Fed up of shitty work practices!

[Silversurfer34]

I'm in a call centre role, looking to leave soon because of constant big brother monitoring.

So first they were sending out everyone's KPIs as a list for everyone to see, but that stopped so they must have got a complaint.

They've now introduced a new system where there are live updates and 'scoreboard' showing which call agents are doing the best, who's at the bottom and so on.
It also shows things like who logged on first, who was back from break/lunch first even though we're entitled to our full time?

It's supposed to 'encourage friendly and healthy competition' between staff, honestly fed up of being treated like a performing seal. I am applying for other jobs which is a shame as I've only been here 4 months, but the constant monitoring does my head in.

You get told off if you're out of adherence and go on your break late, but if your lunch is for 1pm you have to take calls until 12:59, what if the phone rings at 12:59 and it's a complex one? You can't say to the caller, right sorry I'll have to stop you there I'm late for lunch, bye.

I'm upset, you get nothing in this role, it's about £1.50 an hour over min wage which I know is more than some jobs get but it's hardly a decent salary in this day and age.
Including breaks we're here for 42.5 hours a week.

I'm fed up of just being a 'lowly' junior admin employee..hope i get something better soon.

I’ve had people horrified on here that toilet/personal time is monitored so.. I don’t think so

I’m good at my job, I’ve been in it 8 years
unfortunately they’ve decided they want to merge call centres so have made us all redundant in order to move the centre. So that means every single staff member will be brand new

and there’s no advantage to staying longer, as no progression or pay rise

Not saying people should be allowed to take the piss and have unlimited breaks, they do need to stick to times.

But for instance if we go into the wrong code one minute before the allocated time, like going into meeting code at 8:59 not 9, you are marked down....

Your workplace sounds incredibly toxic. I hope you find something else soon, because this setup will depress the hell out of any sane person.

I have worked in call centers and it was never the most stimulating job, but I have never seen anything this bad.

The problem is it is a government call centre and obviously someone will get a tricky box for a new idea to keep the troops in order and monitors it.
On one side I can see why they have rules because there are some that will be on breaks far too many times and always taking "important" mobile calls or texts or so they say.
A number of years ago I worked in a government emergency call centre and in the few was a supervisor so I can see both sides and it was obvious who were the true workers and who were just there for the ride.
I do not blame you for seeking pastures new. I would if I were in your position.

Call centres were one of the first workplaces to be intensely monitored and workers surveilled. There is a large body of research on surveillance in call centres as it’s also easy for academics to study such workplaces.

It’s also one workplace where AI directed responses have been implemented so count yourself lucky if that’s not come to your call centre. And the most recent variant of surveillance strategies is to monitor the emotional responses of call centre workers. This is all to aim workers adhere to management imposed rates of work and increase profits for the firm. Half of those practices aren’t necessary and some will be ineffective or harmful to workers and firm.

Humans, on balance, prefer autonomy and self directed practices. @Silversurfer34 if you read up on it, maybe you’d find it interesting while looking around for a new job. However, if you’re looking for one where you’re not being surveilled, don’t hold your breath.

https://crackedlabs.org/dl/CrackedLabs_Christl_CallCenter.pdf

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-005X.2011.00263.x

I've worked in and around call centres from the late 80s and managed a couple.

Op firstly I do understand that the constant monitoring can get on your nerves... however (notice I didn't say but... anyone who has worked in a call centre will know about positive language) you are there to work. You're paid for your labour and are expected to answer as many calls as possible. As an ex manager the situation is that not all of your colleagues do that. They spend too long in between calls deliberately not getting into a position to take a call, repeated long loo/fag breaks etc.

You will have heard of Gustave Erling and his formula for the anticipated number of telephone calls verses the number of people needed...for that to work and for Joe Public's call to be answered you need to be on the phone whenever you are scheduled to work.

I do understand that we are there to work, but being marked down for the sake of 1 minute just feels very petty. There is zero trust.

This sounds horrendous OP, demeaning almost - as all too many ‘jobs’ are these days.

i wish you well in finding something that suits you better x

i think they do it as people then let it slide to 2 mins then 5 mins and you end up with some people taking a 45 mins lunch then

I worked in large call centre briefly and hated the monitoring.

You couldn't win with breaks. The cafe/break room area wasn't very big so we had a strict rota of when each teams break was so the cafe didn't get overcrowded. We were supposed to take breaks together as a team for bonding. However, it was never possible for everyone to finish calls at exactly the same time to all go for break together. Suppose break was 10.30am to 10.45am and I picked up a complex call at 10.28am. They might have been and come back before I got my break, then I'd get told off for taking my break on my own at the wrong time. However, if I'd logged off at 10.28am, then I'd have been told off for starting my break too early.

