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The 2016 benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry in South Africa. www.quest.co.za Follow us on Enabling Business through Talent TM

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Page 1: he 2016 benchmark salaries & general insights for the ... Quest BPO...T he 2016 benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

The 2016 benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business

Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry in

South Africa.

www.quest.co.za

Follow us on

Enabling Business through Talent TM

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Executive Sponsor: Kay Vittee, Chief Executive Officer, Quest Staffing Solutions (Pty) Ltd

Publisher: Quest Staffing Solutions (Pty) Ltd

Editors: KC Makhubele, Quest Staffing Solutions (Pty) Ltd

Research Analyst: Fungai Chigwendere, Quest Staffing Solutions (Pty) Ltd

Design & Production: Red Cherry Advertising

Copyright: All rights are reserved by Quest Staffing Solutions (Pty) Ltd. No part of this

publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by

any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior

written permission of the copyright owner.

Copyright © text, data, tables and graphs: Quest Staffing Solutions (Pty) Ltd

Copyright © published edition: Quest Staffing Solutions (Pty) Ltd

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

The 2016 benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business

Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry in

South Africa.

First published October 2016

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• Insightsintosalariesadvertisedacrossvariousmediaversus

actual salaries, paid in the South African BPO and Contact

Centre industries.

• Insightsintosalariesandbenefitsincaptiveandnon-captive

contact centres in South Africa (Quest research).

• ArticlesonmattersofinteresttotheBPOandcontactcentre

industries covering topics such as attrition and coping with

night shift work.

The Quest 2016 benchmark salaries & general insights for

the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre

industry in South Africa report provides:

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

Preface

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Table of Contents

Contributors 2

Preface 3

1 Introduction 5

A. Salary Insights 2016: Actual reported salaries vs advertised salaries 6

2 Results/Findings in detail (desk top research) 9

2.1 AGENTSALARIES 9

2.1.1 Table 1: Permanently Employed Agent Salaries: Fieldwork Surveys 9

2.1.2 Table 2: Permanently Employed Agent Salaries: Job Spec & Advert Surveys 10

2.1.3 Table 3: Temporary Employed Agent Salaries: Fieldwork Surveys 11

2.2 SUPERVISORANDSUPPORTSTAFFSALARIES 12

2.2.1 Table 4: Permanently Employed Supervisor & Support Salaries: Fieldwork Surveys 12

2.2.2 Table 5: Permanently Employed Supervisor & Support Salaries: Job Spec &

Advert Surveys 13

2.3 AVIEWONFINANCESECTORSALARIES 14

2.3.1 Table 6: Permanently Employed Agent Salaries: Fieldwork Surveys 14

2.3.2 Table 7: Temporary Employed Agent Salaries: Fieldwork Surveys 15

B. Overview of the captive & BPO contract specifications, benefits, incentives,

rate of pay and salaries (Quest research) 16

GeneralSurveyInsights 16

Insightsonsalaries 17

Table 8. Permanently employed entry level Agents 17

InsightsonBenefits 17

Survey Findings in detail (Quest Survey) 18

Table 9. Customer Service Agents – Gauteng 18

Table 10. Team Leaders/Supervisors – Gauteng 18

Table11.CustomerServiceAgents:WesternCape 19

Table12.CustomerServiceAgents:WesternCape(continued) 19

Table13.TeamManagers:WesternCape 20

C. Focus on BPO & Contact Centre 21

FactsaboutSouthAfrica’sBPOandOutsourcingIndustry 21

BPO&ContactCentreIndustrytrendsinSouthAfrica 22

Combating Attrition in Contact Centres 23

Maintaining work life balance while working night shift 25

References 27

About Quest Staffing Solutions 28

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

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Introduction

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

In South Africa, conventional full scale salary surveys are done every two

to three years with many overlapping. In the interim, an aggregation of the

overlapping surveys may present a more or less accurate representation

of prevailing salary trends at any one point in time. To this end, Quest

Staffing Solutions conducted a Contact Centre and BPO Salary Insights

Survey in August 2016.

TheQuestContactCentreandBPOSalaryInsightsSurveyisbasedondatafromreportedsurveysover

theperiod2014to2016.Itincludesanaggregationofmediansalariesacrossvariouspositionsinthe

SouthAfricanContactCentreandBPOandindustries-exclusiveofbenefitsandincentives.

The data is collated and aggregated by region with a distinction made between permanently and

temporarily employed staff as well as the Finance & BPO sectors in as far as the data permits. National

averages are also provided.

