Call Centers and the rise of Predictive dialers
Ever get a telephone call that seems like someone may be on the line but no one answers? If you’re like most of us, the answer is a definite yes. The most probably cause of this phenomenon is a predictive dialer. A predictive dialer is used in an outbound call center campaign when telemarketers “cold call” from a list. A cold call is an attempt to contact strangers on the telephone in an attempt to interest them in a specific business product. Yes folks, these are the telemarketers from hell and the predictive dialer is their god!
ok, so much for the melodrama and the problem is NOT the people working the phones. This is a business just like most that’s only trying to sell more product. I realize this is disruptive and all but think about this fact: Businesses, corporations, and companies wouldn’t be cold calling if it wasn’t profitable! That’s right folks, don’t blame the companies or the telemarketer who’s trying to pay her bills. The blame belongs squarely on your neighbor who orders stuff from these people. If everyone would just quit buying from cold calling telemarketers, the profit factor would stop and the cold calling would also end. Think about that the next time you give someone your name and address for the next “sweepstakes”.
Oh, and next time, I’ll explain what a predictive dialer is and why you sometimes get called when no one is on the other line!
Call Center Employee Motivatation
There are many highly paid consultants running around with all their fancy theories of how to motivate employees. Once of their first actions however is to remove financial reward from consideration. Of course, these same people NEVER mention that the reason why we NEED to pay upper management so much is to provide incentives and motivation to them to do a good job and stay with the company. They also NEVER mention that they’re being paid several hundreds of dollars per day to “consult” with the business.
Instead, they feed the business management with such drivel as everything EXCEPT money drives employees to stay and be productive. They base these ideas on the twisted ideas on the twisted thought that surveys have proven out that finances are not one of the top causes of attrition or being unsatisfied with a job.
The “real” reasons according to many of these highly paid consultants are things like ,self actualization, self esteem, psychological needs of belonging etc. etc. etc.
What they neglect to discuss is the skewed data received from the surveys. A good surveyor can design questions that can get anyone to agree with Adolph Hitler’s policies. The methodology for a survey can be such to make any inference based on the data inaccurate at best.
Fact is, that IT’S THE MONEY! in many, many cases. People will leave a call center type job for 50 cents or a dollar an hour more because of economic necessity! When pricing go up 5-10% a year and the gracious call center management “awards” a quarter or half dollar per hour raise, it doesn’t take a math wizard to know that the employee is on the short end of a very bad situation.
Understand that I’m not saying that other factors do not play any role in keeping happy and productive workers only that financial considerations are the primary issues that trumps all others, especially at the lower end of the pay ranges. Once a person reaches a certain level of income however, all those “nice to have” perks, like recognition and empowerment become more important. But until the survival-financial issue is handled, it will continue to be the primary focus for many working in call centers.
Whenever someone says it’s not the money….. you can be certain it’s the money!
Call Center Life
Life working in a call center is full of variety if approached by the fact that different people are on the telephone line each time you answer. The monotonous processes however tend to take away the enjoyment of interacting with customers and having a real sense of accomplishment. It’s just not the same thing as seeing something physically real and looking at the top statistics for the day.
Give me physical work where I can see a job well done tham a piece of paper with the number of calls taken in a certain time period. The satisfaction is just not the same