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Managing customer queries in outsourced telecommunication contact centres

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dc.contributor.advisor Van Antwerpen, S.
dc.contributor.author Gounder, Deenan
dc.date.accessioned 2014-08-27T08:49:22Z
dc.date.available 2014-08-27T08:49:22Z
dc.date.issued 2014-02
dc.identifier.citation Gounder, Deenan (2014) Managing customer queries in outsourced telecommunication contact centres, University of South Africa, Pretoria, <http://hdl.handle.net/10500/13868> en
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10500/13868
dc.description.abstract Call centres have been described as an enabling resource for enhanced customer service, as a cost saving strategy, and a combination of both. Call centres are people intensive, resource demanding environments with complex management challenges. The call centre industry is growing rapidly and South Africa is fast becoming a desired destination for outsourced call centres. The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of outsourced call centre management specifically regarding their roles and challenges experienced when executing their daily activities. This study contributes to the understanding of the challenges outsourced call centre managers encounter and provide suggestions to help address major challenges faced in relation to effective call centre management. The methodology used was of a qualitative nature as data was gathered through semi-structured interviews. Inductive reasoning was applied in this study. The call centre managers were purposively selected for the study based on their experience within the industry. The data gathered was transcribed, coded and organised into themes, categories and sub-categories. The study had five objectives and once analysed the following results were obtained: profiles of call centre management was determined, people management surfaced as a major challenge for call centre managers, numerous strategies are in place to deal with challenges, however they are limited due to company policies, cost efficiency was not the main reason organisations outsource their call centres and finally call centre managers perceive their roles to be the overall responsibility of the call centre, its employees and performance. The results revealed that scientific management principles and continuous improvement are major focus areas within the call centre environment. This is mainly driven by the fact that outsourced call centres have contractual obligations that need to be met otherwise they face financial penalties. The findings also revealed that being a manager in an outsourced call centre today is a dynamic and challenging task with many pressures both internally and externally. The study recommends that outsourced call centre managers be empowered and supported by the relevant support divisions as they assume a great responsibility while operating in a dynamic environment and they play a pivotal role in ensuring the success of outsourced call centres. The main limitation of this study is that it relies on outsourced contact centres situated in the Gauteng area that only services one telecommunication organisations customer queries limiting the ability to generalise to other populations. en
dc.format.extent 1 online resource (x, 100 leaves) en
dc.language.iso en en
dc.subject.ddc 658.812
dc.subject.lcsh Customer service en
dc.subject.lcsh Consumer complaints en
dc.subject.lcsh Contracting out en
dc.subject.lcsh Call centers en
dc.title Managing customer queries in outsourced telecommunication contact centres en
dc.type Dissertation en
dc.description.department Business Management en
dc.description.degree M. Tech. (Business Administration)


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