Understanding and Combating
Employee Turnover in Call Centers
by: Anthony J. Adorno
The problem of employee turnover has been an
enigma plaguing call centers for decades. Almost
universally call center executives have been
ostensibly complacent regarding the issue of
employee turnover- almost simply accepting it as a
"staple" of the industry. Few have made serious
attempts to understand what drives employees out
of their organizations, and far fewer have invested
concerted efforts into preventing it. This seems
nonsensical since even medium-sized call center
operations can lose millions of dollars annually as a
result of low employee retention. The fact is, the
problem of employee turnover is not an enigma. Its
causes can, and have, been determined, and
effective strategies for reducing turnover can be
implemented. Therefore, the charge of this article is
twofold: (1) to create a paradigm shift in executives'
attitudes regarding employee turnover and (2) to
elicit a more proactive organizational approach to
combating it. This will be accomplished by
explaining the root causes of turnover, as well as by
elucidating the fundamental and fatal logic adopted
by call center executives that originally resulted in
the perception that turnover is a "staple" of the
industry.
According to a December, 1996 Harvard Business
Review article, 70% of all customer interaction
occurs in a call center. Consequently, the
representatives who staff call centers likely have the
single greatest impact on customers' impressions of
organizations' products and services. This fact,
however, does not seem to have escaped decision
makers. Progressive organizations spend
approximately five to eighteen thousand dollars in
training a single call center representative. Many of
"The problem of
these training
programs include
employee
intensive product turnover is not
and service review
modules, script an enigma. Its
reading and soft
sale techniques, causes can, and
software and
database have, been
instruction, as well
as mock customer
determined..."
service and sales
contacts.
Unfortunately, while adequate training of front-line
customer contacts provides them with the
information they need to sell products and service
complaints, it does little to promote organizational
loyalty or increase employee retention. Typically,
the end result is a low return-on-investment for
the training program, and an increased reliance on
call center recruiting staff and hiring managers.
The question now is, why is this the case?
Understanding Employee Turnover
There are many potential causes for turnover.
What's most important for call center executives
to understand is that turnover can be classified
into two general types: involuntary and voluntary.
Typically involuntary turnover includes dismissals,
layoffs, and forced retirement. Because labor
market conditions largely affect involuntary
turnover rates, they obviously are difficult to
directly manage. Fortunately, call centers are not
as greatly affected by involuntary turnover as they
are by voluntary turnover.
Causes for voluntary employee turnover (e.g.,
non-competitive compensation, high stress,
unpleasant physical or interpersonal working
conditions, monotony, and poor direct supervision)
can be managed. Generally speaking, call center
representatives don't quit because they lack the
skills or abilities to perform the job, they quit
largely because they are not interested and
challenged by the job, lack the personality
characteristics to be successful, or are dissatisfied
with the environment in which they work. Given
this verity, executives and hiring managers can

take two approaches to reducing turnover: (1)
change the job and its environment to eliminate
negative characteristics, or (2) screen out potential
leavers during the hiring process.
Unfortunately not much can be done to change the
nature of the call center representative job- that
being what they do, how they do it, and where they
do it. Certainly the number of web-based call
centers is rapidly rising which slightly changes the
nature of the job, but customers will always have a
desire to pick up their telephone and directly contact
a company representative. Similarly, unless
sweeping world-wide legislation is passed that
makes telephone-based solicitations illegal,
organizations will continue to use the telephone as
an effective vehicle for directly contacting their
market populations. Thus, for most call centers
option one is not feasible.
An alternative approach call centers can adopt is to
invest greater effort into identifying people who will
find call center representative jobs interesting and
challenging. The logic is simple. Employees who are
interested in the work they perform and possess the
personality profiles associated with success, tend to
be more satisfied with their jobs, and are less likely
to seek other opportunities for employment.
Using Employee Selection Programs to
Reduce Turnover
Few call center companies understand the value of
well-constructed employee selection systems. Far
fewer realize that such systems can effectively be
used to reduce voluntary employee turnover rates.
