News
by Linda Simonsen, FuturePeople.
2009 was a fine example of the fluidity of the employment market and how quickly it can swing from buoyant to tight. The beginning of 2009 commenced with the fall out of corporate restructures, which was evident in a three fold increase in the volume of job seekers within the contact centre space. This included experienced operators, as well as those seeking to enter the industry following contractions in other service industries.
Despite an increase in the volume of applicants, the quality of job seekers did not proportionately increase; as organizations sought to do ‘more with less’; focusing on retaining their best performers, whilst utilising the broader economic contraction as an opportunity to tighten their belt via staff cuts; even if their specific corporate imperatives did not necessarily require it.
However, by the end of the first quarter of the 2009 financial year, we had seen a swing away from a conservative focus on hiring only temporary labour, back to a focus on hiring permanent staff. By the end of 2009, demand for contact centre staff was at an all time high and the increased opportunities available to employees saw the lull in attrition begin to trend upwards.
The beginning of 2010 has commenced with increased demand again for permanent contact centre staff and this has been noted in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. To be ahead of their game this year, Contact Centre Managers should return their focus to effective employee retention activities to ensure a spike in employee turnover does not impact business performance.
Of equal importance is the investment in clever recruitment and selection activities to ensure the attraction and selection of high performing employees and that the efficiency gains created in the past year are not lost in rush to meet customer demand driving reactive recruitment practices.
National News