National Trends Analysis
Introduction and Methodology
Contact Centre Canada is pleased to present our first 2012 quarter Trends Survey report.
With the completion of every trend survey cycle, Contact Centre Canada (CCC) produces a
comprehensive overview of results. A copy of this report is provided to each participant in the survey and a brief summary is posted on Contact Centre Canada’s website for all members to view. The trend survey is intended to provide contact center leaders with relevant ‘intelligence’ that will help them make informed decisions relative to their businesses.
This survey was conducted in April, 2012 for the period January, 2012 – March 2012 using a web-based survey engine. An invitation to participate was sent to three groups – 1) previous participating
companies, 2) prospective participants and, 3) Provincial/Regional Industry Associations.
Participating companies in the survey represented Canadian contact centre vertical markets, sectors, geographic regions, operational size and categories.
Summary of Findings
This report of survey findings is intended to track the trends in the contact centre industry in Canada. Similar to 2011, Canadian contact centres consider employee engagement and motivation as the top HR challenge facing their organization. Over 75% of those surveyed are implementing strategies to improve employee engagement. The consensus was that the key tactic employed was to engage agents in other tasks and/or projects outside of their customer care duties, such as training & development, mentoring and agent led task forces. This trend within the industry demonstrates efforts to decrease attrition and to highlight career opportunities within the contact centre industry. Of the organizations surveyed many felt attrition was due to pace of work, pay, work hours and repetitive work. Although, 74% of those surveyed, promoting up to 10% of their agents within the last year.
With regards to technology, it was concluded that Canadian contact centres are focused on the need to use various social media mediums within their organization. A large majority confirmed the need for new technology based on increased pressure to improve customer loyalty and compliance
requirements. Of those individuals surveyed, the primary technology used by their contact centres was for quality monitoring purposes. Seventy-seven percent of the Canadian organizations felt the
technologies used by their organization are effective in meeting the needs of their customers, but felt social media will have the greatest impact on the industry as a whole.
Survey Value
Contact Centre Canada has been conducting these surveys since January, 2011 with company participation levels increasing each quarter.
As such, it was prudent to seek feedback from participants as to how the survey results are used in their organizations and the value they derived from the survey report.
The following are the key points that were consistent in the feedback received.
Provides contact centre leaders insight as to industry changes, challenges and opportunities
The report findings are used for decision making purposes
The information provided is comprehensive and topical
The survey results offer high value from a benchmarking perspective
The report identifies and validates issues in the industry in Canada
Provides relevant industry specific information and HR data
The report is used by all levels of management and as a tool for strategic planning
The National Trend Report is a critical research tool used to formulate business plans
A source of best practices to improve the contact centre industry at large
Provides base line information relative to the Canadian market
Valuable industry trends that stimulate strategic ability and validates proposals and business
plans
Timely information used to support strategic decisions
Survey Results
Question 1
What changes do you anticipate in your staffing levels over the next 3 months?
Fifty percent anticipate no change in hiring over the next three months while 44% anticipate increased hiring. A minimal 6% anticipate layoffs and 1% anticipate a ‘potential’ for a site closure. These findings show a nominal decrease in hiring and layoffs as compared to the September trend survey results. Organizations anticipating change over the next three months attribute this to seasonal changes that have caused decreased volume. Similar to 2011, most organizations do not anticipate changes in their staffing levels.
Question 2
Has your organization experienced increased turnover in the last 3 months?
Seventy-six percent of Canadian contact centres reported no increased turnover in the last 3 months. The majority of those surveyed stated turnover was prompted by poor performance issues, job fit or seasonal circumstances. 44% 6% 1% 50% Increased hiring Layoffs Closure No Change 24% 76% Yes No
What is your organizations average turnover rate?
Fourty-one percent of the respondents stated their turnover was less than 10%, while another thirty-one percent of the organizations stated their attrition ranged between 11-20%.
Question 4
What do you consider the key challenges facing your organization in 2012?
The majority of respondents stated the top three key challenges facing their organizations included lack of employee engagement (46%), challenges attracting and retaining employees (38%) and managing employee performance (36%).
Many of the respondents commented that a tight budget, growing client expectations and employee engagement are the key causes for attrition. Other respondents commented that it was difficult for their organizations to keep the employees engaged and provide job enrichment.
