EUROPEAN CONTACT CENTER BENCHMARK PLATFORM WHITEBOOK 2014 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The 2014 European Contact Center Benchmark is the third edition of the only large scale research on the European contact center market. It covers 30 countries and it provides a detailed account of the similarities and differences in the industry and market structure, and on practices across the continent.

EUROPEAN CONTACT CENTERS KEY NUMBERS

3,8 Million

jobs

2,8 million

positions

35.500 contact centers

3,6% growth rate

19,3%

dedicated to outsourcing

75% of activity in inbound

EUROPEAN CONTACT CENTER INDUSTRY EVOLUTION IN 2014

EUROPEAN TOP TEN COUNTRY MARKETS BY CONTACT CENTER SEATS

Total Seats Share of Seats Evolutionfrom 2013

United Kingdom 734000 26,18% 1,36%

Germany 345700 12,33% -0,73%

France 263067 9,38% -0,55%

Netherlands 183901 6,56% -0,39%

Poland 132835 4,74% 1,79%

Spain 124051 4,43% -0,26%

Italy 111100 3,96% -0,19%

Sweden 110000 3,92% 0,18%

Russia 100000 3,57% -0,21%

Hungary 90000 3,21% -0,19%

2014

2013 2014Evolutionfrom 2013

Seats 2724438 2880743 5,70%

Headcount 3747840 3828837 2,20%

Economic Clout 65 67,7 4,20%

Outsourcing 19,80% 19,30% -2,50%

Validity 84% 75% -10,70%

% Active Population 0,90% 0,93% 3,30%

Total CC 34830 35429 1,70%

Growth Rate 4,40% 3,60% -18,20%

Average seats per CC 78,2 81,3 3,90%

European Contact Center Benchmark Platform Whitebook 2014 2

ANALYSIS

The United Kingdom remains by far the biggest CC market in Europe, followed by the other big countries. The growth in the UK has even reinforced that lead. The Netherlands and Sweden punch above their relative economic weight as they maintain a bigger CC penetration. The Italian and Spanish markets get their place in the top ten rank-ing, even though they do not have the weight corresponding to their overall economic size, as they have a lower penetration rate than most of western and central European counterparts, but the image is similar to 2013 as we did not have reliable updates for the macro-view for these two countries. In general, we do observe a relative recovery for Western Europe, due to a decent growth in the UK, and a limited growth reduction in the eastern half of our economic sphere, mainly due to geopolitical and local unrest and instability.

CONTACT CENTER EMPLOYMENT ENJOYS 3,6% ANNUAL GROWTH

The sector keeps growing structurally at an annual pace of 3.6 % in employment. This Europe-an average, albeit weight adjusted, masks the huge difference between countries and growth perspectives. Whereas the newer Contact Center countries, mainly in Eastern Europe, contin-ue to report double digit growth, the German-speaking area keeps flat-lining, and France is losing ground. The growth rate in the UK keeps hovering around 3 %, in sync with the overall economic performance of the island. The upheaval in the French telecoms market seems to be more permanent and spreading to other sectors of contact center activity, thereby confirming our overall thesis that the more mature markets, with up to 4 % of the active popu-lation employed in our industry, are more subject to conjunctural factors. As contact center activities have been implemented in nearly every sector and business line, the overall momentum slows down and gets in line with the general economic indicators of each country.

35.500 CONTACT CENTERS WITH AN AVERAGE 81 POSITIONS IN EUROPE

The available data report at least 35.500 contact centers, with a median reported size of 81 positions. We observe that the average size of a country is factor of both the country size and the contact center matu-rity: bigger countries tend to have bigger average centers, and the same holds true for established markets where the bene�ts of consolidation and economies of scale are gained more easily.In 2014, 19,3% of contact center activities are reported to be outsourced, with an outsourcing employ-ment pool of over 600.000. We do not see major changes in the overall relative importance of outsourcing, but we have some trends that seem to be con�rmed over time: some decrease of outsourcing activities in some clusters, such as in Western and Southern Europe, with a speci�c mention for the battered French market. On the other hand, we do note the relative increase in outsourcing activity in Eastern Europe.

75,3% CONTACT CENTER ACTIVITY IN B2C, WITH ICT INDUSTRY COMING ON TOP

In this year´s report, inbound activities are reported to account for 77.1% of activities, an increase of 2% from 2013. Not surprisingly, 75.3% of the business is in B2C activities. This �ts well with the overall weight of the di�erent sectors as analyzed in the 2nd edition of the Whitebook, grouped by ISICv4 nomencla-ture (International Standard Industrial Classi�cation of all Economic Activities). As detailed updates are lacking for several countries, we assume the situation to be similar as during 2013.The main sector using contact centers is the sector of Information and Communication, grouping telecommunication, ICT and media activities; in a close second comes the Finance and Insurance sector, at 20% of all reported Contact Center activity, followed by professional services ( at 15% and 5%). As the professional services include the outsourcing activities, it is probable that a substantial part of these activities could be attributed to other sectors. A second tier of sectors is formed by Retail (10%), Public Service (7%), Utilities and Manufacturing (6%).

35.500 contact centers

(close to)

3,6% growth rate

75% of activity in inbound

European Contact Center Benchmark Platform Whitebook 2014 3

The table below summarizes some key indicators for selected countries, and may show gaps for missing data or for datasets lacking normalization to the report’s framework.

