UK Contact Centre and Customer Service organisations face unprecedented challenges in hiring. The swift identification of candidates with ‘work-ready’ skills, and a new focus on retraining and retaining existing personnel have become essential for success. Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is the most immediate and effective solution to meet these urgent demands.
The world of work has changed. Loud demands for flexibility in when, where, and how we work have been joined by increasing employee expectations, a digital skills gap, record levels of employment, and a new focus on retaining current workers to create an employee’s market. This has led to businesses that were already struggling with a range of macro-economic problems now finding themselves facing the most challenging recruitment landscape in decades, with more than 75% of UK companies saying they cannot secure the skilled workers they need.
If future failure or success depends on a business’ agility to overcome recruitment problems, the Contact Centre and Customer Services CC&CS industry seems set for continued stress. This is a sector where attrition rates are three times the UK average, working conditions are notoriously rigid and the impact of the work revolution has already been significant – with 20% of CC&CS organisations saying they cannot offer the hybrid working that workers want, 27% reporting a shortage of candidate applications and 76% quoting factors other than salary as the top barriers to hiring.
What is the answer to this dilemma? Clearly, CC&CS organisations must embrace the ways that work has changed. This means offering employees workplace flexibility and a better work/life balance, including opportunities for advancement, greater recognition of worker input, and increased well-being, both emotional and physical. Additionally, CC&CS businesses must look within, to develop the workforce they already have, using high-value retraining programmes and meaningful retention schemes to reskill workers and reduce the industry’s elevated churn rate.
Unfortunately, many CC&CS companies may struggle to achieve these goals, as they lack the time, capacity, and resources to do so. For these organisations, Business Process Outsourcing will be the most effective solution. Partnering with external recruitment providers to optimise their workforce will give CC&CS businesses access to deep pools of ‘work-ready’ talent, rosters of highly-skilled specialists, and industry-specific training programmes such as Manpower’s MyPath. Working closely with their client’s internal HR departments, BPO providers can give CC&CS businesses more depth, greater reach and faster recruitment results than they may achieve on their own.
The workplace revolution began with the great leap forwards in technology. It accelerated with the Covid-19 pandemic. Now it is a permanent change to the world of work. For Contact Centre and Customer Services organisations, Business Process Outsourcing is the answer to the challenges change must inevitably bring.
With talent in short supply, recruitment cannot be business as usual
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Business Process Outsourcing is most effective for CC&CS businesses
Manpower Business Process Outsourcing for CC&CS
The CC&CS industry has additional challenges
Hiring issues in CC&CS industry are resolvable
