Targeting Sustaining Upgrading Communities, Call Centers and Careers

1
Targeting Sustaining Upgrading Communities, Call
Centers and Careers
Kathy Bednarek, Zachary Eckenroth, Robert
Pontzer, and Wenhui Wang
2
Aim of the project

• To provide an analysis of the geography of career
  paths and career opportunities in the FSC in the
  Pittsburgh area
• Also, the implications of this geography for the
  strategies the FSC is pursuing to promote
  economic opportunities for disadvantaged workers
  in the region.

3
Overview

• Financial Service Cluster Research
• Where are the Financial Service Jobs?
• Where are Workforce for Financial Service Jobs ?
• Connecting Job Opportunities to the Workforce
• Characteristics of Financial Service Job in
  Pittsburgh
• Outsourcing Financial Service Jobs
• Suggestions Sustain Financial Service Jobs in
  Pittsburgh
• Summary

4
Outline of Research

• Obtained the company list by 2 methods
• Library databases (Mergent Online, Hoovers)
• Returned limited results
• Phone directory
• Where the majority were selected
• 88 financial service companies were discovered

5
More on the search

• Contacted 50 of the financial service
  institutions
• Asked questions on call centers, skills, and
  employee s if they wished to comment
• A good sampling of Allegheny Countys FSC

6
Company Findings

• Excel Spreadsheet of the companies
• A common occurrence
• Decentralized customer service
• Or hired from temp agencies
• Because of smaller finance operations
• And of coursethere were FIRE institutions that
  had call centers

7
Companies w/ Customer service

• NSD Bancorp
• IBT Bancorp
• ATM Corporation
• Blue Cross/ Highmark
• Liberty Mutual
• General American
• Standard Bank
• I Mortgage

8
Things to consider

• Several new, potential partners in cluster
  initiatives
• Personally contacting them meant ?s on skills
  and employee s were up-to-date

• Most had at branch operations ,receptionists,
  or were outsourced (well get to that later)

9
Conclusions of Research

• Of course, some new companies
• Most of smaller size, but a few of larger
  employment
• Not a thorough list due to trouble with short,
  incomplete directories
• This was mitigated by personal contact

10
Lets get to the Geography!

• We were able to map most of the companies

11
Mapping Financial Service Companies

• Allegheny County
• Downtown Cluster
• Northern Cluster
• Eastern Cluster

12
Mapping Employers
13
Downtown Cluster
14
(No Transcript)
15
(No Transcript)
16
Mapping Call Centers

• Allegheny County
• Downtown Cluster
• Southeastern Cluster
• Southwestern Cluster
• Northern Cluster

17
(No Transcript)
18
Western Cluster
19
(No Transcript)
20
(No Transcript)
21
(No Transcript)
22
Mapping the Workforce

• Mapping Important Workforce factors
• Percentage of Commuters who Carpool
• Percentage of Commuters who use Public
  Transportation
• Percentage of Workforce with High School Diploma
• Percentage of Incomes less than 10,000
• Percentage of Households without access to a car
• Percentage of Households in Poverty
• Income Per Capita
• Overall Population
• Percentage People Unemployed
• Median Travel Time to Work

23
Basic Map Info

• Red areas Areas of Importance
• Green areas Less Importance
• Points on Map Mapped Call Center and Financial
  Companies
• No need to think too hard during the presentation
• A detailed copy of each map is provided in the
  written report
• Areas of Importance can be singled out in much
  more detail

24
Problems with Basic Maps

• One very obvious problem

25
Percentage of Commuters Who Carpool
26
(No Transcript)
27
Percentage of Workers with a High School Diploma
or Equivalency
28
(No Transcript)
29
Percentage of Incomes Less than 10,000
30
(No Transcript)
31
Percentage of Households without Access to a Car
32
(No Transcript)
33
Income Per Capita
34
(No Transcript)
35
Percentage of Households in Poverty
36
(No Transcript)
37
Percentage of Commuters who use Public
Transportation
38
(No Transcript)
39
Total Population
40
(No Transcript)
41
Mean Commute Time to Work
42
(No Transcript)
43
Percentage of Population Unemployed
44
(No Transcript)
45
Problems with Single Variable Maps

