Advantages and Disadvantages of To Proposed Sites of a Call Centre

The next factor to consider is that of labour force, in the Longbenton site the rate of unemployed is extremely high compared to the national average being at around 5% this means that there is plenty of potential staff to employ. A call centre in its very nature is very labour intensive and so a large labour force is needed. The skills that are needed are limited to a polite telephone manner and to operate a computer. The area of NE England would have these characteristics and also from the 4 universities there are plenty of young students who are potential cheap labour but also skilled graduates that could be used as technical staff that are needed to maintain telephone and computer systems. Other technological industries use the area i.e. Black and Decker, Sanyo and Fujitsu this highlights the areas advantages in terms of staff and technological advancement. A disadvantage of this is that these companies may compete for labour; with such high unemployment this may not be a problem.

The Bolton site area has similar high unemployment but slightly lower, this has advantages in the same way as in the Longbenton site at a smaller scale, there are also 4 universities that could potentially provide low paid students are high skilled professionals. A major problem that could arise is that the areas base industries area low tech and traditional and thus cause a problem of the proficiency technically of staff. There is an up side in that the company would not be competing for the same sort of staff as other business in the area. Saying this the northeast has the largest level of call centre jobs and so there will be large amounts of the right well trained employees.

The call centre will have to employ large levels of staff and so wages and salary bills will be very high, it is important for the company to work out what level of pay they want to provide, when looking at this location in the country is important as in different areas people area paid less or more, e.g. between these two examples there is a noticeable difference in Bolton it is for both men and women 94% of national average i.e. lower then most of the country, the Longbenton site earning is lower 89% for men and 90% for women. The sex of the employee may also be important women may be able to be paid less and may be better at dealing with customers and provide a better image of the company.

Both sites have positive aspects when it comes to info structure with major road networks available for use and also good access to a large city, i.e. Newcastle and Manchester both having modern business networks, access to airports and sea ports all this means that the areas are in contact with the rest of the world internally in the country and also internationally. As a major commercial bank this is important so that all large customers can contact the company easily.

In the two areas there area also similar financial advise and assistance provided from the local authorities, the Longbenton site has some of the largest grants provided in the UK these are in place to stimulate the area as there is high unemployment, for the company it could be beneficial to move into the area as money and advise is given. This will allow training and development. This could be a deciding factor when deciding a site. The Bolton site also offers similar advice and financial help, but I feel that this may be at a lower level with more positive unemployment levels. Information also seems less defined and organised.

The last major factor to consider is that of land price and area available, In Longbenton there is a large site available i.e. 170 acres, this is the amount that the company wants for the building and also car park for large labour force. The price of land is relatively low at £50, 000 per acre and only £3.00 per sq foot rent, this is in comparison with only 150 acres at the Bolton site at higher land price £90, 000 and at higher rent £4.00 per sq foot, in all 55% more expensive land price and in terms of rent 25% more expensive.

In conclusion there is not much between the two sites in terms of labour and info structure, they both offer high levels of potential staff. Because they area of high unemployment there incentives in moving into the areas. A large deciding factor for me would be the price of land; the Longbenton site offers what the company want interns of size and price. The last deciding factor would the person decision of the management and directors. For large amounts of reasons I would use the Longbenton site, on the other hand there are advantages of Bolton site. Because of over weighing factors I would use the Longbenton site