Presented in Part A of this report is a series of tables depicting the median salary level for various

jobfunctionsacrossthreeprovinces,namelyGauteng,theWesternCapeandKwaZuluNatal.Inthe

analysis, a distinction is also made between salaries from surveys based on advertisements & job specs

andthosebasedonactualsalariespaidasreportedinavailabledata.Insights,asprovidedinthe

sourced data, are also presented for interest and added context.

Part Bofthisreportincludesacomparisonbetweencaptiveandnon-captivecontactcentres

highlighting salaries, requisite qualifications and benefits offered in the three main regions.

Wehopethatthisreportwillproveusefultorecruitersandmanagementasthedataincluded

provides a valid and easily accessible reference tool to benchmark Contact Centre and BPO salary

levels across the country until the next comprehensive survey is released.

Section A (below) presents the results of the desktop survey and analysis.

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A: Salary Insights 2016: Actual reported salaries vs advertised salaries

Agent Salaries

The survey reflects that permanently employed Agents (regardless of their experience) are paid higher

salariesthanthemedianreportedsalariesinGautengandtheWesternCape.KwaZuluNatal(KZN)is

the lowest paying province, with salaries 10% lower than the National average.

Temporary employed Agents (regardless of their experience) are better paid in Gauteng compared to

theotherprovinces.KZNpaystheleastat11.23%lowerthanthenationalaverageforthosewith

lessthanoneyears’experience.However,thosewithgreaterthanoneyears’experienceinKZNare

almost on par with the National average (just 0.08% below).

Permanent Agents, regardless of experience, earn more than their counterparts who are temporarily

employed (up to 36.8% more for those with more than one years’ experience).

Salaries advertised for Agents are more all less on par with the national average across all provinces.

However, there is an indication that actual salaries paid are far less than those advertised.

Key Findings

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

AGENT SALARIES

National Average

GAUTENG WESTERN CAPE KZN

+-

+->1

<1

>1

<1

>1 Permanent Agents (more than 1 year experience)

Temporary Agents (more than 1 year experience)

Permanent Agents (less than 1 year experience)

Temporary Agents (less than 1 year experience)

Permanent Agents (regardless of experience)

Temporary Agents (regardless of experience)

<1

<1

<1

>1>1

>1

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Supervisory & Support Staff Salaries

ThesurveyreflectsthatpermanentlyemployedsupervisoryandsupportstaffinGautengandKZN

earnlessthanthenationalaverageregardlessofexperience.ThoseinKZNare,however,thelowest

paidregardingstaffwithlessthantwoyears’experience-earningasmuchas29%lessthanthe

national average salary.

PermanentlyemployedsupervisoryandsupportstaffintheWesternCapearethebestpaidearning

slightly above the national average salary at +5% across all reported experience levels.

Advertised salaries for supervisory and support staff are more or less on par across all provinces.

Reportedly staff with greater than five years’ experience earn 50% more than their counterparts with

less than five years’ experience. This suggests that the salaries of supervisory and support staff tend to

double after five years.

The above, while seemingly inflated, corresponds with the findings of actual surveys which suggest

that permanently employed supervisory and support staff with more than two years’ experience earn

just over 20% more than their counterparts with less than two years’ experience.

The overall indication is that supervisory and support staff are paid less than what is reflected in job

specs and advertisements. Job specs and advertisements are therefore arguably not a true indicator of

actual salaries paid.

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

SUPERVISORY & SUPPORT STAFF SALARIES

National Average

GAUTENG WESTERN CAPE KZN

+-

+-

<2

>1

<1

>1 Permanent Agents (more than 1 year experience)

Temporary Agents (more than 1 year experience)

Permanent Agents (less than 1 year experience)

Temporary Agents (less than 1 year experience)

Permanent Agents (regardless of experience)

Temporary Agents (regardless of experience)

<1

<2

<2

<2

>5 >5

>2

>2

>2

>5

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Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

A view on Financial Sector - Agents

Nationally, permanently employed Agents in the Financial sector with less than one years’ experience

(Table 6 a) earn 7.14% less than their counterparts with more than one years’ experience (Table 6 b).

Nationally, temporary Agents in the Financial sector with more than one years’ experience earn 3.7 %

more than those with less than one years’ experience.

InterestinglypermanentlyemployedAgentsonanationalscalewithlessthanoneyears’experience

earn 3.5% more than temporary Agents with the equivalent experience.

Inaddition,permanentlyemployedAgentswithmorethanoneyears’experienceearnapproximately

8% more than temporary Agents with the equivalent experience.

