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

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  • Mañé Vernet, Ferran
  • Benner, Chris

Abstract

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

Suggested Citation

  • Mañé Vernet, Ferran & Benner, Chris, 2009. "Dead-End Jobs or Career Opportunities? Advancement opportunities in call centers," Working Papers 2072/42870, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:urv:wpaper:2072/42870
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2072/42870
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Bhaskar Vira & Al James, 2012. "Building Cross-Sector Careers in India's New Service Economy? Tracking Former Call Centre Agents in the National Capital Region," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 43(2), pages 449-479, March.

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