Leader: Call centre outsourcing - so predictable?

If you work in a public sector call centre in the UK we have a message for you - watch out. At least that is one conclusion that could be drawn from several of today's stories, which together suggest that is exactly the type of job at the top of lists to be outsourced and offshored. But is that likely?

First, a study of 200 such facilities worldwide made for grim reading. After years of experience, it would seem call centres are worse than ever - in terms of the way they serve customers, treat their staff and produce a return for the companies using them.

Then we hear private companies are using outsourcing to concentrate on productivity gains and business process outsourcing (BPO) - the implication being that the public sector is more likely to make decisions purely on cost.

And finally, call centre outsourcing is predicted to rise according to a Datamonitor study. Alright, the focus was on the US and there was talk of near-sourcing, in its case mainly to Canada, but similar trends are apparent elsewhere.

Is it simply naïve to join the dots in this way? In a word, yes. We made the point yesterday that call centres can be awful places to work but, as we will show next week, best practice does exist and can make all the difference, delivering on the promise of the model centre many still like to talk about.

The real fear must be that too many call centres are riddled with bad practice and companies are using them - or outsourcing their less-than-perfect facilities - for the wrong reasons.

It's incumbent on all UK businesses to work out the best approaches. Pointing a finger at the next group of workers who might see their jobs disappear might sound like good sport but really it is only a sign of wider shortcomings.