ABSTRACT
Call centres have appeared sphinx like, on the terrain of the new economy to assume a dominant role in contemporary service delivery. There are a variety of reasons for this, some of which are ‘drivers’, while others are clearly ‘enablers’. Amongst the former, the prolonged growth and demands placed upon the service economy loom large. Australia, like other OECD countries, is now principally a service-oriented economy, with three-quarters of the workforce employed in a variety of business, personal and public services (ABS 2004a). Indeed, the service sector, broadly defined, has served as the great employment sponge over the last 30 years, absorbing new entrants into the labour market (women and youth) as automation and offshoring have taken their toll on employment levels in the primary and secondary sector manufacturing industries (Castells 1996; Rifkin 1995).