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Results/Findings in detail (desk top research)

2.1.1 Table 1: Permanently Employed Agent Salaries: Fieldwork Surveys

2.1 AGENT SALARIES

Customer Service Inbound

Customer Service Outbound

Sales Inbound

Sales Outbound

Collections

IT Help Desk

Job Description Gauteng GautengWestern Cape Western CapeKZN KZNNational National

R RR RR RR R

8 750

8 250

6 700

5 700

6 250

10 750

6 250

7 500

5 000

5 000

4 400

9 500

10 250

8 750

8 250

6 500

8 250

11 750

7 750

8 500

5 100

4 200

5 400

10 500

Fieldwork based surveys

0 - 1 years’ experience (A)

Median Salaries

Fieldwork based surveys

Greater than 1 years’ experience (B)

Median Salaries

*nd: no data available *Exclusive of benefits *Data is all inclusive for general Contact Centre and BPO

7 467

7 800

6 183

5 216

6 800

9 500

7 489

7 850

5 961

5 305

5 817

9 917

9 167

9 1670

7 544

5 844

7 250

9 500

9 056

8 806

6 965

5 515

6 967

10 583

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

2.1.1 Table 1: Insights

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2.1.2 Table 2: Permanently Employed Agent Salaries: Job Spec & Advert Surveys

Customer Service Inbound

Customer Service Outbound

Sales Inbound

Sales Outbound

Collections

IT Help Desk

Job Description Gauteng GautengWestern Cape Western CapeKZN KZNNational National

R RR RR RR R

8 000

nd

nd

7 500

8 200

8 000

nd

nd

7 400

8 200

14 000

nd

nd

12 200

12 200

14 200

nd

nd

11 500

11 500

Job spec and advert based surveys

less than five years’ experience (A)

Median Salaries

Job spec and advert based surveys

Greater than 5 years’ experience (B)

Median Salaries

*nd: no data available *Exclusive of benefits *Data is all inclusive for general Contact Centre and BPO

8 000

nd

nd

8 000

8 200

8 000

nd

nd

7 633,33

8 200

14 000

nd

nd

13 000

13 500

14 067

nd

nd

12 233

12 400

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

2.1.2 Table 2: Insights

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Customer Service Inbound

Customer Service Outbound

Sales Inbound

Sales Outbound

Collections

Job Description Gauteng GautengWestern Cape Western CapeKZN KZNNational National

R RR RR RR R

7 563

6 813

6 750

5 813

7 250

6 125

5 125

5 375

3 875

nd

6 063

6 938

5 563

5 188

6 688

6 125

5 125

4 875

5 375

nd

Fieldwork based surveys

0 - 1 years’ experience (A)

Median Salaries

Fieldwork based surveys

Greater than 1 years’ experience (B)

Median Salaries

*nd: no data available *Exclusive of benefits *Data is all inclusive for general Contact Centre and BPO

6 875

8 500

5 125

4 625

4 125

6 854

6 813

5 750

4 771

5 688

6 125

8 500

4 625

6 375

4 375

6 104

6 854

5 021

5 646

5 531

2.1.3 Table 3: Temporary Employed Agent Salaries: Fieldwork Surveys

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

2.1.3 Table 3: Insights

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Supervisor Team Leader

Manager

Quality Assessor

Quality Manager

Trainer

Training Manager

HR Consultant

MIS

Workforce Management

IT

Job Description Gauteng GautengWestern Cape Western CapeKZN KZNNational National

R RR RR RR R

13 750

25 250

14 750

nd

17 250

nd

18 750

16 750

16 750

14 750

12 750

25 500

9 300

nd

12 150

nd

14 750

11 250

5 700

12 250

16 750

29 750

16 250

nd

19 250

nd

21 250

22 250

21 750

19 250

16 500

32 500

11 850

nd

17 750

nd

18 750

18 250

17 500

18 250

*nd: no data available

*Exclusive of benefits

*Data is all inclusive for general Contact Centre and BPO

14 500

22 500

9 500

27 555

14 433

32 055

12 258

14 250

24 848

15 250

13 667

24 417

11 183

27 555

14 611

32 055

15 253

14 083

15 766

14 083

16 500

27 500

14 041

31 112

18 099

34 140

18 622

19 250

27 195

20 250

16 583

29 917

14 047

31 112

18 366

34 140

19 541

19 917

22 148

19 250

Fieldwork based surveys

0 - 2 years’ experience (A)

Median Salaries

Fieldwork based surveys

Greater than 2 years’ Experience (B)

