of the call center itself. Only through a more humane treatment and strict adherence to work schedules can a call center maintain its reputation and provide quality service to its clients.