1

The long goodbye

1. History
2. Disgruntlement
3. Pay revealed
4. How to quit
5. Irony and tid-bits (some more history)
6. I Care?
7. If nothing else
8. Let’s leave it at
9. The 25 page essay (interesting read)

I came here, 15 days short of 5 years ago, a University graduate with an English and
History degree. Slightly embittered (considering a 7-11 night-clerk is the only position I
could find after 3 months of living off of credit cards, looking for work), sarcastic (but
not nearly as I am now), eager and egotistical doe-y-eyed participant of something that
these parts has never seen. I was one of the first, as most know, being part o the “First
Class.” Ext 3016 (we started at 3001-3023 – even then we had 1 drop out of our class…
and NOT Comcast/AT&T were not the first).

That was (doing the math…) June 13th, 2001, and a lot has passed.
My God 5 years: that’s a career!

Sorry, because the turn over rate for most call centers is 6 months, and this one was only
slightly better, at about 8-9 from my reckoning, I can’t list of the over 3000+ people that
have touched my life here. I sent out countless emails for both morale building and
technical help (later to be used to question if I truly was spending my time “wisely” by
one Mark Anderton (I just felt most of old management shudder at the name) – thus
achieving my first raise, 6 months LATE mind you, as the lowest paid mentor, EVER, for
the first year… (and yes, there was a futile battle over that one, but that is another story…
or is it…?)) and tried to set the example that was impressed upon me by the first trainers:
“You are the first. You set the pace for every class after you. You are the ones that set the
bar.” I have always hoped to set that bar high.

Honestly: this was the best JOB I’ve ever had. This was a bad career choice. Why stay?
Because it really is an awesome job if you take it just as that: sit on the phone all day and
talk in an air-conditioned building, and if you do your job right (not even necessarily
well), you get nothing but praise and admiration. That, I’ll miss. To quote an ex-
employee: “it was the only job could apply at 11 am, after crawling out of bed, in my
underwear.” The pay, for around these parts, wasn’t bad, either. We all know it could
have been better.

Most don’t remember, or know about, the fact that the original 6+ mentors were told by
the original trainees (who were only mentors in training, down in the states, themselves)
 2

that we should be making 15+$ /hr as mentors. They also didn’t know about the fact that
all of us were going to walk – there was a 2 week debate amongst ourselves, when we
found out that we were only being paid 12.69/hr, one month AFTER we had all been
already doing the job. Compliance kept us working (and wearing our smiley masks). We
all knew there was nothing this side of the Lion’s Gate that would offer us 12+$ at the
basic math of commuting (subtract about $800/ yr from your salary for every 10+km
from home), at least not without a little more education. Like I said, this was a great job.

But I digress: There are a lot of bad agents out there (“ya, I sit with my feet up listening
to my ipod. Screw management, and the visitors from HP. They can’t tell me how to do
my job. If I want to talk to my friends or get through Citrix and chat on msn, I’ll do
that…” (And this agent had never talked to me before, I just pulled up a seat…)). There
are a lot of good agents (and thank-god for those of you who still give a damn- even if
some of you give too much). But remember: with the turn over rate of 6-9months – once
again, each of you still set the pace for the future agents. Think of that when you open
your mouths in the pit of venom (and truth) called the smoke pit…

So here is the good part. The part where I rant. I”LL EVEN USE CAPS so those of
you scrolling down looking for any sort of interesting tid-bit. Anyone that met me and
has seen my work
1. Knows I make mistakes like all of us, but get back up keep truckin
2. Knows I was one of the best damn mentors/agent/workers Stream has ever seen.
3. Knows this day is a day where Stream has lost one of its lifeblood
4. Knows we are all expendable, and I am, in-fact, probably NOT going to be
replaced. (Last I heard we were still overstaffed in mentors- ouch, hit to the ego)

Why am I leaving? Simply: I have no where to go without giving more time than Stream
has left for me. I applied for management more than 8 times. I was short-listed 6 times.
My last interview, I told them “this is your last opportunity. I will be one of your best
managers, and I WILL NOT APPLY AGAIN.” And once again… ouch ego. Not to
mention T.S., and Trainer (which I did a 3 month back to back stint at training classes)
pays over $4,000 less a year than I grossed last year as a mentor/associate trainer. Not a
lot of incentive to achieve… If I became management, until I became upper management,
or if I got one of the sales bonuses they get (gee wonder why its pushed by some of the
managers that suck at improving their agents beyond what benefits them…(NOTE: it is
possible to hit your goals, AND get RPC AND have a rocking T.S. that cares – I know, I
have worked for a few)), I would NEVER make as much as I made as a mentor: note to
those that want to go from Mentor to Trainer/Management – UNTIL THEY CHANGE
THE PAY SCALE, be content or use the opportunity to apply outside of Stream (6
months should suffice, then leave- don’t kid yourself, you are still more than
replaceable).

Side note: to the Trainers that have stuck it out: everyone give them praise, they are doing
the job at a less pay than they deserve. **INSERT SUPERSTAR AND A STIFF DRINK
HERE**
 3

For those that don’t know: PAY REVEALED

When I first applied for Team Manager (hey look, same name that we started out with…
go figure) a TM was paid 36,000/yr with an EASILY achievable 6,000 bonus per year.
Yes, that’s right, 42,000. Now: 30,000. Same job. Don’t let them kid you. The whole
Solectron General Manager thing was just a smoke screen. ECE hasn’t done much better
for pay reduction.

The original Trainers were hinted at $40,000/yr. Welcome to 30,000, again.

Mentors were told 12.69 with raises… capping somewhere around 17+ - and the raises
were SUPPOSE to be 5% or so (easily achievable I you were a good agent, back when
Stream was Stream). I never got more than 3.1 +- % ever. I’m leaving at 14$ after 4.9
years of mentorship… Now they only give you a pat on the back and something like a
+5%, then a lock down for 1 year w/o pay raise (that whole Feb. pay raise scam where
they know attrition (6-9 months most people will quit, back in the day with 4 month pay
raises, that put them at 11.00+25+25+25 (11.75) after 9 months, not the 10.00 whatever
they pay now…) will make it so they never have to give a pay raise, ever.)

Oh ya, and thanks, E.C.E for pulling my funding for schooling outside of Stream AFTER
I paid the first $1,600, and working my ass off for the first semester as a General
Accountant. Although I barely got through and got 1,200 of that back through Tuition
reimbursement, because of my low pay, there is no way I could ever finish that which I
started (at least while working here) without the reimbursement that has since been
REMOVED.

And guess what: the sad thing: This is still one of the best paying jobs for the
amount of work you do in all of Chilliwack. Sad. But true. So don’t quit till you have
read my

STRATEGY TO SURVIVING AND GETTING A BETTER JOB:

Or… the things I have observed done right and wrong…

1. Take any certification that is being offered.

a. I got my A+ - but should have got my MCSE (Buu is making good coin
because he did…)
2. NETWORK DAMN YOU!
a. Do the math, 1,300 people, and you know a little, and someone else knows
a little, think of how many businesses are never created, but dreamed of.
There are another 1,299 people out there trying to get ahead. Post your
aspirations, talk to people.
b. You will NEVER (other than anonymous faces on the internet) find an
opportunity where you have this many (diverse) people that have above
grade 12 education that are WANTING something more. Use it. Even if
you can’t right now, get names, numbers, email addresses.
3. Quitting, or moving on:
 4

a. DO NOT QUIT without having a BETTER job lined up.

b. If your aim is to quit/get fired you better have a backup. Otherwise:
i. I will see you at McDonalds in 3 months
ii. I will pay you to pump my gas
iii. I will see you being paid a less wage than me to do more work at
an entry level position at Staples (even if you were the snooty
SDM (Mark) that wouldn’t give me my proper raise)
c. Use your vacation to test out your new job.
i. Or request personal time. Don’t fly blind, you may end up in a
worse position.
d. You may be pissed right now because you didn’t get the 25 cent raise you
deserve, but you are REALLY showing them by taking a 3$ pay cut. Ass.
e. Do NOT write a scathing email like this, unless you really really know
you are NOT coming back. Ever.
i. Even if you do, because of the turnover rate and because
management has a short term memory, in 6 months you can
comeback and make manager in 6 months after that.
1. And, yes, you will be hired as a manager before me.
f. Yes, taking a picture of your ass and sending it out will get you arrested on
indecent exposure.
i. Even I you ass-hair is long enough to knit pants
ii. Try not to let anyone take incriminating pics of you to be later
posted. They will haunt you. Forever.
1. If they are ugly pics, they will haunt us. Forever.
g. Or just do this <click>

Irony and Tid-Bits:

My Password says it will expire in less than 14 days. HAAHAH for once I have that
stupid f’n message beat.

