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By Lisa Burroughes, 17 April 2000 00:30

NEWS The National Farmers Union's insurance company, NFU Mutual Direct, has given call centre operators a leading role in designing the IT systems for its £3.7m operation in Glasgow. The centre - which went live late last week - has been heralded by Henry McLeish, the Scottish Executive Minister for Enterprise, as a model for others to follow. He claims getting call centre agents directly involved in the design and implementation process is a technique that should be adopted by all firms. Sharon Watkins, head of direct sales at NFU Mutual Direct, said the organisation's approach requires a highly flexible IT strategy. "It is essential to give agents the right tools to do the job. We need to have a highly flexible IT system that responds to needs quickly as a result we are still evolving the technology and will continue to do so," Watkins said. As part of the ongoing process, agent feedback on the system will be given to company's IT department. Watkins added that operator fatigue is a major problem, which can be alleviated by adopting more flexible IT systems. A spokesman for the GMB Britain's General Union, which last week launched a campaign to improve call centres nationwide, agreed. "One of the biggest problems with most call centres is that agents get very little leeway with what they can say to customers. They are being constantly monitored to make sure they are keeping to the script - people go braindead saying the same thing over and over," he said. GMB's spokesman also welcomed NFU Mutual Direct's approach to the problem. "This sounds exactly the kind of thing we would like all call centres to do - have the foresight to think of the best working conditions for their staff. There is nothing better for the agent than to feel they are being cared for," he said. Workers at the call centre have been consulted on the environment, recruitment policy and training, as well as the technology used at the centre. Agents will also get research days where they learn about the requirements of customers. For example, an agent could learn about the day-to-day workings of farm life to better understand the farming community's insurance needs.