The Relationship between Motivation and Performance of Call Centre Agents at a Telecommunications Industry - Research Proposal Example

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MOTIVATION AND PERFORMANCE OF CALL CENTRE AGENTS AT A TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY Desiree Munilall NUMBER: 210124733Proposal submitted for B.Tech in the discipline of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT in the FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES at the VAAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Supervisor: Ms. M. Tshabalala November 2010 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MOTIVATION AND PERFORMANCE OF CALL CENTRE AGENTS AT A TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY Keywords: Motivation Employee Performance Productivity Incentive Rewards Satisfaction 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY Call centre agents’ have always been important to the success of the call centre industry. The salary and compensation related costs of call centre agents contribute to about 70% of the cost of running a call centre (Thompson et al., 2001; pg 929). This is particularly true as call centre agents, despite being in the ‘back office’, are ‘front line’ call centre agents in direct contact with the customer, and are often expected to act as ambassadors of the company (Cappelli, 2007; pg 20). The call centre agents’ job is complicated by the expectation of customers and management to provide ‘personalised’ services, without having an opportunity to interact with a customer in a ‘normal’ face to face context. Hence, call centre agent performance is critical for the company to maintain customer satisfaction, and high operational efficiency. Hence, motivating and retaining a workforce that is skilled and professional is fundamental to the success of organisations that utilise call centres. The human resource literature suggests that excellent service is ensured through the management support of the employees through developing skills and ensuring motivation and commitment (Wallace etal2000:3). This is especially true in the case of call centre agents where emotional labour is needed (Wallace etal2000:3). Regardless of which theory is followed, interesting work and employee pay are important links to higher motivation and increased work performance. Options such as job enlargement, job enrichment, promotions, monetary and non-monetary compensation should be considered. Research done by (Higgins, 2004) has come out with ten most motivating factors which are: interesting work, good wages, full appreciation of work done, job security, good working conditions, promotions and growth in the organization, feeling of being in on things, personal loyalty to call centre agents, tactful discipline, and sympathetic help with personal problems. The key to motivating call centre agents is to know what motivates them and designing a motivation programme based on those needs. Research conducted by Sears (2006,) found out that call centre agents attitudes which are driven by motivation impacted on the bottom line of sales and profitability.  The study indicated that when employee attitudes improved by 5% in call centres, customer satisfaction increased by 1.3%, consequently increasing revenue by one-half a percentage point.  This study showed that the search for ways to motivate and build worker morale pays dividends to any business or organisation because a motivated workforce is more committed to the job and to the customer and call centre is no exception to the rule. According to Christina Bjorklund (2000:4) there are three common denominators which catergorise the phenomenon of motivation these are: What energises a human being; What directs or channels such behaviour How this behaviour is maintained or sustained? Kreitner and Kinicki (1992:162) postulated that motivation represents, “those psychological processes that cause arousal, direction and persistence of voluntary actions that are goal directed.” According to Landy and Conte (2007:163) performance is behaviour which includes specific actions and behaviours that are relevant and applicable to an organisation’s goals into the concept of performance, and conclude that it is this performance than an organisation will hire an employee to do, and to do well. Performance is focused behaviour or purposeful work (Rudman, 1998:205). That is, jobs exist to achieve specific and defined results (outputs) and people are employed so that organisations can achieve those results(Rudman, 1998:205). This is performed by accomplishing tasks. Robbins (2006,36) stated that a lack of motivation which impacts on performance occurs when the call centre agents see a weakness in one of the three relationships. The first of these is the relationship between the employee’s effort and their performance. The onus is on managers to make sure that the call centre agents believe if they exert maximum effort in performing their jobs it will be recognised in their performance appraisal. In most cases, the call centre agents do not believe that their efforts will be recognised. If this is the case it could lead to lack of motivation (Robbins, 2003:36) Secondly, the relationship between the employee’s performance and organisational reward is important. If