I remember getting my first Stream Hat: back when we weren’t supposed to wear our
badges or any Stream flair outside of work (incase we were an embarrassment (the first 6
months)) – AND you can’t wear hats in the building. I could wear it from my car to the
front door of Stream. That was special.

The best was the "Personal Electronic Equipment Policy." That’s right no PEE'ing on the
floor. IT will take your PEE away. You can’t even PEE in the bathroom. That was
worthy of about 2 hours of mentor chat… we have no lives.

I remember taking someone's badge (she always used to leave it at her desk) and walking
it outside and taping it to the outside of the glass doors by her desk. The irony that she
needed her badge to get her badge struck me as funny. My TS didn’t laugh.
 5

The more experience I got, the less authority I had. Originally I could give computers
away, 5 years later, I can only sign for $50 under fairly strict guidelines, same position.
Odd that.

"the steel joists (in the warehouse in which they leased 72,000 sq. ft.) were deemed too
structurally unsound to handle the weight of the HVAC system specified for this size of
call center." - And as we feel the airconditioning shudder, we hope it holds together

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have been asleep for far too long.
This job is a matter of habit, no matter if you are an agent, Sr, or management. Once in a
while there are a few uncomfortable shifts of knowledge (where we are actually tested),
but within a day or so, everything becomes habit again. I will find it refreshing to be
“alive/awake” again.
Here is my timeline:
June 13 2001 – training class
August 9th – hit the floor
August 16th/30th Supposed to be a Mentor in Training
August 30th, MIT position is dissolved – full Mentor. And began my snooze…
Woke up briefly to get my Stream Equivalent A+
Julyish 2004 – Was totally disgruntled for some time (since Feb) and slacked because of
my poor pay raise (compared to my peers); mainly, because I was actually TRYING to
do well and was totally screwed over by my TS… even with 30+ pages of evidence.
Dead asleep.
Augustish 2004 – Hired as a Point of Contact (Sub System Project Manager) for the E.C.
I was actually awake and kicking for about 6-7 months. Crazy amount of work and job
process creation. None of us knew what to do so we had to invent the wheel, and did a
pretty damn good job at it. Kudos to all the POC’s that broke the ground on this stuff.
Only problem: A LOT of damn work for no extra money. The respect and the “coolness”
eventually wears off, especially when your schedule is unchangeable and you come to a
time when you can’t work days. That, and when an Engineer (SJ for those that know him)
tries to use you as a scapegoat… (Which, I got a Performance Improvement Plan that
very few people know about – I more than surpassed it with the next 2 projects, then
when being put back to “normal duty” opted out. Thus when the option for Mentor came
up, I took it)
Augustish 2005 – Back to my old roots.
October-December 2005 – I was training, infecting others with my truth and cynicism.
Thanks to all o you that survived that class. And total ego boost to have over 100$ worth
of stuff given to me from a class as a “Thank You” – I still plan to use the rock that was
sand blasted as “computer repair kit.”
January – Present – other than a few key projects (crazy complicated schedule creator in
excel), I napped, mentally.

Now it’s time for the sleeper to awake! (and move to a sleepy little town)
 6

Honestly, I have never had such a job with so much praise and admiration from my peers
and the ones around me. That, and the fact it is the easiest job I have ever had once you
get used to the flow of things, has what has kept me. For every negative SOB out there,
there is always the few that say “good morning” every morning, or ask how I am doing
down the hall way, or offering some bit of information to me to make my (and everyone
else’s) job easier (sometimes causing my chronic lateness from break).

Remember: if you care too much, if you actually think of the people you talk to as people
and really feel for them, you’re gonna get yourself fired or end up on sick leave (the
stress leave that they claim doesn’t exist). Care just enough to put on “the act.” It is sad
and pathetic, but customers will like or hate you just the same, and it doesn’t wear on you
as bad at the end of the day. My wife worked here, and actually cared: it took over 6
months of repair to put her back to somewhat “normal” after the Gestapo style
management techniques used on her by Linda Drummond, then later by a couple tag
teaming SDM/Supervisors (from my personal experience, you’ve gotten better since then,
Brian – but I still see the child-like glint of evil in your eye most days – think ants and a
magnifying glass, and on darker days - yeast and pigeons).

Before you get all stuffy, remember this: if you called about your toaster not working,
how much “empathy” do you expect from the service line when you call. What does it
matter to you, beyond that 15 min call? As soon as you kid talks to you, or your friend
calls and you’re off living your real life, how much of a roll does that toaster play? What
type of freak are you to break down and cry about a piece of electronic equipment???
How much do you want to bet that after the water works happen, within 5 min of being
off the phone, they let out a little sigh, get up and watch T.V., go to a movie, eat another
twinkie, or just go on with “normal” life. Do not kid yourself: as much praise or hate they
have for you for those few minutes, you wont matter in 20 minutes. They wont remember
your name after one day (no matter how good the kudos), and you are just “someone
from hp, a tech I think” within 3 weeks. I KNOW THIS. Even the ones that really really
hate *you* (usually the ones that cause the problems themselves) only know your first
name, so they really have nothing to know you by. I have taken probably well over 2000
supervisor calls in my time. I have taken over 40,000+ mentor calls. I’ve made countless
74 year old grandmothers cry, and had to steal myself against it, because I had no power
to do anything. But most were not (old) grandmothers, most were these type of people
(32 year old grandmothers…??). Admittedly, a low dark smile has curl at the side of my
lips when denying service to someone who ahs bashed 3 or 4 agents on their self
righteous battle to get what they want, when they don’t deserve it.

If nothing else, in my essay on call centers, read the last section 12: Since Then,
Call Center Communication.

“Before we begin this supervisor call, let me

confirm your street address… and fax you my
picture”
 7

Ok. This is getting too long for even me.

Let’s leave it at:

Blair had it right: if the devil goes to take my soul he will find a calling card that says
Stream Chilliwack.
I am proud to have worked for the world’s largest supplier and implementer of Tech-
Leashes (headsets).

My wife said she would kill me if I got all sappy, regardless:

1. I will miss almost all of you. I have aged insanely here, and will be taking a lot of good
memories.
2. This job became a major part of my life, as weird, sad, embarrassing, and full of
moments of pride that might inspire.
3. I’m scared of my future, but know if I don’t take the gamble, I will only become
embittered and depressed from the lack of (mental and occupational) growth in my life.
4. 20 hours at 25$/hr beats 40 hours at 14$/hr if you know how to spend the other 20…
5. May those with good intention prosper, and those without receive a karma-tic kick in
the ass. You know who you are, and payback is a bitch.

Contact: ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦@♦♦♦♦♦.com
If you send me an email, ill update you with my msn/contact info.
 8

The Realization and Implementation of a Communication Liaison in a

Call Center

Index

1. The Job Posting

2. Position Better Defined

3. Stress Defined // Stress in Relation to Morale

4. Stress and Sickness

5. Stress and Communication

6. Importance of Skilled Labour // Danger of Attrition

7. Importance of Communicating With Skilled Labour – Different

But Common Goals

8. How to Potentially Maintain Skilled Labour Without Added

Expense

9. Liaison in Action (Conclusion)

10. Dialogue

11. Post Meeting Thoughts

12. Since Then

 9

1. The Job Posting

Job Description: Liaison.

- To document meetings, suggestions, and concerns with a date stamp; (use excel.)
- To maintain total confidentiality from agents to any other group, unless agents
want it to be otherwise noted.
- To be knowledgeable of all general policies, procedures across all contracts, to
know who should be informed, and to be able to find details or direct employees
to the department which is applicable to resolve.
- A resolve: “To research and deliver directions towards a resolve within a short
amount of time. To deliver direction to resolve problems through researching in
an efficient manner. Limiting the time spent to1-2days or less.”
- Be aware of what changes are occurring in each major group, Upper and Lower
management, Quality, Social Committee, Facilities, Cafeteria etc.
- Be Non-judgmental.
- To be willing to give suggestions to how things can be changed to improve
morale, and willing to accept when those changes are or are not implemented.
- To maintain the goal of increasing communication across all areas in order to
increase morale.
- To stop the production of rumors by supplying accurate and up to date
information.
- To work for all of Stream, to enable the flow of information to flow both
directions.
- To increase better communications throughout the entire system without having a
direct effect or ability to evaluate anyone; unbiased.
- To be a living example of a good employee, adhering to all polices and
procedures. (a fair standing with all sections of Stream)
- To be accountable to Site Director, and all forms of management as needed.

This position is not in any way to take the jobs from any section of Stream
International; it fills a gap in order to make the system run more smoothly. There are
many minor issues that are not, can not, or should not be addressed by any particular
department, and therefore go unheeded or they build up to the point where extreme
measures may have to be taken. Although the “issue” or “issues” are resolved, the
duration of “purgatory” damages morale. Worse, yet, the final resolve may be almost as
bad as the situation.

