2007 survey shows that absence targets are still not met in 56% of Contact Centres, ……

but staff turnover continues to improve with 63% on or over target.

The annual survey by the Professional Planning Forum shows that while 56% of centres are still not achieving their absence targets, half have seen an improvement this year, driven by use of analysis and good communication between resourcing and front-line teams as much as by traditional absence management programmes.

This just released research forms part of the 3rd  annual benchmarking exercise conducted by the Professional Planning Forum and can be found at www.planningforum.co.uk. The full results including data on forecasting, workforce management systems and service level performance will be presented at Call Centre Planning 2007 in Dublin on April 25 – 26, the industry’s leading planning conference.  The conference is also a chance to hear practical case studies from finalists in the 2007 Contact Centre Innovation Awards such as AA, Barclaycard, EDF Energy, RSA and five local government contact centres, as well as to network and catch up on the latest news.

While 56% of respondents are still not achieving their absence/sickness targets, this nevertheless represents a massive increase from last year’s figure at 72%.  Although this is very positive, short staffing will continue to be a problem while 32% are using their target absence figures to plan their resources.  Worryingly, a certain complacency is reflected in the 66% who see absence as satisfactory or better. This is surprising given that attendance features in the top 3-listed management KPIs.

In addition to robust management policy, consistent treatment of employees and improved staffing levels generally, work life balance and clear visibility and MI have become key reasons for absence improvement in the past 12 months.

“This firmly places Resource Planners and Analysts in the limelight”, explains Steve Woosey, Director at the Professional Planning Forum.  “The large proportion of Resource Planners (83%) who believe they can influence absence rates, represents a huge shift from last year; it clear that our message that planners can make a real difference is achieving results”, he comments.

Attrition or Employee turnover is showing an encouraging improvement with 63% of respondents achieving or improving on targets and 39% showing an overall improvement on attrition rates in the past 12 months.  The top three reasons given for improvement are skills development opportunities, communication between management and employees and promotion/progression opportunities.

“Of particular interest is to see how far down the list pay and benefits and bonus incentives come” notes Steve Woosey, Director of Professional Planning Forum.  In fact, work life balance makes it into the top 5 reasons ahead of these. “There is a disconnect between what we see on the exit questionnaires and the real reasons for employee turnover.  Is Management focussing on the right things?” asks Steve.

The benchmark survey analyses results from 136 respondents from all industry sectors and was conducted during January 2007 (based on 2006 performance) and presented at the Planning Forum’s Spring Best Practice seminars in London, Bristol, Dublin, Manchester and Glasgow this month. This is the third consecutive year that this survey has run, and shows year on year improvement in sickness and attrition rates.

The results demonstrate that the wider involvement of planning specialists in key contact centre management issues such as sickness and attrition is continuing to deliver results in centres that are targeting these areas.

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