Median Salaries

2.2.1 Table 4: Permanently Employed Supervisor & Support Salaries: Fieldwork Surveys

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

2.2 SUPERVISOR AND SUPPORT STAFF SALARIES

2.2.1 Table 4: Insights

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2.2.2 Table 5: Permanently Employed Supervisor & Support Salaries: Job Spec & Advert Surveys

Supervisor /Team Leader

Manager

Job Description Gauteng GautengWestern Cape Western CapeKZN KZNNational National

R RR RR RR R

17 913

32 900

17 175

32 000

23 750

53 000

22 300

52 100

*nd: no data available

*Exclusive of benefits

*Data is all inclusive for general Contact Centre and BPO

17 250

32 000

17 445

32 300

24 098

52 100

23 383

52 400

Job spec and advert based surveys

less than five years’ experience (A)

Median Salaries

Job spec and advert based surveys

Greater than 5 years’ experience (B)

Median Salaries

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

2.2.2 Table 5: Insights

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Customer Service Inbound

Customer Service Outbound

Sales Inbound

Sales Outbound

Collections

* Exclusive of benefits* Data is all inclusive for general Contact Centre and BPO

Fieldwork based surveys

Median Salaries

0 - 1 years’ experience (A)

Fieldwork based surveys

Median Salaries

Greater than 1 years’ experience (B)

Job Description Finance

R

7 000

7 000

9 000

7 000

5 000

Finance

R

9 000

7 000

9 000

7 000

6 000

2.3.1 Table 6: Permanently Employed Agent Salaries: Fieldwork Surveys

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

2.3 A VIEW ON FINANCE SECTOR SALARIES

2.3.1 Table 6: Insights

o Nationally, Financial sector Agents with less than one years’

experience (Table 6 a) earn 7.14% less than their counterparts

wither greater than one years’ experience (Table 6 b).

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Customer Service Inbound

Customer Service Outbound

Sales Inbound

Sales Outbound

Collections

IT Help Desk

* nd: no data2 Surveys

Fieldwork based surveys

Median Salaries

0 - 1 years’ experience (A)

Fieldwork based surveys

Median Salaries

Greater than 1 years’ experience (B)

Job Description Finance

R

6 000

9 000

nd

nd

5 000

7 000

Finance

R

7 000

9 000

nd

nd

5 000

7 000

2.3.2 Table 7: Temporary Employed Agent Salaries: Fieldwork Surveys

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

2.3.2 Table 6: Insights

o Nationally, Temporary Agents in the Financial sector with more

than one years’ experience earn 3.7 % more than those with less

than one years’ experience.

2.3 A VIEW ON FINANCE SECTOR SALARIES (cont)

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B: Overview of the captive & BPO contract specifications, benefits, incentives, rate of pay and salaries (Quest research)

In2015,QuestStaffingSolutionsconductedasurveyfromitsportfolioofclientstoprovidea

reflection of the salaries and benefits paid to contact centre staff and team managers. The Findings

are presented in the tables and include mention of the nature of requisite skills in both captive and

non-captivecontactcentreenvironments.Belowaregeneralinsightsfromthesurvey.Actualsalaries,

as reported, are also presented in the given tables.

General Survey Insights

• Thefinance/bankingsectorspayshighersalariesthantheBPOsector.Inaddition,thesectorisnot

shifted and staff work normal hours (8am – 5pm).

• MostcontactcentrestaffhaveaminimumqualificationandskillslevelofMatric,verbaland

written communication skills

• Inmostcasesaminimumofsixmonthsexperienceisrequiredforcontactcentrestaffcompared

to an average of two years for team managers.

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

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Insights on salaries

• Generallyspeaking,Agentsworkingincaptivecontactcentresearnmorethanthoseworkingin

outsourced contact centres – up to 36 % more in Gauteng.

• EntrylevelAgentsinGauteng-inbothcaptiveandoutsourcedcontactcentres-earnmorethan

doublethesalariesofAgentsinKwaZuluNatal.

Insights on Benefits

Bonus and Incentives

A bonus is a monetary incentive that is paid for achievements above monthly targets in respect of

target variables such as First Call Resolution. Other types of bonuses and incentives paid in South

African contact centres include:

- Attendancebonuseswherestaffarerewardedfornotmissingwork.

- Quarterlybonusesrelatedtolengthofservice.

- Monthlybonusesfortopagents.

- Mealincentivesformarathonshifts.

• Transport:Inmostcasestransportisnotprovidedfor.

• Parking fees: Just under 50% of surveyed clients provide parking fees for their agents while close

to 100% of clients surveyed provide parking fees for their team managers.

