Can we rely on Geordie charm to save jobs?

Feb 10 2010 by Chris Knox, The Journal

Last month's news that 900 staff at the Shop Direct call centre in Sunderland were being made redundant was a blow to the North East's call centre industry. Christopher Knox assesses the strength of the industry in region.

Despite the threat of online trade, the firm, which can count Toys R Us and Cancer Research UK among its clients, expects to maintain its 184-strong workforce by ensuring it has an equal mix of business and clients.

Mr Slee said: “Although there has been a downturn in some areas, I don’t believe what happened to Shop Direct is symptomatic of the direction in which the industry is going as a whole.

“That particular site was based around one particular client, and, once it started to notice a shift towards online trade among its customers, it was only a matter of time before jobs would be lost.

“Although our operations are 60/40 in favour of business over the telephone, we expect that to switch around in favour of online over the coming years.

“However, that doesn’t mean we expect to be cutting jobs as we believe there will always be a place for traditional call centre workers and expect further growth in both areas.

“Most people like to hear a voice as part of their final transaction or like to be put at ease when talking about something like a financial services product.

“We run a multi-channel business, which allows us to be flexible with our clients as well as retain our hard working staff.”

Another issue that has been hotly contested over recent years is the decision by many companies to move their operations abroad in order to cut costs, with the banking sector coming under heavy fire from the public.

However, a continuing backlash amongst consumers has made firms reconsider the long term value of cheap foreign labour.

A recent poll by YouGov showed that more than half of respondents found it annoying when foreign call centre staff did not understand their problem, followed by the inability of staff to give an answer outside a given script.

As a result, UK businesses are now reversing their decisions, with BT being a leading example after bringing over 2,000 call-centre jobs in India back to Britain last year.

Paul Buie, manager of Tyne and Wear Development Company, which holds the annual North East Contact Centre Awards, said: “The region’s contact centre industry makes a major contribution to the local economy each year.

“Companies are beginning to realise that the money they save by taking their contact centres abroad is ultimately lost once they start losing dissatisfied customers.

“This is why I believe the call centre industry will continue to thrive in the North East.

“Statistics show that we have a dedicated workforce here in the region, as well as the kind of people that consumers want to talk to over the phone.”

Although attrition rates may be low in the North East, one factor that has plagued the call centre industry for some years is poor attendance, with call centre bosses suffering more than most when it comes to Monday mornings.

Jonty Pearce, editor of Call Centre Helper magazine, said: “One thing that call centres don’t like to mention but is something that has affected everyone of them, is poor attendance.

“The problem has got so bad among some centres that they dread what they call ‘Black Monday’. As call centres traditionally employ younger workers, often students, many find that a worrying percentage of them are a bit worse for wear come Monday morning and often don’t come into work at all.

“It is a problem that affects all call centres, not just those in the North East, and is far more complicated to deal with than many of the other factors that influence profitability.

“In terms of economic and technological changes, I still believe call centres will be a big industry in five years’ time.

“There are some areas of life that you simply can’t turn to the internet for.”

Call Centre Stats

* 60,000 employed in call centres in the region – which is 5% of its workforce
* 800,000 people employed in call centres around the UK

* There are more than 150 call centres in the region

* Garlands is the North East’s largest independent call centre company employing around 2,000 in Hartlepool, Stockton, Middlesbrough and South Shields.

Most appealing call centre accents according to YouGov:

1. Queen’s English: 52% of people chose this in their top five.
2. Scottish: 34%
3. North East (Geordie): 26%
4. Leeds/Yorkshire: 24%
5. Welsh: 19%