managers don’t make sure that the call centre agents believe that if they get a good performance appraisal, it will lead to organisational rewards. Many call centre agents see this relationship as weak because the organisation does not give rewards based on their performance, so there is a lack of motivation (Robbins, 2003:37). The third important relationship is the one between rewards received and rewards desired. The onus is on managers to know whether the rewards the call centre agents receive are the ones they desire. Some call centre agents might want a promotion but instead get a pay rise, or vice versa. If managers assume that all call centre agents want the same reward and fail to notice the motivational effects of individualising rewards. If this is the case employee motivation is likely to suffer (Robbins, 2003:38). Motivation needs to be long lasting and reinforced by rewards and praise. Motivation needs to be maintained by managers to ensure a high level of performance and productivity; and to create a working environment where call centre agents will have positive attitudes, commitment towards their work and most importantly, they are not only valued but of crucial interest to the organisation (Sutherland & Canwell, 2004:183). Managers must bear in mind that motivational factors are all linked and affect one another and work performance. It is important for managers to have an understanding of how call centre agents behave and to determine what they can do to motivate the call centre agents. They must find different ways of obtaining the commitment and improving the of call centre agents (Johnson & Redmond, 1998:208). In South Africa, telecommunication sector is one of the fastest growing sectors which contribute to 10 percent of GDP together with the transport and storage sectors there(South Africa,2010:1). The three main companies operating in the industry are Telkom, Neotel and Vodacom. Reports show that all these are highly customer and employee oriented (Telcom, 2007:1).These companies have undergone many transformations and policy changes in the recent years that have contributed to their success. Studies show the call service agents in the South African telecommunication industry are having access to many motivating work practices like flexible job design and high incentive schemes (Benner etal, 2007:5). Moreover their performance is reported to be strictly monitored (Benner etal, 2007:5).The performance in this sector is reported to have compared favourably with international norms (Benner et al, 2007:6). 2. PROBLEM STATEMENT It is shown in studies that the service is ensured through the personal commitment of the employees through motivational practices while efficiency is achieved through technological improvements, but at the costs of the staff physical and psychological well being in the call centres at telecommunication industry (Wallace etal2000:3).Hence these studies show a new strategy called sacrificial HR strategy to manage the service and efficiency tension results. This strategy includes sacrificing the enthusiasm and motivation of the frontline by the management and at the same time including a coherent set of management activities and attitudes to manage the efficiency service conflict. However, for this strategy to be successful it is shown that the call centres needs efficient recruitment process, intrinsically motivated staff and excellent monitoring of the staff (Wallace etal2000:15). Motivation remains a challenge for call centres today both locally and internationally. With the changing environment, the solutions to motivation problems are becoming even more complex. This is due, in part, to the fact that what motivates call centre agents changes constantly (Bowen & Radhakrishna, 2001).. According to Robbins (2003:36) managers today complain that their call centre agents are no longer motivated to work. However, it is often the managers and organisational practices that are the problem, not the call centre agents. When there is a lack of motivation, the problem generally lies in one of the following areas: poor selection; unclear goals; an inadequate performance appraisal system; unsatisfactory rewards system; or the manager’s inability to communicate the appraisal and rewards system to the call centre agents properly (Robbins; 2003:36). Lack of motivation can adversely impact on employee performance and attrition rates. (Cox and Griffiths(2005,23) revealed that the global average annual turnover of staff in call centers is 18% a year. However, one in 10 call centers have rates over 40%, while in some places turnover runs as high as 180%, meaning almost a complete change of staff twice in 12 months. This obviously has a huge impact on the cost and productivity of the unit. Recruiting involves hiring and training costs and it takes time for new recruits to reach the level of efficiency and productivity same as their experienced counterparts. Also, lack of motivation may lead to loss of man hours by employee taking short and long term sick leave, which has an impact on the call centre agent’s performance which affects organisational productivity. Synovate (2009) found that Vodacom S.A. has suffered a remarkably high level of customer dissatisfaction ratings; the survey concludes that all the telecommunications service providers in South Africa which includes MTN, Cell C and Telkom have also suffered a decrease in customer satisfaction ratings. The findings of the survey strongly implied that the greatest factor causing the recorded deterioration in customer loyalty is declining satisfaction with the performance of employees at the forefront of customer service which is call centre agents. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The following objectives have been formulated for the study: 3.1 Primary objectives The main purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between motivation and performance of call centre agents at a Telecommunications industry. 3.2 Theoretical objectives In order to achieve the primary objective, the following theoretical objectives are formulated for the study: 3.2.1 To conduct a literature study on motivation and employee performance of call centre agents at a Telecommunications industry. 3.2.2 To conceptualise motivation and employee performance of call centre agents at a Telecommunications industry. 3.2.3 To establish the importance of motivation and employee performance of call centre agents at a Telecommunications industry. 3.3 Empirical objectives In accordance with the primary objective of the study, the following empirical objectives are formulated: 3.3.1 To determine whether there is a relationship between motivation and employee performance of Call Centre agents’ continuance commitment to the organisation; 3.3.2 To investigate the relationship between rewards/incentives and employee performance 3.3.3 To determine the levels of motivation and employee performance of call centre agents at a Telecommunication Industry 3.3.3 To develop recommendations that could assist in improving the performance of Call Centre agents at a Telecommunications industry. 4. RESEARCH DESIGN The study will comprise a literature review and an empirical study. Quantitative research, using the survey method, will be used for the empirical portion of the study. The survey design will be the basic approach for this research. Beukman (2005:221) defines survey design as a design that puts questions to a sample of respondents by means of a questionnaire. Survey design typically employs a written questionnaire (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001:196). Quantitative research design involves data classified in the form of numbers (Punch, 2002:3). The survey method was chosen due to its ability to accommodate a large sample size at relatively low costs and its ease of administration (Zikmund, 2000:220). 4.1 Literature Review A literature study on motivation and employee performance will be undertaken. Secondary data sources will include relevant textbooks, journal articles, Sabinet, Nexus, Emerald, newspaper articles and the Internet. 4.2 Empirical study The empirical portion of this study will comprise of quantitative research. Cohen (1980:34) defined quantitative research as social research employing empirical methods and empirical statements. According to Sukamolson(2003:19)It involves quantitative data collection and analysis using mathematical methods 4.2.1 Target population The total population will consist of N=150 call centre agents working in Vodacom. They are all full time call centre agents working in the Call Centre at Vodacom based in Midrand. The call centre agents are agents between the ages of 18-25;.It includes all the race groups in South Africa. 4.2.2 Sampling frame The call service agents positioned at Midrand working at Vodacom will be the sampling frame. The researcher will put all the names of the population (N) = 150 in the box and randomly select the (n) sample of 100. In this case, all the call centre agents will have an equal chance of being included in the sample (Welman, Kruger & Mitchell, 2005:60) 4.2.3 Sample method The researcher will use probability sampling with special reference to the simple random sampling technique. Probability sampling is a type of sampling technique where all possible samples have a known and specified probability of being drawn (Doherty, 1994.22). Simple random sampling is a type of probability sampling where each member of the universe has an equal chance of being selected (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010:3). 4.2.4 Sample size The size of the sample will be n=100. The reason why the researcher will choose (n) 100 is to easily manage the sample size better and also to manage better resources like time and costs which will be incurred during the study. 