Headsets and mindsets : It's the employees who determine customer‐service levels in call centers

Purpose – Puts forward the reasons to focus on employees of call centres and contact centres above any other factor, when looking at ways of improving the customer experience. Design/methodology/approach – Presents the views of Ian Munro, managing director of Contactcenters.com, who has 20 years' experience in the call centre industry, during which time he has achieved impressive results with organizational change programmes developed for companies across Europe and the US. Findings – Describes the factors that will enrich the jobs of employees in call centres and contact centres: customers are becoming more sophisticated in their demands, widening the opportunities for deeper customer relationships; companies are doing away with scripts because they are too restrictive; call centres are increasingly being seen as an integral part of the company rather than an unloved offshoot; call centres are increasingly being located in real communities, rather than on distant industrial estates; physical conditions within call centres are improving; technology is being adapted to employees and processes, rather than the other way round; and staff targets and rewards are being redefined. Practical implications – Demonstrates that all need not be doom and gloom in the call centre industry, which already employs more people in the UK than coal mining, steel and vehicle production combined, and looks set to grow further in the years ahead. Originality/value – Highlights ways of improving employee retention rates in call centres.