Equity Stake Could Convince Agents to Stick Around

Call center operators seeking to lower the high turnover of their agents might consider offering stock options to agents with a several years of seniority, according to a piece on employee retention in the Wall Street Journal today.

Ryla Teleservices reports it offer stock options for employees who stay for three years and meet attendance and performance goals, the Journal reports in “Telemarketer Bucks High Turnover Trend” in its Small Business Link section.

Employee retention has long been a sore subject for call center operators, with turnover rates of 50 percent to 100 percent or more routinely recorded by providers in the collection sector.

Ryla recorded turnover of 27 percent last year and its turnover is consistently under 30 percent. Mark Wilson, founder, president and CEO, started Kennesaw, Ga.-based Ryla five years ago after running call centers for Dunn & Bradstreet (now D&B). Lowering turnover was a major goal for Wilson so he instituted an open door policy to the executive suite, stressed promotion from within, rolled out the stock option plan, and began offering professional and personal development seminars.

Today, about 80 percent of Ryla’s managers were moved up from within, and the stock option plan has been taken up by 25 hourly workers and 25 managers, Wilson told the Journal.

Karen Clay, vice president of sales and marketing, said that the stock option plan was central to Ryla from its inception.

“Offering equity in the company is the foundation of Ryla,” said Clay. “It’s a goal for many employees to participate in the (stock option) plan.”

Wilson said Ryla spends as much as $250,000 annually on retention, and has a full time employee devoted to ensuring talented staff stick around.

Ryla workers on average are paid $10 an hour and the firm offers a health plan that covers 70 percent of employee health insurance premiums.

Inc. magazine ranked Ryla as 1,603 on its Inc. 5000 list for 2007. The company is on track to record revenues of $20 million this year, and has the capacity for 1,500 call center seats after opening a second center last month. The firm plans to announce today a quick ramp-up project center that will provide near-immediate services for crisis response and seasonal jobs, said Clay.

Ryla has provided collection services for financial services firms, said Clay.