The reality of the monitoring potential in call centers and comparable workplaces is already approaching the gloomy scenarios such as those created by the science fiction series Black Mirror. This is what the Austrian researcher Wolfie Christl writes in a recently published study on spying on employees in customer service offices using techniques such as algorithmic control. Corresponding systems are now able to “organize, monitor, micromanage and control almost every aspect of work” in service centers based on data.
According to Christl, the call center has long been considered “a prototype of a work environment in which employees are subject to comprehensive monitoring and digital control”. Calls and other activities would be constantly recorded and “assessed to the second”. The personal data collected for this purpose was used to “classify and discipline employees and encourage them to perform at their best”. In addition, there is a constant expansion of call centers. These have become “contact centers” where employees handle calls, emails, chats and social media messages. The entire customer service is often part of the portfolio of tasks.
Monitoring and control mechanisms
The head of the independent Viennese research institute Cracked Labs is investigating on the 52 pages primarily the software available on the European market for employers to run contact centers. To do this, he analyzes technical documentation and other publicly accessible sources. The focus is on programs from the leading provider Genesys, but offers from competitors such as Nice, Verint, Amazon, Cogito and Callminer are also included.
The study’s findings show that today’s call center systems offer “a wide range of mechanisms for structuring, directing, monitoring and controlling work”: KPIs, targets, rankings and assessments are pervasive. Dashboards, reports and alerts help identify “outliers” and schedule coaching sessions. Real-time feedback on performance reviews and monetary “incentives” could be used to intensify work.
“Public Exposure” and “Virtual Whips”
Electronic blackboards displaying metrics for groups of workers and other “public exposure” mechanisms created peer pressure, it said. Employees could be required to earn “points” throughout the day by behaving as desired and by competing with others on the team.
According to the network activist, the concept of the “queue” creates a “virtual assembly line with the constant compulsion to act immediately”. Notifications and timers served as “virtual whips”. Automated assignment of calls and tasks can be used to maximize efficiency and minimize idle time. Managers could also set performance indicators “that determine how quickly calls and other tasks are assigned to employees based on their skill profiles and past behavior.”
Full monitoring and extensive behavior control
Christl explains that those affected would have to adhere to rigid scripts and other workflow mechanisms or intervene if voice or chatbots demanded this. According to their own statements, call center operators are among the pioneers who integrate ChatGPT directly into their platforms.
“Calls and other communication content can be fully monitored and recorded in the name of training, quality assurance, customer satisfaction and compliance,” the research reads. Modern contact center software automatically analyzes and evaluates “what employees say, what phrases they use and whether the mood in a call or conversation was ‘positive’ or ‘negative'”. Some manufacturers claimed to be able to detect “friendliness” and “empathy” by assessing intonation and then providing relevant real-time automatic instructions to employees. The recording of screen content is part of the program. In the end, if necessary, there is a comprehensive behavior control.
Surveillance technology that cuts into fundamental rights
According to Christl, Genesys, Five9, Nice and Talkdesk operate app stores. These contained hundreds of applications “that extend the functionality of their platforms and enable the flow of data in and out of them”. This included integrations with popular enterprise systems for customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource management (ERP), workflow automation, and unified communications from vendors such as Salesforce, SAP, Microsoft, ServiceNow, and Zoom. Data analysis, reporting, performance management, time tracking and scheduling software are also available from lesser-known vendors. Companies can also use APIs to create custom integrations or enable data flows.
The author knows that some providers were selling even more fundamental rights-penetrating surveillance technologies that were specifically aimed at workers working from home. Their functions ranged “from recording keystrokes and mouse clicks to using webcams for surveillance”. In general, the work environment created in call centers has expanded to many areas – from sales to back office work, from technical advice to remote patient care. This is how outsourcing giants with hundreds of thousands of employees like Teleperformance in France were born.
Surveys, field reports and manufacturer information indicate that many of these features are used in Europe, explains Christl. However, it remains unclear “how employers actually use them”. What is decisive, however, is that the design of these systems already has an influence on how they are used and “how they affect the daily lives of employees”. The manufacturers claimed that the technology was compatible with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The author questions this, could the matter within the framework of ongoing project for digital work control but so far not get to the bottom.
(bme)