Graduates flock to call centres…and most plan to stay, says survey

ONE in three call centre workers is a university graduate, an increase of 10 per cent on last year.  And two in five call centre managers have seen a rise in applications from graduates in the last 12 months.

The figures are from a survey of 286 call centre employees carried out by the recruitment firm Hays Contact Centres in August.

The level of interest from graduates is not surprising, says the company, given that there are currently around 70 graduates for every job vacancy compared to 31 graduates in 2008.

Just over half of call centre agents questioned agreed that they had a clear opportunity to progress beyond their current position, compared to 40 per cent in 2009.   Nearly three out of 10 said they would like to develop a long-term career in the industry.  Hays points out that 55 per cent of UK call centre managers started out as agents.

Two thirds of managers said they spent more than 20 per cent of their time coaching or training staff and one in four said this occupied at least 40 per cent of their time.

When graduates were asked to name the one aspect of call centre work they enjoyed most, 65 per cent cited the interaction, whether with colleagues (37pc) or customers (29pc). And 75 per cent said that they would recommend a career in a call centre to a friend.

And when questioned on the No. 1 attribute they look for in new employees, 45per cent of call centre managers said a positive attitude, followed by customer empathy (17pc) and good communication (16pc).