 CONVERGYS
WDG Consulting has advised this third party customer service
firm on locating over 70 separate project assignments and the
deployment of 20+ contact centers in North America. Most
centers employ between 500 and 1,000 workers. In each chosen
location, Convergys has enjoyed impressive labor market success.
The process that WDGC has followed in recommending locations for
Convergys’ contact centers is defined below.
Every two years, WDGC screens North America locations to create
shortlists of promising areas for various operating models:
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Small (125 seats) |
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Medium (250 seats) |
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Large (500 seats) |
For
each model, WDG Consulting generated a shortlist of 15-20 areas.
We further segregated the shortlists by indicating potential
acceptability based on function (e.g., telesales, collections,
basic inbound, more complex inbound, and technical support).
Creation of the shortlists is based predominantly on labor
market indicators. These include the following:
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Population trends |
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Household income |
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Educational attainment |
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Labor force participation |
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Employment concentration/growth by industry |
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Estimated underemployment (e.g., retail clerks, cashiers,
hospitality industry clerks, etc.) for CSR/TSR positions
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Customer service industry saturation (typically should be
less than 3%-5% of the workforce) |
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Average wages for various customer service and teleservice
positions |
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Competitive labor market employers
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Those likely
to feed the new operation |
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Those likely
to be predators for the new operation |
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New/expanding white collar employers
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Downsizing white collar employers |
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Unionized companies and white collar election activities |
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College enrollment/graduates |
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Military base presence |
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Red flags on other issues (e.g., telecom, taxes,
infrastructure, natural disaster risk) |
Convergys’ real estate advisor then scours shortlisted
communities for available office space (including former retail
stores and flex space). Based on a number of internal concerns
(e.g., risk minimization, time zone coverage, competitor
location strategy, etc.). Convergys management targets 2 or 3
locations for a new center. WDG Consulting is then commissioned
to conduct detailed labor market investigation in targeted
locations.
WDG Consulting’s field studies encompass the following:
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Interviews with back office employers, including customer
service centers to learn of their labor market experiences
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Company vs.
market |
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Salary
structure |
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Competitive
labor demands |
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Availability
of qualified labor
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Entry
level |
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Experienced |
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Turnover |
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Best
geographic sector of the area from an employee draw
standpoint |
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Outlook on
future labor market conditions
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Interviews with other entities such as
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Personnel
agencies |
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State/provincial employment service |
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Local human
resource association |
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Realtors/developers |
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Training/education |
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Economic
development organizations
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GIS commute zone maps to plot residential concentration of
targeted skillsets and determine which office properties are
best suited from a labor market perspective |
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Physical tours of office space and the surrounding
environment |
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Request of the lead economic development agency to submit a
formal incentives package |
Field
based research results are then assessed with an eye toward
viability of each labor market both during initial staffing and
into the foreseeable future. Among the critical questions
answered is the sustainability of labor market advantages given
future competitive conditions. To compare and rank each
location, WDG Consulting assesses dynamics such as:
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Market competitive compensation structure
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Effective
starting rate necessary to generate large applicant flow |
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Salary
progression |
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Need for
incentive pay |
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Second and
third shift premium |
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Overtime pay
policy |
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Fringe benefits
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Most coveted
by the local workforce |
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Match between
most coveted and company policy |
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Needed
changes from company policy |
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Probationary
period
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Part-time
eligibility |
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Labor force quality/stability
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Educational
attainment |
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Basic skills
attainment |
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PC literacy |
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Basic problem
solving skills |
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Ability to
function in a team environment |
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Work ethic
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Turnover |
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Absenteeism |
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Competitive labor demand
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Current |
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Emerging |
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Future wage pressure/escalation |
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Unionization
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Risk |
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Avoidance |
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Keys to employer of choice status
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Compensation |
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Benefits |
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Career
advancement |
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HR practices |
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Internal work
environment |
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On-site
amenities |
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Civic
involvement |
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Most successful recruiting sources/methods |
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Area training resources |
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Quality of life/transferee appeal |
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Office space orientation to labor markets
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Incentives |
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Red flags on other issues |
Convergys has relied on WDGC to establish contact centers in
locations that have exceeded human resource expectations, such
as
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Payroll costs well below those allowed under the business
operating model |
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Absence of payroll cost escalation |
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Turnover well below industry average |
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Ample supply of quality labor to optimally serve customers |
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Ability to expand within the call center portfolio,
providing both cost efficiency and maximum flexibility |
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A
time tested process to quickly add new capacity in cost
effective locations |
Examples of locations in which Convergys now operates contact
centers per WDG Consulting recommendations are:
United States
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Valdosta,
GA |
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Greenville,
NC |
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McAllen, TX |
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Brownsville, TX |
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Baton
Rouge, LA |
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Fort
Pierce, FL |
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Laredo, TX
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Salt Lake
City, UT |
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Canada
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Halifax, NS |
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Edmonton,
AB |
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Kamloops,
BC |
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St. John's,
NF |
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New
Glasgow, NS |
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Welland, ON |
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Red Deer,
AB |
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Lethbridge,
AB |
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