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Work Organization, Control and the Experience of Work in Call Centres

Author

Listed:
  • Phil Taylor

    (University of Stirling, UK philip.taylor@stir.ac.uk)

  • Gareth Mulvey

    (University of Strathclyde, UK gareth.mulvey@strath.ac.uk)

  • Jeff Hyman

    (Glasgow Caledonian University, UK j.hyman@gcal.ac.uk)

  • Peter Bain

    (University of Strathclyde, UK peter.m.bain@strath.ac.uk)

Abstract

Despite the integration of telephone and VDU technologies, call centres are not uniform in terms of work organization. It is suggested that diversity can best be understood by reference to a range of quantitative and qualitative characteristics. Consequently, perspectives that treat all call centres as if they were the same hybrids of customization and routinization are rejected, along with over-optimistic interpretations of labour control over work organization. Empirical evidence from nine `workflows' in two call centres - an established financial sector organization and a rapidly growing outsourced operation - provide excellent grounds for an examination of similarity and difference. A picture emerges of workflows which are volume-driven and routinized, involving low levels of employee discretion, and, by contrast, those less dominated by quantitative criteria offering higher levels of operator discretion and an emphasis on the quality of customer service. Despite these distinctions, larger numbers of operators report an experience of work which is driven by quantitative imperatives, most manifest in the pervasive implementation of targets. Targets are also used increasingly to assess and mould the quality of the call centre operator's interaction with the customer. Overall, the evidence casts doubt on the optimistic perspective that call centre work, in time, will come to resemble `knowledge work'.

Suggested Citation

  • Phil Taylor & Gareth Mulvey & Jeff Hyman & Peter Bain, 2002. "Work Organization, Control and the Experience of Work in Call Centres," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 16(1), pages 133-150, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:16:y:2002:i:1:p:133-150
    DOI: 10.1177/09500170222119281
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fernie, Sue & Metcalf, David, 1998. "(Not)hanging on the telephone: payment systems in the new sweatshops," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 20275, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Sue Fernie & David Metcalf, 1998. "(Not)Hanging on the Telephone: Payment systems in the New Sweatshops," CEP Discussion Papers dp0390, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Nyberg & Graham Sewell, 2014. "Collaboration, Co-operation or Collusion? Contrasting Employee Responses to Managerial Control in Three Call Centres," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 52(2), pages 308-332, June.
    2. Virginia Doellgast, 2010. "Collective Voice under Decentralized Bargaining: A Comparative Study of Work Reorganization in US and German Call Centres," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 48(2), pages 375-399, June.
    3. Alan Tuckman & Jeremé Snook, 2014. "Between consultation and collective bargaining? The changing role of non-union employee representatives: a case study from the finance sector," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 77-97, January.

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