The final straw came when I had a water infection but still went to work. I was drinking loads of water and obviously needed to wee more often. Despite knowing I was unwell, my boss was screaming at me in front of everyone about how I'd dragged the team down by my excessive toilet breaks. In my head, I thought it was better off making the effort to go in and do as much work as I could rather than stopping off on the sick and doing zero work.

I had been applying for other jobs as I was unhappy and luckily I was offered something else the day after getting yelled at, so I was glad to hand my notice in.

Prob because it’s a shit job and no one really cares about the job and most would take the piss given half the chance.

Very high turnover of staff
high dissatisfaction

it’s a vicious circle
I feel for management and I feel for staff. Shit job, lack of car, company trying to polish a turd

were you marked down today for being a minute early on inputting a code?

Oh yes I forgot the weekly enforced 'fun' with your team. Except if you get stuck on a call, you cannot attend and don't get the time back.

To be effective, a call centre needs two things which companies will never do because they hit the bottom line:

1. It needs to be over-resourced (based on predicted call volumes)
2. The staff need to be paid a salary high enough to be an incentive to stay, so you don't lose people the moment they gain experience.

Exactly

they have to be strict because the minority (although maybe the majority in low level poor paid jobs) will take the piss

In my previous role, we were given 30 mins lunch and majority of people managed to stick to this as trusted adults.
Does it really matter if your lunch is 12:59 and you return at 13:29?

What was your job before this one op?

I wasn't personally but we're now informed this can happen. I also don't like the idea of someone going to the toilet 'pulling down' the weekly team stats.

Another admin role, but im applying for things with training involved or paid training courses to get out of this.

What was your previous role? And what made you resign for a call centre poorly paid position?

How old are you OP?

I worked in a call centre when I was saving up to go travelling in early twenties, and whilst it was shit and boring - because I knew that it was short term.,, I could just about suck it up (for 3 months and then I was off to South America!)

I temped at a local company who paid min wage so got a lot of people who struggled to find other work. The way the managers talked to us was unbelievable - they truly thought they were something special and were the most patronizing and condescending bunch while also being almost universally lacking in smarts. I have never come across people who spoke like that. As soon as I sorted out UK accreditation in my field I was off, but I really felt for the poor people who stayed. The company was good about accommodating part time and flexible work so a lot of people stayed because it suited their needs, bu yikes! Call centre work is horrible.

YANBU. What you’re experiencing is bollocks.

I did a Civil Service “helpline” job (as they liked to call it back then) for a while 15 years ago. It was monitored, the whole, “make sure you’re in the right code,” was a thing then too. However, they were more pragmatic about things. That business of being expected to be available to take calls up to 1 minute before your scheduled lunch break for example. By comparison we were encouraged to go on lunch early if our last call finished at say 12:55 and lunch break was scheduled from 1pm. They’d rather we were 5 minutes non-adherent taking lunch early than risking being 30 minutes non-adherent if you stayed on until your lunch break was due but got stuck on a call for 30 minutes, meaning you started your lunch later than scheduled.

It’s asinine. If they expect you to be available to take calls up to 1 minute before your scheduled break, if you get stuck on a call that delays your break there should be no detriment to you. You’re effectively getting a hard time for doing your job and not being inflexible. In every other job I have had, if you were due to start lunch @ 1pm but took it later because you were finishing off work/helping a colleague/customer etc, this is seen as being flexible and a team player.

The potential for that scoreboard they have now (plus the being non-adherent concerns) to result in more people not taking their full breaks is there. Frankly you’re not being paid enough for that.

As you’re looking to leave, I agree with @Mayve ’s suggestion. Make it a mission to be at the bottom of the scoreboard every week. You will find employers that are more grateful for your attributes.

I worked in a call centre some years ago when I was trying to find a job back in IT. It was quite interesting, though I was at the end of learning about it, so it was becoming less so, but then I did get an IT role, more than doubling my income by doing so (and it was still a lot less than my previous IT job had been.)

When it was my last day, the manager (who I was unaware had noticed me,) said, "why is it always the good ones who leave?" And I thought, because they can...

Some of my colleagues there were pretty crap in what wasn't a very difficult job, attitude more than anything- some of them needed strict rules and monitoring about breaks and so on. It was quite eye-opening to me in that sense

Maybe try and use the experience to get in at the local Council. They promote people from within there. I finally got out of admin that way.