Even if this position does not create “real results” immediately, it will let all parties
know that there is something in place to show concern for what is going on. The concept
is simple: damage control.

HR’s issue range is not complete or encompassing. And what happens when agents have
problems with HR themselves? (general, not specific) What of the issues that are
seemingly too small for HR to be concerned; or too general?
 10

Team Supervisors have a difficult time communicating with agents because the agents
know that Team Supervisors are the ones that evaluate them. Available time is also a
concern.

Quality is focused primarily on the contract, and on TNSI, not necessarily on the agents
workplace concerns.

Upper Management cannot possibly process the volume of minor incidents that this
position would allow, and it is, understandably, not their job.

Mentors are great technically, but have nothing to do with complaints, or out of contract
(Stream) processes.

IT is tool and system based only.

The Employee Assistant Program is out of building support, and deal more with
emotional issues rather than helping the workplace run smoother.

2. Position Better Defined

Throughout my employment here, I have learned a lot about communication. The
same request or command can be given many different ways, but if the receiver does not
understand the reasons behind, or misinterprets the request, uncertainty, bitterness, and
dissatisfaction sets in. That one person who misinterprets can start bringing other
employee’s morale down around him or her.

I have seen this many times, and often the situation becomes an “us versus them”
fight. With the proper perspective it could have, and should have, been a group effort
towards common goals for different reasons.

“No wonder why the agents are quitting and leaving, it is not about the money, it’s
about the politics and stress.”1

Morale and stress may not be a measurable commodity, but it has a direct effect on a call
center. But, before dismissing it as futile to address because it is not a measurable
commodity, take note that

"The technology, in one sense, is racing ahead of people’s ability to manage

it," said Noah F. Gans, professor of operations and information management
at Wharton. "I don’t think anybody really understands what you’ve got to do
in any kind of consistent way."

"What the call centers have been doing up to now is pretty much trial and
error," said Lawrence D. Brown, a Wharton statistics professor who is

1
A Technician in the Cafeteria 02/17/03
 11

examining call center staffing. "The big expense in a call center is the agents’
time, and there are a lot of agents."2

Many of the tools, theories, and practices implemented often cause much work and little
measurable pay-off. This is taken note of, and aptly labeled,

The Myth.
Every day I get Emails from mainly Europe & the US asking me to validate
information in an ROI document.
ROI stands for Return on Investment, and when the IT department is tasked with
buying new software or hardware for the Call Centre the vendor prepares a
document, which shows how the new equipment will cut cost and make the
investment worthwhile. The time it takes to recoup the investment is essential to get
the ROI.
In general an ROI from a vendor rarely reflects what happens in real life. In fact
it’s very rare that anyone ever actually audits the ROI and ensures that the
promised savings were actually realized. 3

Because it is not easily measurable does not mean it can be easily dismissed. Without
stretching the imagination, one can think of many ways lack of morale and negative
stress can directly affect the bottom line:
- Attrition
- Stress leave
- Sick days
- Schedule adherence (late & leaving early)
- Extended breaks
- Dropping calls
- Attitude on the phone / call control
- Interaction with other agents
- All around attempt at beating the system.
- Using the system to antagonize others (weak or false reports to HR or
supervisors)

Each sick day, late clock-in, or (potentially unnecessary) new class takes a vast amount of
management’s time away. Where does that time come from? The agents that are adhering
to policy, and not, supposedly, needing attention. That is, until it is too late and those
agents, too, begin to need extended time to make up for lack of attention or
communication. This viscous circle will be discussed more in section 6.

This position will attempt to alleviate some of the sick days, attrition, and general
stress through many ways, all of which relate to communication. Issues can be brought
forward to the parties that need the information. This will be documented, and the issues
2
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/articles.cfm?
catid=14&articleid=540&homepage=yes>Stream
http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/faculty/gans.html
http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/faculty/lbrown.html
3
http://www.callcentres.com.au/ROI_&_callcenters.htm#Head
 12

refined for efficiency in order to have a positive effect on all parties. If the answers are
not easy to come by, because all is documented, the next time a faster resolve or a repeat
of the resolve is easily accessible. The answers will be created and available for all to
access. The employees will not be named unless they desire to be. If there is a serious
situation, it will be quickly directed to the department that needs to know. If there are
many minor issues that relate to a similar situation or problem, then the general
complaints can be refined to reveal a specific concern, saving the department the issue
concerns much time trying to see where the true issue is coming from. The Liaison will
be accountable to all parties to keep accurate record of what was brought up, and what
direction was given. The Liaison, because of the true purpose of the position, should be
managed by a Team Supervisor, but be able to prove what has been done on a daily basis
through notation. As stated before, any individual should be able to see the general
direction of flow for each scenario, but the employee’s names must be held in
confidentiality. The job itself will be variable, in that it will be redefined as needed in
response to the call center’s needs. All of this will be discussed throughout this essay, and
the reasoning of why this position needs to be created.

To digress: There is much more to be contemplated on this subject, and a great

deal of that will never be discovered until the position is given some testing time at
Stream International.

Before dismissing what has thus been presented, whether there has been more
pressure on management to become more involved in their agents, or a proactive attempt
is already being implemented, please take into account the following essay. It is
acknowledged that not all the gaps will be filled, nor all sides be exercised within this
report, but hopefully it will open a passage to a better understanding of what we need to
address, and offer the incentive to build a bridge from where we are to where we should
be, if it does not support that span on its own.

3. Stress Defined // Stress in Relation to Morale

Before we can discuss the answers, we must take a journey in discussing the
general issues at hand. Only with a similar perspective can we find a common agreement
or understanding. Some stress is good for an individual. It builds incentive and positive
pressure to perform.

Cary Cooper, Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health,, at the University of

Manchester Institute of Science and Technology says:

" We must understand the difference between work pressure and stress.

Pressure is stimulating, it motivates people, but stress is bad for both the health and well-
being of the employee and employer. The reason we are seeing more stress in the
workplace… is primarily because the nature of work is changing.4

4
http://www.ccma.org.uk/Articles/safety.htm
 13

And, with the change of work comes the need for all workers, on every level, to be able
to communicate what those changes are and how they are affecting them. If the ability to
communicate is not there, or, a more difficult issue to address, not perceived to be there,
stress is created.

Studies have shown that stress arise when we have a difference between demands and
available cognitive resource

In McGraths model for stress emphasis specially the meaning of the cognitive perspective
[Number 2 of 4 is Interpretation]. With that means how the person self perceives the
objective demands and how the person precipitate, estimate, judge and think according to
these experienced demands, and how the person experiences his own ability to overcome the
demands.5

Doug Helvig, from the Cohen Brown Mgt Group, explicates on stress factors in a call
center and how to approach them when he says,

The first step in gaining control is and identifying what the stressors are and understanding
the causes and effects. Stress is caused by many things. Time pressures, high expectations,
lack of communication, high call volume, inexperience, ill-prepared, to name a few.6

It is my opinion that the majority of call center stress is created through lack of
communication, to be later discussed in section 5. Furthermore, morale is not the
opposite, nor does it dissipate stress caused from lack of communication, but, as McGrath
observes, perspective plays a key role in how one approaches day to day stress
situations. It is not a far reach to say that an aura of high morale would be an excellent
temporary alleviation of stress because it alters ones perspective, but if the stress does not
go away, it is morale that will suffer. A high morale is a great buffer to stress, but in no
way a cure.

It is also known that a high morale, specifically a good attitude, can increase your
immunity not only to stress, but to sickness. It is then possible to predict that a highly
negatively stressed situation, which is not perceived by the workers to be addressed
directly by any department, can lead to physical illness. This will have a measurable
impact on any work place.

4. Stress and Sickness

In the Spring of 2002, we surveyed 2495 call center representatives in twelve workplaces. A total of
784 surveys were returned, an overall response rate of 31%. Key findings include:

5
http://216.239.51.100/search?
q=cache:RS1_jRdlkyYC:www.nada.kth.se/~tessy/NormanK.pdf+call+center+stress&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

6
http://www.callcenterops.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=491
 14

On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the highest, one third (32 percent) report their stress level at
ten. The overall average is 7.9.

One third (30 percent) report that stress often affects them physically and emotionally.

Forty percent report that stress “often” or “regularly” affects their work performance.

One third (31 percent) report missing some work days due to stress, with a median of five days per
year.7

I am sure that every manager on any of Stream’s contracts is painfully aware of

the amount of sick days, and how ironically those sick days increase as the “queue” gets
higher, ILOA or not. This is when the agents are needed to be the most efficient, and
when the small discrepancies, long breaks, unauthorized idle codes, and even general
attitude directly has an affect on both quantity and quality of calls. Pressure, and yes,
stress levels, increase greatly. The stress from the increased queue cannot be addressed,
so we must focus on what can.

