Call Centers-Design, Functionality and Productivity 2008. Ideation and Innovation toward an e-work culture.

1. November 26, 2008
IDEATIONGROUP
British Telcom call
center outside
London, England
Resurrecting the Call Center
Past & Future
by Paige Brockmyre
Call Center- defined- a centralized
office used for the purpose of receiving
and transmitting a large volume of
requests by telephone.
The Call Center is in a state of change. As
technology moves to higher levels of sophistication,
information and services are in increased demand,
the role and design of the Call Center will
transform into a new generation of Contact
Centers. Not only will telemarketing, reservations
and customer service be performed from this hub,
but technical support, email, faxes and live chat.
Take for example the Turkey Talk Line by
Butterball - this call center provides cooking tips to
holiday chefs. The entire mission of the Call
Center will have to adapt, as will the operations and
work environments.
Challenges
Every organization sets out to create an
environment to foster efficiency and productivity.
At a Call Center, agents are stationary at a
workstation for hours at a time, endlessly glaring at
a monitor, responding to repetitive-often negativeissues while maintaining a level of professionalism.
This high-pressure environment not only lends itself
to high absenteeism and a 50% turnover rate per
year, but an increased incidence of musculoskeletal
disorders, low morale and negativism towards
clients. Common criticisms for the Call Center
environment include poor facilities, cramped
working conditions, impaired vision and hearing,
and lack of privacy.
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Not all the same
Generally, most call centers fall within three
basic types—Orchestrated, Traditional and Tactical
Response. The model is determined by the nature
of the work.
Orchestrated call centers are often used for
customer service departments, especially in utility
companies. In orchestrated call centers, agents are
looking to an electronic big board or other type of
visual display for information on incoming calls.
Agents may be working in anything from basic
carrels to high-tech custom stations. Orchestrated
call centers typically have the following attributes:
Limited interaction between service
representatives
Group may be queued by electronic means
16-30 sq. ft per person
Simple, direct transactions
Rows, front-to-back,
High density
Forward facing
Traditional call centers are often found where
agents use a scripted message and are not highly
reliant on each other for help with problem solving.
Traditional call centers typically have the following
attributes:
Limited interaction between service
representatives
Direct supervisory control
16-30 sq. ft. per person
Simple, direct transactions

2. IDEATIONGROUP November 26, 2008
Resurrecting the Call Center
Past & Future
Dual rows, end-to-end
High density
Representatives face inwards, towards each
other
Tactical Response call centers are found where
the work is specialized and each member of the
team has different, but complementary skills and
knowledge. These can be found in any type of
business. The agents in these types of call centers
can be highly trained and/or have professional
degrees, such as in 911 or brokerage centers.
Tactical Response call centers typically have the
following attributes:
High degree of interaction between service
representatives
Moderate to complex transactions involving
multiple professional disciplines
Team configurations
Many types of activity and collaboration
More workspace than the average call center
The Path toward Change
In Haworth’s co-sponsored survey, The Annual
Call Center Trend Survey with The Call Center
Network Group, one key finding was “It takes more
than salary to keep good people…call centers that
are more sensitive to their workers and the
workplace environment have lower rates of
turnover.” (Annual Call Center Trend Survey
1999-2000. Workplace Change Enablers, in
cooperation with the Call Center Network). There
are several design implications that can directly
impact the effectiveness of the call center. Today’s
design requirements include:
Teamwork and Collaboration
Branding and Culture
Attraction and Retention
Proper Adjacencies and Amenities
Visual stimulation
Adaptable spaces
Integrated technology
In addition, progressive companies are
acknowledging the direct impact call centers have on
the entire organizations business strategy. Thus,
companies are bringing these centers out from the
“back forty” and positioning them as the Face of the
Corporation. Now, when the client tour passes
through the call center, it will not only be designed
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well and attractively, it will be populated by
professional and satisfied agents.
A comprehensive design with a holistic
approach will examine the three critical
organizational factors that will influence not only the
call center but the entire corporate environment.
