The telecommunications field continues to change very rapidly. In perhaps no other field has technology had such a significant impact on the jobs of so many workers. Mitch Fields, for example, still remembers that tragic day in November 1963 when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while Mitch was pulling the afternoon shift as a switchman for Midwest Telephone Company (MTC). As Mitch described it, it sounded like 30 locomotives hammering their way through a large room filled with walls of mechanical switches putting phone calls through to their destination. Today, that room of switches has been replaced by a microchip. Mitch himself has undergone extensive training to operate a computer console used to monitor and diagnose switching problems.

The job of operator has changed from sitting in long rows of operating equipment that was attached to walls of jacks and cords to individual workstations that look like command centers out of a Star Trek spaceship. In addition, the competitive environment of telephone services has changed dramatically because of deregulation and competition from other phone companies offering similar services. The new thrust now is to shift operator performance from being not just fast and friendly but profitable as well, by marketing the company (“Thank you for using MTC”) and selling high-profit-margin services (“Is there someone else you would like to talk to? The person-to-person rate is only additional for the first minute”).

The operator’s job at MTC remains unchanged in two respects: (1) operators will talk to nearly 600 people in a typical day, some of whom are abusive, and (2) operator job performance is monitored. Technological innovation has enabled MTC to monitor each operator by computer to produce statistics on the numbers of calls handled per shift, the speed of the calls, and the amount of revenue generated by the calls. In addition to computer monitoring, supervisors may also listen in on operators to ensure that proper operator protocol is being followed. For example, customers are never told they dialed the “wrong” number, obscene calls are routed to supervisors, and operators learn to say “hold the line” or “one moment please” instead of “hang on.”

Meeting performance standards based on these criteria does not typically lead to large rewards. A beginning operator usually earns about $22,000 a year working swing shifts that may begin at 8:30 a.m., noon, 2:00 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m., or 2:00 a.m. Only the highest-rated operators have opportunities to be transferred, promoted, or given educational benefits.

Steve Buckley, training and development manager for MTC, knows that to change the fast and friendly MTC operator of the past to one who is fast and friendly but profitable as well is going to be a real challenge. Steve has not figured out yet how to get the operators to conclude each transaction by saying “Thank you for using MTC.” A recent clandestine supervisor survey revealed that fewer than 20% of the operators were using the requested reply.

Steve is also being pressured by the local union leaders who represent the telephone operators to reduce the job stress brought on by the high volume of people transactions and the constant, computer-assisted surveillance. One thing is for sure, however: Steve must implement a plan for improvement.

CASE QUESTIONS 

1. Can Steve really change the behavior of the operators?

2. How can Steve succeed in getting the operators to say, “Thank you for using MTC”?

3. Should he involve the union in his attempts to do so?

4. Is computer monitoring the answer?

5. Should the operators really decide on the change?