SPACE PLANNING & INTERIORS FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
Collaboration and community are not necessarily your first thought when call centres are in mind, however, Teleperformance explain how they relocated to support their workers with a well-designed, communal workspace to keep workflow and spirits high.
Recent estimates suggest that around one million people, or 3% of all employees, now work in one of the UK’s call centres. When it comes to the layout of their working environment, it’s fair to say that the image that springs to mind is one of deskbound staff in rows in large open plan spaces.
This image attracts criticism, but then again it is one of the few remaining sectors impervious to the march of flexible working practices, precisely because of the function it performs. The space is dictated by the work, exactly as it should be.
That is not to say, however, that contact centres have any less focus on issues such as the comfort, wellbeing and productivity of the people who work in them or other key objectives such as collaborative work, the environmental performance of the building, service levels, flexibility and corporate identity. What the UK’s contact centre industry has learned over many years is how the design and layout of their offices can affect their performance and that of their employees.
Indeed the two are closely
interlinked as the happiness and productivity of individuals in the workplace has a direct bearing on the performance of the organisation. So, while contact centres may attract some criticism for their layouts, they are also aware of their responsibilities to ensure they create a working environment that fosters the wellbeing of staff and delivers on a wide range of other objectives.
KEEPING THEIR COOL The use of a well considered heating,
ventilation and air-conditioning installation is essential in creating a productive working environment.
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In the same way, processes may be important in the way contact centres function, but that does not mean they have any less need for the sharing of ideas and information or teamwork. Some of this happens organically as a consequence of an open plan layout, but carefully designed meeting and collaborative spaces can enhance communication, open up lines of thought and the creation and sharing of ideas. The same spaces are also likely to include private work areas for specific tasks and social spaces so people can interact on a personal level and develop relationships.
While many contact centres are still characterised according to an old stereotype of battery farms or white collar factories, the truth is somewhat different. Modern contact centres have evolved to become sophisticated, high-tech showcases of service, support, and sales. Meanwhile, the look and layout of call centres is changing to keep up with the new demands being placed on them.
There is also a growing recognition for their role in the creation of a multi- platform but predominantly human interface between customers and the organisation. For many companies and their customers it is the only interface they have with each other so it is essential that the contact centre functions as seamlessly and well as possible. This can only be achieved by acknowledging the importance of individual team members and how they can be supported by their working environment and the company’s culture.
BALTIC PLACE A perfect example of how this works
in practices is the new office of one of the world’s largest outsourced contact centre operations,
Teleperformance at Baltic Place in Gateshead. According to a recent report by property consultancy GVA, the move was the largest commercial property deal completed on Tyneside during 2014.
Teleperformance is a global giant in the world outsourced customer service sector. It has a turnover in excess of $3 billion, operates 270 contact centres in 62 countries and employs around 149,000 people worldwide. It is exactly the sort of business Baltic Place was created to attract. Baltic Place consists of two eleven-storey towers offering around 130,000 sq ft of office space.
The development sits alongside three of the most iconic structures in Gateshead including the Sage Music Centre, Gateshead Millennium Bridge and the Baltic Arts Centre.
What is clear from its choice of Baltic Place is that people are at the heart of Teleperformance’s business but so too are the places they work. That is why when Director of Facilities Stuart Jones drew up the strategy for the relocation to Baltic Place, he knew working with the right firms and attention to detail were essential. “As always planning is key,” he said. “From a commercial
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