The rapid rise of the contact centre industry in SA has left a dearth of management and organisational skills to keep it sustainable, says management consultant Cheryl Rae.
"The industry has grown really rapidly over the past seven years and while some leadership issues are generic, others need to be specifically targeted at this industry," she notes.
Rae will lead a call centre leadership course at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business next year.
She says motivation and retention of staff are critical issues, especially in ensuring they have the right information to carry out their functions and to answer client queries.
"There is also a difference in the types of queries and motivational skills needed. For instance, those people conducting outbound calls, namely sales, will need a different set of skills from those conducting inbound calls."
The Advanced Programme in Call Centre Leadership, originally launched last year, harnesses the knowledge of industry experts, explores the latest industry research and best practice, and includes visits to both in-house and outsourced call centres.
The modular-based programme aims to develop the management skills of call centre team leaders and offers high potential call centre operators a stepping stone towards team leadership. The first of the programme`s three modules runs from 3 to 7 March and the two others from 19 to 23 May and 21 to 25 July.
Upward trajectory
Rae says the industry is seeing good growth - according to the Department of Trade and Industry, the call centre sub-sector, for example, has grown at 8% a year over the past four years and now employs 54 000 call centre agents.
In the Western Cape, 25 000 direct jobs have been created in the call centre industry over the past seven years, making it one of the largest industries in the province.
The South African government also announced recently that it had approved six business process outsourcing (BPO) applications from international firms that would bring into SA investments worth R400 million and create 9 000 jobs over the next three years.
"SA is still positioned strongly as a preferred BPO and offshoring destination for the US and the European market. Managers need to be immersed in up-to-date best practice, and versed in the needs of global clients and the broad management expertise they need to address these market demands," Rae concludes.
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