The UK is the largest call center market in EMEA, and the region’s most mature. There are 435,000 agent positions in the UK, which are projected to grow to 497,000 by 2008. In terms of actual call centers, there are 5,980 facilities predicted to increase to 7,320 by 2008 when the UK will hold a quarter of EMEA’s call center agent positions.
Given the UK’s high Internet and mobile telephony penetration, email, web chat and SMS are particularly attractive methods of interacting with customers. As a result, multichannel contact centers will almost treble. Currently there are 680 in the UK. This is expected to rise to 1,842 by 2008, when a quarter of contact centers will be automated.
Small call centers will account for 42% of UK call centers
The largest agent position size band in the UK is the 31-100 segment, which accounts for 31% of UK call center agent positions. The number of UK call centers in this size band is forecast to fall from 42% of total facilities to 40% by 2008. Call centers in the 101-250 agent size band will also fall, from 14% to 13% during the same period.
The fastest growing size band in the UK will be the 10-30 agent positions segment. Between 2003-2008 the number of positions in this segment will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.8%, from nearly 13% of total UK agent positions to 14%. Actual call centers in this segment will also increase proportionate share from 38% to 42% in 2008.
Public sector employment of call center services to show fastest growth
The largest vertical market for call center services in the UK is financial services, which accounts for over 21% of agent positions. This share is expected to fall to 18% of the total.
Total agent positions devoted to the public sector will expand from 10% in 2003 to 13% by 2008, making it the fastest growing vertical market to 2008. The majority of this growth will happen within local authorities, as opposed to at the national level.
Likewise, the healthcare sector will take on increased agent positions in UK call centers over the coming five years. This will be due to further efforts on the part of the health providers (public and private) to offer telephone-based information provision on various matters, including diagnosis and appointment scheduling.
Given its maturity, the UK call center industry could appear a daunting challenge for new entrants. However, there will be excellent opportunities in specific niche areas and particular industry groups, such as the public and healthcare sectors. Success in the UK call center industry will mean concentrating on developing offerings for smaller centers. Designing call center solutions that allow greater flexibility and multimodality will be an ongoing prerequisite for vendors of call center equipment in the UK.
