Contact centres are now a source of surprising opportunities for senior managers - by Neil Lafferty

When it comes to working in the contact centre industry too many people still view it as the equivalent of dialling a wrong number in their career.

But though in the past there may have been a tendency to view positions in the contact centre industry as low level or temporary, those who have regarded it as a career are fast finding that their steady application has paid dividends.

It is now a fact that for those who want to, contact centres offer a clear and well-structured career path to some very senior and rewarding positions as Mike Healy, Head of Telesales at Phones4U, says: “I began my career as an advisor with Cable & Wireless. Through experience and developing a deep understanding of customers and commercial drivers in the telecoms sector, I’ve created opportunities for myself. Contact centres are full of talented people who have carved out exciting, fast-paced careers.”

However, it is not only those that have worked their way through the ranks that can build weighty careers in the contact centre industry. The industry’s burgeoning frame requires better and more involved management than ever before and delivering the heightened levels of service demanded is a challenging task.

This, in turn, has led to a significant change in the type of staff companies are looking to employ when it comes to managing their contact centres and has accelerated a trend that had already begun, where businesses search for senior staff beyond the bounds of the industry itself.

In the past there was an appetite to hire only those with contact centre experience and sector-specific knowledge of the area in which the centre dealt.

This obviously has advantages, but it also disregards the benefits that individuals with experience of other sectors can bring and employers are increasingly seeking senior staff from more diverse backgrounds as the industry becomes more sophisticated, more competitive and starts to think more laterally.

This trend has been particularly prevalent amongst outsourcing firms who are looking to establish a broad church of management experience to help them cater for the diverse needs of each individual client and work in a way that best suits the company in question.

It is also interesting to note that when it comes to contact centres, Glasgow has continued to lead the UK as a hub of extensive contact centre experience.

The city has attracted many of the leading players in this space and the west of Scotland as a whole now offers an expertise that is well-established and respected throughout Britain, with the commensurate positions for ambitious senior managers.

This is a point of view echoed by Fiona McGlinchey, Client Operations Manager at Response who comments: “The west of Scotland is probably the centre of excellence for contact centres in UK terms. For someone entering contact centres for the first time, they might not realise that they can develop a senior career within really sophisticated, technology-driven companies. In and around Glasgow, there are opportunities with really prestigious, market-leading businesses like Centrica, HSBC and Response.”

The contact centre industry has changed dramatically and offers a whole new set of opportunities for those looking to join at a senior level or work their way through the industry and make a long-term career out of it.

Viewing it as a temporary stop over or career cul-de-sac would be a mistake and those with bigger ambitions are already realising this.

14th January 2010

Neil Lafferty is Group Sales Director at Rise Group, the fastest growing recruitment company exclusively dedicated to Scotland*