Overwhelmingly, the norm for the call center
industry is to use little beyond a poorly constructed
employment interview to hire representatives. Some
companies may have minimum word-per-minute
typing requirements, and ask applicants to read a
script to ascertain some level of verbal ability.
Apparently the logic here is that well-constructed
training programs can be used to compensate for
any skill or ability deficiencies that the employee
brings to the job.
While this logic may be rational, what is irrational is
to assume that given adequate training most people
will be satisfied with their jobs. This simply is not
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Employee Turnover - 2
the case! Remember, call center representatives
don't quit because they are devoid of basic skill
requirements; they leave because they don't like
their jobs. It is well establis hed in many American
and European-based professional journals that
people have different interests and personalities.
What call centers need to do is to use this
information to make better hiring decisions. That
is, integrate interest and personality assessment
into their existing hiring systems to identify people
whose interests and personality characteristics are
consistent with those associated with the demands
of the job. This does not mean to abandon skill-
based testing- it simply means to use the two
types of assessment in combination with each
other.
In a technical report titled "Analysis of Employee
Turnover and Job Performance for Call Center
Representatives" by The DeGarmo Group, Inc.,
both domestic (U.S.) and international research
demonstrated that there are clearly different
interest and personality requirements for
successful performance as a Customer Service
representative versus a Telemarketing
representative. This same report made clear that
the fundamental duties of the two jobs differed as
well, meaning that different hiring criteria should
be used for selecting each type of employee.
Understanding Personality and Interests
Understanding personality and interest
assessment is not a simple task for someone who
is not properly trained to administer and interpret
such tests. While this particular discussion could
easily fill several dozen pages, there are several
key points that can be covered relatively briefly.
In order to understand how personality and
interest assessment can be used effectively by call
centers, it is first important to understand exactly
what is meant by the terms "personality" and
"interests". Personality generally refers to peoples'
typical behavior patterns and traits that endure
over time and across situations. For example, a
given person is either generally planful and
organized, or they are not. Rarely will the same
person be very planful in some situations, and
completely spontaneous in others. Of course,
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there always are extreme situations that evoke
atypical behavior, but generally speaking
consistency over time and across situations is the
norm. Since there is consistency in peoples'
behavior over time, it is possible to reliably assess
their personality characteristics- their typical
behavior- and make predictions about their future
behavior in a given situation.
While there are innumerous descriptions for peoples'
behavior and personality traits, decades of
professional literature suggest that all such
descriptions can be grouped into five basic
categories. These categories are often referred to as
the Five Factor Model (FFM) or the Big Five. Listed
below, in no particular order, are the five groups of
characteristics - also referred to as "dimensions" -
that are most commonly used to describe people.
Big Five Personality Characteristics
CONSCIENTIOUSNESS: Carrying out tasks with
attention to every aspect; being industrious,
persistent, and punctual.
AGREEABLENESS: Tendency to be outgoing in
association with others; enjoys the company of
others and is gregarious and likeable; easy to
interact with and is approachable.
OPENNESS: Having a preference for new things,
ideas, or solutions to problems; preferring original
and unique ways of thinking about things.
EXTRAVERSION: Having a preference for social
situations, activity, and the public environment.
EMOTIONAL STABILITY: A calm, relaxed approach
to situations, people, or events; emotionally
controlled responses to unexpected changes.
Interests, on the other hand, are preferences for
particular types of situations or experiences. These
too are relatively stable over time, and similar to
personality characteristics, can be reliably assessed.
For example, a given person may have an interest in
art. S/he might like to draw or paint, or simply enjoy
others' drawings or paintings. With respect to the
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Employee Turnover - 3
job of Telemarketing Representative, some people
may have an interest in talking on the telephone,
working in a fast-paced environment, or trying to
sell products and/or servic es to strangers. Other
people may not enjoy the environment, or trying
to sell products and/or services to strangers. Other
people may not enjoy these particular job duties.
Research conducted by The DeGarmo Group, Inc.,
among others, suggests that successful
Telemarketing and Customer Service
Representatives generally possess different
personality and interest profiles. Telemarketing
Representatives have a strong desire to achieve,
and enjoy working with others on a regular basis.