Gauteng

Western Cape

KZN

*Averages for domestic and international contact centres* Averages exclusive of benefits

Captive Contact Centers

Outsourced Contact Centers

R

10 208

7 900

4 375

R

6 433

5 500

2 938

Table 8: Permanently employed entry level Agents

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

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Survey Findings in detail (Quest Survey)

Gauteng - Agents

Captive Captive Captive Captive Captive Captive Captive Outsourcing Outsourcing Outsourcing Outsourcing

Skill Sets: Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service

Matric Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Verbal Communication Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Written Communication No No No No No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes

Call Centre Experience

Customer Service Experience

Rate per hour

Parking for staff (Paid / Provided by client)

Temp Monthly potential Basic Salary based on hourly rate (Live)

Sales Experience No No No No No No No No No No No

Transport (Paid by Client) No No No No No No Yes No No No No

Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No

Benefits No No No No No No No No No No No

Staff Model Temp Temp Temp Temp Temp Temp Temp Temp Temp Temp Temp

Shifted Environment Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Bonuses / Incentives Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No Yes No No

Monthly paid/Hourly paid Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly

R 5 280 R 3 780 R 5 610 R 5 775 R 5 775 R 5 775 R 5 363 R 4 401 R 3 190 R 4 890 R 5 216

6 - 12 months

R32 p/h

2 years

6 - 12 months

R35 p/h

Yes until 7pm

Yes until 7pm

1 - 2 years

R35 p/h

1 year 1 year No No 3 months 6 months 6 months

R27 p/h after 9 months R32 p/h

R35 p/h R32.50 p/h R27 p/h R22 p/h R30 p/h R32 p/h

6 - 12 months 6 - 12 monthsNo NoNo No 3 months6 months 6 months 6 months

6 - 12 months

R34 p/h

Source: Quest Staffing Solutions research 2015

Table 9: Customer Service Agents – Gauteng

Table 10: Team Leaders/Supervisors – Gauteng

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

Source: Quest Staffing Solutions research 2015

Gauteng - Team Managers

BPO BPO BPO BPO BPO BPO Captive Captive Captive

Matric Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

2 years 2 years 1 year 2 years 6 - 12 months 1 year

Transport (Paid by Client) Yes Yes Yes No Subsidised Subsidised No No No

Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Benefits

Staff Model Perm Perm Perm Perm FTC Perm Perm Perm Perm

Shifted Environment Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Bonuses / Incentives Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Monthly cost to company

Minimum team management experience

Parking for staff (Paid / Provided by client)

R9 500 – R14 000

R11 000 –R14 000

R11 000 –R14 000

R8 000 –R14 000

R8 000 –R14 000

R13 000 –R25 000

R17 000 –R25 000

R15 000 –R25 000R16 600.00

Medical Aid/ Pension

Medical Aid/ Pension Pension Medical Aid/

PensionMedical Aid/

PensionMedical Aid/

PensionMedical Aid/

PensionMedical Aid/

PensionMedical Aid

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Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

Table 11: CustomerServiceAgents:WesternCape

Table 12: CustomerServiceAgents:WesternCape(continued)

Western Cape - Agents

BPO BPO BPO BPO BPO Captive BPO Captive Captive Captive Captive

Skill Sets: Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service

Matric No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Verbal Communication Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Written Communication No Yes No No No No Yes Yes No No No

Call Centre Experience No No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No YesCustomer Service Experience

Parking for staff (Paid / Provided by client)

Sales Experience No No No Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes No

Transport (Paid by Client) Subsidised Yes Yes Yes Yes Subsidised Yes No No No Yes

Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Benefits No No No Yes No No No Medical Aid

Staff Model FTC FTC Perm Perm Perm FTC FTC Temp FTC Perm

Shifted Environment Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes

Source: Quest Staffing Solutions research 2015

6 month temp then perm

Free parking behind the

client

Yes (fixed shifts)

Medical Aid/ Pension

Medical Aid/ Pension

Medical Aid/ Pension

Customer Service &

Retentions

Western Cape - Agents (continued)

BPO BPO BPO BPO BPO Captive BPO Captive Captive Captive Captive

Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service &

Retentions

Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service

Customer Service Sales Sales Customer

Service Customer

Service

Bonuses / Incentives

Monthly paid/Hourly paid

Rate per hour

Temp Monthly potential Basic Salary based on hourly rate (Live)

No

Yes Performance bonus R580

monthly

Yes

Yes Performance bonus R500

monthly

Yes Performance bonus R500

monthly. Guaranteed

Tenure Bonuses of R1000 in month 7 and 10. Automatic basic salary increase of R500 after 6 and 12 months.

