The tight labour market is pushing up salaries for employees working within the call centre industry.

Nearly two-thirds of organisations (63%) also report that they have increased staffing levels this year.

According to the findings by analysts IRS and the Call Centres Association (CCA) nine out of ten organisations or 90% say they expect to award a pay increase to contact centre employees within the coming year. Pay increase expectations overall ranged from 1.5% to 7% with a median once again of 3% predicted.

Starting salaries vary:

• a typical starting salary for a trainee is £8,000 a year with the highest being £18,000




• CSR salaries range between £9,087 and £27,500 a year




• team leaders can earn between £11,000 and £31,000 a year




• managers can net a salary of between £14,750 a year up to £59,600 a year




• support specialists salaries range between £12,000 a year and £30,000 a year

Across the board most call centres (43%) awarded a pay increase of 3%. CSR and team leaders have netted the biggest increase standing at between 7% and 10%.

Those working in the public and not-for-profit sector continue to accrue higher wages with starting salaries coming in between 4.2% and 9.6% higher than their private sector counterparts.

IRS Employment Review managing editor Mark Crail said:

“The increases to pay rates can be explained by the nature of pay in the sector, which is able to react to changes in the market. Call and contact centre managers have scope to increase individual pay packets using individual and team-based merit awards – operating in 57% of centres – linked to the annual pay review, achieving financial targets or attaining set competency levels.

“It is also likely that these changes to pay rates reflect the industry’s need to attract new recruits and retain staff at a time when many local labour markets are experiencing extreme skills shortages and very low levels of unemployment.”

Crail added that trade union participation in collective bargaining had, ‘limited influence’ on pay settlements but said the 20 different unions cited by respondents was a surprisingly large number, “And may well indicate the emerging diversity of the contact centre industry.”

The reward packages of 191 organisations, operating in excess of 400 centres were examined.