Abstract
Over the course of the last couple of decades, the humble telephone has become an increasingly important tool in terms of both arranging and managing a range of financial services products. This trend has effectively elevated the call centre to a position of prominence within the financial services distribution mix.
In the last few years, however, there has been a reluctance on the part of British consumers to use overseas call centres. There have even been suggestions that the offshore tide may be starting to turn. This report examines the issues surrounding the optimum location for an organisation' s call centre operations in order to ascertain whether the future trend is likely to be offshore or onshore.
Table of Contents
- Issues in the Market
- Scope of the report
- Market in Brief
- Call centres form a key part of the financial services distribution mix
- A variety of pros and cons are associated with offshore call centres
- There has been a notable drift offshore, although the tide may have turned
- Mintel' s research findings: Users and uses of call centres
- Mintel' s research findings: What frustrates callers
- Mintel' s research findings: Attitudes to overseas call centres
- Background
- The telephone has revolutionised financial services distribution
- A number of factors have facilitated this rapid development
- Penetration of telephones has now reached saturation point
- Figure 1: Proportion of households with a telephone, UK, 1970-2006
- Mobile phone penetration has risen rapidly in the last few years
- Figure 2: Proportion of households with a mobile phone, UK, 1997-2006
- Use of new technology is further changing the face of distribution
- Rising Internet penetration will boost online financial services
- Figure 3: British Internet penetration at home/work/place of study or
elsewhere, 2001-06
- An increase in broadband connections will also be significant
- Figure 4: Internet connections by type, UK, 2001-06 Q1
- This growth is likely to spawn multimedia contact centres
- Technological advancements have facilitated call centre growth
- Increasing prominence of CRM has also been a boost to call centres
- The Size of the Call Centre Market
- Defining what constitutes a call centre can be difficult
- The UK call centre market continues to grow
- Figure 5: Growth in UK call centres, by numbers of centres and agent
places, 2002-06
- Financial services accounts for around a third of all agent places
- Figure 6: Segmentation of UK call centre agent places, by market sector,
2002-06
- More than a quarter of UK call centres are based in the South East
- Figure 7: Location of call centres in the UK, 2006
- Offshore outsourcing has been a notable trend in recent years
- The Rationale for Offshoring
- Mintel' s Call Centres Industry Survey
- Call centre location needs to be aligned with strategic goals
- Potential cost savings are usually the key driving force
- Trade comments relating to potential cost savings:
- Availability of highly skilled workers has been another advantage
- Offshore call centres can also aid operational flexibility
- Trade comment relating to operational flexibility:
- But surveys point to growing antipathy to offshore centres
- Security issues are also a cause of consumer concern
- Trade comments relating to consumer aversion to offshore call centres:
- Identifying the Onshore and Offshore Providers
- The call centre industry has witnessed a steady drift offshore
- Many financial providers have established offshore operations
- Many providers have retained exclusively UK operations...
- ...and the tide may be turning in favour of onshore centres
- There is a notable split between the onshore and offshore brigades
- Figure 8: Selected financial services providers split according to
location of call centre roles, February 2007
- Case Studies
- Aviva plc
- Barclays plc
- Esure
- Nationwide
- The Consumer -- Users and Uses of Call Centres
- Survey background
- Around 20 million consumers use the phone for their finances
- Figure 9: Channels used to manage day-to-day finances, November 2006
- Implications
- Consumers have adopted a multi-channel approach
- Figure 10: Channel usage combinations, November 2006
- Implications
- ABs are prolific users of the phone for managing their finances
- Figure 11: Channels used to manage day-to-day finances, by gender, age,
socio-economic group, lifestage and Special Groups, November 2006
- Implications
- High earners are keen to utilise both the phone and Internet
- Figure 12: Channels used to manage day-to-day finances, by working
status, income, TV region and ACORN group, November 2006
- Implications
- Internet users and broadsheet readers are keen on remote channels
- Figure 13: Channels used to manage day-to-day finances, by technology
usage, newspaper readership, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage,
November 2006
- The phone is now used for a wide variety of financial tasks
- Figure 14: Financial tasks conducted via the telephone, November 2006
- Implications
- Men are more likely than women to buy products via the phone
- Figure 15: Financial tasks conducted via the telephone, by gender,
November 2006
- Implications
- The 35-44s use the phone for a wide range of financial tasks
- Figure 16: Financial tasks conducted via the telephone, by age group,
November 2006
- Implications
- ABs are the most likely to arrange products via the phone
- Figure 17: Financial tasks conducted via the telephone, by
socio-economic group, November 2006
- Implications
- A fifth of phone users carry out five or more financial tasks
- Figure 18: Number of financial tasks conducted via the telephone,
November 2006
- Implications
- 35-44-year-old phone users perform the most tasks
- Figure 19: Number of financial tasks conducted via the telephone, by
