Contain costs, retain skills by outsourcing call centre staff recruitment

For many people, the call centre is an entry point to the IT industry. As a result, employee attrition in this environment is high, and it always will be.

That's why it makes sense for companies to outsource their call centre staff requirements to an accredited and experienced education, training and skills provider, says Alwyn van der Linde, business unit executive, skills development, at Bytes People Solutions.

Bytes People Solutions is a division of Bytes Technology Group, wholly owned by JSE-listed Altron.

“Call centres generally have a staff turnover rate of about 25%,” says Van der Linde. “That is unlikely to change, as it's an entry-level job for most people. As a result, many companies spend a lot of money training people whom they lose within a year. The cost to the business is immense. However, if you outsource your call centre staff needs to a people solutions company, or even use them as an extension of your own recruitment arm, the benefits are compelling.

“As specialists in their field, you can be assured they will recruit the right people for your business, train them to do the job correctly, and provide mentoring and coaching, grooming and ongoing assessment.”

He adds that one of the advantages of this approach is that it frees companies up from the pressure of recruitment to focus rather on additional skills development, which is to the benefit of both the employee and the business.

Dr Madelise Grobler, MD of Bytes People Solutions, says the company works with organisations in a structured way to ensure they employ employees with the right skills and commitment for the job. They are equipped with a Contact Centre National Certificate and they sign a year-long employment contract.

“Because we have been in the learnership business for more than a decade,” she says, “we have been able to perfect our contact centre recruitment model. Our clients can significantly reduce their administration costs and improve operational effectiveness at the same time. It also means they no longer have the burden of having to manage the time-consuming process.”

The Bytes People Solutions model has shown that call centre staff who are properly trained and given access to additional skills development programmes are more likely to stay on longer in their positions, or to be redeployed within the same organisation, further reducing employment costs.