What do school performance figures mean for contact centres?

The news that many of the UK’s sixth forms are failing to equip students with top A-level grades is potentially bad news for the country’s contact centres.

The story recently featured on the BBC revealed that nearly a quarter of schools had produced no pupils with the A-level grades required by top universities (two As and a B, generally). And just 16 schools in the country saw half of their pupils reaching these grades.

But why should this be a concern for contact centre managers? I do realise that top-flight academic institutions make different demands on school leavers than a contact centre – but I think a shortfall in the best A-level grades is a legitimate worry for anyone recruiting into the industry.

For me, it demonstrates an ever-shrinking talent pool to fill positions in an increasingly challenging working environment. Call centre work is a very different proposition than it was even five years ago, when anyone with good basic communication skills could be a useful and successful front-line worker.

Widespread use of the Internet means agents now need to handle many different types of enquiries over many different channels. They are required to be subject matter experts, have complex problem-solving abilities, display reasoning skills, work with a variety of business stakeholders and technologies – and all while providing a polite, professional and efficient service. What’s more, it is a dynamic, ever-changing workplace that requires flexibility and resilience.

It is no accident that at the last count a third of people working in contact centres were graduates. The simple fact is that work in today’s customer service industry requires an unprecedented level of intelligence – both mental and emotional. But the industry still suffers from a stigma of being a ‘stop gap’ job with low pay and poor prospects, which means many graduates will not consider this type of work (unless it is the only option available).

This means that school-leavers are currently still a valuable pool of candidates for contact centres – but can recruiters be sure that they have the necessary skills? These latest school performance figures might suggest not, and it is something that operational managers need to bear in mind when making recruitment decisions.

Be in no doubt, contact centres are challenging working environments and, with UK schools perhaps not turning out the best candidates, it falls to employers to make sure candidates have all the skills they need to succeed. This means better skills testing, better inductions and better training – essential if new employees are to meet the needs of modern consumers.

By Claudia Thorpe on behalf of ISV Software