Working environments in call centres – conditions and solutions Copenhagen, November 5, 2005 The impact of callcenterisation on occupational identities Ursula Huws, Director, Analytica, and Professor of International Labour Studies, London Metropolitan University

two concepts ► occupational identities ► callcenterisation ► what do they have to do with each other & with working environments?

The conundrum of occupational identity ► In most societies occupation is the most basic dimension of personal identity ► The occupation is what gives people a ‘place’ in the social order ► Occupational groupings are simultaneously exclusive and inclusive ► There thus needs to be some shared agreement about which people are ‘us’ and which are ‘them’ ► This is bolstered by a shared agreement about who does what, and also who does NOT do what tasks. ► These tacit agreements often have a character that is strongly gendered or racialised. ► Occupational identity, like class identity can be seen both ‘objectively’ and ‘subjectively’. The two perceptions do not always match. ► Finding a coherent shared identity can give a group a sense of legitimacy as well as providing a basis to organise to further the collective interests of the group.

‘Callcenterisation’ – the process ► call centres have a history almost as long as the telephone ► reached critical mass as a result of the combination of information and telecoms technologies (ICTs) ► BUT the activities carried out in these call centres did not spring from nowhere ► They can be seen as the result of a process of standardisation and specialisation of pre-existing tasks involving communication with the general public or with other businesses.

The underlying dynamics of structural change ► The transformation of tacit knowledge into codified knowledge ► Standardisation of existing processes; which in turn makes possible: ► Management by results (or performance indicators); which in turn makes possible: ► Remote management – displacement in terms of time and space ► Organisational disaggregation - either internally or externally; which in turn leads to: ► Elaboration of value chains – contractually (proliferation of separate legal entities) or spatially or both ► An incremental process: (standardisation > market testing > outsourcing > offshoring > global sourcing) ► Modularisation can be the basis for aggregation or disaggregation; centralisation or decentralisation

The diversity of call centres reflects the diversity of their origins ► call centre jobs derive from an enormous range of different contexts including: ► occupation-specific professional skills and qualifications ► sector-specific knowledge ► company-specific cultures

they continue to evolve ► because of ongoing restructuring – e.g. mergers, acquisitions, outsourcing ► because of continuing technological developments – e.g. automated call- handling, more sophisticated call routing ► because of organisational innovation – e.g. development of integrated combined service centres; movement up the value chain of back office processing companies

Call centres are in a process of change – ► callcenterisation is an ongoing process ► with new activities constantly being added to the repertoire ► whilst older processes are subjected to further rationalisation ► and legal restructuring (outsourcing) ► or spatial restructuring (relocation) ► or both (offshore outsourcing)

Call centres are therefore NOT a unitary phenomenon ► National differences ► Sectoral differences ► Differences according to the stage of development ► Differences relating to different corporate cultures ► High skill versus low skill ► In-house versus outsourced ► Public sector versus private sector values

Occupational identities & career paths of call centre workers ► ‘professional’ identities - related to particular skill-sets, bodies of knowledge or sectoral background (career path lies in the profession) ‘I’m not really a call centre worker, I’m a nurse/tax inspector/social worker’ ► ‘technical’ identities (career path as a ‘techie’) ‘I’m not really a call centre worker, I’m a software engineer’ ► ‘corporate’ identity (career path lies in progress within a specific company) ‘I work for IBM/the BBC/Siemens’

► Identities as call centre professionals (career path via progression to call centre management) ► Identity as an ‘ordinary’ call centre worker (typically – no great career ambition: a job that can fit in with family etc.) ‘I’m just a housework but I do a little part-time work in the call centre’ ► ‘just passing through’ identity (students, artists, stopgap employment in life course transitions) ‘I’m really an artist’, ‘I’m only doing this job until my kids start school/I get my degree/my book is published/

This lack of coherent identity is reflected in statistical invisibility ‘team leader in sales call centre’ (STILE coding exercise) ► UK – 911 ‘street vendors and related workers’ (‘elementary occupations’) ► Ireland – 419 ‘other office clerks’ (‘clerks’) ► Hungary – 343 ‘administrative associate professionals’ (‘technicians and associate professionals’) ► Netherlands – 122 ‘production and operations department managers’ (‘legislators, senior officials and managers’)

An example: ‘team leader in sales call centre’ ► UK – 911 ‘street vendors and related workers’ (‘elementary occupations’) ► Ireland – 419 ‘other office clerks’ (‘clerks’) ► Hungary – 343 ‘administrative associate professionals’ (‘technicians and associate professionals’) ► Netherlands – 122 ‘production and operations department managers’ (‘legislators, senior officials and managers’)

Subjective experience of occupational change – three cases from the UK ► Call centerisation of local government services. ► Case 1 a London borough – outsourcing to private company ► Case 2 – a prosperous rural area – public private partnership ► Case 3 – public private partnership in declining industrial area ► Difference between outcomes and experiences shows importance of external environment. Jobs are judged in relation to the available alternatives, to what went before and to what is believed to lie ahead

Nevertheless there are some common issues ► High staff turnover ► Flat hierarchies ► Tendency towards standardisation of work processes ► Time pressures (stress) ► Increased likelihood of outsourcing

vicious circles can develop More stress More contingent staffing Higher absenteesim Less training Less job satisfaction Higher turnover Closer supervision Less commitment Worse Service to customers

Is there any evidence that call centre workers are starting to develop collective occupational identities? ► some evidence of this among call centre managers in UK and US – formation of professional associations used for learning, networking and finding next job (flat hierarchies provide an important ‘push factor’) ► evidence of unionisation among some groups of call centre agents but these are often linked to broader sectoral or occupational identities ► The general trend towards greater outsourcing, suggests a growth in generic call centre work but this may be linked with a growth in those who are ‘just passing through’

Will common problems and experiences create the basis for new shared identities? ► without collective occupational identities it seems unlikely that collective organisations will develop that will push effectively from the bottom up for improvements in working environments in call centres. ► Does this mean that other approaches are needed?

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