68% of contact center leaders expect hiring volume growth by 14 percent over next 12 months

CHICAGO Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- FurstPerson, a Chicago-based company that provides pre-employment hiring solutions to the contact center industry, today announced the results of its second annual Contact Center Recruitment and Compensation Survey. Despite the rise in North American unemployment rates, the survey found that approximately 68% of contact center leaders forecasted an increase in hiring volume over the next 12 months - an increase of more than 10 percent from 2008. The survey polled leaders representing more than 100 contact centers and highlights business practices throughout the U.S. and Canada to help contact centers find, hire and keep the best talent.

The survey highlighted many noteworthy results concerning attrition. Compared to 2008, 2009 voluntary turnover was consistently lower, suggesting that contact center employees are more reluctant to leave their positions. The current economic conditions may be driving reduced voluntary attrition. Consistent with 2008, a center's attrition rate is negatively related to a center director's tenure. Additionally, the overall average cost of attrition in North American contact centers was $4,284.73 per agent which is 22% lower than 2008. Last, the most productive sourcing strategies remained the same from 2008 to 2009, including employee referrals, national job boards, company Web sites and print ads.

"As companies prepare to staff up for the coming year, they will have to weed through an even deeper pool of applicants due to the economic downturn," said Jeff Furst, president and chief executive officer of FurstPerson. "Hiring wisely is still of tantamount importance and this survey clearly reveals the high costs associated with turnover and attrition. FurstPerson's focus is to be a hiring support solution for managers so they can add talent smartly - quality talent which will help them maintain high customer service levels."

FurstPerson is making a new white paper available: "Five Things You Should Know About Contact Center Recruitment and Compensation," which covers the most productive sourcing strategies; hiring projections; the top reasons for employee turnover; the average cost and rate of attrition; and, average wages for contact center employees. This complimentary paper can be downloaded at http://pages2.furstperson.com/5-things-survey-PR.html

About FurstPerson, Inc.

FurstPerson operates a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) contact center hiring system called 1stHire that is used in over 600 locations across North America, Europe, and Asia. FurstPerson's contact center solution includes contact center simulations, problem solving tests, personality tests, and analytics that are all integrated into a hiring solution that enables contact center hiring managers to reduce contact center turnover and hire individuals that perform better on the job. For more information, visit http://www.furstperson.com.

SOURCE FurstPerson, Inc.

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