Four Dimension of Flexible Working

Over the past 18mths, most call centres have introduced Work from Home into their operation. ?WFH is an important step towards flexible working.? WFH has helped consultants adjust to pandemic realities, spend more time with their families and more - but WFH does NOT equal flexibility.

True flexibility is when workers are empowered to design their own experience of work across all dimensions.?

WHAT - HOW - WHERE - WHEN

Call centres are among the most tightly controlled and directed modern working environments. ?

Consultants are told:

• WHAT to do.
• HOW to do it.
• WHERE to do it.
• WHEN to do it.

Consequently call centres have always struggled to maintain employee engagement, wellbeing and performance.?Since their inception Call Centre turnover has been around 25-30% and sick leave has been hovering between 6-9% (often much higher). ?

No child is dreaming of working in a call centre when they grow up. ?

A call centre job has always been a job until…until I get the job I really want, until I finish university, until I save enough money to travel the world, until my kids finish school etc. ?

But call centre work can be a job because…because it fits into my life, because I get to spend time with my family, because it supports my personal growth, because I feel valued and supported, etc etc.

We are all individuals with unique needs, desires and dreams.?And therefore it is impossible to design a job that will appeal to everyone.?In fact the only person who can design the perfect job for me is me.?The only person who can design the perfect job for you is you.

True flexibility across all 4 dimensions gives call centre consultants the opportunity to design a job that is right for them.?It empowers consultants to create experiences that align to their personal and professional needs.

Examples of flexibility across the 4 dimensions in call centres:

What

Introduce self-directed learning via a library of micro-learning activities.?At IAG we deployed this with gamification on the Centrical platform which enabled consultants to personalise their learning journey.

How

Remove scripts and complicated call flows.?Let consultants find and use their own voice.?Customer value authenticity and consultant don’t want to feel like robots or a broken record stuck in a loop.

Where

Work from home, work from anywhere, hybrid working are all great but they are even better when the consultants have the power to choose where they want to work. ?

When

Empower consultants to manage their own rosters.?Life can be messy.?Most people are constantly juggling their personal needs, the needs of their family and their commitment to work.

Attune enables a 10x increase in roster flexibility over other solutions (shameless plug).

If your call centre has introduced WFH over the past 18mths then congratulations, you have taken the first big step towards creating a truly flexible workplace. ?Now the challenge is to build on WFH and expand flexibility across the other dimensions.