Benefits July 29, 2004

Workers Stuck in Tech Support Doldrums

July 29, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Calls to technical support are eating away at corporate productivity, as white-collar workers report spending more time on the phone help line.
Reported by

The majority (56%) of white-collar workers spend between 30 minutes and an hour on the phone each week with their company’s technical support services. For 5% of the workers at least five hours of the workweek is spent on the phone with tech support, according to a Siemens Business Services study, CNET News reported.

For companies, the cost of this down time can add up. A company of 5,000 white-collar employees is losing about $4.1 million annually on lost “direct-productivity” hours, as workers stop what they’re doing to get tech help, Siemens estimates.

Furthermore, businesses lose time and money when employee tech calls are not for company related support services. The surveys found more than a quarter (26%) of employees admit they rely on their company’s technical support for help with personal technology devices.

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