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Admiral Insurance has piloted a new shift working system and is developing childcare plans to reduce staff turnover in its Cardiff call centre.
The insurer has just completed a six-month pilot of new shift patterns which eliminates the need for staff to work late by coordinating with a call centre in the US.
Fern Osborn-Tait, people services manager of Admiral Insurance, said it is an example of a call centre operator introducing progressive working arrangements for its 1,400 staff, which contradicts the message coming from the TUC’s investigation into workplace harassment in call centres.
Osborn-Tait said, “I’ve been surprised by the TUC’s case studies that have been cited. It could not be further from our atmosphere.”
The company hopes to introduce flexible childcare later this year. It intends to secure places in a local nursery for the children of staff to attend when there are problems with childcare cover.
Osborn-Tait said, “The emergency childcare facility is an innovative idea that we looking at to keep our employees at work and happy that their children are being looked after.”
Admiral has also been trying to improve team working and encourage the identification of its corporate goals among new staff. Osborn-Tait said, “On their first day employees get a piece of a jigsaw. It is a metaphor to show that they are as important a part of the team as every other employee.”
Admiral is hoping that its HR policies will reduce the staff turnover rate from nearly 30 per cent to 25 per cent, which is closer to the industry average.
Although the TUC claims that call centre managers privately admit that the turnover rate is double what is quoted.
Racial equality is also high on the call centre operator’s agenda.
The company has been meeting representatives from Cardiff’s Somali population to try to increase the proportion of staff from ethnic minorities, which is only two per cent.
By Paul Nelson
