No more call centre jobs in Europe?

Call centre outsourcing looks to continue apace, according to analysts, although the boom will see the number of agent jobs growing outside of familiar outsourcing destinations.

A new report from research firm Frost & Sullivan has found contact centre agent jobs are now reaching saturation point, despite a predicted average annual growth rate of five per cent until 2009.

The report predicts that eastern Europe will be the biggest beneficiary of both expansion in the industry and outsourcing, although areas of Africa, the Middle East and southern Europe are also expected to see growth.

Frost & Sullivan puts the move away from western European locations down to rival areas in EMEA having lower costs for staff and offices, as well as decent infrastructure.

In addition to a change in location, the report also predicts a technological shift, with a variety of factors driving contact centre managers to switch to IP technology.

According to the report, the upgrade cycle for automatic call distributors - last updated around 2000 - and consumers' growing fondness for contacting customer services via web and email applications will see contact centres moving towards IP networks.