FEATURE
In New Brunswick , an initiative of the New Brunswick Business Immigrant Association , Inc . is focusing heavily on immigrant-driven economic development and making it easier for newcomers to settle in and establish small businesses . It is a timely move that fits well with New Brunswick ’ s call center pedigree .
WHAT FACTORS WOULD BE HOLDING BACK RESHORING ?
A : Labor shortages and rising costs for labor will continue to be mitigating factors , especially in the U . S . where tax-and-spend policies , high mandated minimum wages , rising taxes on telecommunications services , and soaring crime are growing issues .
Labor supply concerns are more tempered in Canada where the population last year grew by more than a million - a 2.9 % rate - the highest since the 1950s . And one that outstrips by a wide margin the U . S . and every other G7 country , according to Statistics Canada . Canada ’ s more open immigration policy is another HR plus for contact centers seeking to fill positions in requiring multiple languages .
Another stumbling block to reshoring in the U . S . is the inroads the Communications Workers of America ( CWA ) are making in the contact center industry with the aggressively pro-union National Labor Relations Board ( NLRB ) under the current Biden administration . In fiscal year 2022 , petitions for union representation increased 53 % over the year before , according to NLRB figures .
Another roadblock to reshoring worthy of mentioning here is the fact that inflation is at an historic high in the U . S . Cost of living pressures , especially for housing in booming Sunbelt markets like Miami , Tampa , Phoenix , Tucson , and Orlando which are all well-established hubs for the contact center industry can be a significant recruiting hurdle .
A final location factor here is specific to the insurance industry , which employs thousands of agents in contact center sales , policyholder servicing and claims processing . Insurance companies are curtailing and even ending operations entirely in California and Florida in the wake of hurricanes , floods , droughts , and earthquakes : as well as manmade disasters like out-of-control violent crime , shoplifting , and no-bail policies in many big cities .
This is resulting in significant layoffs in insurance industry contact centers serving those two huge and impacted states , the largest and third-largest states in America , accounting for 18 % of the entire U . S . population .
FOR CONTACT CENTER OFFICES , WHAT OVERALL TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN THEIR LOCATION , ONSHORE , NEARSHORE , AND OFFSHORE , AND THEIR DRIVERS ?
A : Access to a bilingual ( English-Spanish in the U . S .) workforce , access to AI assets , and ESG ( environment , social , and governance ) opportunities are especially important site selection drivers today .
As the Hispanic population here in the U . S . continues to soar , our clients are prioritizing this capability more than ever before . Over the past decade , the 26 % increase in the Hispanic population was three times faster than the nation ' s overall 8 % growth rate as per the latest U . S . Census data .
We also see this bilingual dynamic in play in a number of similar small market cities in Farm Belt communities in the U . S . Midwest that have also attracted large numbers of Spanish-speaking residents .
The availability of green power like in the Columbia River Basin in Eastern Washington State is another location variable that our ESG-sensitive contact center clients are prioritizing . The well-defined and controlled environment of the contact center makes the industry well-suited to hire ex-offenders for entry level positions as an additional way to enhance ESG and social impact metrics .
" WITH THE CURRENT TIGHTNESS OF THE LABOR MARKET , JUSTICE-INVOLVED INDIVIDUALS CAN BE AN ADDED RESOURCE FOR SOME CONTACT CENTER HR MANAGERS STRUGGLING TO FILL OPENINGS ."
With the current tightness of the labor market , justice-involved individuals can be an added resource for some contact center HR managers struggling to fill openings .
Keep in mind that the WFH model can help a company with their ESG and social impact metrics . WFH facilitates the hiring of disabled , single moms , diverse , and disadvantaged workers that don ’ t have the means to commute to a contact center .
In terms of geography , these trends are impacting location trends favoring smaller market locations --historically short on labor and real estate assets -- in the U . S . as well as in Canada . Especially as online and cloud technologies have advanced and with internet-driven connectivity becoming ubiquitous .
The ReConnect Program funding from U . S . President Biden ’ s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is providing an historic $ 65 billion investment to expand affordable , high-speed internet to underserved , small market communities across the U . S .
For many companies , these dynamics have greatly lessened the need for large and costly office infrastructure : and in many instances made the economic incentives associated with an offshore contact center less compelling .
Also , a smaller contact center footprint due to off-site WFH operations scores well on the environmental front due to the use of less air conditioning and heating , and lower CO2 emissions from employees driving to work . There is a similar play , but without the language component , in rural Alberta and British Columbia in Canada . APRIL 2024 9