Published on the 08/09/2009 | Written by Newsdesk
Local call centres defy the impact of the global financial crisis, but growth is set to slow next year…
There were an estimated 27,000 seats at 340 contact centres in New Zealand during 2008-2009, a year in which the number of seats increased by 6.1%.
Growth in seat size is expected to slow to 1.3% in the year ahead.
The number of contact centres in New Zealand is also expected to decrease by 4.3% during 2009-2010 as a result of downsizing and consolidation.
These are among the key findings of the callcentres.net 2009 New Zealand Contact Centre Industry Benchmarking Report, which highlights some of the biggest challenges facing the contact centre industry over the next 12 months.
Full-time contact centre agent turnover reduced slightly from 35% in 2008 to 31% in 2009, while part-time agent turnover increased from 35% to 40% over the same period, according to the research.
Over the past 12 months, 60% of those staff who left the contact centre industry resigned their positions. A further 22% were transferred to other parts of the business, 13% were retrenched or dismissed, 2% did not renew their contracts and 2% retired.
The research, completed in August 2009 by specialist research, consulting and news organisation, callcentres.net, and sponsored by RightNow Technologies and Salmat, is based on interviews with more than 53 contact centre executives, representing 79 contact centres in New Zealand.
Dr Catriona Wallace, managing director of callcentres.net, says: “The New Zealand contact centre fared well through the economic downturn with seat size growing at 6%, unlike its Australian counterpart which grew at only 1%. However, we see New Zealand’s growth slowing considerably to 1% in 2010, suggesting a lagged affect of the global financial crisis”.
