Browsing by Author "Janse van Rensburg, Yolandi-Eloise"
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- ItemEngagement in call centres : exploring eliciting factors(Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010-12) Janse van Rensburg, Yolandi-Eloise; Boonzaier, Billy; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial PsychologyENGLISH ABSTRACT: Researchers have labelled call centres as the modern equivalent of the ‘factory sweatshops’ of the industrial era, and refer to them as the ‘satanic mills of the 21st century’. A review of the literature revealed the lack of employee engagement amongst call centre representatives (CCRs) to be a central concern in this fast-emerging global industry. Consequently, the current study was undertaken to identify and investigate various antecedents of employee engagement. The objective of the study was, firstly, to gauge the level of employee engagement amongst a sample of CCRs in South Africa and, secondly, to track the paths through which salient antecedents affect this engagement. More specifically, the relationships between sense of coherence (SOC), leadership effectiveness (LE), team effectiveness (TE) and employee engagement (E) were investigated. A quantitative research approach was followed whereby a positive psychology paradigm underpinned the examination of specific personal and job resources that could enhance engagement within the call centre environment. A cross-sectional survey design was used and a non-probability convenient sample of 215 CCRs was selected. The measuring instruments comprised the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale of Schaufeli and Bakker (2003) to measure engagement, the Team Diagnostic Survey of Wageman, Hackman and Lehman (2005) to measure team effectiveness, the Leadership Practices Inventory of Kouzes and Posner (2001) to gauge leadership effectiveness, and the Orientation to Life Questionnaire of Antonovsky (1987) to measure sense of coherence. A series of structural equation modelling analyses were performed. Contrary to the ‘electronic sweatshop’ image and its attendant symptoms of depression, emotional exhaustion, anxiety, demotivation and dissatisfaction attached to call centre jobs (depicted in the literature), the results show a high level of employee engagement for the CCRs in the sample. Also, personal resources, such as SOC, and job resources, such as TE, related significantly to E. A non-significant relationship was found to exist between LE and E. The implications of the results for the practice of human resource management in call centres are elaborated upon.