No Not sure No No No

Yes Performance bonus R2000

monthly

Source: Quest Staffing Solutions research 2015

R29ph R42ph R45ph R47ph R32ph R38ph R43ph R39ph R25ph R23ph R46ph

Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly

R 5 000 R 7 200 R 7 864 R 8 085 R 5 500 R 6 600 R 7 425 R 6 800 R4300 + R4000 + R 8 000Comm Comm

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Table 13: TeamManagers:WesternCape

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

Western Cape - Team Managers

BPO BPO BPO Captive BPO Captive Captive

Matric

Minimum team management experience

Transport (Paid by Client)

Parking for staff (Paid / Provided by client)

Benefits

Staff Model

Shifted Environment

Bonuses / Incentives

Yes

2 years

Yes

Free parking behind the client

Perm

Yes

No

Medical Aid/ Pension

Yes

2 years

Yes

Yes

Perm

Yes

No

Medical Aid/ Pension

Yes

1 year

Yes

No

Perm

Yes

KPI bonus of up to R1000 per

month. R1800 NPS incentive

scheme

Yes

2 years

No

Yes

Perm

Yes

No

Medical Aid/ Pension

Yes

6 - 12 months

Subsidised

Yes

FTC

Yes

NPS incentive up to R3 000 per

month

Medical Aid

Yes

1 year

Subsidised

No

Perm

Yes

KPI bonuses up to R1500 per

month.

Medical Aid/ Pension

Yes

3 years

Yes

No

Perm

Shifted

Monthly cost to company R19 000 R19 000 R17 000 R18 760 R16 600 R18 000R18 -

R20 000

KPI bonus of R2 000

Medical Aid/ Pension

Source: Quest Staffing Solutions research 2015

Pension

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Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

C: Focus on BPO & Contact Centre

Facts about South Africa’s BPO and Outsourcing Industry

South Africa is categorised as a primary location within the EMEA region for outsourced

solutions based on overall value, cost and risk (Gartner, 2016).1Globally, South Africa has been ranked third in terms of serving clients in the English medium

(BPOindustrygrowthinSouthAfrica,2016,Deloitte).2South Africa has favourable customer oriented legislation such as The Protection of Personal

InformationAct(POPI)whichrequiresthatcompaniessecuretheircustomersinformation.

Thisisparticularlyattractiveforoff-shoreoperationsassecurityofinformationisofconcern

to their customers.3

The South African BPO industry accounts for 1 % of the BPO revenue in 2014 and is expected to

account for 4 % of global revenues by 2030 (South Africa’s big five – Bold priorities for inclusive

growth,McKinsey).4Three South African cities feature in the top 100 global sourcing destinations with Johannesburg

atnumber20,CapeTownnumber56andDurbanrankedatnumber100(Tholons2016Top100

OutsourcingDestinations).5

Duetothehighqualityoftalentbothavailableandinthepipeline,SouthAfricaisadestination

forhigh-endBPOservicessuchasLegalprocessOutsourcing(LPO),BackOfficeFinanceProcessing,

OutsourcedProcurementFunctionsetc.(BPOindustrygrowthinSouthAfrica,2016,Deloitte).7

6 TheSouthAfricanBPOsectorcontributesR50milliontothenationalGDPandprovides

employment for approximately 215 000 people (BPeSA).

8 Approximately 410 000 graduates are eligible to join the BPO workforce every year (BPeSA).

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Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

BPO & Contact Centre Industry trends in South Africa

ITisincreasinglyprocuredasaserviceratherthanhostedin-housebothforcostcutting

purposesaswellasforprovidingthebestsoftware-leaveittotheexperts!Callcentre

managersspendlesstimeworryingaboutITissuesandmoretimeconsideringthepeople

driving the success of the business.

Outsourced IT

Reportedly, as much as 5% of South Africa’s Agents are home based. Home based Agents

provide an expanded talent pool of homemakers and other individuals who may not have

entered the market. Home based agents also help reduce carbon footprint and lower

operating costs such as rent.

Trend towards home based Agents

Rapidly evolving clients: The prominence of social media and the technological revolution

has resulted in the need for a new breed of Agents capable of keeping up with client

demandsandwhorequiremulti-channelinteraction.Specialtrainingisrequiredtokeepthe

Agents motivated and ‘on the ball’.

Rapidly evolving clients

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Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

Combating Attrition in Contact Centres

Call centre jobs are one of the most demanding because employees have to constantly interact with

customers.Thislevelofcustomerinteractionoftenleadstohigh-tensionsituations,andovertime,

employees tend to buckle down under this intense stress. This is why attrition rates are often highest

in call centre businesses.

