P&DM Link Centre and Sociology of Work Unit

Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management

Faculty of Humanities

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

P O Box 601, Wits, 2050

011-717-3913

The South African Call Centre Industry: National Benchmarking Report,

Strategy, HR Practices & Performance

The LINK Centre, in association with the Sociology of Work Unit, both at the University of the Witwatersrand, cordially invites you the launch of a research study into the South African call centre sector, undertaken by Chris Bonner, Rahmat Omar and Charley Lewis.

When

Friday 1 June 2007, 15:30 for 16:00 - 17:00, , followed by refreshments

Where

Classroom F, Mwalimu House, Graduate School of Public and Development Management, No 2 St David's Place, Parktown

RSVP

Boitumelo Molefe, 011-717-3913, molefe.b@pdm.wits.ac.za

This study of the South African call centre sector forms part of the Global Call Centre (GCC) Project, which is a collaborative network of over 40 scholars from 20 countries. The report is based on the results of an identical survey administered to a national sample of call centres in each country.

This project is the first large scale international study of call centre management and employment practices across all regions of the globe – including Asia, Africa, South America, North America, and Europe.

Covering almost 2 500 call centres in 17 countries, this survey provides a detailed account of the similarities and differences in operations across widely diverse national contexts and cultures. The centres in the survey cover a total of 475 000 employees. The South African study covers 64 call centres and 5 600 employees.

The study examines such questions as:

• How ‘global’ is this sector? Is there a universal best practice model of management emerging across
• countries or have managers developed alternative approaches and innovative strategies?
• How similar or different are management practices across countries, and what explains differences within countries?
• How do in-house centres compare to sub-contractors? And how do business-focused centres compare to mass market centres?
• What strategies contribute to better operations, job quality, turnover, and absenteeism?

Holman, D, Batt, R & Holtgrewe, U (2007) The Global Call Centre Report: International Perspectives on Management & Employment: Report of the Global Call Centre Network is available for download at:

http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/globalcallcenter/upload/GCC-Intl-Rept-UK-Version.pdf

Benner, C, Omar, R & Lewis, C (2007) The South African Call Centre Industry: National Benchmarking Report, Strategy, HR Practices & Performance will be available for download via http://link.wits.ac.za after the launch.