'Fun and surveillance': the paradox of high commitment management in call centres

Much of the research into telephone call centres has focused on the coercive employment systems which are adopted in these organizations. This appears to contrast with the high levels of customer service and satisfaction which are often required for them to be successful. Our research, which is based on two case studies of call centres studied in depth, challenges this 'satanic mills' image. We explore the ways in which both companies sought to balance the pressures in the product and labour markets and employee needs to develop strategies which combined elements of commitment and control. They developed sophisticated human resource practices, which resembled the high commitment management approach, while, at the same time, maintaining a highly controlled and measured work environment. Consequently, there was a greater alignment between their HR practices and control systems, the needs of employees and the high quality of interactions with customers expected. This suggests that high commitment practices are not automatically associated with extensive employee discretion, as has been argued in the manufacturing sector. HR practices of this kind can be used to offset some of the worst features of call centre working. These findings illustrate the variety of HR practices in call centres and suggest some possible reasons for this diversity.     

Human resource management in the Spanish call centre sector: the bird cage model of call centre work

This paper examines the nature of human resource management (HRM) in call centres in Spain. After reviewing the institutional perspective and other previous contributions to the characterisation of HRM practices in call centres, the authors present evidence of the use of high commitment working practices (HCWP) in this sector. The findings report only a moderate presence of HCWP in the sector generally, but the analysis points towards the existence of four significant and distinct clusters of HRM practices. The results also show categorical evidence that work discretion is almost non-existent across all of the clusters, even in those with more evolved high commitment practices. This lack of autonomy, as well as an intensive use of performance monitoring systems, leads us to model the results in a bird–cage analogy.     

Tensions and variations in call centre management strategies

Management strategies in call centres face a series of tensions stemming from conflicts between achieving efficiency and providing a quality service to the customer. Recent research suggests high commitment management (HCM) techniques are being applied in call centres in a paradoxical strategy of ‘low discretion, high commitment’(LDHC). This article presents case findings on four British call centres that confirm the LDHC model but suggest that it operates in a variety of forms. By characterising the research sites according to the combined dimensions of HCM orientation and job design implementation, a typology of LDHC approaches is proposed. These are containment, alleviation, structured employee development and involvement. In essence, the LDHC model is an attempt to reconcile the costs of control with the levers of commitment. However, an examination of the realities of LDHC in action reveals a varied but persistent pull towards control. Fundamentally this exposes LDHC as a substitute for, rather than a reflection of, commitment.     

The experience of work in India's domestic call centre industry

The strategic importance of human resources and their contribution to the effectiveness of business firms are receiving increasing recognition worldwide. In this study, I examine different approaches to human resource management (HRM) practices for business firms in different performance categories. Findings obtained from a study of 315 firms in Taiwan demonstrate that organizational performance is significantly related to the management of such human resource functions as planning, staffing, appraisal, compensation, and training and development. The results also indicate that successful firms are often those that adopt a highly effective approach to the management of their human resources.     

The viability of alternative call centre production models

In this article we outline three alternative production models and discuss their applicability to call centre management. These include the classic mass production model, the professional service model and the mass customisation model. We then develop a theoretical framework that identifies potential causal links between management practices, workers? affective and cognitive reactions, and performance outcomes. We use this framework to review literature on service workplaces in organisational behaviour and HR studies and to assess the empirical evidence regarding these causal explanations. Finally, we present two recent quantitative studies of call centre performance – one that examines affective explanations and one that explores cognitive explanations for the HRperformance link. We conclude with directions for future research.     

Engaging the professional: organising call centre agents in India

The extremely challenging external environment poses numerous challenges to union formation among call centre agents in India. Complicating matters is the acquired professional identity of call centre agents. In this scenario, the union organising call centre employees envisaged that partnership with employers was the only possibility acceptable to call centre agents, employer organisations and society at large, enabling them to regain some acceptability and credibility for the heretofore tainted Indian trade union movement.     

