|
Need is Great and Growing
In previous articles, we've been looking at styles of leadership and how they impact on business climate and how this inevitably leads to increasingly loyal and knowledgeable staff, more satisfied customers and higher profits. Last week we completed the six key elements of "Climate" and today, we'll focus on the growing need for leadership in contact centres. One slide I use in many presentations speaks to this very crisis:
» Customers are defecting at an annual rate of 10-30%
» Employees are defecting at an annual rate of 15-30%
» Leadership (senior & middle management churn is 15-30%
» Result: the stunting of corporate performance by 25-50% annually
As one-third of the world now reaches for their phone or computer to conduct business, we see a growing need for customer-service oriented and capable staff, especially for those who are able to lead, manage and motivate them.
Total Value of Australian Call Centre Market (2000-01)
Source: The Customer Response Management Handbook
Centres created to interact with customers in non-face-to-face ways (incoming and outgoing calls, faxes, voicemail, e-mail and the Web) are growing at an alarming rate within this country -- from 19% to 40%. Shortage of willing pool of skilled, talented and/or trained staff (especially leaders) is estimated to be around 53% -- termed "reaching critical mass: as the service industry outstrips most, if not all other industries.
Australia-Total Market Share - Number of Positions Growth & Projections
Source: The Customer Response Management Handbook
For those of us who manage contact centres we know staff turnover is significant - as high as 55% in a centre I recently worked with. But even at averages of 20%-25% annually, the cost of losing staff is unacceptable. Most importantly, almost all reasons given by staff for leaving a centre are within control of the leadership.
Although non face-to-face business is growing, the lack of experienced leadership is not keeping pace and is considered the primary reason for failure within call centres today.
Next week Darlene will look at "Correlation Between Leadership Styles & Affect on Climate -- Performance"
 Darlene Richard specialises in reviewing and improving telephony-based sales and service channels. She has over 20 years practical experience building, managing and consulting with organisations dependent upon non face-to-face business helping them produce results that are effective, business smart and most of all, people practical.
She's an educator and frequent speaker on relationship marketing and call centre sensibility. Read more about her new book, The Customer Response Management Handbook and order it on-line today. Just click here. | 
