PROSPECTS:MOST IRISH call centres expect to see their revenues grow in the next two to three years, according to a new survey.
In the same week as 575 workers lost their jobs in the TalkTalk call centre in Waterford, the survey, carried out on behalf of the Contact Centre Management Association of Ireland (CCMA), said call centres employed almost 30,000 people in Ireland, and were now referred to as contact centres within the industry.
The study was carried out by Amárach Research in the second quarter of 2011, and was sponsored by IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland.
It surveyed 52 participants in the sector, including contact centres and business process outsourcing companies.
It said 52 per cent of respondents grew in revenue terms in 2010.
Some 73 per cent said they expected revenue growth in the next two to three years, while 13 per cent expected no change.
Managing director of the CCMA Dorothy O’Byrne said the sector was “confident and buoyant”, and companies had strong expectations of growth.
The contact centre sector was a “sizeable industry” and required Government support in the areas of skills development, funding for research and development and in IT infrastructure.
The survey reported more than 150 million customer interactions were handled by the sector last year, 59 per cent of which were telephone calls.
While electronic communications such as texting and e-mail accounted for just 16 per cent of all communications last year, significant growth is forecast for these channels in the next 12 months.
Other types of contacts included apps and interactive voice response, where customers may not make direct contact with a person working in the centre.
The survey also indicated that 37 per cent of respondent companies required their employees to have multilingual skills.