Explaining Employees' Experience of Work in Outsourced Call Centres: The Influence of Clients, Owners and Temporary Work Agencies

Abstract

Third party call centres are growing as employers respond to market pressures. However, evidence shows their employees' experience of work is inferior compared to those working for in-house call centres. Drawing on research in two organizations we argue that the differences in employees' experiences can be explained by examining external influences on HR practices. These cases reveal a complex web of relationships involving clients, owners and Temporary Work Agencies. The strategic choice of HR practices is severely constrained by these important external parties and by the labour market making it difficult to develop effective, stable, mutually beneficial employment relationships. The impact of these external influences has implications for employee representation and legal protection in third-party call centres and for future research into the constraints on HR decision-making in these organizations.

Job quality in triadic employment relations: Work attitudes of Norwegian temporary help agency employees

“…Unlike temporary workers who are hired directly by an organization, the triadic employment relationship introduces complications into work arrangements by creating complex linkages among the THA, the client organization, and the individual worker. Agency workers are involved in a complex network of relational ties as their legal employer is the THA but they work at and are supervised by the client organization (Bidwell & FernandezMateo, 2008;Kinnie, Purcell, & Adams, 2008).…”

Understanding the Post‐Industrial Assembly Line: A Critical Appraisal of the Call Centre

“…Outsourcing call centre functions to third parties (Kinnie et al ) and overseas subcontractors (Patel ; Taylor and Bain ) is a prominent feature of the industry. Taylor and Bain () delineate the rapid growth of Indian call centres, whilst others highlight outsourcing to Ireland, the Philippines and elsewhere (Kinnie et al ; Mulholland ).…”

“…Outsourcing call centre functions to third parties (Kinnie et al ) and overseas subcontractors (Patel ; Taylor and Bain ) is a prominent feature of the industry. Taylor and Bain () delineate the rapid growth of Indian call centres, whilst others highlight outsourcing to Ireland, the Philippines and elsewhere (Kinnie et al ; Mulholland ). Call centre work in India is regarded as more prestigious than in the UK although it often clashes with normative cultural practices and hierarchies, particularly around gender and class (see Patel ; Sarkar and Charlwood ).…”

“…The ability to measure certain indicators prefigures a compulsion towards measurement and reliance on quantifiable outputs as a gauge of performance and customer service. Examples repeatedly point to processes, workf lows and management practices expounding the need for quality but often receding against the need to satisfy clients (Kinnie et al 2008;Lloyd 2013, forthcoming(a)) or meet targets . Deery and Kinnie (2002) argue that multiple forms of control exist in call centres, not simply an updated Tayloristic scientific management .…”

“…For example, Glucksmann argues outsource companies 'stand-alone' as autonomous businesses subcontracted by sellers. As others correctly demonstrate (Kinnie et al 2008;Taylor and Bain 2007), outsource companies are uniquely pressured by commitments and service level agreements with sellers, which significantly impacts upon their work processes and management strategy and autonomy.…”