To avoid high attrition rates, it is important for managers to provide the right working environment

for their call centre teams through increasing levels of employee engagement, ensuring employees

feel a greater connection with the organisation and feel as though they can approach management

with any questions and / or concerns.

Quest notes a few suggestions to help employees feel more connected with their organisation and

minimise staff turnover.

Flexible work options

Whenemployeesaregiventheoptiontoworkfromhome,orotherflexiblechoices,thereisagreater

chanceforthemtostickwithacompany.Intoday’scallcentreindustry,notmanycompaniesprovide

employees with flexible options, this could therefore act as the motivator for employees to stay with a

specific company or employer.

Learning and training environment

Itisimportanttoprovideagentswithanenvironmentthatisconducivetolearning.Whenemployees

have something new to learn or look forward to, they tend to enjoy coming to work – lessening the

chances of them leaving for other opportunities.

The average attrition rate for agents in South Africa is 30.9%.

Attrition rates are highest among international outsourcers:

46.4% in Gauteng,

50.8% in the Western Cape and

54.5% in KwaZulu-Natal.

Attrition among international outsourcers in the

Western Cape increased by 4% in 2015 to 50.8%

(BEPESA BPM Indicator Report 2015 p3).

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Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

Handling call centre agents in the ‘right’ way

Itiscrucialtounderstandthatcallcentreagentsarehumanbeingstooandhavealifeoutsideof

work.AsIvannaGranelliofBizcommunity.comsays,companiesshouldnothandletheiragentsasthey

wouldrunamilitaryoperation.Doingso,wouldburnthemoutquicklyleadingthemtoeventually

quit. Managers should rather be considerate and understanding of their employees and should choose

the right reward programs to show their appreciation for the work that they do.

Such measures can reduce attrition rates and, in turn, lower a company’s operational costs and

increase morale for both employees and the customers they deal with on a daily basis.

Getting it right from the start

Itisessential,whenrecruiting,thatthecorrectcompetenciesandbehavioursaredefinedinorder

to deliver on call centre requirements. A call centre employer should test and screen the potential

applicant’s personality, skills and capabilities before hiring.

Implement an employee satisfaction survey

An employee satisfaction survey generates information about employees’ perceived recognition over

the years and has been used effectively to help businesses shape reward and incentive programmes.

These surveys can also be useful in identifying why certain employees are happy or unhappy in their

current roles.

Reward staff for good work

Oneofthemostoftenoverlookedaspectsofhelpingtoreduceattritionisreward.Implementing

rewardincentivessuchasaweekendawayforthetop-performerorateam-buildingeventtwicea

year can help encourage employees to remain with an organisation.

Companies should not handle their agents as they would run a military operation. Doing so, would burn them out quickly leading them to eventually quit.

”Ivanna Granelli

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Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

Maintaining work-life balance while working night shift

The multitude of feelings experienced by night shift workers includes loss of appetite, inadequate

planning, no social life, no time for family, irregular sleep timings, losing track of time and so on.

Workingnights,however,doesn’tmeanyouhavetolosetouchwithyourfamilyandfriends.Witha

little planning, night shift workers can still spend time and feel close to the people they care about.

Belowareseveraltipstoassistnightshiftworkinginmaintainingwork-lifebalance.

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Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

Maintaining work-life balance while working night shift

Workingeveninghourscanputstressonfamilylifeandrelationshipsandknowinghowtocopewiththe

challenges is key. Through communicating, dealing with problems sooner rather than later, prioritising,

socialising and making time for recreation, shift work can have less of an impact on the lives of staff.

• Setasidetimetotalkwithyourpartnereveryday.Evenafewminutesspenttogetherover coffee will help you stay in touch.

• Planatleastoneactivitywithfamilyandfriendseachweek.

• Ifyou’reaparent,arrangeyourschedulesoyoucanattendafewspecialeventswithyour children each year: e.g. holiday dinners, school activities, etc. Let your child help pick the events you’ll attend.

• Videorecordthespecialeventsyou’llhavetomiss,suchasbirthdays,schoolsportsevents, dancerecitals,etc.Watchthemtogether.

• Setupafamilybulletinboardwhereyouandyourfamilymemberscanleaveschoolwork, notes, drawings, photographs, cartoons, etc.

• Makesureyourpartnercanreachyoubytelephoneorcellphoneatwork.Ifyoucan’t receive calls, arrange a time for you to call home each day.

