Economic Recession: Effects on Telephone Survey … RTI International is a trade name of Research...
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RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute www.rti.org Economic Recession: Effects on Telephone Survey Staffing and Productivity McKinlay Jeannis*, Tamara Terry, and Laura Flicker
Transcript of Economic Recession: Effects on Telephone Survey … RTI International is a trade name of Research...
RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institutewww.rti.org
Economic Recession:Effects on Telephone Survey Staffing and Productivity
McKinlay Jeannis*, Tamara Terry, and Laura Flicker
www.rti.org
RTI Call Center Services (CCS)
• Department within Division of Research Services (DRS)
• RTI-CCS– Located in Raleigh, North Carolina – 17,000 square foot facility – 225 production stations for
• telephone interviewing• web support• inbound calls/help desk• tracing operations
– Quality Control Supervisor and Quality Experts that supervise and monitor floor staff
– Manages up to 25 to 30 projects at any given time
www.rti.org
Research Questions
• How did the education level of staff compare between 2007 and 2009 data collections?– Does interviewer education affect completions?
• How did staff attrition data compare between 2007 and 2009?
• Assuming household unemployment increases availability to interview, were more surveys completed during the daytime in 2009?
www.rti.org
Unemployment Trends 2007-2009
• Nationally– December 2007 to December 2009
• National unemployment rate rose from 5.0% to 10.0% ¹• Unemployment rate for persons with bachelor’s degree rose from 2.1%
to 5.0% ¹• Proportion of multiple job holders fell from 5.2 to 5.0% ¹• Number working part time for economic reasons rose from roughly 4.7
million to 9.2 million ¹
• North Carolina– Ranks ninth in unemployment ¹– August 2007 to August 2009 rose from 4.7 to 10.8% ¹– February 2010 historical record of 11.2% ²
¹ "Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey". United States Department of Labor. Tuesday April 27, 2010 <http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?ln>.
² "Current Unemployment Rates for States and Historical Highs/Lows". United States Department of Labor. Tuesday April 27, 2010 <http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/lauhsthl.htm>.
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Two Case Studies at RTI
• For this presentation we considered two panel surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009– Project A
• National panel study of youth with disabilities for which parent and youth interviews are conducted every two years by telephone.
• Tenth year of data collection • Promised incentive for parents and youths
– Project B • Study of homeowners and renters, many from North Carolina • Interviewed yearly by telephone or in person, currently approaching 8th
year– Considering only 2007 and 2009 waves
• Promised incentive
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Staff Educational Characteristics Before and During Recession
• Compared education characteristics of staff recruited on two projects– Recruitment process remained the same
• Education Level Categories– Degree– Some Postsecondary– High School
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Staff Educational Characteristics Before and During Recession (cont’d)• Project A hired more educated staff in 2009:
– 17% high school, down from 28% in 2007– 55% some postsecondary in 2009, up from 48%– 28% college degree, up from 24% in 2007
2007 Project A
Degree24%
Some Postsecondary
48%
High School28%
2009 Project A
Degree28%
Some PostSecondary
55%
High School17%
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Staff Educational Characteristics Before and During Recession (cont’d)• Project B hired similar staff during 2009:
– 25% high school, down from 29% in 2007– 29% some postsecondary in 2009, up from 24%– 46% college degree, down slightly from 47% in 2007
2007 Project B
Degree47%
Some Postsecondary
24%
High School29%
2009 Project B
Degree46%
Some Postsecondary
29%
High School25%
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Staff Educational Characteristics Before and During Recession (cont’d)
2007 Project A
Degree24%
Some Postsecondary
48%
High School28%
2009 Project A
Degree28%
Some PostSecondary
55%
High School17%
2007 Project B
Degree47%
Some Postsecondary
24%
High School29%
2009 Project B
Degree46%
Some Postsecondary
29%
High School25%
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Project A Staff Education and Completions
• College-educated staff contribution to overall completes increased 18% to 24% in 2009
24%College
65%Some Postsecondary
10%High School
200918%College
64%Some Postsecondary
19%High School
2007
Proportion of Completes by this GroupProject A
Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.
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Project B Staff Education and Completions (cont’d)• College educated staff contribution to overall
completes increased from 36% to 44% in 2009
44%College
28%Some Postsecondary
28%High School
200936%College
38%Some Postsecondary
26%High School
2007
Proportion of Completes by this Group
Project B
Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.
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Staff Attrition Before and During Recession
• Evaluated the amount of staff retained in respect to those lost on two projects
• Attrition categories:– Leave of Absence (LOA)– No Call No Show (NCNS)– Resignations– Promotions– Terminations
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Staff Attrition Before and During Recession (cont’d)
• Project A increased staff retention– 73% in 2009 compared to 46% in 2007
• Fewer “No show/No call” (NCNS) incidents in 2009.2007 Project A
LOA1%
NCNS22%
Resigned15%
Promoted4%
Terminated12%
Staff Retained46%
2009 Project A
Promoted0%
NCNS0%
LOA0% Resigned
13%
Terminated14%
Staff Retained73%
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Staff Attrition Before and During Recession (cont’d)
• Project B almost doubled staff retention– 80% in 2009 compared to 41% in 2007.
• Fewer resignations incidents in 2009.2007 Project B
Staff Retained41%
LOA0% NCNS
12%
Resigned35%
Promoted0%
Terminated12%
2009 Project B
Staff Retained80%
LOA0% Resigned
4%
NCNS8%
Terminated4%
Promoted4%
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Staff Attrition Before and During Recession (cont’d)
2007 Project A
LOA1%
NCNS22%
Resigned15%
Promoted4%
Terminated12%
Staff Retained46%
2009 Project A
Promoted0%
NCNS0%
LOA0% Resigned
13%
Terminated14%
Staff Retained73%
2007 Project B
Staff Retained41%
LOA0% NCNS
12%
Resigned35%
Promoted0%
Terminated12%
2009 Project B
Staff Retained80%
LOA0% Resigned
4%
NCNS8%
Terminated4%
Promoted4%
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Distribution of Daytime Completes Before and During Recession
The distribution of completes by daytime/evening did not change in 2009.
40% 40%
52%50%
60% 60%
48%50%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Project A 2007 Project A 2009 Project B 2007 Project B 2009
DayEvening
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Research Findings
• Hired staff educational profile improved – Project A and B staff High School education levels
decreased– Staff with education levels above High School account for
higher portion of project completes
• Staff retained nearly doubled – Both projects displayed significant decline in voluntary loss
of staff– Project costs decreased due to less attrition trainings– Staff familiarity and experience with data collection improved
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Research Findings (cont.)
• Time of day completes displayed no variation– No significant change in the time of day that cases were
completed
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Future Research Findings
• Hours Per Complete (HpC)– Evaluate cost effectiveness of staff by education level
• Calls Per Complete– Determine the impacts of calls per complete by education level
• Inbound Call v. Outbound Call Completes– Quantify amount of completes that were willingly completed by
sample members
• New Hires v. Returning staff– Assess productivity of staff that have prior interviewing experience
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Questions or Comments?
McKinlay [email protected]
Tamara [email protected]
Laura Flicker [email protected]
www.rti.org/aapor
