Teams in Call Centres: Does Size Make a Difference?

In terms of service work, teams tend to be more prevalent in call centres than in other service industries. While the literature highlights key debates surrounding the use of teams in call centres, most of it is drawn from studies on large call centres that range in size from several hundred to seve...

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Main Authors: Hannif, Z., McDonnell, A., Connell, Julia, Burgess, John
Format: Journal Article
Published: Routledge 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/25409
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author Hannif, Z.
McDonnell, A.
Connell, Julia
Burgess, John
author_facet Hannif, Z.
McDonnell, A.
Connell, Julia
Burgess, John
author_sort Hannif, Z.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description In terms of service work, teams tend to be more prevalent in call centres than in other service industries. While the literature highlights key debates surrounding the use of teams in call centres, most of it is drawn from studies on large call centres that range in size from several hundred to several thousand seats. This article sets out to consider how the functions and experience of teams varies on the basis of call centre size by conducting case studies in three large and three small call centres. Findings indicate that large call centres are more likely to monitor performance on a team basis and use teams as a means of maintaining structural control, while small call centres did not have the capacity to engage in rivalry and competition as a means of establishing team identity. Instead, teams provided social support and were associated with team ‘longevity’ – a feature that was not apparent in the large call centres.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-254092017-09-13T15:15:33Z Teams in Call Centres: Does Size Make a Difference? Hannif, Z. McDonnell, A. Connell, Julia Burgess, John teams labour process call centres In terms of service work, teams tend to be more prevalent in call centres than in other service industries. While the literature highlights key debates surrounding the use of teams in call centres, most of it is drawn from studies on large call centres that range in size from several hundred to several thousand seats. This article sets out to consider how the functions and experience of teams varies on the basis of call centre size by conducting case studies in three large and three small call centres. Findings indicate that large call centres are more likely to monitor performance on a team basis and use teams as a means of maintaining structural control, while small call centres did not have the capacity to engage in rivalry and competition as a means of establishing team identity. Instead, teams provided social support and were associated with team ‘longevity’ – a feature that was not apparent in the large call centres. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/25409 10.1080/10301763.2013.820680 Routledge restricted
spellingShingle teams
labour process
call centres
Hannif, Z.
McDonnell, A.
Connell, Julia
Burgess, John
Teams in Call Centres: Does Size Make a Difference?
title Teams in Call Centres: Does Size Make a Difference?
title_full Teams in Call Centres: Does Size Make a Difference?
title_fullStr Teams in Call Centres: Does Size Make a Difference?
title_full_unstemmed Teams in Call Centres: Does Size Make a Difference?
title_short Teams in Call Centres: Does Size Make a Difference?
title_sort teams in call centres: does size make a difference?
topic teams
labour process
call centres
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/25409