Almost Two-Thirds of Contact Centres Understaffed

In the era of the Great Resignation and with a busy holiday period just around the corner, we asked the industry professionals in our LinkedIn Community ‘What are the staffing levels like in your contact centre?’

670 people responded to our poll, and we want to share the results with you.

A massive 63% of respondents stated that their contact centre was understaffed, and of these, a surprising 21% claimed they were ‘Very Understaffed’. The knock-on effect of understaffing will no doubt lead to increased wait times and a detrimental effect on customer experience, especially as we move into the Christmas period.

The important question we need to ask is why are so many contact centres understaffed? Are there shortages in skilled staff? Are staff quitting due to the working environment or more appealing offers in other sectors? Or is there increased need amongst customers to get in contact with companies?

Interestingly, only 8% of respondents stated that their contact centre was ‘Overstaffed’, and a further 29% said their staffing levels were ‘About Right’, which does suggest that not all contact centres are facing staffing shortages.

However, with only 37% of industry professionals stating they have the necessary staff, customers should prepare for a difficult winter with long wait times, and contact centres need to explore how to mitigate the impact of staffing shortages.