HostGator, I Found Your Problem In Employee Turnover.....

For the last couple of years, the HostGator billboards have been all over the place.

"Do you know Linux...?  We are hiring.

Having been offered an opportunity to interview there twice, I know how aggressive they are in signing good Linux talent.  Having more than a few friends working there, I also know they are hemorrhaging employees.

Employee turnover seems to be a big problem, at least at the Austin location(s).  A good friend who works the swing shift for call center server support told me bluntly:

"It's like the D-Day landing at Normandy.  People are dropping all around me, but I keep pushing on."

On the face of it, it doesn't seem to make sense. Having been a guest there for other reasons, their work environment is nothing short of stellar and the pay is on par with tech salaries in the area. They have employee lunches catered at no cost to the employee, and their break room rivals Google, having seen that one myself in Mountain View.  Everyone there seems to get along fantastically.

Maybe that last part is part of the problem.  Sometimes Camaraderie comes at a price.

Someone who I love dearly was recently hired on at HostGator in Austin.  Her skills are a dream-come-true for tech HR and she loves her work.  Training was machine-gun fast but she kept up and after the training period, she was shown her cubicle and went to work.

Yeah, she had first day jitters, but who doesn't?  There was little time for friendly introductions as everyone around her was at least two calls deep into the cue when she sat down.

And being the first day, it took her a while to acclimate.

But as it often happens in Help Desk support, she ran across a call that she didn't know how to handle.

For those that have never worked at a tech support help desk, a lot happens in the background.  Every tech has an IM screen in front of her, asking how the call is going, and asking her if she needs help with that particular call.  Supervisors watch their section people take and dispatch calls on their screens...ever mindful of a tech spending too much time on a particular call.  In a real world call center, if your supervisor sees on her screen that your call duration is over a certain time limit, she will IM you and ask if you need help.

"Do you need help with this call?"

And if that doesn't produce an answer...

"Is everything going OK?  You seem to be having trouble with this call.  Are you using your troubleshooter database?"

And if that doesn't elicit an answer, you can expect your supervisor to be standing behind you shortly, watching and listening in on her wireless headset.

A call center can be an intense place to work.

But my friend did have trouble answering a question and she dutifully IM'ed her tier two technician for help....

Twice.

Then three times.

And finally a fourth.  She didn't even get a response from a tier three tech or a supervisor.

And I've been a tier three technician...I played a lot of online games.  Help requests were infrequent.  We mostly helped supervisors keep track of call times.

She was a nervous wreck...and the customer wasn't happy.

She had to take down the customer's number and promise to call them back when she found the answer to their question.  A callback counted against her in her call stats and bonuses can be earned or lost on customer callbacks.

She was close to tears, but nothing like she was when she found out why she being ignored when she asked for help.

It seems that there is a little initiation when you go to work in that particular call center.  It's a game of sorts and it all boils down to this.

"Let's ignore the newbie and have a flash pool on how long it takes the new girl to start crying..." 

Again, if you've never worked in a call center, it can be terribly stressful and it's not for those who cannot multi-task easily.

My friend has worked in call centers for years...she's no stranger to that stressful environment...but she knows when she's been played.

When she found out what they were doing, needless to say, she walked out without a word.

So the "Good Ol' Boy" club has chewed and spit out another victim.  From what I have been able to find out, this is common at this center.

I have also been informed that this did reach the attention of management.  But that's a good ol' boy network too.

I bet there isn't much turn over at that level...

I'd be willing to bet on it.

HostGator - Do you know Linux...?  We are humiliating our new hires until they quit hiring.

All-Righty Then...