Personality as a predictor of performance for customer service centre agents in the banking industry

Abstract

This dissertation focused on identifying personality traits, as measured by the Occupational Personality Questionnaire 32 (OPQ32r) that may act as job performance predictors for customer service centre (CSC) agents in the banking industry. The purpose of this research was to determine whether there are relationships between certain personality traits of customer service centre agents and their job performance. Purposeful sampling was used to involve the entire agent base as participants (N=89). A quantitative empirical study was conducted in which the relationship between the independent variable (personality) and dependent variable (job performance) was investigated. Several personality traits that predicted job performance were identified. Identifying the personality characteristics of individuals who are successful in a CSC environment should aid organisations in creating a better/suitable fit between employees and the requirements of such an environment, thereby improving organisational outcomes. This research adds to current literature gaps in establishing the relationship between personality traits and performance in the context of a customer relations management call centre environment.