4.2.5 Measuring instrument and data collection method The main instrument for data collection method will be a questionnaire which includes questions on the personal details, demographic characteristics, and incentive schemes existing for the call service agents, participation in decision making, empowerment and training programmes, job satisfaction, job productivity, and job turnover. The data collection method will be a primary survey based on the questionnaire. The survey method will be implemented in three successive data collection procedures. These will include the pretest of the questionnaire, the actual survey, and the back-checking after the analysis of the data. The pretest of the survey will be necessary in order to identify possible shortcomings of the instrument that may hinder the efficient collection of valid and reliable data. On the other hand, the back-checking that will be implemented will provide assurance that the results of the analysis are consistent with that of the available information and facts in the field. The researcher will gather secondary data and collate published studies from different local and foreign universities and articles from social science journals. The questionnaire will contain simple questions so that they can be well understood by the call centre agents with any educational qualification. All items will be measured on a 5-point rating scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).Before the main survey, a pilot survey will be conducted and based on the responses obtained; the questions for the main survey will be developed. Before starting the analysis, the outliers will be collected and analysis will be done separately with and without removing outliers. 4.3 Statistical analysis Descriptive statistics which include means, standard deviations, skewness and kurtosis will be used to analyse data. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, 2005) version 16.0 for Windows will be used to process the raw data obtained from the questionnaires. The data will be coded, entered and cleaned. The techniques to be used during the data analyses will also include the following: Analysis of variance (ANOVA); and Factor analysis. 4.4 Reliability and validity analysis Only the relevant questions will be asked and thus reliability is ensured. The Consulta Research, a reputable professional research company correctly and consistently applies and administers the questionnaires and thereby validity will be ascertained. The reliability and validity of the obtained data will be ensured through a certain answerable procedure. Test-retest ,which is the indicator of survey instrument reliability will be used to assess the reliability here.. It is measured by having the same set of respondents complete a survey at two different points in time to see how stable the responses are. It is a measure of how reproducible a set of results is. Correlation coefficients are collectively referred to as the survey instruments’ test-retest reliability (Bless, Higson-Smith & Kagee, 2007:150-152). Validity will be measured by way of construct validity. This is the degree to which the variables that are measured represent the theoretic construct on which they are based, and the degree to which that construct relates to other constructs in the expected manner (Bless et al., 2007:156-158). . Moreover the results of the analysis will be compared with the results of the market research surveys regarding call service agents in South Africa to check the validity of the results. 5. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS The researcher will do the following in order to address ethical issues: The researcher will gain permission from the Managing Executive to conduct the study in Vodacom. The participants’ names will remain anonymous therefore protecting the confidentiality of the information provided by the respondents. Participation will be voluntary and will be clearly indicated as such on the cover page of the questionnaire. Responses will remain completely anonymous and at no stage will participants be asked to divulge any personal identification or banking details. 6. CHAPTER CLASSIFICATION This study will comprise the following chapters: Chapter 1 Introduction and background to the study: This chapter will focus on the introduction and the background of the study, including an outline of the problem statement. The purpose of the study, research objectives, research method and design are spelt out in this chapter. Chapter 2 Literature review: Chapter 2 will primarily focus on the literature review of the concept of motivation and performance of call centre agents at a Telecommunications industry. Secondary data sources will include relevant textbooks, journal articles, newspaper articles and the Internet. The literature study will primarily focus on the effects of motivation on performance of Call Centre agents at Vodacom’s call centre. This would include textbooks, journals, magazines, newspaper articles and the Internet in order to establish a theoretical background. Chapter 3 Research design and methodology: The emphasis on this chapter will be on the design and the research method utilised in the research. The method of sample and data collection method will be discussed. The method of data analysis and the statistical techniques will be outlined. Chapter 4 Results and findings: This chapter will deal with analysis, interpretation and evaluation of the research findings. This section will focus on the analysis of and the interpretation of the data collected in the study. This chapter also contains the results of the study, specifically with regard to the response rate, respondent characteristics and findings of the study. The research results or findings will be derived from the data collected through questionnaires. Chapter 5 Conclusions, limitations and recommendations: This chapter will present the recommendations in relation to the research objectives. Based on the results of the study, the recommendations and conclusion will be drawn. 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