Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
Seattle Work Scheduling Law Offers Model for the Call Center
A Seattle law designed to regulate workers’ schedules to make hours and pay schedules more predictable has yielded mostly positive results, according to a new report. The Secure Scheduling Ordinance, which was passed in 2016 but didn’t go into full effect until the middle of 2017, covers hourly workers in retail and restaurant chains and requires employers to provide their schedules 14 days ahead.
The report, from the West Coast Poverty Center at the University of Washington, shows the ordinance resulted in 20 percent more workers receiving their schedules in advance. And while the law didn’t yield a decline in employer-initiated shift changes, it did result in more than double the number of workers compensated with predictable pay when those shift changes occurred.
Workers who receive predictable schedules, well in advance, as well as consistent, regular pay, have been shown to perform more reliably and with higher productivity rates than those with erratic schedules. This is particularly true in the call center industry, a market fraught with churn and turnover, largely caused by volatility and unpredictable schedules and pay.
The Seattle ordinance specifically regulates items like shift changes, on-call shifts, cancellations and cases where employees are scheduled for back-to-back closing and then opening shifts. The report also mentioned workers complaints about complicated and time consuming paperwork required to simply switch shifts with other employees on short notice. Workforce management and scheduling solutions can reduce those complaints, enabling employees to make shift changes on the fly and receive quick approval from their managers.
The new law also requires employers in Seattle to pay extra if they do make changes to workers’ posted schedules. Before the law went into effect, only 6.1 percent of workers said they received extra compensation for such shift changes, while 14.2 percent reported receiving it after the ordinance was enacted.
While the ordinance does not specifically target the call center market, it lays the groundwork for major changes that need to happen in the industry. As in the retail and restaurant markets, call center workers complain of erratic schedules and pay, which ultimately impacts morale and their overall quality of life. By following some of the rules laid out in the Seattle ordinance, call center managers can improve the working environment for their agents, leading to higher levels of efficiency and productivity – and happier workers and customers.
Edited by Maurice Nagle