• Postacalendarinahighlyvisiblespotandmarkyourshiftscheduleassoonas it’s assigned.

• Bringupproblemsearlyandresolvethem–beforetheythreatenrelationships.

• Whenyoufeelirritable,makesureyourfamilyandfriendsunderstandthatit’sbecause you’re tired, not because you’re angry with them. This is especially important if you have young children.

• Getinvolvedwithactivitiesthatdon’trequireasetschedulesuchassportsoryoga.

• Workoutatagym.

• Attendworkshopsorhobbyclubsthatinterestyou.You’llhavesomethingincommon with those you meet.

• Developacircleoffriendswhounderstandyourworkscheduleandarewillingtobe flexible in order to spend time with you.

• Organiseco-workersorfriendswhoshareyourscheduleandplanactivitieswiththem.

Maintainingwork-lifebalancewhileworkingnightshift(Tips from night shift workers)

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References

• (BEPESABPMIndicatorReport2015:http://www.bpesa.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/KIR.pdf

• ExploringCallCenterTurnoverNumbers:http://www.qatc.org/winter-2015-connection/exploring-

call-center-turnover-numbers/

• TheUSContactCenterDecision-MakersGuide2014:http://www.contactbabel.com/pdfs/apr2014/-

The%20US%20Contact%20Center%20Decision-Makers%20Guide%202014.pdf

• Employeeturnoverandretention:http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/employee-

turnover-retention.aspx

• WaystoReduceCallCenterAttritionRate:http://call-center-services.tmcnet.com/topics/call-center-

services/articles/391494-ways-reduce-call-center-attrition-rate.htm

• HowtoKeepEmployeesHappy:CombatAttrition:http://blog.adeccousa.com/keep-employees-

happy-combat-attrition/

• CombatingAttritionthroughEffectiveRetention.SurviveandThrive.Online.Available.http://www.

surviveandthrive.co.uk/downloads/newsFile_18_newsFile_18_Whitepaper_Combating_Attrition.pdf

• India–companieswillingtopaytokeepbestperformers.StaffingIndustryAnalysts.Online.

Availablehttp://www.staffingindustry.com/row/Research-Publications/Daily-News/India-Companies-

willing-to-pay-to-keep-best-performers-33674

• WaystoCombatContactCenterAttrition.Online.Available

• http://www.customerexperiencereport.com/tactics-and-operations/ways-combat-contact-center-

attrition/http://www.ccmg.org.za/news-events/call-centre-news/36595-callforce-salary-survey-results

• http://ccmg.org.za/news-events/call-centre-news/37061-the-salary-survey-results-part-1-a-focus-on-

contact-centre-Agents

• http://www.salaryexplorer.com/salary-survey.php?loc=201&loctype=1&jobtype=1&job=19

• https://candidate.manpower.com/wps/wcm/connect/bf3338f2-a39b-443b-88d8-d15c0847309d/-

Salary+Survey+2015.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

• http://www.quest.co.za/upload/QuestSalarySurvey2014-15.pdf

• http://mybroadband.co.za/news/business/138464-it-salaries-in-south-africa-in-2015.html

• http://www.payscale.com/research/ZA/Industry=Business_Process_Outsourcing/Salary

• http://www.statusstaffing.com/bpo-industry-salary-survey-2015-ops-support-salary-bands/

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

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About Quest

Benchmark salaries & general insights for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) / Contact Centre industry

Enabling Business through Talent TM

Quest Staffing Solutions (Pty) Ltd is South Africa’s leader in customised staffing

solutions-withinthewhite-collarrecruitment

industry. Established in 1974, Quest has over 41

years’ experience in the South African staffing

industry, specialising in the recruitment and

managementofwhite-collarstaff.Aspartof

Adcorp Holdings Limited, South Africa’s leading

provider of staffing, human capital management

and business process outsourcing services, Quest

hasaccesstofinancialresources,leadingIT

and information systems and sound corporate

governance.

Quest is now a Level 2 BBBEE Contributor with

100% black ownership and 69.89% % black

female ownership and therefore has the leading

gender empowerment ownership structure in the

staffing industry. Quest has a proud history of

firsts in the South African staffing industry. First

to offer optimised staffing model, first to set up

a specialised call centre staffing solution, first to

successfully implement learnership programmes

and more.

Quest is a Full Circle Staffing Solutions Company

(FCS² ™) with the most comprehensive service

offering in the industry that includes; Bulk

Recruitment Solutions, Field Marketing,

Human Resource Outsourcing (HRO) Solutions,

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO),

Staff Optimisation Solutions.

For more information visit www.quest.co.za