Financial Services Call Centers Experience 39% Employee Turnover Rate

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – Call center studies in the financial services sector find that the annual turnover rate is as high as 39%. This turnover rate translates into hundreds of millions of dollars in hiring, training and overhead costs every year.

Employee treatment is one reason for high turnover. In an article by Express-News, Cornell Professor Rosemary Batt stated that many call centers treat their workers as “second-class employees” by providing lower pay and reduced benefits. Additionally, many call centers with high employee turnover segment their workers, a practice that makes it difficult for employees to cross-train or advance within the company.

A report from research firm Cutting Edge Information, “Managing Financial Services Call Centers,” describes the strategies employed by some companies to increase worker retention. While financial incentives and rewards are popular, many companies are now implementing more non-financial incentives to increase employee retention.

“Providing top-notch customer service still requires a high level of human interaction, and call center managers must continue to invent creative ways to motivate, reward and retain valuable agents,” said Elio Evangelista, senior analyst at Cutting Edge Information. “Today, companies must build more sophisticated reward and recognition programs to boost morale and create a light, fun working atmosphere.”

“Managing Financial Services Call Centers” showcases quantitative metrics and qualitative practices in the following areas:

• Call center agents’ incentive and compensation packages
• Turnover, blocked calls, cost per rep and many other key performance measurements
• Inbound and outbound call metrics for the financial services industry
• Up-selling and cross-selling strategies
• Offshore outsourcing
• Process efficiency and call center technology

To view the online summary of this 114-page report, visit http://www.financialcallcenters.com/. For more information on this report or to learn about other research being conducted by Cutting Edge Information, contact Oveda Slade at oveda_slade@cuttingedgeinfo.com or 919-403-6583.