TITLE:
When Reaching Our Potential Predicts Low Values: A Longitudinal Study about Performance and Organizational Values at Call Centres
AUTHORS:
Danilo Garcia, Trevor Archer
KEYWORDS:
Call Centre; Organizational Values; Performance; Time Schedule
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Service Science and Management,
Vol.5 No.4,
December
26,
2012
ABSTRACT: The present study was executed using data from a call centre in Sweden in which agents answered questions regarding financial advice. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship of call centre agents’ perceptions about the work climate and the organizational values to their performance, as measured by the organization. In Study 1, agents (N = 106) reported their experience about the work climate and organizational values. Performance (i.e., percent of time on the phone for each work day) was then assessed for the next six consecutive months. In Study 2, agents’ perceptions of organizational values were measured among a new sample (N = 262) from the same call centre. Performance was measured during the next two consecutive years. With regard to the working climate, workers’ autonomy was negatively related to their own performance. The results show also a negative relationship between organizational values and performance during the two following years. Agents seem to maintain high productivity levels at the cost of organizational core values, perhaps due to the visible and rewarding nature of productivity.