Satisfaction and dimensions of control among call centre customer service representatives

This study explores the perceptions of HR managers on the strategic management of labour turnover in a selection of large hotels in Australia and Singapore. The main argument is that the effects of labour turnover can be mitigated with strategically managed human resources through the four key HR activities. The hotel industries in both Singapore and Australia revealed a comparable range of HR policies and practices being adopted, with an explicit recognition of the contribution an organization’s human resources have on the bottom-line. There was a clear convergence towards minimizing turnover primarily through the recruitment, selection and induction processes. This was despite fundamental social, economic and labour differences between Singapore and Australia.     

Workplace values and beliefs: an empirical study of ideology,high commitment management and unionisation

This study is unique in that it examines both managers' and workers' values and beliefs about employment relationships. It found that managers consider the employment relationship in their own workplaces unitarist rather than pluralist, but have mixed ideologies when considering society as a whole. Workers are strongly pluralist when considering society as a whole, but their workplace ideology is somewhat unitarist. A modest union impact on workers' perspectives is found, but little evidence to suggest union's effect commitment to the employing organization. Workers' commitment is to personal careers first and the organization second, while managers put the organization ahead of personal careers. Correlations exist between unitary views of the employment relationship, increased High Commitment Management (HCM) practices, and high levels of commitment. The purpose and contribution of this study is that it reports an assessment of the relation between workplace attitudes and beliefs and the efficacy and influence of management and union initiatives designed to impact them.     

Data protection in the outsourced call centre: an exploratory case study

Against a backdrop of growing concern about the protection of consumer data as it is transferred to call centres in offshore locations, this article examines data protection (DP) compliance in the multi-client outsourced call centre. Using an in-depth single case study of a South African outsourcer and drawing on the now extensive body of call centre research, it argues that routine DP compliance is predominantly driven by the employment relationship and the client contract. With no research of this nature ever having been undertaken previously, it is argued that compliance is affected by the manner in which employees are paid, contracted and performance managed. This study also confirms that the employment relationship is an information security measure for organisations.     

客户关系管理与呼叫中心的结合

客户关系管理(CRM)是企业的一种经营策略、管理理念,在实践上就表现为一套软件和技术的使用,呼叫中心作为实现CRM的信息技术支撑,在CRM战略中扮演着越来越重要的角色,文章针对两者的关系和技术上的运用进行讨论,提出了基于CRM的呼叫中心是未来的发展趋势。     

Linking high performance organizational culture and talent management: satisfaction/motivation and organizational commitment as mediators

Relying on strategic human resource management and organization development systemic principles, this theory-building study tested the validity of a new talent attraction and retention model which focused on the under-researched effects of organizational culture and employee attitudes. The analysis was based on data gathered from two large organizations representing two different countries and industries. Structural equation modeling results ascertained that talent attraction and retention were predicted by high performance organizational culture. This effect was also found to be mediated by the employee attitudes of satisfaction/motivation and organizational commitment. More specifically, this study found talent attraction and retention to be highly associated with the extent to which the organization is perceived to have a change-, quality-, and technology-driven culture, and characterized by support for creativity, open communications, effective knowledge management, and the core values of respect and integrity. This study concluded that strategically aligned and ethical high performance organizational cultures have strong effects on talent attraction and retention and are also highly conducive to the development of high commitment and motivating work systems.     

Linking rewards to commitment: an empirical investigation of four UK call centres

Rewards being an important component of exchange theory, this research examines relationships among frontline employees' perceptions of rewards (extrinsic and intrinsic) and the three components of organizational commitment (i.e. affective, normative and continuance). The investigation is conducted by the help of a large survey in four call centres of a major retail bank in the UK. The results of the study support the contentions of exchange theory, and highlight the significance of both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards to develop affective, normative and continuance commitment in call centre employees. This research also helps to identify the antecedents that develop each component of commitment. The findings of this research have key messages for practitioners, and contribute to the fields of HRM, rewards, commitment and exchange theory.     

Public Employee Acceptance of New Technological Processes: The case of an internal call centre

Abstract

The present work explores employee acceptance of process innovation in a public administration from a complementary three-fold theoretical perspective, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Cognitive Model of Satisfaction (CMS) and the Satisfaction-loyalty Model (SLM). The proposed model integrates these approaches, and considers the moderating effect of employees' perceived experience with the new process. Although findings support that behavioural intentions are determined by perceived usefulness, satisfaction and attitude towards the new technology, we find that as employees' perceived experience increases, use intention becomes a routine, and the evaluation of the new process proves irrelevant in terms of usefulness or quality.     