If stress in the workplace (i.e. the call center) is not on the agenda the results of stress are
revealed through higher absenteeism than other parts of the company, higher Worker's
Compensation claims and ultimately in reduced customer satisfaction.

This Operations Topic focuses on various approaches to managing stress. Raising the pay
isn't necessarily the solution.8

Agents, when under pressure begin to shudder under smaller specific issues.
These can be anything from a dirty working space, annoyance at perceived inadequate
tools, or even a misinterpreted response from another individual (especially a supervisor
– technical or otherwise). It is also, frustratingly, a time that managers really cannot
afford to pull the agent aside to discuss each of these issues. It seems their primary
objective is to control the queue to the best of their ability, and financially it makes sense.
This is another gripe of agents who feel they do not get the personal attention when they
need it the most, and knowing (and sometimes seeing) that the queue is a financial
concern of their supervisors only feeds to the disgruntlement. This can seem to, and
sometimes does, last for days. At the same time, managers under these conditions feel
understaffed and unable to address the peculiarities of their agents without putting in a 60
plus hour workweek. Possibly with a reorganization of the way agent issues are
addressed, the agents can perceive the concern to be addressed, and the managers can get
the information they need when they have more ample time to deal with it.

Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Director of the HSE Whitehall 2 study,, says of occupational
stress in general that; "Poor work design is a major, preventable, cause of mental and
physical illness.

7
http://www.uwua.org/callcenter.htm

8
http://www.callcenterops.com/topic-stress.htm
 15

There is likely to be a virtuous circle: management practices that are good for the health of
employees are likely to be good for their productivity. Good management is therefore in the
interest of both the organization and its workers. A healthy organization, like a healthy
society, is likely to be productive and prosperous".9

5. Stress and Communication

The simple solution would be to have supervisors pay more attention to their
agents, or possibly have the agents wait with their concerns until a more apt time.
Supervisors must balance the business needs with the agents personal ones, and the
agents can quickly draw conclusions that the business ones come first until something
drastic (or a trip to HR) occurs. If someone was to take their requested information, and
concentrate it and simplify it (if not resolve it on the spot) – to be produced for the
supervisor at a later time, the agent can physically see that an immediate interest is being
taken in them, even when it isn’t a dire emergency.

According to a TUC poll called "Work smarter and end burnout", which was carried out in
September this year, one cause of stress and long hours can be bad management.

The poll suggests that more than six million workers have bosses that don’t know how to get
the best out of them. More than five and a half million have bosses who are so overworked
they do not really have the time to manage the work of their staff properly. The General
Secretary of the TUC, John Monks, said: "The challenge is to tackle the long hours culture
and the dangers of burn out Britain through sensible regulation, better management and
partnership at work."10

The Liaison would not have the “powers” as a Team Supervisor, but even just the
attempt to show the worker in need that Stream is willing to supply someone willing to
listen and act quickly may open up communication between Management and workers
(or even lower and upper management), especially when the Liaison makes sure that they
are supplied by Stream to be in collaboration and co-operation with all sections. Not only
would the Liaison help realize the agent’s communication by better defining what the real
needs are to their supervisors, but the Liaison can also express exactly why things are
done the way they are in a perspective that is neutral or beneficial to the agents. The
Liaison has no specific concerns of quality, or quantity of production. The most vital
thing is that the Liaison’s perspective and goal is never deterred from: to bring together
management and the tech (or even lower and upper management) through open
communication and directing the individuals concerned to the correct department
(knowing when to not take ownership of an issue that a department has precedence).
Communication is vitally important to be created only under the pretence that it is to
bring all parties together as Stream employees, and show each individual the positive
contribution they can have in Stream. If not, the job would be self-defeating:
In Coopers model for occupational stress, 5 of 5 is the structure of the organization and the
climate in the model are connected to phenomena like the degree of engagement in the work,

9
http://www.ccma.org.uk/Articles/safety.htm
10
http://www.ccma.org.uk/Articles/safety.htm
 16

take part in decisions, autonomy. Weakness in this kind of environment could lead to
stress.11

6. Importance of Skilled Labour // Danger of Attrition

As discussed before, stress can lead to added sick days or even attrition in
extreme cases. Attrition can be measured, but there is also an immeasurable attrition, the
ruining of an agent. If a skilled agent feels that their potential is not being met, or that
there is a chance that an agent will stop caring about the work he or she performs. I
usually witness this around the 8-12 month mark. “They've been there for a year! That's
a rare feat! No one's actually survived there for that long.”12 Some of this, I can
attribute to an agent not feeling as though their contribution matters or is appreciated.
Why would a supervisor be concerned? A seasoned agent can still produce, but will not
produce to his or her full potential.

whether in agent training/e-learning, scheduling and forecasting, quality assurance and

monitoring or pre-hire assessment - workforce optimization products can only go so far in
helping agents realize their potential….

Managers who are serious about reducing attrition must learn to value and empower agents
as much as they do other employees, and invest in reps accordingly.13

The maintaining of agents in conjunction with using the Liaison in order to give each
agent more self worth and feeling of value to the company will be discussed in section 9.
It is important that we do not lose site of the importance of the seasoned agents and
mangers at this time. Much of this, many may already know, but it is necessary to
remember at all times. The turnover of seasoned techs is good for the lower end techs
who may then climb in seniority, but it is generally bad for all other sections of Stream.

But unlike most factories, call centers are easily set up and taken down. If the local labor
pool gets tight and wages begin to rise, the operator can simply move

And yet certain types of call centers, including those using skilled tech support personnel,
need to minimize the costs of turnover, such as recruitment and training. Often, then, the
strategy is to have a mix of skilled and unskilled workers.

Researchers at Purdue University found that call centers can operate more efficiently by
spending money on high quality software and hardware than by paying more to attract
workers with better skills. Workers with low skills who require little training are easy to

11
(Cox T. Repetitive work: occupational stress and health, in C L Cooper and M J Smith(eds) Job
stress a blue-collar work. 1985. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.)
http://216.239.51.100/search?
q=cache:RS1_jRdlkyYC:www.nada.kth.se/~tessy/NormanK.pdf+call+center+stress&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

12
http://www.geocities.com/missworrywart/ccinterview.html

13
http://www.callcentermagazine.com/article/CCM20030203S0012
 17

replace. Annual turnover rates vary widely but are generally between 25% and 45%, Wilk
said…. In fact, labor can account for 60-70% of the call center budget.14

I am not positive on how training directly affects Stream, for I am sure that the
contract pays for at least some of the training, but the fact is that unskilled, or new techs,
make countless errors as they learn the skills required of them. In my contract, as a
mentor, and as an individual who has done countless call coachings and even taken many
escalations in relation to an agent’s mistakes, I can honestly say that the amount of
wasted time over the smallest mistakes is incredible. I can only imagine the time Team
supervisors must spend bringing them up to speed, “They are responsible for managing
people - lots of people. High turnover rates make managing people even more
difficult,”15 and Upper management on giving special programs to cater to specific “A-
Bay” requiring agents.

Kevin Hegebarth, director of strategic planning with Witness, believes that the more
successfully a center retains agents, the less need it has to train agents how to handle
calls. "The agents who stay tend to be more skilled anyway," he says.

In centers with greater turnover among agents, managers have less reason to assume new
hires know how to communicate effectively by phone. So managers at these centers first have
to train agents on fundamentals before imparting information specific to the center's
company or industry.16

As our last Site Director, Anthony Williams, told us, “the pyramid is
upside down, the agents are on top”. They are the breadwinners, and we are the
support. Many call centers agree,

By defining the purpose of the Call Centre and then look at how to achieve such
outcomes, it became quiet clear that Quality of the call and well-trained CSR’s was
the basic building block to achieving the overall purpose of the Centre.17

With what resources are given, it may be difficult to maintain those quality agents,
though. How much should Stream “sacrifice” to maintain those quality agents? This will
be discussed in section 8. It is more important, at this time, to realize exactly how
incredibly important seasoned techs are to us:

Outsourcing offshore can save 5% to 8% in Canada, and 10% in Mexico for Spanish-
speaking Americans, compared with domestic outsourcing. The percentages jump to an eye-
popping 20% to 40% when outsourcing to India, the Philippines and South Africa.

14
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/articles.cfm?catid=14&articleid=540&homepage=yes>Stream

15
http://special.northernlight.com/crm/bow.htm

16
http://www.callcentermagazine.com/article/CCM20030305S0005

17
http://www.callcentres.com.au/ROI_&_callcenters.htm#Head
 18

The higher offshore savings stem from lower wages and reduced turnover. That translates to
less hiring, staffing and training expenses, plus fewer productivity lags as new agents are
brought up to speed.

