Interpersonal traits on the facet level and job performance among call center employees : a case study

Abstract

Despite increased attention on facets of personality in recent years, few studies have investigated the relationship between the interpersonal traits and job performance among call center employees at that level. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of extraversion and agreeableness at the domain and facet level in an attempt to elucidate how interpersonal traits might predict job performance among call center employees. The sample consisted of employees (N = 45) from a call center department. Employees completed the NEO personality inventory, and objective performance data of sales and customer satisfaction was collected. Regression analyses revealed great variation in the relationships of the facets and the performance measures, as indicated by the different direction of facets within each domain. The results of the current study indicated that the two performance measurements were opposing and had specific facets related to job performance. Organizations should therefore be aware of which performance the organization values most when selecting future employees. In the combined model of sales regressed on facets of extraversion and agreeableness, warmth was significantly positively related to sales. The model explained 28% of the variance of sales. In the combined model of customer satisfaction regressed on facets of extraversion and agreeableness, gregariousness was significantly positively related to customer satisfaction and activity was significantly negatively related to customer satisfaction. The model explained 32% of the variance of customer satisfaction. The results add to knowledge that specificity is necessary in order to understand the relationship between personality and job performance.