• Too many maps
• Too difficult to pick out a map
• No easy way to compare these maps
• Individually interesting, but not illustrative of
  overall trends and information
• Very little understanding of overall workforce in
  terms of other variables

46
Multivariate Maps

• Mapping By Criteria
• Establish an ideal or extreme criteria
• Match each tract to how well it fit the
  established criteria
• Good for overall trends but tend to blur why
  particular poor matched are rated
• as such

47
Main Multivariate Maps

• Three main maps
• Income
• Workforce Mobility
• Suitability for Workforce Initiatives

48
Criteria for Income Map

• Per Capita Income of 0 to 15000
• Percentage of Household Incomes under 10,000
  over 25
• Percentage of Households Incomes under the
  Poverty level over 30

49
(No Transcript)
50
Criteria for Mobility Map

• Percentage of Households without access to a car
  under 15
• Percentage of the Workforce who use Public
  Transportation to get to work over 30
• Mean travel time to work over 35 minutes
• This map highlights areas of high
• mobility in the workforce

51
(No Transcript)
52
Criteria for Potential Workforce Map

• Percentage of Workforce with a High School
  diploma over 80
• Percentage of Households with Income under
  10,000 greater than 25
• Total Workforce Unemployment Percentage over 10
• Total Population over 4000 people
• All data done by Census Tract

53
(No Transcript)
54
Characteristics of Financial Service Jobs in
Pittsburgh

• Skill Sets
• Entry-Level
• Professional-Level
• Career Paths
• Occupational Growth Trends

55
Entry-Level Skill Sets

• On-the-job experience
• Oral/written communication skills
• Basic math skills
• Customer service
• Basic computer skills paramount!
• Windows/DOS systems
• Word processing (Microsoft Word)
• Spreadsheets (Microsoft Excel)
• Databases (Microsoft Access)

56
Entry-level inbound call center wages and benefits

• Wages 8 - 12.50
• Benefits
• Medical/Dental insurance
• 401k
• Stock options
• Performance Incentives

57
Customer Service Representatives

• Growing occupation in Pittsburgh MSA
• 17,020 employed as Customer Service Reps
• Demand occupation
• Over 200 openings for 2004
• Total employment increase of 24 from 2002-2012

58
Customer Service Representatives

• Mean Annual Wages
• Entry-level 16,793
• Average 26,051
• Experienced 30,680
• 75th percentile 30,320
• Significant room for monetary advancement
• Better than food-service and cashier/sales jobs
  which have similar entry-level wages but little
  room for advancement and lack benefits

59
Entry-level Career Path Scenarios

• Office Administrative Support Occupations
• Inbound call center experience adaptable
• Occupations with similar skill sets

60
Entry-Level Occupational Possibilities
61
Entry-Level Occupational Possibilities Pt. 2
62
Selected high-growth occupations

• Bill Account Collectors
• Insurance Claims Policy Processing Clerks
• Tellers

63
Bill Account Collectors

• Locate notify customers of delinquent accounts
  solicit payment
• 3,420 employees in Pittsburgh MSA
• 50 or more openings for 2004
• 2002-2012 projected growth rate of 24.5
• Entry-level wage 19,929
• Average wage 27,663
• 75th percentile wage 31,531

64
Insurance Claims Policy Processing Clerks

• Process new policies and modify existing policies
• 1,670 employees in Pittsburgh MSA
• No estimate on openings, but significant hiring
  activity
• 2002-2012 projected growth rate of 3.6
• Entry-level wage 24,503
• Average wage 37,153
• 75th percentile wage 43,478

65
Tellers

• Receive pay out money
• 7,390 employees in Pittsburgh MSA
• Over 200 openings for 2004
• 2002-2012 projected growth rate of 9.4
• Entry-level wage 15,745
• Average wage 21,714
• 75th percentile wage 24,698

66
Professional-level skills

• Bachelors Degree or higher
• Critical thinking Decision making
• Management of financial resources
• Advanced Math Skills
• Expertise
• Risk Analysis
• Presentation Skills

67
Professional-level Occupational Possibilities

• Management Occupations
• Business Financial Operations Occupations
• Computer Mathematical Occupations
• Sales Related Occupations

