Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act Working for Job Security and Quality Customer Service in The U.S. Contact Center Industry Why We Need the Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act

Customer contact is a major industry 57,000 contact centers in U.S. 4,000 large centers (150 or more agent positions) Large centers employ about one-half of agents 86% of centers are “in-house” (not subcontracted) 4.7 million U.S. contact center workers 3.7% of the total U.S. workforce Customer service rep is largest occupational title in centers 2.2 million CSR jobs in 2010 (45% of call center jobs) 7th largest occupational title in the U.S. 3rd largest projected growth in the number of jobs with an expected increase of 400,000 jobs (18%) from 2008 to 2018 The customer contact industry is huge, with about 57,000 contact or call centers in the U.S. And about 4.7 million workers, the industry employs 3.7% of the U.S. Workforce. Most of the workers in these centers are customer service reps, CSRs. With 2.2 million workers, it is the 7th largest occupational title in the U.S. It is the third fastest growing job. The U.S. Department of Labor expects the U.S. to grow 400,000 new CSR jobs by 2018. Sources: U.S. National Report: Global Call Center Survey, www.globalcallcenter.org; BLS, Occupational Employment Statistics, May 2009, www.bls.gov/oes/oes_dl.htm

Competition drives goals and strategies Business Goals: Retain customers Reduce costs Increase revenue Strategies to Achieve Goals: One Stop Shop – for sales, service and billing Web Self-Serve – for sales, tech support Interactive Voice Response Outsourcing/Offshoring Customer service is a key business strategy. The business goals that drive customer service operations focus on retaining customers and reducing costs in order to increase company revenue. To achieve those goals, the call center industry has implemented a number of strategies: Rather than having different operations for sales, service and billing, operations are combined – it is a one stop shop so that customers need only have one point of contact. With the advent of internet technology, firms are turning to websites so customers can serve themselves. Interactive voice response allows a computer to interact with customers for all or most of the call. The first three strategies focus on using technology to interface with the customer or to delay customer contact with a live operator for as long as possible. But then there are strategies to keep the cost of the human side of the business low, too. Technology allows companies cut the cost of customer service by outsourcing, offshoring.

In-House, outsourced, and offshore centers In-house centers: Still the overwhelming majority of the industry Call center industry revenues: $250 billion/year $200 billion in-house; $50 billion outsourced 80% of US centers are in-house Leading outsource and off-shore companies The bulk of the call center business is still handled in-house, that is not outsourced or offshored. But the 20% of the industry that is oursourcers are turning more and more to offshoring. Tens of thousands of call center jobs are shipped overseas to take advantage of lower labor costs. Convergys Corp. Teleperformance Sitel Worldwide TeleTech Holdings, Inc. Sykes Enterprises, Inc. APAC Customer Services, Inc Source: CFI Group: Contact Center Satisfaction Index 2010

Call centers rebuild third world economies Top two offshoring destinations are Philippines, India 350,000 – 400,000 call center workers in Philippines Growing at 50,000 jobs per year; estimated 30-35% annual growth rate Bills itself as 5th largest English speaking country and “inexpensive” labor 330,000 call center workers in India Estimated 10-15% annual growth rate Indian call centers beginning to sub-outsource to yet other countries to take advantage of lower labor costs Markets “low cost of manpower” and government support of the industry The Philippines has surpassed India as the top destination for U.S. offshored call centers.

Foreign centers lack security measures common in the U.S. Expensive and difficult to run background checks on foreign call center workers Bank account and sensitive data more susceptible to theft and fraud Overseas call centers not subject to data breach notification laws Indian government carved out call center companies from compliance with data privacy laws

Customer satisfaction in US vs. offshore centers Customer satisfaction in US centers is 25% higher than off-shore centers In addition to major concerns about privacy and data security, there is the issue of customer satisfaction. Surveys have shown that U.S.-based centers score higher in customer satisfaction than offshored centers. In-house centers Focus more on quality – professional service More worried about customer service Want to keep their loyal customer base Outsourced and off-shore centers Focus more on costs - Simpler calls More complex questions need to be routed back in-house Source: CFI Group: Contact Center Satisfaction Index, 2010.

What We’re Doing to Secure Jobs and Quality Service in the Call Center Industry Bargaining Job security, improved working conditions, wage and benefits Customer Service Committee sharing strategies and solutions Organizing Telecom: T-Mobile Airlines: Piedmont, American & American Eagle Outsourcers: ACS/Xerox

What We’re Doing to Secure Jobs and Quality Service in the Call Center Industry Legislative Action: The United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act (HR 3596) Introduced by Representative Tim Bishop Creates “bad actor” list of U.S companies that send jobs overseas Requires disclosure of call center location to U.S. consumers Provides right to have call transferred to U.S.-based agent.