According to Geri Gantman, a senior partner at Oetting and Company (New York, NY),
annual turnover rates are just 5% to 10% in India and the Philippines compared with 50%
to 100% in US outsourced call centers….

But analysts and consultants say that many outsourcers, especially in India, lack the
customer service, sales, business and IT skills to manage bureaus, especially for quality-
demanding US clients. Consequently, Data monitor's Huff predicts there will be a shakeout
of the Indian outsourcing market, which he estimates has 6,000 to 8,000 seats.

"There is an oversupply of especially the lower-end seats," he reports. "The companies that
will exit the market are those that don't have the expertise to deliver the service that clients
expect." 18

The fact that it is estimated that offshore competition will fail is not enough. We
must prove to our clients that we are incredibly more skilled and make almost no
mistakes. We cannot do that if we have multiple training classes, and more importantly,
unnecessary training classes caused by attrition and stress leave. Yes, Stream India is a
great new addition, but just like we were partial cause for some of the U.S. call center
shut downs, we, ourselves, will be shut down and down sized if we cannot completely
dominate the market in quality and customer service. This is nearly impossible to do
without a majority of seasoned techs. The more technical the contract, the more we must
stress this. We must offer seasoned techs more incentive to stay with us, and I do NOT
mean financially. We must make this an incredibly attentive place to work: attentive to
their needs. Once again, this will be discussed in section 8. If we can maintain the
seasoned techs, while keeping them actively involved and alert to Stream’s needs, we can
maintain the quality needed.

“These results indicate that companies can expect their fortunes to rise and fall based on the
quality of customer interactions," said David Puglia, Aspect's senior vice president of global
marketing19

7. Importance of Communicating With Skilled Labour – Different But

Common Goals

In section 6, we briefly discussed the concept of a ruined agent. Often when an

agent has lost perspective for a period of time, it is near impossible to bring them back
into the proper frame of mind. This can apply to individuals, or even as groups. If there is
a lack of communication for long enough, agents will only take what they absolutely
need to do their job, and give only back the bare minimum:

18
http://www.callcentermagazine.com/article/CCM20020729S0004

19
http://www.commweb.com/article/COM20021009S0003
 19

There also are examples of how the call center’s Big Brother system can backfire. Data from
a foreign bank showed that some agents habitually hung up on customers right after
answering their calls, Brown said. These agents apparently realized they were rated on the
number of calls they answered, not the quality of service they gave. The big American bank,
in contrast, prohibits the agent from hanging up first.20

Because of the repetition of the job, and the feeling that stats are more important than
customer service, agents will try to play the system. Agents will succeed, because they
can receive great scores, but still not actually care about what they are doing or why.
There is no directional goal. It is similar to the old adage, “An I.Q. test does not tell you
how smart you are. It only determines how good you are at writing an I.Q. test.”

Although it would seem that it would be a waste of time to spend any time on a
tech with perfect stats, we must consider the immeasurable again. If an agent does not
care about the call, chances are this will soon be a reflection of how he or she feels about
the company they work for. I would like to think I made a personal connection to every
customer I talked to. Some I know I did, even within that 17-20 minutes on the phone.
This has carried over to the way I treat the agents, even when the call time is down to 30
seconds to 5 minutes. This all relates to a common goal. The customer’s goal was to get
whatever issue fixed. My goal was to make them happy, because I knew that sometimes I
couldn’t do what they asked of me, whether because of lack of resources, an issue beyond
my scope of support, or just an issue that I knew could not be fixed first call. The key was
that we had different, but common goals. The resolve was relatively closely related, and
through absolute honesty, I gave them the security and confidence in the company I
worked for. This is directly related to the common goals of Stream and its employees.
Everyone works for a slightly different reason. It would be near impossible to list all of
the minor goals both Steam and each tech has, but it would be possible to help each tech
that needed a goal to find one. This concept has been explored by many Team
Supervisors and agents, but it is actually a little more complex than “where do you want
to climb in Stream?” It will be discussed more thoroughly in section 8.
The most important thing we must take from this section is that the agents need to
know what Stream’s goals are and what their goals are and how they can lead to a
common direction with complete honesty. Some of this may involve telling the
Supervisor or Technician why things are they way they are, with an educated and well
thought-out answer.

For call center managers and executives, the scandals provide one more lesson in the value of
honesty, integrity and transparency - at all times. Yes, be forthright with customers when things
are going well, but also when they're not.

Is your call center woefully understaffed, under-trained or ill equipped? Make the necessary
investments in people, processes and technology. But until you do, don't misrepresent your
capabilities. And be proactive about communicating to customers operations in need of
improvement. 21

20
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/articles.cfm?catid=14&articleid=540&homepage=yes>Stream
21
http://www.callcentermagazine.com/article/CCM20020729S0010
 20

Have you communicated what it means to work in a call centre to your frontline staff?22

8. How to Potentially Maintain Skilled Labour Without Added Expense

We think money (base compensation, bonuses etc.) is near the top or at the top of what
motivates agents. Look at your personal list? Where did you rank “money”? Generally, the
primary motivator for agents is not money. We behave as though it is because we design
programs that reward in cash but it is not the base motivator. The primary motivator for
agents is to make a valuable and appreciable contribution to the success of the company.
How do we know? Research conducted by the National Opinion Research Center has
validated this very fact. It is common for us to have a personal set of motivators yet when
asked to list what motivates others, we assume that it is a very different set of motivators at
work for other people than for ourselves….

Understanding this gap in motivator perception is critical to successful call center

operations. It is highly probable that you may attempt to motivate staff using the wrong set
of priorities.23

As an agent, you can have many goals (or motivations). The first that I remember
is getting the shift I wanted. The next was to build my communication skills, and find a
job that I could use them at. Surprisingly I had to contemplate getting off the phones
when I became a mentor. It, for me, was one of the easiest jobs I had ever done. It was
also one of the more relaxing ones. I knew how to find almost all the answers, and phone
skills were easy for me. This will in no way reflect what other agents are thinking. Many
of us have heard them quote, “to get off the phones,” as an answer to what their goals are.
This is a problem in itself:

Career advancement at call centers is not as good as in many other industries, she adds,
though some entry-level agents gradually get the training and experience and move up to
better-paying jobs. The typical agent-to-supervisor ratio is 15-to-one, according to
CallCenter magazine. That means there are a lot of candidates for a small number of
supervisory positions; in many industries, the ratio is half of that.

A recent poll by Callcentercareers.com, an online job site, found the leading cause of
dissatisfaction among call center workers was lack of promotional opportunity, cited by
26.4% of those polled. Next was "being unfairly paid for the work they perform," cited by
24.2%. After that came complaints about feeling unrecognized, being bored and feeling
inadequately trained.24

When Stream first opened, the rate of growth was incredible. The chances of
advancement were very high. This has now tapered off, and I believe attrition is mostly

22
http://www.ccma.org.uk/Articles/basics.htm

23
http://www.callcenterops.com/newsletter.htm
http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/
24
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/articles.cfm?
catid=14&articleid=540&homepage=yes>Stream
 21

within the ranks of agents, not Supervisors and department staff. We have started to
implement “Temporary” positions to give agents a chance to “get off the phones,” and
gain experience:

…training and "mini-trainings" for the call centre agents, and a monitoring and coaching
process. CSR’s who performed well became peer coaches and all coaches were trained and
calibrated to ensure consistency in their evaluation.

• Going above and beyond the call of duty.

A CSR’s supervisor notes contributions in the last category, says Roe Tabasco, manager of
quality assurance and training for IBC. For example, a CSR may have helped train others
within the unit, handled special projects with timeliness and accuracy, worked overtime,
received complimentary letters from members, made suggestions for improving work
operations or simply may have been an enthusiastic, motivated co-worker.25

This does relieve some of the itch to climb, but it is only temporary. Another problem is
that many view it negatively as “all the work and none of the pay.” If the tech was
beginning to wane in production and quality, you can bet that it will only be worse when
being sent back to the phones. I will not go into the psychological ramifications and
reasoning, but the general concept is that unless an agent is given a specific time frame,
such as “you will be a temporary Team Supervisor, Team Supervisor Assistant, or
Mentor for exactly 2 months, and then another needs to be given an opportunity,” the
agent may become disillusioned. When doing special projects, the agent needs to have
specific deadlines and start end dates for closure reasons. Otherwise, I am sure we will
start seeing that it will negatively affect morale. This relates to a perceived versus actual
situation, and the stress caused by the discrepancy between the two.

