Wednesday - 19 November 2008
Analysis
As clients look to reduce costs by sidestepping agencies, research shows that there will be a growth in customer service jobs, leading to opportunities for recruiters
Recruiters working in the customer services sector are facing challenges as employers cut out recruitment agencies and candidates shy away from customer facing roles.
"Clients are getting clever — they are developing their websites and going to job fairs. They are trying to cut recruiters out of it," said Lucy Foster, director of generalist recruiter SJC. Clients are looking to reduce costs and see recruiters' fees as an easy option, she said.
Mark Mitchell, chief executive of generalist recruiter Meridian Business Support, has felt pricing pressure from clients. "There has been a continual, massive downward pressure on pricing. There's plenty of candidates out there, but the pricing is falling away. Some people are trying to gain marketshare by strangling their competitors, but actually they're cutting their own throats," she said.
Although recruiters are facing difficulties, research from the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) has predicted that by 2014 there will be more than 550,000 customer service jobs across the UK. This represents an annual growth of 2.8% in England, 3.2% in Scotland and 3.2% in Wales.
The study found that customer handling skills was the second largest skills area in short supply.
Mitchell said work had been created for his agency as companies restructure customer service through the introduction of larger, regional call centres, allowing clients to benefit from economies of scale. "There is a trend for on-shoring call centres," he added.
Paul Cooper, director of ICS, agreed, telling Recruiter: "Quite a lot of call centres are coming back from abroad." He explained that the reason for them returning is that companies often lose control over customers and staff working overseas.
However, while the ICS study shows an increase in demand for customer service staff, candidates are hesitant to take jobs. "People don't like to get into customer services, they have to be talked into it," said Foster. "A lot people see it as a dead-end job, as 'bums on seats'."
Catherine Johnstone, a partner in London-based recruiter Catherine Johnstone Recruitment, told Recruiter: "It is quite full on and it can be repetitive. Employees are under pressure to run through calls in a certain time. The customer service sector has had to improve its act in terms of making it a much more employee-friendly environment."
Johnstone said some clients are trying to make customer service roles more attractive to job seekers. "Rather than just being processing machines, they are training people to be more useful," she explained. She believed this was essential as candidates become more selective.
Faced with similar problems, Foster has attempted to work with her clients to improve the image of call centres. "We are looking at marketing and having a lot more [staff] reviews, finding out if they are happy," she said.
Companies have also responded by putting an increased emphasis on promoting staff who work in customer service-based roles. "Right now, career paths in customer service are a very strong way to go. Five years ago there weren't a lot of companies who had customer service directors. Having someone on the board who is responsible for customer services is a big change," said Cooper.
Ian Miller, editor of trade publication Customer Services Manager, added: "Customer service is becoming more about customer management. It's more of a holistic concept rather than a department."
According to reed.co.uk's salary index, the number of job postings for temporary customer service positions in England has fluctuated throughout the year, ending roughly 200 higher than this time last year at around 550. Permanent postings have dropped, from around 6,600 to 6,100.
Sourced from reed.co.uk's salary index
christopher.goodfellow@centaur.co.uk
Customer Service PDF(130.2k)
Customer services
Published: 09 July 2008
Recruiters working in the customer services sector are facing challenges as employers cut out recruitment agencies and candidates shy away from customer facing roles.
"Clients are getting clever — they are developing their websites and going to job fairs. They are trying to cut recruiters out of it," said Lucy Foster, director of generalist recruiter SJC. Clients are looking to reduce costs and see recruiters' fees as an easy option, she said.
Mark Mitchell, chief executive of generalist recruiter Meridian Business Support, has felt pricing pressure from clients. "There has been a continual, massive downward pressure on pricing. There's plenty of candidates out there, but the pricing is falling away. Some people are trying to gain marketshare by strangling their competitors, but actually they're cutting their own throats," she said.
Although recruiters are facing difficulties, research from the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) has predicted that by 2014 there will be more than 550,000 customer service jobs across the UK. This represents an annual growth of 2.8% in England, 3.2% in Scotland and 3.2% in Wales.
The study found that customer handling skills was the second largest skills area in short supply.
Mitchell said work had been created for his agency as companies restructure customer service through the introduction of larger, regional call centres, allowing clients to benefit from economies of scale. "There is a trend for on-shoring call centres," he added.
Paul Cooper, director of ICS, agreed, telling Recruiter: "Quite a lot of call centres are coming back from abroad." He explained that the reason for them returning is that companies often lose control over customers and staff working overseas.
However, while the ICS study shows an increase in demand for customer service staff, candidates are hesitant to take jobs. "People don't like to get into customer services, they have to be talked into it," said Foster. "A lot people see it as a dead-end job, as 'bums on seats'."
Catherine Johnstone, a partner in London-based recruiter Catherine Johnstone Recruitment, told Recruiter: "It is quite full on and it can be repetitive. Employees are under pressure to run through calls in a certain time. The customer service sector has had to improve its act in terms of making it a much more employee-friendly environment."
Johnstone said some clients are trying to make customer service roles more attractive to job seekers. "Rather than just being processing machines, they are training people to be more useful," she explained. She believed this was essential as candidates become more selective.
Faced with similar problems, Foster has attempted to work with her clients to improve the image of call centres. "We are looking at marketing and having a lot more [staff] reviews, finding out if they are happy," she said.
Companies have also responded by putting an increased emphasis on promoting staff who work in customer service-based roles. "Right now, career paths in customer service are a very strong way to go. Five years ago there weren't a lot of companies who had customer service directors. Having someone on the board who is responsible for customer services is a big change," said Cooper.
Ian Miller, editor of trade publication Customer Services Manager, added: "Customer service is becoming more about customer management. It's more of a holistic concept rather than a department."
According to reed.co.uk's salary index, the number of job postings for temporary customer service positions in England has fluctuated throughout the year, ending roughly 200 higher than this time last year at around 550. Permanent postings have dropped, from around 6,600 to 6,100.
Sourced from reed.co.uk's salary index
christopher.goodfellow@centaur.co.uk
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