They also demonstrate maturity in considering
advice or criticism from others. Generally
speaking, they tend to score higher on measures
of emotional stability, agreeableness, and
conscientiousness.
Alternatively, Customer Service Representatives
demonstrate an ability to carry out tasks with
attention to every aspect and tend to seek
information, to evaluate it, and to consider
consequences. They also possess a calm, relaxed
approach to situations and people, and maintain
emotionally controlled responses to changes in
their work environment. They tend to score most
highly on measures of conscientiousness,
openness, and emotional stability.
Using Personality and Interest Tests to
determine "Job Fit"
When used strategically, applicant personality and
interest information can be effectively used to
create a profile of "job fit". What is job fit? It
simply is the level of congruence between the
applicant’s personality characteristics and
interests, and the demands of the job. As
discussed above, in order to be successful as a
Telemarketer or Customer Service Representative,
the applicant needs to possess certain
characteristics and preferences.
Telemarketing representative that does not
possess a level of emotional detail-oriented also
will likely become frustrated and begin to seek
other opportunities for employment.
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When a high level of "fit" is attained, employees
tend to be much more satisfied with their jobs, and
tend to remain employed for significantly longer
periods of time. Specifically, they tend to report
higher levels of satisfaction with their pay,
supervisors, coworkers, and job duties, and tend to
be absent or tardy less often.
Using Interest and Personality Tests
As with any type of employment test, great care
should be taken in deciding which particular test to
use as part of your hiring system. Many popular
tests such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
(MBTI) are designed for employee development and
training purposes, and are not intended to be used
for hiring.
There are other tests available that can be used
effectively for selection, one of which being the
Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI). However, the
HPI was not designed specifically for use in call
centers, and is not designed specifically to reduce
employee turnover.
An alternative option for call center executives is the
Fit Index System (FIS), which combines “Work
Tolerance” and personality measurement in targeted
assessments for multiple call center jobs. Call
center-related tests in the FIS include the Customer
Service Fit Index (CSFI), Collections Fit Index (CFI)
and TeleSales Fit Index (TSFI). Unlike typical
standardized tests, the FIS assessments were
designed specifically for use in call centers, and
specifically to reduce voluntary employee turnover.
In addition, they can be easily customized to meet
the unique demands of individual client
organizations.
Regardless of the particular test(s) call center
executives decide to use, it is important (particularly
if the center is based in the U.S.) to ask for
validation research and the background of the test
developers. This information should provide an
understanding of the test, its purpose, development,
and its particular value to the organization.
The DeGarmo Group, Inc. 101 N. Main Street Bloomington, IL 61701
Voice: 866.433.4276 e-mail: info@degarmogroup.com
Copyright © by The DeGarmo Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Employee Turnover - 4
Summary
Clearly steps can be taken by call center
executives to make their operations more
profitable, and their customers more satisfied, by
reducing employee turnover. It should now be
understood that the type of turnover that plagues
call centers is voluntary turnover. That is, turnover
essentially resulting from a lack of fit or
congruence between the interests and personality
characteristics of call center representatives, and
the demands of the job. As is now commonly the
case, hiring managers lack the resources to help
make this type of determination, and the result is
usually a poor fit or match between the two. This
creates a costly and inconvenient- yet,
preventable problem.
If you are a call center executive, start to take
action. Break through the mold of commonplace
complacency and use professional research as a
competitive advantage. Value your employee
selection process as much as your training
program, and realize that it has a profound effect
on your entire call center operation. After all,
where is the value in extensively training someone
if they will not stay with the company? If you
choose not to take action, realize too that you are
choosing mediocrity and content over ingenuity
and sound scientific research.
About the Author
Anthony Adorno is Vice President of The DeGarmo Group.
He received his B.S. degree in Psychology, and M.S. degree
in Industrial/Organizational psychology.
He co-developed the Fit Index System and co-authored the
technical report mentioned in this article. He has published
several articles and book chapters on employee selection
issues.
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