41% 31% 12% 5% 6% 5% 0-10% 11-20% 21-30% 31-40% 41-50% More than 50% 46% 39% 36% 31% 31% 28% 21% 6% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Emloyee Engagement and Motivation Attracting and Retaining Employees Managing Employee Performance Productivity Cost Cutting/Management Emerging Skill and Knolwedge Requirements Labour/Skill Shortage Other
Question 5
Has your organization closed operations in Canada within the last 3 months?
An overwhelming majority of respondents (94%) stated their organizations have not closed operations in Canada within the last 3 months. Some respondents stated the remote agent program has assisted in ensuring sites were not closed due to agents working from home.
Question 6
Has your organization repatriated business to Canada?
6% 94% Yes No 5% 95% Yes No
What tools do you currently use in your agent hiring process?
A large majority of respondents surveyed (85%) stated their organization used telephone interviews as the leading tool to hire agents. Another sixty-three percent are using knowledge tests.
Other organizations have stated they use behavioral based interview questions, while others interview in person, while other organizations have used a group interview technique.
Question 8
Do you involve agents in other tasks and /or projects outside of their customer care duties?
Seventy-eight percent of organizations surveyed involved agents tasks and/or projects outside of their customer care duties.
85% 63% 41% 36% 28% 19% 12% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Telephone Interviews Knowledge Tests Competency Profiles Personality Assessments Role-Play Other Automated Job Simulations
78% 22%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Yes No
Question 9
What tasks and projects are agents involved in?
Many of the Canadian contact centres are providing various opportunities to engage their agents and thus allowing for increased employee engagement and motivation. Other tasks agents are involved in, outside of their regular duties included administration, committee involvement, quality monitoring, research for their organizations and participating in town hall meeting in order to solicit new ideas for company-wide processes.
Question 10
What percentage of agents has been promoted within the contact centre within the last year?
75% 72% 65% 63% 37% 19% 11% 9% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Training development and/or delivery as subject … Mentoring Programs
Agent led task forces Peer monitoring/feedback initiatives Opportunities to participate in calibration Articles written by agents for internal/external …
Other Agent presentations at executive meetings
74% 15% 8% 3% 0-10% 11-20% 21-30% More than 50% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
What is the average length of employment for your current full-time agent pool? 23% 18% 16% 14% 10% 10% 7% 1% 1% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 2-3 years 1-2 years 3-4 years 4-5 years 5-6 years More than 9 years 6-9years Less than six months Six months to one year
Question 12
Please rate the following common causes of turnover in your organization.
Of the respondents surveyed the most common cause of turnover identified were due to repetitive work (51%), work hours (53%) and lack of promotion opportunities (51%).
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Pace of work Sense of powerlessness or lack of control Lack of challenge Skills/competencies expertise not utilized Inflexible work environment Lacking tools to effectively meet
customer needs Lack of rewards/incentives Never Seldom Sometimes Very Frequent 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% Repetitive work Lack of or excessive management Not valued Dislike handling complaints Work hours Pay Lack of promotion opportunities Lack of training
Never Seldom Sometimes Very Frequent
Does your organization conduct employee satisfaction surveys?
Seventy-seven of the respondents surveyed stated their organization conducted employee satisfaction surveys. A small amount of respondents stated they hired an external consultant to conduct the survey, which was developed by both the consultant and organization. Most of the respondents stated the survey results are reviewed by executive management, who would extract the key points to distribute to their staff. Other organizations stated they emailed the full results of the survey and compared their employee satisfaction to their customer satisfaction scores using their NPS system.
The majority of respondents stated the results were conveyed through town hall meetings or at their corporate monthly meetings.
Once the employee satisfaction survey results were distributed the majority of the organizations stated they would work towards an action plan by developing employee focus groups/committees that would address specific topics and work towards strategies to resolve the issues. Some organizations stated all staff had the opportunity to volunteer for any of the committees created.
Question 14
What methodology do you use to conduct customer satisfaction surveys? i.e. directly after calls, annual survey
Some organizations confirmed they did not have a process in place while other organizations stated they conducted customer satisfaction surveys monthly, quarterly, weekly, semi-annually or every few weeks. Some organizations stated callers were selected randomly and were asked to stay on the line to conduct a survey. While others called a certain percentage of their clients that experienced problems with products or service. A few organizations would randomly pull call tickets and send out the survey through email.
77% 23%
Yes No
Question 15
How many customer experience interview/surveys are conducted per year?
