The shifting economics of call centers Wednesday, October 30, 2002 Here's some new insight into the globalization of the call center industry. A Florida-based call center company has announced plans for opening a 500-seat call center in India's Gujarat province and a minimum 500-seat data-entry center in Ghana early next year, each with a local partner from that nation. The Ghana operation could grow to as many as 2,500 workstations within two years. Here's what company executives say: "Because of advances of telecommunications, it now becomes possible for calls to be handled in India, Africa and almost any place in the world...And when you factor in the dramatically lower cost of labor, service can be delivered at roughly half the price of what calls can be typically handled in the United States. "American call centers are going to have to modify their course of action, if they are going to survive in the long-term...We have to evolve from high-school graduates doing basic work to college graduates and Ph.D.s handling specialized work. "It's not just because of our labor costs but also technology. Voice recognition technology will put lots of people out of jobs in the future. We have to become a knowledge-based industry, offering employees with advanced degrees who can do work that machines can't do." To operate a work-station in the United States costs about $26 to $30 an hour, including salary and benefits, rent, administration and other expenses. Operating costs run maybe $12 an hour for the same workstation in India. Some U.S. call-centers are trying to keep business from moving overseas by cutting outbound-call rates as low as $19 an hour from the United States, but that means almost no profit. Expansion overseas can be a wiser and more stable option for U.S. call-centers long-term. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. links Some Background on EDPro Weblog The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it. One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site: Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber: Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking. Background on Ed Morrison Download some background information on me here.

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