Dead-End Jobs or Career Opportunities? Advancement opportunities in call centers

Ferran Mañé Vernet and Chris Benner

Working Papers from Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Department of Economics

Abstract: Employment in call centers has grown significantly throughout the world over the past 15 years. In debates about the quality of these new jobs, there are few studies that specifically address promotion opportunities. Using a survey of over 2400 call centers in 16 countries, this paper documents levels and analyzes factors shaping promotions in call centers, and discusses implications for promotions in the service sector generally. On average, less than 10% of call center agents are promoted in any year--5.7% promoted internally to the call center, and 4% promoted elsewhere in the business. Firms that have more complex labor processes and require agents to have higher levels of firm-specific knowledge tend to also have greater promotion opportunities, which might be expected. There are also unexpected findings, including that increased autonomy in the workplace often provides a ‘substitute' to advancement opportunities, and that unionization is associated with fewer advancement opportunities within call centers, though more advancement opportunities to other parts of the business. Key words: promotions, service industries, call centers.

Keywords: Centres d'atenció telefònica; Empreses de serveis; Promoció professional; 65 - Gestió i organització. Administració i direcció d'empreses. Publicitat. Relacions públiques. Mitjans de comunicació de masses (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:urv:wpaper:2072/42870

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