Question 16
Do you use an external organization to conduct customer experience surveys?
26% 24% 17% 15% 12% 3% 3% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 2001-5000 1-200 201-400 Over 5000 1001-2000 401-600 601-800 43% 57% Yes No
What is the process used to address customer satisfaction feedback?
The majority of respondents surveyed stated that customer satisfaction feedback was analyzed by executives and/or management. Others identified that client complaints are managed by management, with a follow up conducted to ensure the customer was satisfied with the outcome.
Many organizations stated trends are monitored and the results shared with employees at all levels of the organization. The information is used to change policies, developing new strategies or coaching and development. Some organizations form committee’s which would analyze and prepare a resolution report for management.
It was evident that all respondents communicated or forwarded the results of the customer satisfaction survey to various departments within their organization. Many have a dedicated ‘alert team’ who are responsible for responding to ratings below a set standard. It was clear that the majority of the Canadian contact centres value customer’s feedback, which in turn helps to drive improvement.
Question 18
Do you use Integrated Voice Recording (IVR) to record customer responses?
We received various responses from contact centres regarding IVR, but the most common quality control methods were to select and rely/randomly record calls or consistently record all customer calls. Results show that some organizations must comply with ‘regulatory’ or contract terms.
Question 19
What social media channels does your company use?
The majority of respondents stated their organization is not currently using social media channels (52%). The remainder are using, blogs, Google plus, yammer, company websites and online forums moderated by staff.
Question 20
What is the average number of incoming social media contacts received per day?
The majority of respondents stated they received between 1-10 social media contacts per day while 7% were receiving fewer than 100. Five percent stated they were receiving up to a thousand per day. A minority stated they received 0 responses per day, noting they were new to social media.
Question 21
What is the ‘percentage’ of your agents are using social media channels in your organization?
The majority of respondents are not currently using social media capabilities to the fullest extend nof their time. Organizations using social media channels state an average of 27% use it between 5%-25%. Another 15% stated they have between 80%-100% of their agents using social media. In some cases social media is managed by the marketing team, while others stated their agents are adept with this channel but the organization has yet to initialize.
Question 22
What technology options are currently being used by your organization that has the potential to reduce cost per call?
The technology option most currently used by Canadian contact centres is IVR. Other options identified were:
Audo Dialer Online Chat VOIP CATI
CMS CRM Remote Access Tools AXIS
Navigator AVAYA Sales Force Sabre Opera
Proprietary software
Mediagateway (2 way voice integration)
Please indicate what would prompt your organization to implement or consider a new technology?
Question 24
What technologies are currently being used or considered in your organization? 45% 40% 23% 22% 20% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Increased pressure to improve customer loyalty Increased compliance requirements Other Increased pressure to provide work-at-home options Not applicable 66% 62% 54% 25% Quality monitoring
Enhanced call routing i.e. mulitmedia and/or skills based routing
voice over IP
Question 25
Do you feel the technology and tools your organization uses effectively serve your customers needs?
The majority of respondents (77%) felt their organizations technology effectively served their customers’ needs. Results demonstrated that organizations need additional tools to enhance the customer
experience. Often times they stated the technology used was driven by business needs rather than the needs of the customers. There was also consensus that as customer needs evolve there needs to be increased investment in technology to meet those evolving needs.
Question 26
What technologies do you feel ‘have’ or ‘will have’ the greatest impact on the industry as a whole?
The majority of respondents stated social media will have the greatest impact on the industry as a whole. Results showed that technologies associated with ‘chat’ coupled with Google technologies will have a direct impact on the Canadian contact centre industry. A few respondents felt Google was beginning to package various tools into a common platform and will eventually offer an integrated web package. Comments included that the contact centre industry should increase their investment in listening to the customer activities as opposed to media ads.
77% 23% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Yes No 77% 23% 17% Social Media Digital marketing Other
Figure 1 - Location of Participants
Figure 2 - Sector of Participant Companies
1% 2% 5% 6% 6% 19% 27% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 2% 3% 5% 8% 8% 8% 11% 11% 14% 30% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Figure 3 - Size of Organization by number of employees
Figure 4 – Number of Sites/Operations in Canada
8% 15% 36% 41% 51 to 100 1 to 50 101 to 499 over 500 11 to 15 16 to 19 20 + 6 to 10 1 to 5 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
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