This temporary goal is good for some of the agents. Depending on how it is
presented, more agents may desire it than should. They may only want the position to
“get off the phones,” like many of the roaming one-ups (stand in or guest mentors) we
have had in the past. This is a very bad perspective to propagate. Relating to section 6,
our best agents need to want to be on the phones. This is especially important for we
learned in this section that the job progression is just not available for everyone. We must
be honest with this fact, because the agents already know this. We must re-direct their
energies, and give them a reason to like their job. It will be the Liaison’s job to create
these reasons, and help management implement them. A few general ideas involve
advertising that which is already available.

"Money is one incentive, but there are many more," observes Anne Nickerson. "I also see
incentives that are fun, that help improve morale…”

make sure there’s lots of communication and publicity to keep interest high.

25
http://www.ccma.org.uk/Articles/incentives.htm
 22

Examine the process and root out barriers that may get in the way of agents doing their
jobs.26

The use of Stream University is an excellent resource. There may need to be some
special incentive or consideration for those who have been here longer, such as letting
their shift flex to meet the class rather than waiting for a class that matches their shift.
The rational can be that with more incentive to work at Stream, their will be fewer sick
days, less absenteeism, leading to fewer queues, which makes it possible to flex shifts a
little; also, the use of part time staff to make up for the moved schedules. Possibly even
10 hour shifts for the agents doing the Stream University courses with the day off for the
class. These may not be feasible at all times, but the cost of losing the agent should be
more of a concern than a scheduling issue.

The promotion of “out of Stream education.” I did some studying, and found that
any course that is “Stream applicable” in one’s progression, is allowable. This includes
business courses (pre authorized by T.S. and H.R. of course). There should be a study of
what the breadth is of what one can take and request reimbursement. Many of our techs,
outside of work, are non-technical. The bonus to Stream: one of the stipulations to taking
courses is that you do not end your employment with us for 6 months after the course or
you will have to reimburse the monies spent. That, I believe, is an incredible incentive. If
Stream was to back the agent as well, making the agent’s schedule more amiable in
relation to the course, it would only look better for the agent and Stream relationship. We
must take into consideration the employee must have at least a B average to be
reimbursed and can only take 2 full time courses a semester. If an agent gets enough
education that they now want to move on to full time studies, chances are they would
have been here for at least 1 1/2 years (6 months to be applicable for refund, 6 months of
work before being able to quit without having to pay Stream back, plus the length of
courses) – and if the employee wants the first 2 semesters of courses? At 2 courses a
semester, including summer courses, it would take 1 2/3 years to obtain the 10- courses
for equivalent of 1st year. Getting a person to invest in an institution will make them less
likely to deviate. It is the one of the main principals of sociology and criminology.
Deviation in this case is quality of calls, and desire to “cheat the system.”

9. Liaison in Action
But there is some hope for these workers, she added. "Firms are starting to realize that
sometimes your only contact as a customer is through these people." These call center
operators understand that creating a good workplace can pay off in good customer
relations.27

I have been here since before Stream Chilliwack existed. I was hired for the first
class. The statement above was given to us many times by Mark Depuis, Anthony

26
http://www.ccma.org.uk/Articles/incentives.htm

27
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/articles.cfm?
catid=14&articleid=540&homepage=yes>Stream
 23

Williams, and reiterated by all forms of management. It’s easy to remember, because it is
true. I have been here to see, and even study, Stream Chilliwack’s evolution. Much of
this information we have gone over throughout this essay may already be known, but
now is the time to use it. If the logistics of creating this position is difficult to understand,
I can explain it. If it is not viable, I can understand. I admit, I do not have all the answers.
Even as a mentor, I do not have all the answers, but the more time I spent as a mentor the
better I became. The same goes for any position with any agent. That is why I feel if this
was even a temporary position to give Stream Chilliwack a kick-start, the information
produced for all levels of management and agents, and even the specialized sections such
as facilities, IT and HR could all benefit. The broadest purpose is to create a
communication bridge to span over all sections of Stream, with the intention to revitalize
an interest in Stream as a positive institution. We are not the first to desire this, but we
may become the best at implementing a next to no-cost catalyst that will greatly increase
morale, and, most importantly, alleviate a large amount of unnecessary negative stress for
our employees. As a final note, if the position of Liaison is not possible, I hope that all
the information in this essay will be considered. The communication problem does exist,
and if we disregard the solution of Liaison, please let us not forget to recognize the
reason why the position is being suggested.

The Challenge:
HRDC recognized that they had a need for receiving critical operational statistics about
their centers in real-time. They were not getting the critical information they needed as
quickly as possible to determine what actions were needed to handle problems that arose as
well as keep their centers running efficiently28

This document was created on my own time at home.

A special thanks to all the Team Supervisors, Agents and family
that supported me in the creation of this, without your input, this
would not be half of what it is.

If any further study is required or desired by management on any

specific issue in regards to this, please send all formal requests to

♦♦♦♦@♦♦♦.com

March 7-10th, 2003.

♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦♦
SrSSR, 3120
HPP
10. Dialogue

28
http://www.commweb.com/article/COM20030203S0001
 24

Wow! It looks like you have put a great deal of effort into this
essay. You made several points in there are all too true in reference to
Stream Chilliwack. I have some questions thought.

Thanks, the reason I wrote this was to start discussion towards

a resolve, any resolve.

First you never really defined where the really gap in communication
was that the Liaison would fill. You stated that there was a gap in
abstract terms and suggested that it needed to be filled but never
where the gap was and where the bridge would go

Team supervisors sometimes work in excess 60 hours a

week, completing the bare minimum of their job
requirements. Some of the reasons are the high attrition
rate, and the extra work caused by this (and ILOA’s). They
are responsible for managing people - lots of people. High turnover rates make
managing people even more difficult, - page 9. Other reasons are that
part time agents are counted as ½ a point where full
agents are 1 point. Some Team Supervisors have been
assigned many people to add up to the same points.
Anthony Williams counted warm bodies, not points. This
is not a bad or good thing, just different, but we may
need to make up for the physical difficulties of keeping
up to 40 part time agents as opposed to 20 full time
(hypothetical and exaggerated difference). The new
system implemented leaves some managers with no time
to spend with each individual. This means the “big
things” – pay, days off, etc. can be addressed, but often,
the “little things” cannot. Little things can be as simple
as going over protocol with a new agent or giving a
seasoned tech insight on whom to contact to ask
questions about being an associate trainer and what it
involves. We know the seemingly simple answers, the
agents do not. The reason we are seeing more stress in the workplace…
is primarily because the nature of work is changing.29 (page 5) The
agent’s face may be buried in the phone, making them
unable to get the info for themselves. A more basic
example is the AIO switch. Agents were misinformed, and
under informed. The GM’s wondered why agents weren’t
switching over, and decided to “volunteer” agents if
people wouldn’t. This kills morale. One thing that has not been
clarified is if the ones that volunteer before management re-assigning
them may have lost their seniority. If the agents are doing this to help
29
http://www.ccma.org.uk/Articles/safety.htm
 25

Stream, why should they suffer a loss of seniority? – this type of

question can be discussed by the Liaison at some later point. All they
had to do was advertise what they needed, showing the
agents that there will be a growth in AIO, thus putting
them higher in contract seniority. Also, many people
don’t know, but I believe AIO had some 10 hour shifts
being experimented with, 4 day weeks. This might be an
incentive too, if possible to do. (I asked 3 seasoned hp
agents and mentioned hypothetically that if 10 hours
shifts were available would that be an incentive, all 3
would have gone for that) "Money is one incentive, but there are
many more," observes Anne Nickerson. "I also see incentives that are fun,
that help improve morale…”

make sure there’s lots of communication and publicity to keep interest high.
(page 14)

Second you suggested that the Liaison would be "like" a TS but "would
not have the “powers” as a Team Supervisor". What would be the point of
having some that is like a TS but does not have their powers.

- Same idea as “acting TS” or “Roamer” – supplying the

information and attention, but maybe not all the
resources. The position is not to manipulate any state, it
is only to inform. To increase better communications throughout the entire
system without having a direct effect or ability to evaluate anyone; unbiased. Page
1.

Thirdly you talked about the perspective of the work place on the
agents. You also mentioned that once an agent had reached a point of
neglect that it would be very difficult to correct. I ask then what the
Liaison would be able to do in these cases?
 26

The Liaison could then redirect perspective by introducing new

information. A recent poll by Callcentercareers.com, an online job site, found
the leading cause of dissatisfaction among call center workers was lack of
promotional opportunity, cited by 26.4% of those polled. In this example, the
agent may see this as a “dead end job.” What if the agent was
paid by Stream to do something that they may be more
inclined to (maybe get business courses completed so that
they can use them anywhere, or communication courses if they
want to head towards Human Resources that can also be used
in other jobs). Now, they don’t need to apply for only T.S. or
mentor, they are working towards an actual degree.
Something they can use outside of Stream if need be, making
them feel they are still progressing. This is especially important for we
learned in this section that the job progression is just not available for everyone. We must
be honest with this fact, because the agents already know this (page 13)

Would it not, based on your essay, be better to adjust the processes to

prevent these "lost" agents from growing in number since the ones
that are already lost would require an unreasonable amount of effort to
reclaim?