This approach will also address:
Turnover and training cost reduction
Absenteeism and disability claim reduction
Increase in productivity and teamwork
Increase in customer satisfaction as a result of
increased employee satisfaction
Organizational Performance
Investing in workplace design is an investment
both in the people and the organization.
Considering both people and place in the workspace
design, allows any organization to become the ideal
profit center. Innovative call centers are designed
with a 24/7 operations strategy. This approach
accomplishes the three main objectives of a call
center: Productivity, Retention/Recruitment and
Space Utilization. Some design elements that create
work/life balance and reduce absenteeism include:
Exercise facilities
Quiet break areas
Food service, snack shops, kitchens
Child and Elder care facilities
Personal care facilities
Common social areas
Security
In most call centers, a hotelling concept is
applied in one way or another. Many centers will
use this concept during special promotions or
product recalls. Hotelling can be a challenging
concept when not planned with the human factor in
mind.
Human Performance
Labor is more than 60% of a call center’s
operating cost.
The physical, social, and behavioral aspects of
work that Call Centers engage in should be
supported by the workspace. Improving
Ergonomics is one key factor toward worker
health and productivity. Proper workstations
coupled with the proper training on how to use

3. IDEATIONGROUP November 26, 2008
Resurrecting the Call Center
Past & Future
furniture and technology to avoid injury are key to
proper design.
Ergonomics: adjustable workstations to include
seating, storage, surfaces, tools, lighting and
technology - reduce awkward twists and reaches for
tools therefore improving posture and reducing
musculoskeletal disorders and disability claims.
Seating: adjustable height, depth, width, back
height, arm articulation, comfort.
Lighting: provide non-glare, natural, ambient,
direct and task.
Storage: lockable, varied sizes, stationary and
moveable, dedicated personal and work units.
Personalization: designed to support individual
organizational tools and elements of personality. For
example, providing a digital photo frame which
allows individual agents to use a flash drive for
personal photos. Reversible bulletin boards and
white boards also provide personalization. Individual
head sets. Adding hands-free headsets can improve
productivity by up to 43%.(2)
Facility Performance
The physical environment should be created to
support workplace productivity and promote
employee/customer satisfaction. In addition, an
“open environment” also offers greater visibility for
both team members and managers. Design
elements include:
Team Areas that display team performance
goals and competitive results.
Training rooms that offer ample power supplies
and mobile equipment.
Flexible room configurations to accommodate
smaller groups, seasonal employees, a new product
launch or temporary call campaigns.
Walls designed to attach flipcharts and
whiteboards to encourage teamwork and
communication.
Technology equipment rooms that will support
future intelligent technologies. Integrate cost saving
technologies such as VoIP.
Quality monitoring and performance feedback
suites.
Some time reduction/increased profit strategies
include positioning amenities, break and
collaborative areas adjacent to workers to allow for
frequent authorized breaks. An extra two minutes to
get to a restroom, copy area or break room can add
as much as 25 hours per year lost agent time.
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The move to “open’ collaborative spaces
provides several benefits to the call center agent
including satisfying the human need to feel as if they
are part of a smaller group. They also eliminate the
“boiler room” mentality and promote increased
knowledge transfer from veteran to rookie agents.
Pairing this move with the growing trend toward
zigzag or saw tooth design layouts, 120degree
planning models, serpentine plans and clusters
support the acknowledgement by corporations and
designers that human satisfaction has a direct impact
on call center efficiency and productivity.
Individual workspace design elements that
compliment this trend include:
Adding elements of visual appeal for branding
and talent attraction and retention.
Painting interiors soft colors to appeal to
emotional levels, improve productivity and reduce
stress
Installing translucent partitions alone or above
acoustical panels to provide noise reduction but
allowing natural lightning.
Introducing white or pink noise generators to
reduce overall noise level, using acoustic ceiling
panels or floor screens and fabric or vinyl walls that
absorb sound, hanging art work without noise
reflecting glass.
Self regulated temperature vents from raised
access floors.
Adding trees and plants to improve ambiance
and air quality.
The ability to incorporate all of these design
features creates a foundation in which the call center
agents and other members of the organization can
work in harmony and improve business
performance.
