Case Study

A global payments company have their core contact centre based an hour outside of Melbourne.  From here they support their corporate customers, ranging from single store retailers through to major banks and corporations. 

The TORCers were engaged to assist with recruitment for the team but soon realised that several fundamental and underlying issues existed:

• Constant lateness,
• Excessive absence through sickness
• Last minute drop outs for work
• Multiple no shows for interviews and ghosting
• Team members leaving after short amounts of time which increased the time and financial cost due to constant onboarding

The TORCers proposed that they investigate the root cause of these issues.  Through their investigation they found:

• Team members were unsure of the process for booking leave
• There was no clear process for lateness
• Rules around lateness and absence were contradictory and there were no clear or consistent repercussions
• Contract staff were disengaged and thought of the role as a stop gap with no career development
• Rates being paid were nominally just above award rates
• Contract staff felt that they were treated differently to permanent staff and weren’t listened to or consulted regarding the workplace or how to perform their work.

Following the investigation, the TORCers implemented:

• Clear and easily accessible guidelines for booking leave
• Cascading contact directories to report lateness which incorporated the agency/management relationship
• Clear, firm and fair guidelines and consequences for repeated lateness or absence that were implemented consistently and equitably across the team
• A regular ‘pulse check’ of the team in which feedback, ideas and suggestions were sought. Ideas and suggestions were discussed with management and changes implemented. Feedback was given on all suggestions and kudos given where suggestions were implemented.
• Contractors were made to feel valued via:
  • Contractor of the month awards
  • Shout outs to all team members with the best stats, results and feedback
  • Sharing and celebrating positive customer feedback with the team, including contractors
  • Bringing in ‘whole team’ team huddles
• “Walk the WORC” dependability testing in the recruitment process so that only engaged, reliable candidates make it to interview
• Regular catch ups with the team and Contact Centre Management to discuss career opportunities and development within the company.

The initiatives brought in by The TORCers had immediate and significant results. 

• 90% reduction in last minute leave requests, 6 months average tenure, Staff churn below 10%, 5% lateness each day]
• Team engagement significantly up
• Team performance significantly up
• TORC selected as the sole supplier of contact centre staff moving forward
• Complete reduction in ‘ghosting’ during recruitment processes