Air New Zealand outsources call center roles to Philippines
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND — Air New Zealand temporarily outsources some call center roles to the Philippines due to staff shortages.
The airline contracted an Australian company to provide a dedicated team of 100 staff in the Philippines to handle online customer inquiries. This is in addition to over 500 call center staff in New Zealand.
Chief Customer Officer Leanne Geraghty said Air New Zealand is retaining all local employees and looking to hire more in New Zealand. The move aims to provide short-term support as the airline struggles with high call volumes amid insufficient staffing.
The firm added that it will continue local recruiting and hopes to recover service levels soon before evaluating if the offshore team is still needed.
However, industry experts warn outsourcing overseas can worsen issues like low wages and high turnover locally.
Elias Kanaris of the Customer Contact Network NZ (CCNZ) said taking roles offshore “cheapens the profession” in New Zealand and undervalues staff, impacting customer service.
“Local staff are more skilled at solving local problems and offer improved customer engagement and an overall better brand image for the organization,” he added.
CCNZ is currently working with New Zealand’s Ministry of Social Development to recruit and train people who are on the benefit. The industry recruited and trained more than 300 people in the past two years.
Kanaris urged corporate New Zealand to improve salaries and training and implement clearly defined career paths to attract local contact center employees.
