ABSTRACT

Some observers consider the expansion of call centres a sign of innovation in service industries. Even the labour unions tentatively applaud, as in the logic of traditional interest politics, call centres might after all have a certain short-term potential as grounds for recruiting new members. The transition from the traditional telephone centre to today's call centre as organisational principle promises to ease some of the strain that the overload of telephone transactions poses to firms. Learning communication and sales techniques on the phone can contribute to lowering the amount of emotional pressure on service representatives and help increase the quality of service. The precondition for human resource planning in call centres is an analysis of typical distributions of calls. The manpower requirements give rise to employment patterns and labour relations, in which full-time and part-time employees, people with fixed term contracts and permanent employees work together in varying combinations, leading to highly uneven levels of compensation.