Pre-placement psychological status and staff retention in a call centre.

BACKGROUND

There is a general lack of studies on staff retention and mental health status at the beginning of or prior to employment in call centres.

AIMS: To evaluate the relationship between psychological status at the beginning of employment and staff retention after 6 months of employment.

METHODS

The psychological well-being of new starters was evaluated using a questionnaire and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Early leavers were identified through a second survey performed 6 months later.

RESULTS

Out of a cohort of 135 new starters, all of the 100 randomly selected employees returned their questionnaires. By the second round of the survey 6 months later, 30 employees had left. There was no significant difference between the BDI scores of leavers and those who remained in the company. Binary logistic regression showed no significant associations between leaving the company and gender, previous history of mental health diagnosis and history of mental health treatment. However, there was a significant association between age (25 or over) and leaving the company within the first 6 months of employment (odds ratio [OR] = 2.5; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04-6.01; P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Previous mental health conditions or psychological status at the beginning of employment did not appear to contribute significantly to call centre employees leaving within 6 months. Further similar studies in other occupational sectors are recommended.