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

95. Collin-Jacques, Caroline and Chris Smith. Nursing on the line: Experiences from England and
Quebec (Canada), Human Relations, 58 (1), 2005, 5–32.
Abstract. Some industries, like telecommunications, finance and retail, have been operating
call centres for several years and there has been growing academic interest in exploring the work
experience of employees taking calls and answering telephone queries assisted by computers.
Nurses who staff telephone centres in the healthcare industry are different from their counterparts
in other fields. These are highly qualified workers with a strong occupational identity and
distinct spheres of competence. However, occupation is not a constant as a mediator of technology
and it is argued that the extent to which nurses were able to shape their call centre work
differed cross-nationally owing to the simultaneous interplay of different societal constructions
of nursing and the national-historical development of tele-health centres. This article uses crossnational
qualitative case study research to examine the different effects of occupation, nation and
timing of industry formation on the design and experience of call centre work in the healthcare
industry.
Keywords: Call centers, Comparative studies, Nurses, Technological change, Social impact, Impact
analysis
96. Gollan, Paul J. Silent voices: Representation at the Eurotunnel call centre, Personnel Review,
34 (4), 2005, 423–450.
Abstract. This research aims to examine nonunion and union representative arrangements at
the Eurotunnel call center and assesses their effectiveness in representing the needs of employees.
The research examines these issues over a five-year period using a series of employee surveys,
interviews and focus groups. This period has also allowed a review of consultation arrangements
before and after union recognition and an examination of the outcomes from such arrangements.
The evidence suggests that the nonunion voice structures at Eurotunnel are used as devices
for information and communications rather than true consultation mechanisms or bargaining
agents. However, the challenge for the trade union at the Eurotunnel call center is that what
can be regarded as a success in some aspects has not resulted in a change in attitudes towards
unions by a majority of Eurotunnel employees. This could be seen as one of the major challenges
for union-employer partnership arrangements.
Keywords: Labor unions, Studies, Human resource management, Nonunion, Call centers, Collective
bargaining
(Appears also in Section X.)
97. Halliden, Bill and Kathy Monks. Employee-centred management in a call centre, Personnel
Review, 34 (3), 2005, 370–385.
Abstract. This paper presents the findings of research undertaken in a customer contact center
in Ireland in which a series of measures were introduced to implement employee-centered work
practices. The paper examines the processes by which the measures were undertaken and considers
the changes to performance that were attributed to the involvement initiatives. An action
research approach was utilized in studying the problem and a variety of measures were utilized
to identify alterations in employee perceptions and employee performance over the period of the
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