gender, age and socio-economic group, November 2006
- A general enquiry is the most common activity for the single-task group
- Figure 20: Repertoire of financial tasks conducted via the telephone,
November 2006
- The Consumer -- What Frustrates Callers
- Time spent on hold is the most common source of frustration
- Figure 21: Consumers' frustrations when using financial call centres,
November 2006
- Implications
- The 45-54s and ABs are the most frustrated call centre users
- Figure 22: Consumers' frustrations when using financial call centres, by
gender, age and socio-economic group, November 2006
- Sales messages are most likely to annoy the ABC1 55+ group
- Figure 23: Consumers' frustrations when using financial call centres, by
gender, age and socio-economic group, November 2006
- Implications
- Communication problems are more likely to irritate high earners
- Figure 24: Consumers' frustrations when using financial call centres, by
lifestage, working status, income and TV region, November 2006
- Third age consumers harbour many call centre frustrations
- Figure 25: Consumers' frustrations when using financial call centres, by
lifestage, working status, income and TV region, November 2006
- The Consumer -- Attitudes to Overseas Call Centres
- Most consumers would rather not use overseas call centres
- Figure 26: ' I would rather not speak to someone in a call centre which
is based overseas' , November 2006
- Implications
- Over-45s, C2s and women are more likely to criticise offshore agents
- Figure 27: ' I would rather not speak to someone in a call centre which
is based overseas' , by gender, age, socio-economic group and lifestage,
November 2006
- Urban Prosperity group is the most tolerant of overseas agents
- Figure 28: ' I would rather not speak to someone in a call centre which
is based overseas' , by TV region, ACORN group and newspaper readership,
November 2006
- The potential for account misunderstandings is a major concern
- Figure 29: ' I would worry that an overseas-based call centre could lead
to a misunderstanding with my account' , November 2006
- Implications
- This fear of a mix-up permeates the entire consumer base
- Figure 30: ' I would worry that an overseas-based call centre could lead
to a misunderstanding with my account' , by gender, age, socio-economic group
and lifestage, November 2006
- Scottish consumers are most likely to fear a potential error
- Figure 31: ' I would worry that an overseas-based call centre could lead
to a misunderstanding with my account' , by TV region, ACORN group and
newspaper readership, November 2006
- Security fears also make consumers wary of overseas call centres
- Figure 32: ' I would worry that my information is less secure with
providers who use overseas call centres' , November 2006
- Implications
- Older consumers are more likely to feel anxious about security
- Figure 33: ' I would worry that my information is less secure with
providers who use overseas call centres' , by gender, age, socio-economic
group and lifestage, November 2006
- Consumers in Anglia/Midlands tend to worry about security
- Figure 34: ' I would worry that my information is less secure with
providers who use overseas call centres' , by TV region, ACORN group and
newspaper readership, November 2006
- Most people prefer companies that only have UK call centres
- Figure 35: ' I would rather deal with companies that only have call
centres based in the UK' , November 2006
- Implications
- Support for UK call centres is strong across all segments
- Figure 36: ' I would rather deal with companies that only have call
centres based in the UK' , by gender, age, socio-economic group and
lifestage, November 2006
- There was strong support in Yorkshire/North East and Scotland
- Figure 37: ' I would rather deal with companies that only have call
centres based in the UK' , by TV region, ACORN group and newspaper
readership, November 2006
- Cheaper products would only win over a minority of consumers
- Figure 38: ' I would be happy for my provider to use an overseas call
centre if it meant I received cheaper products and better rates' , November
2006
- Implications
- Young adults may be swayed by the lure of better rates
- Figure 39: ' I would be happy for my provider to use an overseas call
centre if it meant I received cheaper products and better rates' , by gender,
age, socio-economic group and lifestage, November 2006
- A majority in the Urban Prosperity group would take cheaper products
- Figure 40: ' I would be happy for my provider to use an overseas call
centre if it meant I received cheaper products and better rates' , by TV
region, ACORN group and newspaper readership, November 2006
- Better service standards could provide the key to success
- Figure 41: ' I do not mind where a call centre is based as long as I
receive a good service' , November 2006
- Implications
- ABs typically care more about service than call centre location
- Figure 42: ' I do not mind where a call centre is based as long as I
receive a good service' , by gender, age, socio-economic group and lifestage,
November 2006
- Most broadsheet readers could be won over by good service
- Figure 43: ' I do not mind where a call centre is based as long as I
receive a good service' , by TV region, ACORN group and newspaper readership,
November 2006
- Dissecting the sample according to attitudes to call centres
- Figure 44: Typologies based upon attitudes to overseas call centres, by
gender, age, socio-economic group and TV region, November 2006
- The Future -- Offshore or Onshore?
- What does Mintel' s research tell us?
- The offshore brigade should not necessarily lose heart
- But onshore providers appear to have a clear opportunity to exploit
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