Acoustic management in call centres could boost productivity and save British business millions

Acoustic engineering in British call centres could increase the productivity of staff and save companies millions of pounds, according to a UK businessman. Peter Timbrell, managing director of Workplace Consultancy Services, said many businesses could maximise staff output by making a few simple changes to their call centre design. Call centres are one of the fastest growing business sectors in the world and they are becoming a company or organisation’s first point of contact with existing and potential customers. But they can be some of the most complex and stressful work environments to work in. Timbrell said: “Stress and poorer productivity can be brought about by asking staff to carry out a demanding job in an acoustically challenged environment. Constant verbal communication, background noise from telephone conversations or spontaneous meetings, telephones ringing and other mechanical noises can all disrupt concentration and customer service levels.” Research has suggested that office workers can lose up to two hours a day – equivalent to 45 days a year – through broken concentration. It is the equivalent of £4,903 per employee each year which equates to distraction costing British businesses £139 billion a year. Psychologists have claimed certain noises distract people differently but it can take up to four times as long as the interruption itself to return to the task in hand. A survey of 1,800 office workers revealed 64 per cent felt they were distracted up to 20 times a day while 18 per cent felt they were distracted more than 20 times. Vocal colleagues and mobile phone ringtones were named as the worst distraction offenders while the noise generated by emails was also cited. “I hear a lot of people talking about the environment, sustainability and sustainable buildings,” added Timbrell. “What you will rarely hear is about environments we are creating for humans to inhabit. We specialise in adjusting environments to make them as conducive as possible to maximise output. After all, if you keep people comfortable in the right environment, their output will improve.” Derby-based Workplace Consultancy’s division, Elite Commercial Interiors, specialises in interior design, commercial furniture, complete office renovation, and a key element of this is acoustic engineering. Acoustic engineering includes three elements: • Sound absorption using filler in walls or dense panels; • Sound blocking via screens which aren’t glass or reflective, and, • Sound masking with speakers from the ceiling. Timbrell said the speakers can be configured to form specific shaped zones within a working environment. He added: “By shaping sound inside a building, staff disruption is minimised, particularly in open plan offices where third party conversations or mobile phone calls can impact on staff concentration levels and potentially reduces both the quality and quantity of productivity. “In call centres sound masking systems are the ideal solution. The masking system raises the ‘noise floor’ or the level of continuous noise to a comfortable and acceptable level. Other sounds would have to be raised to be heard above this level so the system effectively masks unwanted noise and potential distractions. An added benefit is that is decreases the amount of noise customers hear over the telephone which lends itself to better experience for them. It’s a win, win situation for all concerned.” - ENDS -

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