The COVID19 pandemic has caused clear shifts in the customer contact labor market. Geert-Jan Waasdorp of Intelligence Group predicts that finding agents will remain an undiminished challenge.

Vacancy from ING, 16 April 2021 – click to enlarge

Not long ago, customer service was still standing at number three in a series of fifteen growth categories with the most promising professions for the Netherlands. But Geert-Jan Waasdorp wonders whether this will also lead to a greater influx of employees. “The travel sector is now largely at a standstill. However, the expansion in the number of customer contact jobs, particularly at the GGDs and at service providers for testing and vaccination, has made the labor market even tighter. The people who become available there again in the post-corona era will be well placed in the market,” expects Waasdorp.

Ask for customer service representatives

Overall, the number of vacancies posted in customer contact is lower than in the time before corona. In the second quarter of 2020, the demand for customer service employees was even low in absolute terms, but after that the number of employers looking for customer service employees increased again, explains Waasdorp. Incidentally, when mapping the number of open vacancies, it is important to note that vacancies for customer contact employees are often multiple, while they are classified singly by the software. You don't ask for a class of contact center managers every week, but with agents it almost always involves larger numbers.

The list of employers (excluding agencies) that post the most vacancies is dominated by KPN, Webhelp, the three major banks, Vodafone and the Tax and Customs Administration – the same applicants as always. Corona also contributes to employees changing jobs less quickly, says Waasdorp, and the option to work from home may also reduce mobility. “The scarcity is now not only limited to what is customary: especially in the Randstad.”
(text continues after graphs)

Facility contact centers report that it total volume of contacts has increased considerably in the past year. So there is plenty of work and that also has an impact on the labor market. Waasdorp mainly expects problems for contact centers in the short term when other sectors, including the catering industry, reopen. “Unemployment is historically low. In addition, despite the emerging automation - think of chatbots - the sector has only continued to grow. However, as long as the chatbots are not able to handle more than simple standard questions, the pressure on contact centers will increase. Without automation, the shortage will become even more serious. So there is every reason for companies to continue to invest in more convenience and self-service for the customer.”

Expectation for the longer term: tightness

For 2030 to 2040 predicted years ago that the size of the working population is going through a trough because of the aging population. “In fact, we have already started that decline and it will continue until 2050,” says Waasdorp. “Moreover, an aging population is putting even more pressure on customer contact. There will therefore be plenty of employment and, as far as I'm concerned, the main concern lies with the quality of the employment practices at the contact centres. The call center job is not at the top of the lists of most popular jobs. If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys and in contact centers employees are seen as easily replaceable. The moment employers decide to turn the terms and conditions of employment, the shortage will resolve itself. This also applies to healthcare or education: if you adjust the primary employment conditions sufficiently, every labor market problem will be solved. For years, research has shown: Being a better employer - and that is more than just terms and conditions of employment - leads to better service, higher conversion and more turnover and profit.” (Ziptone/Erik Bouwer)

Interesting article? Share it!