CALL CENTERS (CENTRES) - Faculty of Industrial Engineering and ...

sales growth is higher in establishments that emphasize high skills, employee participation in
decision-making and in teams, and HR incentives such as high relative pay and employment
security. Quit rates partially mediate the relationship between human resource practices and
sales growth. These relationships also are moderated by the customer segment served.
41. Batt, Rosemary, Alexander Colvin and Jeffrey Keefe. Employee voice, human resource practices,
and quit rates: Evidence from the telecommunications industry, Industrial Labor Relations Review,
55 (4), 2002, 573–594.
Abstract. In this paper, we examine the predictors of aggregate quit rates at the establishment
level. We draw on strategic human resource and industrial relations theory to identify the sets
of employee voice mechanisms and human resource practices that are likely to predict quit rates.
With respect to alternative voice mechanisms, we find that union representation significantly
predicts lower quit rates after controlling for compensation and a wide range of other human
resource practices that may be affected by collective bargaining. Direct participation via offline
problem-solving groups and self-directed teams is significantly negatively related to quit rates,
but non-union dispute resolution procedures are not. In addition, higher relative wages and
internal promotion policies significantly predict lower quit rates, while contingent staffing, electronic
monitoring, and variable pay predict significantly higher rates.
42. Batt, Rosemary and Lisa Moynihan. The viability of alternative call centre production models,
Human Resource Management Journal, 12 (4), 2002, 14–34.
Abstract. This article outlines three alternative production models and discusses their applicability
to call centre management. These include the classic mass production model, the
professional service model and the mass customisation model. It then develops a theoretical
framework that identifies potential causal links between management practices, workers, affective
and cognitive reactions, and performance outcomes. It uses this framework to review
literature on service workplaces in organizational behavior and HR studies and to assess the
empirical evidence regarding these causal explanations. Finally, the paper presents two recent
quantitative studies of call centre performance—one that examines affective explanations and
one that explores cognitive explanations for the HR–performance link. It concludes with directions
for future research.
Keywords: Call centers, Human resource management, Models, Correlation analysis, Organizational
behavior, Studies
43. Belt, Vicki, Ranald Richardson and Juliet Webster. Women, social skill and interactive service
work in telephone call centers, New Technology, Work, and Employment, 17 (1), 2002, 20–34.
Abstract. This paper contributes to current debates about gender, work and skill in the service
economy, focusing specifically on the case of women’s employment in telephone call centers. The
paper asks whether call centre employers are capitalizing on women’s feminine social skills, and
examines the degree to which these skills are being developed, acknowledged and recognized.
Keywords: Human resource management, Call centers, Women, Statistical data
103