Importance of Culture in Contact Center Outsourcing

By Sheila Shanker
Updated: May 14, 2012

Importance of Culture in Contact Center Outsourcing

A culture reflects the values of a business, and it permeates all employees with acceptable and expected behavior. It takes time to develop a corporate culture, and it’s hard to duplicate it in some other place. When a company has a strong corporate culture, it helps in recruitment and retention of talent.

Corporate culture, as it relates to a contact center, has some unique challenges. Very few employees see any future in the contact centers, and they mostly work there on a short-term or on a temporary basis -- until something better comes along. There is no perceived long-term value in working for a contact center, creating a disconnected, non-committed workforce. Disconnected employees generally don't deliver great customer service. For this situation to change, contact center needs to work on setting up a positive culture that fosters longevity and values employees.

Take for instance, TELUS International Central America, which understood the need for its call center employees to feel connected and valued. It has developed an internal social network site, named T-Life, to build a sense of community within the employees. This site includes a car pool/ride share program, discussion groups, calendars of upcoming activities, videos, and other ways to facilitate collaboration and connection. TELUS must be doing something right in creating an appealing culture—its employee turnover rate has been one of the lowest in its history.

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