Beyond informality: effectiveness of a new actor for representing call centre workers in Turkey

This article explores the organisational dynamics of the ‘Association of Call Centre Workers’ and aims to discover the effectiveness and sustainability of it as a new actor for representing the interests of call centre workers in Turkey. While traditional trade unions have fundamental problems such as efficacy and representation of various worker groups in changing workplaces, in the Turkish context, they have additional difficulties based on structural and legal constraints. Call centre workers seldom utilise the formal representation channels because of these and some other individual reasons such as a lack of information about their rights and labour movements. Moving from the importance of analysing the informal worker organisational dynamics in the case of a new trade union for call centre workers, the emphasis of the research is on the ability of the Association to develop a form of resistance and representation for the previously unrepresented.     

‘An assembly line in the head’: work and employee relations in the call centre

To date, academic studies of the call centre ‘sector’ remain limited in scope. Here the authors attempt to remedy that omission by analysing the recent and spectacular growth of call centres in the UK, drawing on a wide variety of sources, including two extensive surveys of developments in Scotland during 1997.     

Town centre management schemes in the UK: marketing and performance indicators

While town centre management (TCM) has proved to be a successful strategy to maintain, improve and regenerate town centres through local partnership, there has been relatively little attention drawn to the marketing of TCM schemes. This paper explores the issues surrounding the use of key performance indicators (KPIs) for the marketing of TCM schemes in the context of wider place marketing activities undertaken by towns and cities. Drawing on evidence from a questionnaire survey of town centre managers, it is posited that they might usefully employ carefully selected KPI data to maintain and attract private investment to TCM schemes from internal and external town centre stakeholders. The paper then introduces a typology for the use of KPI marketing in town centre management. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications     

Sustainability core values and sustainability risk management: Moderating effects of top management commitment and stakeholder pressure

This study examines the moderating effects of top management commitment and stakeholder pressure on the relationship between sustainability core values and sustainability risk management (SRM). We collected survey data from senior management in both local and multinational organisations in Sri Lanka. Data were analysed via partial least squares structural equation modelling. We find that the extent to which organisations integrate sustainability into core values has a significant positive impact on SRM. As predicted, top management commitment to sustainability positively moderates the relationship. However, contrary to our expectation, stakeholder pressure for sustainability shows a negative effect on the relationship. We add novel insights into the strategic conformity of internal and external sustainability drivers on SRM.     

Unravelling the complexities of high commitment: an employee‐level analysis

Research within HRM has faced criticism for failing to focus adequately on employee experiences of HR practice. In particular, the ‘high‐commitment’ models fail to recognise employee perspectives on HRM, the complexities of the commitment construct and the possibility that organisations configure HR systems in various ways. This paper explores the impact of employee attitudes towards HR practices on affective, continuance and normative commitment, and intention to leave in three organisational contexts. The findings suggest that different HR systems can yield different attitudes towards HR practices, which in turn can impact on different forms of commitment and levels of intention to leave. The findings provide insights into the ways in which organisations manage the commitment process through HR practices and the response by employees to these interventions.     

Affective commitment among knowledge workers: the role of pay satisfaction and organization career management

Knowledge workers are highly sought after to help organizations establish their competitive advantage. However, getting them to want to stay with an organization is a challenge indeed. Furthermore, with claims that they are different from traditional workers, it remains unclear as to what will influence them to want to stay. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to determine whether pay satisfaction and career management (opportunity for skill enhancement and mentoring relationship) can influence the level of affective commitment among knowledge workers. Data measuring the abovementioned variables was gathered from 350 respondents representing varied occupation to ensure representation of all levels of knowledge work. Findings indicate that the proposed factors significantly influence the level of affective commitment among knowledge workers engaged in low knowledge work category. For their counterparts involved in high knowledge work, these factors had minimal influence. This paper implies that organizations should refrain from employing generic strategies to improve affective commitment among knowledge workers. Instead, attention should be paid onto the level of knowledge work when selecting the appropriate strategy. This paper incorporated the micro-level characteristic of knowledge work to traditional relationship with emphasis on how different strategies appeal to different knowledge work categories.