Now open: inside mobile phone company’s £15m call centre
VODAFONE’S new call centre, now occupied by 1,200 staff, has a host of features designed to boost skills and performance and to encourage interaction.
Work on the £15m project, on Festival Park, Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, began in October 2008 and it now houses employees formerly based at four separate buildings in the area.
With a dramatic wing-shaped roof, it has 94,500 sq ft with two double-height areas for a total of 850 agent positions.
Among the features:
As well as a restaurant (see picture), there are smaller “refuelling points” with food preparation areas and kitchen tables — and outside picnic areas for warm days.
Landscaping incorporates 7,796 shrubs and trees.
Each team spends a week, in rotation, taking calls in the “pit stop” where they have the time to review each call with improvement specialists to see what changes would maker the experience better for callers.
As well as a “chill room” (see picture), there is a more lively chat zone with iPod dock and Wii.
After a re-spray, storage units from the other sites were reused.
The building is angled to take advantage of the sun, with overhangs for shading, has large windows to the north and skylights to make the most of natural light. Internal lights dim in response.
Rainwater from the roof is used for toilet flushing and there is a wind turbine at the front of the building.
There is parking for cycles and motorcycles and for 420 cars.
And two smoking shelters.
Formerly an industrial zone, Etruria Valley comprises 500 acres alongside the A500, West Coast rail line and Stoke city centre. Two canals, the Trent and Mersey, run through the land. The Vodafone building is where the Corus steel works once stood and 160 acres was the site of the 1986 National Garden Festival.
Stoke-on-Trent Regeneration, a joint venture between St Modwen, a developer which specialises in regeneration, and the city council, began redeveloping the area in 1987.
Vodafone has taken a 16-year lease on the building at a reported £11 per sq ft. Before the building was occupied, it was sold to a private investor for a reported £10.7m
It was designed by the Birmingham office of RPS, architects, which points out that the building uses 450 tonnes of structural steel — the same weight as a fully-laden Boeing 747-400 — and that two 747s would fit in the length of the building…and carry the same number of people.
In selecting the new site, Vodafone, mapped the home addresses of the Stoke staff to ensure travel was convenient…there is a bus stop outside the building.
Vodafone, which claims 17.9m UK subscribers, is based in Newbury, Berks, and has other call centres in Banbury, Newark, Warrington and Trowbridge.
Vodafone, Stoke, fact file
Number of agents: 1,200 (85pc full time)
Team leaders: 120 (average 10 agents per team)
Telecoms carrier: British Telecom
ACD: Avaya
Headsets: Plantronics
Furniture: mainly Steelcase
Computers: Dell
Wallboards: LCD screens throughout
Call volumes: 40,000 per week
Service level target: 80pc answered within 20 secs
How we recruit call centre staff
By Jane Frapwell, corporate communications, and Kerry Kennard, head of commercial delivery.
We currently use the Vodafone web site and a “refer a friend” scheme — current employees recommend friends and family — and both work exceptionally well for us.
We have used the local radio and paper in the past, however we have not used external media or agencies for a year.
The Vodafone brand is very strong and we attract candidates directly.
Telephone pre-screen: to confirm candidate’s details (name, address, NI, etc.) and that they are able to commit to the hours, happy with the salary.
Dependability questionnaire: to show how dependable a potnetial candidate is likely to be (22 questions).
Telephone interview: two competency questions, one about delivering result and one about “communicating for impact”.
Effective negotiation skills; firs class customer service skills; excellent communication skills; previous sales experience.
Initially, two weeks classroom-style covering brand, strategy, the “Vodafone way”, soft skills, systems and processes, products and services. This is followed by a four-week skills centre in which they take live calls, putting everything they have learned into practice. One coach per two advisors. Plus mini workshops, coaching, one-to-ones, meeting of teams and team managers. Then, on the floor — still supported by team managers.