By showing the new agents that Stream cares and wants them
to succeed in any endeavor, the seasoned agents that are
negative will be eventually (hopefully) raised by the new input
of good morale. Managers who are serious about reducing attrition must learn
to value and empower agents as much as they do other employees, and invest in reps
accordingly (Page 8.) – We must make an attempt to reclaim the
“lost agents,” but if they do not want to work, and totally give
up on being empowered, now that it would be available (or
taken note of, it has always been available), it must be
realized that communication is a two way street. They can
scrape by, but most will either start trying again, or quit. It is a
sad loss, but better that than poor quality that never will
change.

Fourth you suggested that the Liaison would be able to act quickly.
How? If they are like a TS and have no power then all they would be
able to do is talk to people and send emails.
 27

When was the last time you saw a T.S. or H.R. or an Intraday
staff member say “hi” to an agent in general, and ask how
they are doing, or why they look tired? That interest is being
lost. That can be altered, but enforced happiness or morale is
not possible. Specifically, a T.S. has a lot on their platter, so
would this position, but the fact that this is all the position
does would make it a faster resolve time because of
specialization. If part of the job description says 2 days or
less” – you know that the deadlines would be vital to the
position. Also, it would be part of the job to do daily follow-ups
and keep record to make sure things get done – It is this
person’s sole purpose.
I have been sending emails for 8 months trying to get my back pay for
training. How would a Liaison have helped me in this case? I talked to
HR, to my TS, GM, SDM, and Training Manager.

The Liaison would not actually do the paper work for the back pay. It is not
the Liaison’s job, but the Liaison would let you know and follow up for you.
Notes would be taken from each department on what needs to be done to
complete the process. Do you know why it is taking so long? If not, the
Liaison can give you that information, and give an estimated date of
completion. When a manager, or HR or TS promises something, it will be
noted and they will be held accountable. If they cannot give a resolution, at
least you can be given a specific reason why and a potential completion date.
This will keep you doing your job, and able to be kept informed without
having to run around during work, or on your own time, seeking something
that is owed to you (As long as it is owed to you).
You also mentioned that scheduling should come second to keeping
agents. That would be like the owner of a corner store not being open
after 5 because his closing employee wants to work the 9-5 shift. The
Schedule is what keeps us open. Without agents here when they are
supposed to be then we will lose jobs and close. Every agent that
starts at Stream is told this. When I train classes I tell all my agents
that this job is controlled by the schedule.

Your concern in an EXTREME case is valid. Not every agent will be going
for extra schooling. In fact, in order to maintain a B average in University
level courses, one must show some form of dedication. When we first
opened, agents really made the coverage.
 28

For example, when you have 22 agents (first class) and one goes sick or
missing, or does not adhere to his or her shift, that is a big problem. When
you have 160 agents or more, schedules have a little more leeway. Using
part time agents to fill in the gaps and letting their shift flex (page 14) with other
agents, it may be possible to allow the seasoned agent to go to night or day
courses in University. Seasoned techs will generally have a more favorable
shift anyhow, being higher in seniority, so some people in lower seniority
may want to change for those 1-2 days a week they need to go to school.
Example: seasoned tech has a 10am-7pm shift, Monday
through Friday. The class is from 6-10pm Wednesday and Friday. A new
tech has a 5am-2pm Wednesday to Sunday. For those 2 days, the person
who might hate morning shift but must work them because of seniority can
trade on a temporary basis (courses are usually 3-4 months). There are
always ways. If it is not possible, it isn’t possible, but I have never heard of
anything being investigated thus far in regards to an organized effort to
support education for full time technicians. If there has, I have not been
informed, which means it should have been communicated, and Stream
should be boasting of this fact, giving agents hope that they, too, can be
involved. This fact can be boasted by the Liaison as well, especially if the
Liaison has seen related concerns that could be addressed by doing so
brought up in the past.

To offer a suggestion, lets make Stream U more flexible although it is

fairly accommodating. It makes more sense, adjust the bonus to fit
business as opposed to adjusting business to fit the bonuses.

That is a possibility. One problem is organizing agents rather than just

throwing the classes at random times. Also, with flex shift, many agents will
be late if the class is anywhere near their end time. This may be relieved by
polling agents interested in & qualify for specific classes as to when they are
available. Also, shift bids between or during training can really throw agents
for a tailspin. If that occurs, where Stream U schedule has been modified, it
may leave some agents high and dry.

There are a lot of good points in this essay. I think that it

however does not prove the need for Liaison. What it most certainly
proves is the need to have more TS that can take the time to be the
agents Liaison as the system is designed now.

More than five and a half million have bosses who are so overworked they do
not really have the time to manage the work of their staff properly. The
 29

General Secretary of the TUC, John Monks, said: "The challenge is to tackle
the long hours culture and the dangers of burn out Britain through sensible
regulation, better management and partnership at work."30 – page 7.

Agreed, if it were possible to hire more Team supervisors. Until that can
be done, though, because of the barrier that has started to be created
from minor neglect and misunderstanding, agents just want to “work
and go home.” Managers will have a long hard haul to swing that
around because the agents view it as partially their problem. We talk of
family, the Team Supervisors watching over the agents. What happens
when communication breaks down in a family situation? Often, one
needs to bring in a third party to kick-start or mediate till that
relationship can be rebuilt. The counselor, who really does nothing
more than listen, is the Liaison. The counselor may not be always
needed, but it will speed up the process.

The issue with communication is that here in Stream Chilliwack we are

stretched too far apart, and so we cannot communicate. If we were to
add two TS to the Pavilion floor we would be much closer to what you
would have the Liaison do as well as improving quality and attendance
and Stats.

We cannot afford more Team Supervisors. If we could, there would be

more of them. Also, as I stated above, a good T.S. could help some (that
is, one that can keep up to all the demands and still have a positive
impact on agents – and maybe create a pocket of time for the other team
supervisors by taking some of the workload for all Team Supervisors),
but agents will still have a difficult time approaching someone who
marks them in regards to minor gripes because they don’t want to be
felt thought of as a complainer. I personally know at least 2-3 agents
that have this feeling, and who have a difficult time accepting it when I
request they talk to their Team Supervisor or HR. I believe the Liaison
would be more successful with those agents because they know that the
Liaison has no effect on them, as well as no second agenda (metrics).
Team Supervisors are supposed to be, and are mostly, unbiased on all
their responses, but the PERCEPTION is the barrier that needs to be
brought down. Note: this will only work if the Liaison is positive about
the Team Supervisor’s abilities.

30
http://www.ccma.org.uk/Articles/safety.htm
 30

Adding one person to help communication is not the answer to the

solution it is simply another patch on a system that is being pulled
apart.

I don’t see this as a patch, more as a band-aid or a stitch.

Throughout the essay, I believe I brought to light a potential
downward spiral that we have already begun on. There is
negativity on the floor, and although I try my part to keep it
from growing, it is way beyond my means as a mentor. As an
individual, I try to direct people the correct places, but many
minor issues are never brought up until it is too late because
many agents do not know where to go with their problems.
Eventually, hopefully, this barrier will dissipate. I do agree
with you in regards to the structure already in place can keep
this place going with a little more work. Although, a big part of
that is to get Team Supervisors and all forms of management
and mentors and services at Stream Chilliwack to work
together. We cannot have meetings all the time to do this, it is
physically, and just as importantly, financially unviable. The
Liaison could be a portable meeting, addressing the little
things that it wouldn’t make sense to have meetings about.

Again, I am not attacking your ideas I am asking some questions and

drawing some of my own conclusions and would like to have your feed
back to them.

Thank-you again, I believe you gave me a lot to think about,

and brought out more of where the Liaison’s boundaries lie.
The fact that you contemplated this in order to question it is
exactly what I hoped would happen. It means that there is a
desire to communicate with positive discussion. Hopefully this
answered other people’s questions as well.

G. T.
HP 2nd Tier Support
Stream Int.
x3012

♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦♦
SrSSR
3120
HPP
SICC

11. Post Meeting Thoughts

 31

After a meeting with Michael Robinson (site director) and Charles Kilpatrick (CBO
SDM), it is realized that the upper management is trying to address much of this, but
recognizes that they have to be careful not to offer any broken promises; cautious steps
forward. This speaks highly of their desire to gain the trust of all Stream Employees and
build integrity on all levels They are proactively investigating and always looking to
implement new ideas.

