By Andy McCue, 30 September 2004 16:10
NEWS Poor wages and high staff turnover make the West Midlands one of the worst places for a call centre in the UK, while the opposite has made Wales an increasingly popular choice, according to new research.
When it comes to staff quitting or getting fired, Swansea has the lowest staff attrition rate in the UK, closely followed by Cardiff in second place.
The survey was conducted by Mitial Research International (MRI) and commissioned by the Welsh Development Agency.
It also claims Welsh call centre agents are more capable than their counterparts around the UK, with a ration of one supervisor to 16 agents one of the lowest in Britain.
Welsh salaries are also booming with team leaders and supervisor positions carrying a £1,000 premium over the UK average.
The survey said: "In general, Welsh call centre staff are far better paid in relation to their UK counterparts than five years ago. The average Welsh call centre employee dealing with incoming calls earns £145 more than the UK average of £13,100."
While this is undoubtedly good news for staff it undoubtedly adds to the cost of locating there.
At the opposite end of the scale, the West Midlands comes in for a bit of kicking in the research, which says staff there are badly paid leading to high turnover.
Wales is also fashioning itself as something of an offshore outsourcing location. Just last year LogicaCMG created 750 jobs at its BPO and call centre facility in Bridgend, Glamorgan to offer 'nearshore' services to UK customers wanting to keep some functions closer to home.
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1. Colin MacDonald
It's nothing to do with the region, more to do with the companies who set up here. My wife has worked as a manager at a call centre for a well known brand for many years and has been very happy there. Now, under new ownership, the whole organisation has been torn apart, staff are leaving in droves and customer service has plummeted to new depths. I think your article would have been more informative if you had identified the poor quality businesses in question rather than the region they operate from, which is irrelevant.