Call Center layout

[FAREED BAJWA]

We have call center of about 80 agents. Currently we are located on top floor of a building. We will be shifting the call center in a new building in a couple of months.
The company top management wants the call center in the basement of the new building as it has the maximum space . I as a call center manager am against this. Please tell about the pros and cons so that I can satisfy the management.

Regards
Fareed

[hallbj2]

I have some personal feelings about this Fareed - coming from a 12+ year call center management background, I started on the phone ages ago.
Is the Basement the ONLY alternative? I mention this only because way back "when", I worked in a similar environment as one of my first jobs on the phone.
I wasn't happy and neither were my co-workers. I felt as if I was being "punished" and not of value to the company to be relegated to the bottom floor.
This senario has a lot to do with retention. Put a group of folks in a windowless environment and watch motivation decrease and absentisim increase.
While the "top dogs" enjoy their "view", the ones who really make it happen are in the dark (so to speak).
Remember - it's the agents that make things happen and make money for the company. Show them they are important by placing them in a visible area and you may very well decrease turnover and increase motivation.
This is pure personal for me. And I would NEVER work in a windowless environment. Depressing!

Hall & Associates
Beverly Hall

[Seymour]

So! The call center manager wants a corner office with a view! Your company's management probably has a number of reasons for locating your call center to the basement of the new building.

1. Since the basement is the largest available area, there is probably lots of room for expansion.
2. Since utility and phone lines usually enter buildings in the basement area, the d-mark is likely to be close at hand, making for an easier installation.
3. Once about six feet, give or take, below gound level, the dirt keeps a pretty standard 55 degrees, f. year round. This means less cooling in summer and less heating in winter.
4. Most CSRs work in windowless cubicles. They have no outside view, anyway. For those who might have an outside view, in the absence of scenery provided in the basement, there are fewer distractions.
5. Some other management type with more clout than than you, the call center manager, wants the corner office with a view.

Unless the building in question is on a flood plane, better get used to the basement. You could negotiate for more plants, bright lights, and a large mural depicting a 20th floor view.

[nzx6b0]

Taking any of the 'HR' type issues out of the equation - because management are probably not too concerned with this but just from a business perspective have them consider the following:

1) HR and recruitment costs form a significant part of call centre costs, these will certainly increase in the environment you have described. I know because we have one of our call centres in a windowless data centre and the other on the sixth floor with natural light. Attrition and 'sick' days are signficantly higher in one that in the other - I'll leave you to guess which.

2) Call Centre agents are generally the front line in your business and the first point of contact with your customer. An individual that is happy with their environment will be noticably more cheerful and helpful than one who is unhappy with their environment. This will impact the bottom line and customer retention.

3) Environment is a significant differentiator between employers from a call centre perspective. The role of agents in most centres are very similar - something that differentiates one job from another and makes the company more attractive is the environment their employers work in - the best agents will not be attracted to working in these conditions.

[PortiaB]

so, you think that locating a call center in a basement for practical reasons is reasonable.? I beg to differ. I work in a call center which is located on the third floor of a building. We get ambient light and enjoy a view of a nearby lake. This is a comfort for women and men who are tied to their phones for 7.5 hours per day. We are not allowed by virtue of our jobs to walk around or visit other stations for a change of pace. If it were not for the view , ours would be a grim place indeed. And with that thought , everyone raise your hand who would not mind working 5 days a week in an undergound environment. with the only light provied from overhead incandesence. Am I to believe that because we are CSR's we don't deserve light, and a view? basements are for storage of things, not people.

[Seymour]

My "reasons to locate the call center in the basement" was partlly 'tounge in cheek.'

CSR's working in the "glare of incandescent" lamps hanging from the ceiling by their power cords (picture the necessary room of a cheap hotel) is indeed a bleak picture. However, this is not the picture I painted.

A call center, whether on the 50th floor or the basement , can be an inviting place. It is possible to nearly duplicate outdoor light with proper lighting. Please note that 'natural daylight' may become a non-issue during hours of darkness.

As I recall, darkness falls in mid-afternoon, during the winter, in Barrie, Ont. (Canada)

One must therefore question whether 'night' employees, who have no natural daylight, are sick more often than daytime, naturally-ligted CSR's.

Maybe the reason that the 'basement employees' have a higher rate of absenteeism is due to the demeanor of the basement call center manager. After all, he's the guy who wanted the 20th floor office with a view, but ended up in the basement.

His 'bad attitude' is understandable...(chuckle for effect)...and maybe the basement employees are just reacting.