If the Team Supervisors need more support and help, they need to organize and request
this. Possibly Stream Chilliwack must commit to a better implementation of the system
we have now. If this is not the case, we must show why it is failing; possibly get the
technician’s opinions on this matter, as well as get some hard evidence of understaffing
or a need for a better system of management. It is noted that this may not be the case for
every contract.

New ideas to lessen the stress of change need to be polled from the floor and addressed at
the Team Supervisor level. If the Team Supervisors do not have the resources to do so,
they should delegate as needed, with the permission/ work with the General Managers.

As long as any sort of communication is given to the floor that changes are in the works,
it will give a lull point in morale to implement and test the new projects. The most
important thing is to show the agents that their concerns will be, and have already begun
to be, recognized.

I greatly appreciate the time given to me, and hope that we do see some change. I await to
see what can be done, and I am anxious to be a part of it. These issues are only beginning
to emerge as important and common issues, and have been recognized as such. Much was
discussed, but how much will be implemented is yet to be seen. There was a positive
interest in all that was communicated. From my understanding, it is only a matter a time
to see a positive change. We should not wait for “them” to solve all our issues, but, we
must all work together to try to offer solutions instead of complaining of the problems.
We all must be ready and eager to contribute and be open to increase communication so
that the goals of all tiers of Stream Chilliwack Employees can be strived for.

If there is a problem with the way things are, do not just complain, but offer a potential
solution as well. If you have questions of why we are doing something a certain way, ask,
and keep asking, until you get an answer. Use the appropriate question path (Team
Supervisor for Agents -who will direct to the appropriate group or give the answers
themselves, GMs for Team Supervisors, SDMs for GMs etc.), give that path an
appropriate amount of time for an answer, and if you get no results, turn to another on
that tier, get a definite time of response, and climb the next tier if there is no answers at
all. Do NOT do this heedlessly. People are human, and things do take time. It may take a
few days to resolve or get an Estimated Time of Arrival for an answer, but all the answers
are out there. For your own reference, keep track of when you asked, whom you asked,
and what the response was. If there is a break down of communication, we can then learn
where it is, and work together to fix it. Until there is a new path for communication, or
this one is proven to break down, this is the best (and should be the only) path for all
 32

parties. Stream is open to new ideas on how to communicate better, but if the one we
have is failing, we need to find out where and see if it can be made to work. If it cannot
be made to work, what good is it to create a new system when we don’t know why the
old system failed? –April 18th 2003.

♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦♦
SrSSR
3120
SICC
12. Since Then

Part of the reason I wrote this monster was because I witnessed the dismantling of
Stream Silver City. I experienced from a few of the mentors the day to day systematic
tear down of the jobs they depended on. I witnessed the evils of contract swapping down
to lower pay to hold on to a job, then realizing that they were shut down anyhow and that
those that took EI before were making more in the end. I also knew that the union was
close to getting in this building, and that Stream would pull out if that happened. That is
why I was okay with Section 11, although it was a lot of management propaganda that I
was supporting. I was supporting in that hopes something would be changed; and it was,
for a brief time we had “town hall” talks with the site director and honestly, things have
gotten faster to resolve on the management issues. Faster is a relative term.

In retrospect, what I really gleaned from the meeting, although there was much
truth in “how it should be” in Section 11, was that “If the agents want to move on, then
that is O.K.. We expect agents to move on” (Mike Robinson).

The concept of “Stream” having a conscious or acting as an entity is as likely as

HP agents actually working for HP. What I have witnessed is that there has been a little
more time attention given to the agents, and a lot less benefits. ECE pulled out the tuition
reimbursement January 2005, where we used to be able to get 5,000/yr back. Before you
get all in a huff – no one (other than me and two or three others) ever used it.

A lot of people quit/got fired. Attrition is normal, and with the movement out the
door, a lot of the old time resentment of broken dreams and forgotten promises left (as
planned). Hired are people with new expectations, lower expectations for pay caps,
raises, and more responsibility and work for less pay. No offence to some of you, but I
witnessed how Training suffered for this. Note: if you are reading this, and you have
lasted longer than 2 months, you are probably not one of the ones causing all the
suffering.

Have a problem with the agents? Replace the agents. Done. Some of old timers
that didn’t like the changes stuck around because we made it in before the pay caps and
changes.
Agent - 3% 3% 5% mentor
10.5 10.815 11.13945 11.69642 increase
12.69 13.0707 13.46282 13.86671 Mentor wage +3% +3% +3%
NOTE: 3 year pay increase. Most mentors (that should) don’t get the 3%.
 33

Sad, but true.

What has Stream done to hold on to their long standing agents? Nothing. They are
locked in the narrow minded view of CLEAR CUTTING. What I mean is the
deforestation of potential new agents: lowering standards all the time till they are hiring
saplings not ready for a real job or people who would never have qualified before. In fact,
they hired someone to promote the influx of agents, rather than maintaining their old
growth. Someone to “Promote Stream to the community.” Guess what: Convergys
Kamloops is 1 year our senior, and they are using the same tactics UNSUCCESSFULLY.

I drove through Kamloops on my way to my new job and they had a radio
discussion with their equivalent to our guy. His take: “Kamloops doesn’t need new
business in Kamloops! We have a hard enough time filling the positions we have
already.” Wow, all I heard was “we have used up all the low income labour, and now we
are scared of any other job that would be more fun or have a better future in it. Suffer, for
we have caused our own suffering: Suffer with us” (They start at different rates than
Stream, but their computing positions are still 11.00/hr).

Can we learn from their mistakes? Or our own? Note: There was a job posting for
Manager, April/May 2006. Out of 1200 people they did not find ONE that was worthy
“management material.” Does this seem odd? How many of the old timers would be good
for the position if Stream Management implemented proper measures in preparing the
agents that wanted the position by actually getting “Stream University” or better yet –
reimbursed for Management Courses at open universities/UCFV and allowed proper time
to complete the courses (allowed to re-scheduling part days).
ACCEPT THE FACTS: YES! If you educate your best employees and only pay
them 30,000 a year they will leave. That is why you take note of this, and lock them
down for up to 12 months where if they leave they pay back part/full amounts of the
tuition. At least give them the ability to earn a real living when they leave by giving them
an education; then they don’t leave here only as a “stream employee” or “stream
management.” The status of those previous jobs doesn’t get you very far. Meanwhile,
maybe look at paying your properly trained managers better, so that you can work more
efficiently (potentially with less of them). I know, “it’s not possible,” well… Other than a
specific manager that was offered a few thousand dollars more a year NOT to leave (he
still turned it down and left anyhow. In his case, smart move). So it IS POSSIBLE to pay
better for more efficient work, maybe just too innovative. Maybe current management
realizes they have no REAL qualifications (at least 90% of them) and all the hard work
will mean nothing compared to someone with the actual education to supplement their
work experience, rather than basing everything just on work experience.

NOTE: First Part: How many managers and SDMs have a MBA, let alone a
certificate in business? Second part: How many Team Managers or SDM’s have TIME to
do any courses? I know it would scare the hell out of me to have other people getting
more knowledge than I have, able to leap over my position because my current position
won’t allow me the time to keep up…
 34

Who controls and fights for those education/career guidance rights: The same
people that will be hurt by the positive outcome; conflict of interest. Sad part is, that we
all suffer because we end up with a hodgepodge of undereducated management that have
resumes of “managed 5-10 people” in a home business environment, or had 6 months
assistant manager of Subway or McDonalds, or worse. How much time do you think is
wasted on mangers managing mangers or compensating for inconsistencies, mistakes and
trying to jury-rig something they should know. Example: next to none of the
management I know have very proficient Excel skills (beyond the very basics), let alone
any other office applications beyond contract specific that they learned on the fly. When I
asked training about this, I was told “Stream U may have some courses sometime… (this
was approximately 6 months ago) Hp Learning has some…” – HP Learning is not a high
impact way to learn skills; entertaining, and useful, but not as good as a closed classroom
environment.
Basically: our industry scares the hell out of me to realize what kind of wobbly
tower of babble we have, compared to the sturdy house we are trying to look like we
have: support based on a weak foundation.

This should change, but even if you made it through all 25+ pages, it probably
won’t.

At least you are better informed than you were. Sorry to ruin your blissful
ignorance. Glad I could give you a truer perspective. Take night courses, prepare to move
on, and blame no one if you have been here for five years, too, and gotten nowhere other
than “getting by.”

This is not the end, but the beginning of your own struggles… enjoy them, and
take them on.

♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦♦
SRSSR SICC
4973
May 26, 2006