Financial indicators very positive for UK contact centres

New research published by ContactBabel reveals that the UK contact centre industry is shrugging off the effects of the economic downturn.

“The UK Contact Centre HR & Operational Benchmarking Report (2nd edition 2012/13)”, is a major study of 216 UK contact centre operations, looking in depth at:

• The salaries and bonuses that your competitors are paying their employees
• Agent attrition and absence rates for contact centres like yours
• The contact centre performance benchmarks being achieved in your vertical market, and in contact centres of similar size and type to your own
• The plans for budget and headcount in 2013.

Findings are segmented by 11 vertical markets, 3 contact centre size bands, inbound/outbound activity and services/sales focus to give you the most accurate comparison with your own operation.

Historical data going back to 2003 are also used to identify key patterns in the industry, enabling the report to forecast how salaries, HR and performance benchmarks are likely to look in 2015.

The report’s author, Steve Morrell, commented: “A number of financial indicators seem to suggest that the UK contact centre industry is repositioning itself successfully for growth. The increase in salaries at both agent and management level, matched with actual and planned headcount changes, show that the demand for customer communication is continuing to grow. However, the nature of this communication is changing significantly, with different agent skills and abilities being sought-out and rewarded.”

“Businesses seem to be loosening investment restrictions, recognising that they are in danger of falling behind their competitors. However, operating expenditure – the month-by-month costs – are coming under even greater scrutiny.”  

Some stand-out findings from the 90-page report include:

• Contact centre salaries outpaced inflation in 2011-12, with management salaries in particular bouncing back  with a 6.1% average increase
• 54% of respondents expect headcount growth in the next 12 months, with only 29% forecasting a drop in agent numbers
• Capex (investment) rose in 30% of contact centres last year, dropping in only 18%. Capex is forecast to grow in 30% of UK contact centres in 2013, decreasing in only 11%. However, Opex (ongoing expenditure) will remain very tight across the board
• Talk-time continues to drop (now only 52%), although the proportion of time spent handling multi-channel customer contacts has increased by 50%

“The UK Contact Centre HR & Operational Benchmarking Report – 2012/13” costs £295 + VAT. Please download full details, including information on purchasing the report, from www.contactbabel.com/reports.cfm