Buy an essay: Correlation between Job Satisfaction and Staff Turnover in Call Centres Based in India

The emergence of globalization stimulates the development of the international business activities. In this regard, outsourcing becomes one of the major trends in the development of the contemporary business environment. At the same time, often outsourcing involves industries, which used to be isolated in the past. At this point, it is possible to refer to the emergence of call centres in India, which has become extremely popular in recent years. The rise of call centres in India is determined by multiple factors, such as cheap labour force, relatively high qualification level of employees, and others. As a result, many multinational corporations operating internationally tend to outsource their call services to Indian call centres. Moreover, many multinational corporations develop their own call centres in India using full advantages of the location of call centres in India.
On the other hand, the development of call centres in India and outsourcing of call services to Indian call centres raises the problem of the adaptation of the work in call centres to the traditional culture of India. In this regard, the current development of call centres in India reveals the fact that call centres in India suffer from the relatively high personnel turnover. The job satisfaction influences apparently the personnel turnover but, in case of India, this is apparently not the only reason for the high personnel turnover because the work in Indian call centres provides local employees with the high wages. Instead, the workplace environment and the essence of the work in call centres are the major reasons for the job dissatisfaction and high personnel turnover. In addition, some companies attempt to save costs and employ professionals, who are ready to work for lower wages. As a result, the competition increases and leads to the personnel turnover. Finally, the work in call centres needs the basic knowledge and skills and abilities but it is always possible to train new employees to replace fired employees that makes the personnel turnover a sort of norm in Indian call centres. The current dissertation focuses on the analysis of the development of call centres in India, which has become the major business process outsourcing hub in the world, and reveals the correlation between the job satisfaction and the staff turnover in Indian call centres, analyzing causes and reasons for the personnel turnover in call centres in India.

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Chapter 1. Introduction
a. Aims and objectives
Today, the emergence of globalization contributes to the development of the international business cooperation and outsourcing. Many industries are characterized by the process of outsourcing, which can be clearly traced in the relationships between developed and developing countries. In this regard, the development of the modern call centre industry is one of the manifestations of the process of globalization, when companies operating in developed countries outsource call centre services to developing countries and countries of the third world. The current research focuses on the study of the development of the call centre industry in India, which has become the major BPO hub in the world.
b. Rationale for choosing topic
The rise of the call centre in India is the result of the process of globalization and emergence of new information technologies and telecommunication systems. In the last decade India has developed as a major BPO hub for business process outsourcing offering services in varied sectors such as information technology, medical, law, finance, customer service, etc. Call centre account for a huge portion of the total business process outsourcing industry in India. Research done by leading organisation such as World Bank, International Monetary Fund has predicated by 2015 the Indian call centre industry will almost double its current size. There are various factors such as good quality education, sound infrastructure, flexible work force etc that contribute to the success of the Indian call centre Industry. The average salary paid to a call centre employee is between 17000 to 25000 INR which is exceptionally good compared to any other industry.
In the contemporary business environment where large companies battle out to gain every possible advantage over each other customer service plays an important role, this is where call centres plays an integral part as many leading companies have outsourced their customer service operations and other telephonic operations to India. Outsourcing enables these companies to attain the competitive edge and also economies of scale. Majority of the call centres located in India act as third party contact which means they provide services on contractual basis. However over the last few years many multinational companies such as 3G, JP morgan, Barclays, Vodafone etc have set up their own call centres units in India to have better control over the whole process.
Despite all the favourable factors the Indian call centre is plagued by a high employment attrition rate. Friedmann et. al (2003) states one of the most difficult task in the management of a contact centre is finding and retaining the right people for the job as the attrition rate experienced by contact centres is higher compared to any other industry the increasing diversity in job profile only adds the need for more qualified staff.
