Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
The Gig Economy Reaches the Call Center
This isn’t your father’s work environment.
Work has changed significantly in recent years. For one thing, work now is considered an activity – not a place.
People today work from home, shared office spaces, the airport, hotel rooms, even the coffee shop (and we’re not referring to the local barista).
And, increasingly, workers rely on freelance gigs to stay afloat, as opposed to full-time employment.
Sometimes that’s by choice. After all, it can be pretty great to earn a little money on the side if you’re a parent who wants – or needs – to make some cash when the kids are at school or napping or otherwise occupied. Temporary work, especially if it’s from home, can also be a good match for other caretakers, handicapped folks, and retirees who want to get back in the game.
But sometimes workers find that these gigs are simply what’s available. So they go where the money is. And although the contractor aspect of this work may provide them greater flexibility, it probably does not offer them the security of a full-time job and benefits like health insurance or paid vacation time.
Welcome to the gig economy.
This is an environment in which temporary contractor positions are increasingly common. The Harvard Business Review reports that about 150 million workers in North America and Western Europe now work as independent contractors. And Intuit (News - Alert) suggests that 40 percent of American workers will be independent contractors by 2020.
“Independent work is rapidly evolving as digital platforms create large-scale, efficient marketplaces that facilitate direct and even real-time connections between the customers who need a service performed and the workers willing to provide that service,” explains McKinsey. “Today, just 15 percent of the independent workers we surveyed have used a digital platform to find work, but the so-called on-demand economy is growing rapidly.
And HBR writes “we recently completed an in-depth study of 65 gig workers. We found remarkably similar sentiments across generations and occupations: All those we studied acknowledged that they felt a host of personal, social, and economic anxieties without the cover and support of a traditional employer — but they also claimed that their independence was a choice and that they would not give up the benefits that came with it. Although they worried about unpredictable schedules and finances, they also felt they had mustered more courage and were leading richer lives than their corporate counterparts.”
Companies like Avon, Mary Kay, and Pampered Chef have long relied on freelancers to demonstrate and sell their products to buyers – typically friends and family via home parties. And now companies of all stripes are using contractors and freelancers for all kinds of positions and tasks.
One discipline in which the contractor model has recently taken hold is in the call center industry. That’s good for call center operators and their clients because it allows them to match agents to specific brands and campaigns. And it enables them to have a broad base of workers they can tap as demand arises. (Kind of like when you need a ride, and simply tap your smartphone to find a Lyft driver.)
This model makes sense, particularly given that many people have a less than positive view of customer service that’s outsourced overseas. But for call centers to make this model work, they need to have the scheduling and forecasting tools in place to make sure the correct number of agents are always available to them. They need to get these far-flung agents educated and animated about their processes and the products their pushing. And they need to keep them engaged.
Engagement comes from simply having a certain personality, of course. It can also be encouraged by recognizing and rewarding agent successes, and making them feel they’re part of something larger than themselves. Some organizations also believe that gamification and using leader boards is a useful way to drive worker productivity.
Edited by Maurice Nagle