Secrets of Staff Retention: A Case Study


Acer Partners with DDLS to Boost Recruitment and Reduce Costs

January/February 2008  Print

Australia’s fast growing IT brand and third largest PC vendor, Acer Computer, recently stopped offering long-term employment contracts in its Australian call centre, Highpoint. With up to 50 percent of staff leaving within the first 2 months, the company needed to improve retention by working with natural attrition rather than against it.

Constant recruitment in a candidate-short market meant that team leaders spent approximately nine business days per month interviewing and training successful applications. Annually this equated to more than $50,000.

The challenge for Acer’s wholly-owned call centre was to recruit and retain high quality, trained staff. Additionally it needed to address cost and time issues associated with ongoing recruitment.

 

Dimension Data Learning Solution’s Answer

DDLS worked closely with Acer to assess the skills required by the call centre employees. It then developed a program to recruit, train and deliver job-ready recruits for the Highpoint call centre. This program, called SpecIT, provides companies with a guaranteed number of trained employees.

To attract recruits, DDLS:

  • Conducted information seminars for training with a view to employment in the Acer call centre;

  • Managed the screening process including interviews, technical tests and assessments for lateral thinking, customer service and communication skills; and

  • Assisted Acer in selecting recruits based on the results of the screening process.

DDLS provided the recruits with comprehensive skill and certification training covering business, technical and communications.

Once the courses were complete, recruits were offered a 12 month contract at the Highpoint call centre after which they could apply for positions within Acer and embark on a career path with the company. This replaced traditional long-term employment contracts.

“The program meant we knew exactly how many new employees we needed in advance”, said Richard Cutting, National Call Centre Manager Highpoint.

“We could plan and recruit in line with the 12 month contract cycles ensuring our call centre business offered superior customer service to our customers.”

“DDLS has years of experience in IT training and was a logical yet innovative approach for our recruitment needs”, he added.

DDLS also provided a mentor program for graduates to ensure a smooth transition into the call centre and recommended Acer apply for a government rebate to help cover training costs of candidates.

 

Business Benefits for Acer

DDLS reduced Acer’s cost of recruitment by almost $50,000 per year. The solution also made more time available so team leaders could focus on staff support and running the call centre effectively.

SpecIT allowed a planned training and recruitment schedule to ensure the supply of staff met customer and business demands.

As a result of the training and recruitment program, Mr Cutting said the call centre experienced a lift in morale, which translated into better customer service and employee retention.

“DDLS really understood our business and what we look for in employees. We want to give our people more than a job; we want to give them a career and by training with DDLS first, they receive the best possible start,” he said.

To learn more about this program, click here or call us on 13 12 01.