Sponsored by Altitude Software, this is the third edition of the first large scale study of the European contact center market structure. The study is a joint venture between specialized consultancies Areia Consultoria and Call Com-munications, and is endorsed by the European Confederation of Contact Center Organizations (ECCCO). The report draws from national contact center association surveys, and from publicly available information and data sets, to build a Europe-wide industry portrait, and provide hundreds of charts and tables about the contact center industry in 30 countries.

Visit www.altitude.com and download this valuable report, free, courtesy of Altitude Software.

Copyright: Information gathered from the European Contact Center Benchmark Platform report with publisher's permission and graphically adapted by Altitude Software. If you would like to know more about our products and services go to www.altitude.com or contact us at info@altitude.com.

Any questions regarding the data on this report should be adressed to www.eccbp.be© All Rights Reserved 2015

Validity Rating Employment / OECD

Growth % Outsourcing % Inhouse % Outbound % Female Avg. Age Full Time Permanent Contract

Absenteeism Turn Over Supervisory Ratio

Avg. Salary Avg. TCC / Hour Paid

Austria 60% 1,0% -2,00% 10,0% 90,0% 12% 76,0% 40,0% 88,0% 21%

Belgium 80% 2,1% 2,50% 25,6% 74,4% 40% 63,0% 27,00 8,0% 25% 1/11 1.853,00 € 20,00 €

Bulgaria 72% 0,6% 19,00% 73,3% 26,7% 70,0% 30,0% 85,0% 1/10 400,00 € 3,70 €

Czech Republic 64% 1,2% 7,60% 12,5% 87,5% 30% 70,0% 25,00 6,5% 956,00 € 9,00 €

Denmark 48% 1,6% 3,80% 28,0% 72,0% 20% 74,0% 8,0% 13% 2.578,00 € 21,40 €

Estonia 52% 0,5% 5,00% 50,0% 50,0% 25,00 5,5% 42% 1/17 800,00 € 7,40 €

Finland 64% 1,3% 3,9% 100,0% 100,0% 7,0% 1/16 2.579,00 € 24,30 €

France 96% 1,0% -3,40% 20,2% 79,8% 18% 63,0% 31,70 92,0% 81,0% 5,0% 25% 1:9 1.572,00 € 17,90 €

Germany 82% 1,3% 2,40% 20,2% 77,0% 35% 64,0% 36,60 57,0% 77,0% 6,1% 13% 1/15 1.559,00 € 14,50 €

Greece 48% 0,5% 0,40% 40,0% 60,0% 40% 81,5% 36,00 5,0% 1/17 950,00 € 8,30 €

Hungary 78% 3,2% 1,00% 5,0% 95,0% 713,00 € 6,80 €

Iceland 0% 0,7% 1,30%

Ireland 42% 1,8% 13,30% 30,0% 70,0% 30,00 82,0% 5,0% 14% 1/8 1.576,00 € 14,90 €

Italy 70% 0,6% 1,00% 59,9% 40,0% 29% 64,0% 35,00 22,0% 88,0% 4,0% 19% 1/24 1.687,00 € 17,30 €

Latvia 30% 0,5% 7,60% 25,0% 75,0% 10% 76,5% 4,5% 1/15

Lithuania 46% 0,3% 7,60%

Netherlands 80% 2,6% 2,60% 18,5% 79,0% 10% 77,0% 60,0% 40,0% 5,5% 40% 1:12 1.750,00 € 16,10 €

Norway 36% 2,1% 4,10% 11,0% 2.578,00 € 23,00 €

Poland 96% 1,1% 5,70% 15,6% 84,4% 31% 60,0% 32,25 70,0% 80,0% 5,0% 25% 1/15 1.125,00 € 9,50 €

Portugal 88% 1,2% 9,00% 19,3% 80,7% 19% 11% 1/10 719,00 € 6,20 €

Romania 88% 0,6% 13,50% 14,0% 86,0% 30% 60,0% 23,00 65,0% 30,0% 2,5% 40% 1/17 540,00 € 4,60 €

Russia 86% 0,2% 19,00% 13,5% 86,5% 25% 65,0% 24,70 3,3% 34% 299,00 € 2,60 €

Serbia 56% 0,3% 19,00%

Slovakia 22% 0,2%

Spain 74% 1,0% 3,90% 36,1% 15,0% 41% 77,0% 8,0% 13% 1/12 1.696,00 € 15,90 €

Sweden 58% 2,6% 3,00% 27,0% 73,0% 19% 73,0% 6,0% 4% 2.579,00 € 27,50 €

Switzerland 72% 0,5% -0,20% 12,0% 88,0% 64,0% 12% no info 3.500,00 € 32,50 €

Turkey 84% 0,4% 10,00% 62,0% 65,0% 25% 64,0% 26,00 97,0% 3,5% 32% 1/17 501,00 € 4,40 €

Ukraine 74% 0,2% 11,20% 37,0% 63,0% 10% 85,0% 24,50 60,0% 80,0% 4,4% 4% 1:5 457,00 € 3,70 €

United Kingdom

94% 4,0% 3,20% 9,7% 90,3% 22% 60,0% 29,50 66,0% 6,0% 25% 1:8 1.563,00 € 12,30 €