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Having difficulties in a call centre 3.5 years into the job

AdelSharon

I am looking to get some opinions/support. I have been working in customer service for a big baank for a few years now. I disclosed when I started my role that I have Aspergers (formally diagnosed), sleep apnoea. Connected to the Autism I have sensory issues and also am very prone to feeling stressed and anxious.

The job I do is one that I feel that I excel in all areas except pretty much one - Call handle time! I have 450 seconds to deal with affluent customers who call the bank with multiple queries. We are trgeted on this as well as 15 other targets, however if I was to hit every other target but not my AHT I get in trouble.

I struggle with my communication in the sense that it is not always efficient. I can go around the houses quite a lot which of cause is symptomatic of having autism for me. This is a constant cause for me to go over target. Some months if I am having a good month I can be closer to my target but I have only hit the target a few times ad that was because I was assigned an easier call queue. 

The bank have put some adjustments in place for me - they have increased my target from 450 seconds to 500 seconds. I alo sit in a corner seat with nobody behind me because I struggle with hearing specific conversations. I believe that they have tried to be helpful

BUT

My manager says a lot of things that I think if they were said to somebody else with a different diability they could be done for discrimination. 

I have had a difficult year, I have had my 3rd child, I have had bouts of work related stress because targets and expectations changed and was difficult for me to adjust. So much emphasis is put on delivering a 'satisfactory performance'. 

So I am currently 300+ seconds over my call target but there are no other major faults with my work, I am never rude to customers - except one customer who apprantly I was wrong to tell her that the reason I couldnt deal with her enquiry quickly is because she kept interrupting me constantly - the quality of my work can not be faulted generally. But because my calls are longer its had side effects of me going to breaks/lunches late etc. 

I am trying to do everything that I can to imprrove my performance but talk time is hard to bring down. I keep being told 'dont overexplain things, dont go around the houses, try not to be too analytical, do only what the customer is asking you to do, etc.

It really gets me angry because I listen to all the feedback and  try to do whaat they ask but I end up slipping back to overexplainng etc I just cant keep it brief. I keep being told 'you need to find a way around it' etc. I havent had any coaching for ages until this week when they decide to ay Ive had calls which are too long and therefore not helpful to the customer. 

Now Im in a situation where they are basically asking me not to have autism and do my job. By them telling me not to go around the houses among other things are they being discriminatve and inconsiderate to my condition? Ive said before that the adjustment they gave me isnt enough because it does not take into account that I can have days where my head is cloudy for no identifiable reason, and I will aturally be slower. They just epect me to be a robot but they are trying to insinuate that I m baically not capable of doing the job consisstently. How can       they say that after 3.5 years in the job just now? 

Do I have any grounds to say that they are discriminating against me?

Sorry this is so long but hard to think how to shorten it down.

Apologies,
Adel

Parents
  • Former Member
    Former Member

    Firstly, I am not a lawyer so you may want to seek formal advice from CAB or a union in addition to the opinions I and others will give here.

    Change is difficult for someone with autism and it is reasonable to ask for special consideration when changes are being made by management.

    How have they changed the targets? Were you meeting the targets before the changes were made?

    As a next step I think you could call Access to Work www.gov.uk/.../overview This is a scheme that tries to keep people in jobs or get people into work. They should arrange a formal workplace assessment by someone with experience of all of the reasonable adjustments that could be made for you in your situation. I have found them very helpful and easy to deal with on the phone and they have sent out workplace assessors who seem to know what they are doing. Explain you situation - your diagnosis and the problems you are having and they may well come to your aid. Your employer needs to agree to this but a bank will know that they have no choice and they aren't likely to argue.

    Have you tried noise cancelling headphones or headphones with extra noise isolation? This is an example of a reasonable adjustment because the cost of these is relatively small.

    If your job can be adjusted in some way then this would be good. I would however point out that reasonable adjustments are not unlimited and if your productivity is not satisfactory then you may possibly be in an unsuitable job. What call handling time do your non-disabled colleagues manage? My understanding (you may want to check this) is that it is not discrimination if all possible reasonable adjustments have been made and they are only expecting the same minimum performance standards as everyone else.

    If the job requirements have changed (and everyone else is meeting those new standards) and you were meeting standards previously but the new standards are not achievable for you then you would be eligible for redundancy in my opinion.

    Your stress levels are determined by a number of things. The job may or may not be suitable (it is not clear that this is a great job for someone with communication problems). your boss may or may not be a great leader - I have found very few of these in my career! Most managers are very average and very human. Your family life is your business and it is not your employers problem if your decision to have three children has impacted other areas of your life.

    I'm sorry if this is not all completely supportive but sometimes a reality check and a cold hard look at the situation is called for. I've just done this for my last job and decided that I was a square peg in a round hole and I am moving on as a result.

Reply
  • Former Member
    Former Member

    Firstly, I am not a lawyer so you may want to seek formal advice from CAB or a union in addition to the opinions I and others will give here.

    Change is difficult for someone with autism and it is reasonable to ask for special consideration when changes are being made by management.

    How have they changed the targets? Were you meeting the targets before the changes were made?

    As a next step I think you could call Access to Work www.gov.uk/.../overview This is a scheme that tries to keep people in jobs or get people into work. They should arrange a formal workplace assessment by someone with experience of all of the reasonable adjustments that could be made for you in your situation. I have found them very helpful and easy to deal with on the phone and they have sent out workplace assessors who seem to know what they are doing. Explain you situation - your diagnosis and the problems you are having and they may well come to your aid. Your employer needs to agree to this but a bank will know that they have no choice and they aren't likely to argue.

    Have you tried noise cancelling headphones or headphones with extra noise isolation? This is an example of a reasonable adjustment because the cost of these is relatively small.

    If your job can be adjusted in some way then this would be good. I would however point out that reasonable adjustments are not unlimited and if your productivity is not satisfactory then you may possibly be in an unsuitable job. What call handling time do your non-disabled colleagues manage? My understanding (you may want to check this) is that it is not discrimination if all possible reasonable adjustments have been made and they are only expecting the same minimum performance standards as everyone else.

    If the job requirements have changed (and everyone else is meeting those new standards) and you were meeting standards previously but the new standards are not achievable for you then you would be eligible for redundancy in my opinion.

    Your stress levels are determined by a number of things. The job may or may not be suitable (it is not clear that this is a great job for someone with communication problems). your boss may or may not be a great leader - I have found very few of these in my career! Most managers are very average and very human. Your family life is your business and it is not your employers problem if your decision to have three children has impacted other areas of your life.

    I'm sorry if this is not all completely supportive but sometimes a reality check and a cold hard look at the situation is called for. I've just done this for my last job and decided that I was a square peg in a round hole and I am moving on as a result.

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