Future Implications
As more companies increase their distributed
workforce and as Gen Y becomes integrated into the
talent pool, Call Centers will face new challenges.
Recently there has been a move to Homeshoring,
which is a combination of outsourcing and
telecommuting.
5 motivations towards Homeshoring:
Increased cost of talent recruitment and
retention. In Homeshoring, talent is not restricted
by traditional work hours or commuting distance.

4. IDEATIONGROUP November 26, 2008
Resurrecting the Call Center
Past & Future
Average talent cost per hour of Traditional Call
Center $31 vs. Virtual Call Center $21. (1)
Complex interactions require higher educated
and professional staff. Talent college – level
education at Traditional Call Center less than 20%
vs. Virtual Call Center 80%. (1)
Decreased cost and increased availability of wifi capabilities at home.
Criticism against offshored call centers and
increasing wage bills in offshoring areas.
Sustainability. The 4 million contact center
agents currently working in UK, US and Canada
produce in excess of 6 million tons of CO2 each
year. (Exony, 2007)
The addition of Gen Y to the call center agent
population will add challenges in each of the
organizational, facility and human performance
factors. This is a generation that will use the
position of a call center agent as a training
opportunity and a stepping stone to future positions.
They are tech-savvy and enjoy new innovative
technology challenges. They challenge knowledge
and demand information on the origin of such
knowledge. They expect change and results to
happen quickly and at their request. This challenge
should not be confused with impatience, but with
inquisitiveness and the desire to excel. Gen Y will be
a welcome addition to the fast-paced, information
intensive and technological complexity of the Call
Center.
Total Card Services, Sioux Falls, SD
University of Phoenix - Phoenix, AZ
House Values - Yakima, WA
Klutz - Palo Alto, CA
SITEL – Kelowna, BC Canada
T- Mobil – Portland, ME
USAA - Phoenix, AZ
Public Safety Tree Centers – Boston, MA
Citibank – Florence, KY
Fire Dispatch AA Co. - Arundel Co, MD
Allstate - Indianapolis, IN
Lexmark - Lexington, KY
IBM - Dallas, TX
Prudential Insurance - Scottsdale, AZ
State Of Michigan - Grand Rapids MI
State Farm - Tempe, AZ
Capital One - Tampa, FL
Total Systems - Columbus, GA
First Union Mortgage - Raleigh, N.C.
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Call Center References
Blue Cross Blue Shield - Grand Rapids, MI
Kelly Service's - Troy MI
Fanuc Robotics - Auburn Hill, MI
Comerica Bank - Auburn Hills, MI
Charter Communication - Simpsonville, SC
Blue Cross Blue Shield - Columbia, SC
Discover – Riverwoods, IL
PHEAA – Philadelphia, PA
eBay Inc - Omaha Nebraska
Home Depot Supply - San Diego, CA and New
Braunfels, TX
Computer Sciences Corporation - Dallas, Texas
Cendant/Orbitz - Chicago, IL
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage – Various
Locations
Enterprise Rent a Car – St. Louis, MO
Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina Columbia
DIRECTV - Tulsa, OK and Huntsville, AL
LL Bean - Bangor, Waterville and Northport,
ME.
Convergys India Services Pvt Ltd - Bangalore,
India
Digi Telecommunication - Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Chicago Tribune, 04/11/05; http://
pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/index.html?
ts=11211869809
H.B. Maynard
The Call Center-Not Just Another Office. Judy
Voss, David Fik, Jennifer Hohne, 2000
CallCenterMagazine,
www.callcentermagazine.com
International Customer Management Institute,
www.icmi.com
The Intelligent Contact Center, Interactive
Intelligence 2007
Offshoring Alternatives: Keeping Call Centers
Home. CoreNet Global 2006
CenterCore Unveils Nationwide Call Center
Survey Results. The Monday Morning Quarterback
1998
Homeshoring predicted to grow. CoreNet
Global 2007
Call Centers: In-shore, Near-shore, Off-shore?
CoreNet Global 2005
Improve your Call Center with an Ergonomics
Makeover. Call Center CRM solutions, 2000