Factors affecting turnover of call centre employees in a South African short-term insurance company
Date
2016
Authors
Naicker, Rajendran Burton
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Abstract
ABSTRACT
Call centres have expanded rapidly on a global level enabling the delivery of
products and services to consumers in a more efficient manner. These
businesses are highly dependent on human capital that remains in constant
interaction with consumers. The main challenge encountered in the call centre
industry was employee turnover. High levels of employee turnover negatively
impacts the business due to the cost of recruiting and training replacement
employees, as well as the drop in performance standards following the loss of
skilled workers.
This research focuses on identifying the factors responsible for employee
turnover in a single case study of a short-term insurance company. Using semi
structured interviews, 12 employees were interviewed at a leading short-term
insurance company in South Africa.
There were many factors noted as causes of employee turnover, these included
salary structure, lack of teamwork, stressful working conditions, having to deal
with difficult clients, the inability to meet performance standards and
opportunities arising because of new competitors entering the market.
The findings obtained from management within the organisation indicated that
they were generally aware of the reasons employees considered terminating
their employment.
As this research focused on a single case study, the findings cannot be
generalised to other call centre businesses in South Africa, however, they do
indicate the challenges faced by employees that contributed to them leaving the
organisation.
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Keywords
Labor turnover, Call centers -- South Africa -- Management