According to many researchers (Hart, 2004) the lack of job satisfaction is the most profound reasons which instigate individuals to change job. Therefore it is important to study the different variables which constitute job satisfaction. It should be noted different variables appeal at varying degrees to individuals depending on their personal circumstances. In all probability, the lack of the job satisfaction is the result of the impact of multiple factors on the position of employees of call centres and their job satisfaction. In this regard, cultural factors can have a significant impact on the job satisfaction because India has its own, unique culture and traditions. For instance, the work in call centres is traditionally believed to be a female job in India. On the other hand, the high salary rate attracts not only females but also males to this job. As a result, cultural traditions and traditional views on the work in call centres as a female job affect the position of employees in call centres and affect their self-perception as well as interpersonal relationships. In addition, the specificity of the job in call centres implies particular personal traits of character and psychological characteristics, which not all employees of call centres possess that may be another reason for the low job satisfaction and high staff turnover.
c. Theoretical background
The correlation between the job satisfaction and the staff turnover is highly probable because the workplace environment and the impact of the job on an employee’s mood, psychological state, material and financial position affect his or her job satisfaction and influence his or her career choices. For instance, from the utilitarian point of view, the job satisfaction is an essential element of the personnel retention because, if employees are dissatisfied with their job, they do not have any benefits that satisfy their needs and expectations. Therefore, the job becomes useless and pointless for employees and they prefer to change their job instead of carry on working in a call centre.
At the same time, the job satisfaction is quite a complex concept, especially in such a complex workplace environment as call centres in India. In this regard, it is possible to refer to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which define different levels of needs of each employee in the course of his or her professional development. The extent to which needs of employees are met define the job satisfaction of employees. The job satisfaction, in its turn, defines whether employees keep working in the company or they change their workplace to find better environment and to meet their needs. In such a way, the job satisfaction depends on needs of employees and their satisfaction and influences the staff turnover because call centres as well as other organization cannot retain employees that are not satisfied with their job. Another theory implies the impact of two factors on the job satisfaction. This is a so-called two-factor theory which implies the impact of motivators, such as salary, recognition of employees and so on, and hygiene factors, such as an employee’s status, security, salary and others. The combination of motivators and hygiene factors defines employees’ job satisfaction. Therefore, it is possible to presuppose that, if employees fail to have sufficient motivation and hygiene factors, they are dissatisfied with their job that may lead to the staff turnover. On the other hand, it is important to remember about company’s policy, which may affect both the job satisfaction and the staff turnover.
d. Limitations
The current study focuses on the analysis of the correlation between the job satisfaction and the staff turnover in call centres in India based on the qualitative analysis mainly, because the study involves the use of qualitative methods of analysis, such as interviews and questionnaires. However, qualitative analysis does not reveal the full extent to which the job satisfaction and the personnel turnover correlate. To put it more precisely, the policy of companies, i.e. call centres in India may aim at the regular personnel turnover to reach organizational goals, such as the reduction of costs of the labour force, or to renew the personnel, or others. In other words, the detailed analysis of organizational policies may be needed to understand reasons for the staff turnover in call centres based in India as well as the analysis of the socio-cultural environment in which these call centres operate.
e. Structure of the dissertation
The dissertation includes five chapters and the introduction chapter. The introduction chapter provides the basic information on aims and objectives of the paper and uncovers the background of the current study. The second chapter is the literature review which focuses on the review of studies conducted by different researchers dedicated to the problem of the development and functioning of call centres in India and the correlation between the job satisfaction and the staff turnover. To put it more precisely, at first, the literature review discusses the reasons for the development of call centres in India and the current situation in the call centre industry in India. Furthermore, the literature review chapter reveals specificities of functioning of call centres in India and discusses the essence of the job satisfaction and factors influencing the job satisfaction at large and in the call centre environment in India in particular. In addition, the literature review focuses on the revelation of possible correlation and interdependence between the job satisfaction and the staff turnover. For this purpose, the studies concerning factors influencing the job satisfaction are discussed and their impact on the personnel turnover is revealed. In such a way, the literature review chapter passes from the study of the development of the call centre industry in India and its specificities to the analysis of the job satisfaction, factors influencing the job satisfaction, and its correlation to the staff turnover in call centres based in India.
The third chapter comprises the methods used in terms of the current study. At first, subjects of the study are defined and discussed. Then, the methods used in terms of the current study, including interviews and questionnaires, are discussed and described in details, including the description of the way in which they were applied.
The fourth chapter includes the results and findings of the study with the discussion of findings. The fifth chapter is conclusions made on the basis of the analysis of data and findings collected in the course of the study. Finally, on the ground of findings, conclusions and literature review, recommendations concerning the further study of the correlation between the job satisfaction and the personnel turnover in call centres based in India. The recommendations chapter provides recommendations to companies operating in the call centre industry in India and gives implications to the further research in the field related to the development of call centres in India.