68
Management Occupations
69
Financial Managers

• Plan coordinate financial activities
• 6,490 employed in Pittsburgh MSA
• 100 or more openings for 2004
• 2002-2012 projected growth rate of 18.3
• Entry-level wage 39,123
• Average wage 69,698
• 75th percentile wage 84,985

70
Business Financial Operations Occupations
71
Accountants Auditors

• Examine accounting records give advice and
  prepare statements
• 6,000 employed in Pittsburgh MSA
• 100 or more openings for 2004
• 2002-2012 projected growth rate of 19.5
• Entry-level wage 30,417
• Average wage 49,169
• 75th percentile wage 58,548

72
Computer Mathematical Occupations
73
Computer Systems Analysts

• Analyze data processing problems
• 3,320 employed in Pittsburgh MSA
• 100 or more openings for 2004
• 2002-2012 projected growth rate of 39.4
• Entry-level wage 41,628
• Average wage 61,033
• 75th percentile wage 70,736

74
Sales Related Occupations
75
Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services
Sales Agents

• Buy sell securities in investment trading
  firms
• 2,820 employed in Pittsburgh MSA
• 50 or more openings for 2004
• 2002-2012 projected growth rate of 13.0
• Entry-level wage 32,256
• Average wage 63,021
• 75th percentile wage 78,403

76
Sustain Financial Service Jobs in Pittsburgh

• Threats from oversea outsourcing
• Suggestions for sustaining jobs

77
Outsourcing Business Service Jobs

• What is outsourcing
• The relocation of labor-intensive service
  industry functions to locations remote to the
  business center

78
(No Transcript)
79
Outsourcing Business Service Jobs

• Why outsourcing?
• Big cost saving
• Reduce labor expense for U.S. companies
• 40 less than in the U.S.
• US 7 - 12.54 India 1
• Provide cheaper goods to U.S. customers
• More money to invest at home

80
Outsourcing Business Service Jobs

• Why outsourcing?
• Higher quality of work
• Higher motivation in call center jobs
• U.S. boring low prestige
• well trained workers

81
Outsourcing Business Service Jobs

• Impacts
• 2001 2003
• Telephone call center jobs 10.6
• Forrester Research
• 3.3 million service jobs loss by 2015
• Financial service section ? hardest hit
• Large metropolitan area ? high risk

82
Outsourcing Business Service Jobs

• Already happened in Pittsburgh
• iGate Corp.
• 6 back office centers in India
• Reese Telecommunications
• Indiana, PA ? Mumbai, India
• India Companies looks for call center businesses
• Tata

83
Suggestions Sustain Financial Service Jobs in
Pittsburgh

• Difficult to compete in wages
• High general consuming level in U.S.
• Instead
• Improving quality of work
• Lowering office and hiring costs

84
Suggestions Improve quality of work

• Improve public education
• Low education level among call center workers
  today
• Prepare a large pool of well educated workforce
• Improve regional competiveness

85
Suggestions Improve quality of work

• Job training improving job skills
• Domain knowledge
• Customer Psychology

86
Suggestions Improve quality of work

• Job training moving up the career ladder
• Lower skill jobs little opportunities
• Income
• motivation
• higher skill jobs opportunities to move up
• income
• motivation
• A career path example

87
McKinsey 2003
88
Suggestions Improve quality of work

• Job training release stress
• High stress in call center jobs
• Improve quality of work
• Lower turn over rate

89
Suggestions Improve quality of work

• Training programs for small medium size
  employers
• Big call centers are important
• But, large companies most likely to outsource
• Many jobs in small and middle size employers
• But, not enough resource for training

90
Suggestions Reducing Cost

• Select appropriate call center Locations
• US rich in GIS data
• Population
• Income level
• Education Level
• Office rent level
• Select better locations
• Low income neighborhoods
• Rural areas
• Access to large pool of potential workforce

91
Suggestions Reducing Cost

• Improve transportation
• Low income residents ? less mobility
• Experience in India
• Company shuttle
• Lower turn over rate save hiring cost

92
Summary

• Target call center jobs in financial service
  cluster
• Map the employers workforce
• Connect workforce to jobs
• Analyze skill requirements
• Identify threat from oversea outsourcing
• Suggest solutions to retain jobs locally
• Sustain financial service job growth